Sunday, December 31, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Get on that bike and ride.
Through the hot hot blistering summer suns. And through the cold cold blistering winter freezes.
Two wheels rolling through trying elements, is worth all the sunburns and sneezes.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Cowboys money clip.
Alright folks, I just finished this rad money clip. A nice tribute to the cowboys of the Wild West.
The Shooting Cowboys can be purchased here. Along with some other things I've made.
Thanks for your support.
J.W.
See you on the road.
The Shooting Cowboys can be purchased here. Along with some other things I've made.
Thanks for your support.
J.W.
See you on the road.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Forks, Forks, Forks. All the forks.
Before Christmas I bought myself some fork rebuilding tools: Motion Pro 39mm fork seal driver, Motion Pro 39mm fork cap socket, and Motion Pro fork oil level gauge. I also bought a bench mount Park Tools fork vise. And while I was in a good tool buying mode, I bought a deluxe front wheel chock from K&L. I have yet to fully assemble it, but it's absolutely gorgeous and I'm gonna get a lot of use out of it. I'd been wanting all these tools for a long time, and what can I say, other than the time was right.
After Christmas, I laid into using my new tools. I set aside a good day to get into the project. I had gone to the nearby Harley shop and picked up some upper and lower bushings, some new fork seals, a new fork cap O-ring, 2 lower fork screws w/crush washers, and two bottles of fork oil. Now, I usually go with the regular E oil, which is recommended, but I tend to find that too soft, and so I went with a heavy oil.
After a few years of rough riding, and 2 cross country trips, and living between freezing and extremely hot temperatures, the oils break down over time and use, and part of the reasons in which the functionality of your fork performance is lost. So without meeting the regularly scheduled intervals for normal rider wear and tear, some of us meet those a lot sooner or in some cases later, depending on miles achieved over shorter vs longer periods of time, and according to conditions in which some bikes are stored. All these variables depend on how frequent or infrequent one needs to change their fork oil, or do complete rebuilds.
I put my K&L jack under the front down tubes, and gave it a few cranks. The downtube areas on a frame are typically the strongest area of the frame, and thus recommended lifting points. Keep that in mind when jacking your bike up, rear or front. I take the front wheel off, loosen the pinch screws on the triple trees, and remove the forks. But before removing the forks completely, I loosened the fork cap while secured in the triple tree. Once that cap is loose it's easier to take it off completely. In the vise. While the forks were in the triple trees, I used my compact driver to quickly remove the bottom fork screw which releases it from the damper tube. This is where I drained the fluid from while pumping the fork up and down to drain most of the oil from all the forks compartments. Yeah, there is a drain screw, so that you don't have to replace a lot of the other stuff, like when you just wanna change your oil, which someday I may try out, buuuuuut, I was going with fork rebuild, so this is when it all comes apart.
Fork caps can be a pain to get off, cause the springs under the caps wanna fling those things to timbuktwo while slinging those sharp spring collars into your hands, arms, or face, or whatever flesh they can aim to slice up, when they're not under control. I've had my hand chucked before, and so I know those mean business. What I started doing to protect me from the willy nilly spring collar fling, is I use a thin towel something that allows me to still grasp the fork while ratcheting the cap off, the towel allows the fork cap to come completely loose, while preventing the collar from flinging off, because everything remains contained under the towel and it means I don't have to have any body parts in the way of that thing coming loose.
I get all my parts pulled apart, and laid out on a nice clean towel in the order that they come out of the tube. I wipe them down extremely well, and inspect every item for wear, any patterns, and notice that my bushings have worn down the material on them. They were in definite need of replacing. Good thing I like collecting old fork bushings.
Assembly time. So now I've got all my new parts in place, and everything is clean and ready to go back in the forks and together the way they came out. I get my damper tube and damper tube spring in the upper tube, let it slip through that lower hole, and then line up my bushings orienting them according to my harley training, and I insert the upper tube into the lower fork. I put the lower screw and copper bushing into the hole and get them seeded with the damper tube. With my fork in the fork vise, I torque it to spec, leveraging the lower fork while bracing it with a screw driver through one of my fender holes. Good thing I have those, it makes this process much easier. And it's important that I keep my lower fork oriented in the proper position to how I placed my upper tube into the lower tube because my upper and lower bushings are lined up according to how the fork with compress and rebound, and I don't want to lose that bushing orientation anytime soon.
I'm gonna now say that, a lot of the way things are done right, is all about the details. Taking something apart and putting things together is great and all, but it's in the small details that really make the difference, maximize performance, and longevity in our machines. I take my training seriously, because engineers and professionals have come to these techniques for years before me, and I was the fortunate recipient of these professional and recommended techniques, for best results.
Anyway, that's all I'm gonna say on the subject. Back to the rebuild.
It's now time for the fork oil. With my fork in the vise and my spring removed from the fork, I add the oil and pump the fork until it stops making farting sounds, and until the air has been good and bled out of my fork system, worked into all the holes, primed into all the areas and ready for me to take the final measurement. With my forks compressed I set up my fork bleed level to the right amount to be sucked from the top, based on the recommendation of my Harley Davidson Service Manual, for my year and model of fork. Once those were correctly leveled I then proceeded to place the spring, collar, and cap with new o-ring to seal the deal. The pressure on these springs is immense. and the sharp collars as I mentioned before, is no joke when you're taking them off or putting them back together. So I used a rag to cover the cap, and holding the tube with the rag I get the threads lined up and with all my might, I press down and attempt to get that cap initially threaded with the tube. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but I love my towel method, cause it has repeatedly helped to prevent and avoid the notorious gouging spring collar. hahaha
Well, I got the caps on, and I fed the forks properly oriented into the triple trees working hard to maintain the proper orientation of my bushings upon installation onto the bike. Once they were in the trees, give the cap a final torque. Then I level the tubes to the right fork height spec. I get the wheel, fender, and the brake on. I clean up my tools, get things put away, clean up my area, and admire the fun undertaking of the day. Here's another thing I love about working on bikes, especially mine; every time I work on my bike, it's an opportunity to utilize and practice my skills, keep my skills fresh, and it's basically all about maintaining, maintaining, maintaining.
It's now time to ride, and break in this new fork rebuild. Now I've ridden in more than my share of gnarly storms, and these California storms right now have me waiting this out while we're all getting flooded out, but I've got a week ahead, when I'm taking a few weeks on the road, as soon as it seems theres a break in this storm. I will most likely get stuck in the weather on part of my upcoming trip, but it's what I gotta do. Got some place to go, people to see, places to explore, and I'll be covering some ground. Until then, stay warm, stay dry, stay happy, and in between get wet, get cold, and have a blast doing it. Thanks for reading!
See you on the road.
J.W. Dirty and Free
P.S. I feel like I've been lacking on the moto maintenance stories, because I mostly just do what I gotta do, and then hit the road without writing about it, or getting to it a some point, but I'd like to take more time to chronicle my motor maintenance adventures as much as my riding and exploring ones. And I'd like to do them in this style like I did here today; a "how I did it."
Also, before you go, check out those 3 part videos I posted from Guy on a Buffalo. That shits hilarious. Do it. part 1, 2, and 3, in the posts before this one. So funny.
After Christmas, I laid into using my new tools. I set aside a good day to get into the project. I had gone to the nearby Harley shop and picked up some upper and lower bushings, some new fork seals, a new fork cap O-ring, 2 lower fork screws w/crush washers, and two bottles of fork oil. Now, I usually go with the regular E oil, which is recommended, but I tend to find that too soft, and so I went with a heavy oil.
After a few years of rough riding, and 2 cross country trips, and living between freezing and extremely hot temperatures, the oils break down over time and use, and part of the reasons in which the functionality of your fork performance is lost. So without meeting the regularly scheduled intervals for normal rider wear and tear, some of us meet those a lot sooner or in some cases later, depending on miles achieved over shorter vs longer periods of time, and according to conditions in which some bikes are stored. All these variables depend on how frequent or infrequent one needs to change their fork oil, or do complete rebuilds.
I put my K&L jack under the front down tubes, and gave it a few cranks. The downtube areas on a frame are typically the strongest area of the frame, and thus recommended lifting points. Keep that in mind when jacking your bike up, rear or front. I take the front wheel off, loosen the pinch screws on the triple trees, and remove the forks. But before removing the forks completely, I loosened the fork cap while secured in the triple tree. Once that cap is loose it's easier to take it off completely. In the vise. While the forks were in the triple trees, I used my compact driver to quickly remove the bottom fork screw which releases it from the damper tube. This is where I drained the fluid from while pumping the fork up and down to drain most of the oil from all the forks compartments. Yeah, there is a drain screw, so that you don't have to replace a lot of the other stuff, like when you just wanna change your oil, which someday I may try out, buuuuuut, I was going with fork rebuild, so this is when it all comes apart.
Fork caps can be a pain to get off, cause the springs under the caps wanna fling those things to timbuktwo while slinging those sharp spring collars into your hands, arms, or face, or whatever flesh they can aim to slice up, when they're not under control. I've had my hand chucked before, and so I know those mean business. What I started doing to protect me from the willy nilly spring collar fling, is I use a thin towel something that allows me to still grasp the fork while ratcheting the cap off, the towel allows the fork cap to come completely loose, while preventing the collar from flinging off, because everything remains contained under the towel and it means I don't have to have any body parts in the way of that thing coming loose.
I get all my parts pulled apart, and laid out on a nice clean towel in the order that they come out of the tube. I wipe them down extremely well, and inspect every item for wear, any patterns, and notice that my bushings have worn down the material on them. They were in definite need of replacing. Good thing I like collecting old fork bushings.
Assembly time. So now I've got all my new parts in place, and everything is clean and ready to go back in the forks and together the way they came out. I get my damper tube and damper tube spring in the upper tube, let it slip through that lower hole, and then line up my bushings orienting them according to my harley training, and I insert the upper tube into the lower fork. I put the lower screw and copper bushing into the hole and get them seeded with the damper tube. With my fork in the fork vise, I torque it to spec, leveraging the lower fork while bracing it with a screw driver through one of my fender holes. Good thing I have those, it makes this process much easier. And it's important that I keep my lower fork oriented in the proper position to how I placed my upper tube into the lower tube because my upper and lower bushings are lined up according to how the fork with compress and rebound, and I don't want to lose that bushing orientation anytime soon.
I'm gonna now say that, a lot of the way things are done right, is all about the details. Taking something apart and putting things together is great and all, but it's in the small details that really make the difference, maximize performance, and longevity in our machines. I take my training seriously, because engineers and professionals have come to these techniques for years before me, and I was the fortunate recipient of these professional and recommended techniques, for best results.
Anyway, that's all I'm gonna say on the subject. Back to the rebuild.
It's now time for the fork oil. With my fork in the vise and my spring removed from the fork, I add the oil and pump the fork until it stops making farting sounds, and until the air has been good and bled out of my fork system, worked into all the holes, primed into all the areas and ready for me to take the final measurement. With my forks compressed I set up my fork bleed level to the right amount to be sucked from the top, based on the recommendation of my Harley Davidson Service Manual, for my year and model of fork. Once those were correctly leveled I then proceeded to place the spring, collar, and cap with new o-ring to seal the deal. The pressure on these springs is immense. and the sharp collars as I mentioned before, is no joke when you're taking them off or putting them back together. So I used a rag to cover the cap, and holding the tube with the rag I get the threads lined up and with all my might, I press down and attempt to get that cap initially threaded with the tube. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but I love my towel method, cause it has repeatedly helped to prevent and avoid the notorious gouging spring collar. hahaha
Well, I got the caps on, and I fed the forks properly oriented into the triple trees working hard to maintain the proper orientation of my bushings upon installation onto the bike. Once they were in the trees, give the cap a final torque. Then I level the tubes to the right fork height spec. I get the wheel, fender, and the brake on. I clean up my tools, get things put away, clean up my area, and admire the fun undertaking of the day. Here's another thing I love about working on bikes, especially mine; every time I work on my bike, it's an opportunity to utilize and practice my skills, keep my skills fresh, and it's basically all about maintaining, maintaining, maintaining.
It's now time to ride, and break in this new fork rebuild. Now I've ridden in more than my share of gnarly storms, and these California storms right now have me waiting this out while we're all getting flooded out, but I've got a week ahead, when I'm taking a few weeks on the road, as soon as it seems theres a break in this storm. I will most likely get stuck in the weather on part of my upcoming trip, but it's what I gotta do. Got some place to go, people to see, places to explore, and I'll be covering some ground. Until then, stay warm, stay dry, stay happy, and in between get wet, get cold, and have a blast doing it. Thanks for reading!
See you on the road.
J.W. Dirty and Free
P.S. I feel like I've been lacking on the moto maintenance stories, because I mostly just do what I gotta do, and then hit the road without writing about it, or getting to it a some point, but I'd like to take more time to chronicle my motor maintenance adventures as much as my riding and exploring ones. And I'd like to do them in this style like I did here today; a "how I did it."
Also, before you go, check out those 3 part videos I posted from Guy on a Buffalo. That shits hilarious. Do it. part 1, 2, and 3, in the posts before this one. So funny.
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