my HD experience ...

[bonnie john]

i bought a brand new lowrider sport in 1990

I HATED IT, thought it'd be the modern equivelent of a commando or bonnie-WRONG

then i tested a fatboy, LOVED IT so i bought 1 brand new in 1992 (january 8), turquoise and ivory

they let me open up the cardboard "crate" myself, so no ace apprentices took it around the carpark. had it for 9 years in nz and 9 in oz

ran it in easily, 300km ride with my (then) wife on board

below are the bits and pieces and probs that i've had in the 18 years of ownership

1 starter relay

1 stator

1 primary gasket

1 voltage regulator

1 starter clutch sprag

1 pull throttle cable

1 set screamin eagle "off road" mufflers

1 headlight bulb

3 tail light bulbs

1 speedo bulb

1 front rotor, buggered by some aftermarket pads

2 sets front brake pads

1 rear rotor, buggered by riding off with a padlock attached

1 set rear pads

1 aftermarket foam aircleaner element

1 topend gasket set, the rear cylinder base gasket leaked from early on

1 gearshift return spring

1 EV3 cam

1 set adjustable pushrods

1 inner cam bearing, it was a torrington, not the infamous ina, changed it anyway

1 set cam followers-1 roller had broken its needles- only found out coz i wanted to see the inside of the filter- can you say lucky ?

4 wheel bearing seals, greased the bearings once

1 "X" ring chain and sprocket set, replaced the belt when it broke dragging a car load of teens

about 7 batteries, oddysey in there for about the last 5 years, never go back to lead acid

tyres? i get about 10,000 km from a rear marathon and about 15,000 from a front

1 left hand mirror, head just fell off the stem

oil? change every 2-3,000 kms, tried all sorts inc boutique syns, the last 3 years on 20w60 diesel lube

filter? every 2nd oil change, car equivelent

primary? every 5,000 kms, currently using plain dex 111, tried allsorts (chain about 1/3 adjustment used)

gearbox? every year, currently using mobil heavy duty 80w90, tried allsorts inc boutique syns

forks? every year, tried allsorts, currently running belray heavy

chain? anything EXCEPT WD 40, currently using putolene syn spray. chain has only had initial adjustment at about 500 kms. racked up 44,000 kms so far on the conversion

been trailered home only once, the belt incident-haha, that'll teach me

all work bar the cam bearing, gear spring, starter clutch, stator and regulator was done by me. i wasn't confident inside the gearbox and the shop wouldn't warrant the elec parts unless they fitted them

so, 18 years on, 113,000 kms, 50 mpg (65 before the cam change), nil oil consumption, this has prolly been the "best" bike i've owned

sure, it vibrates, is slow, drags on corners and leaks a little oil and gas

BUT IT'S ALL I EVER WANTED IN A MOTORCYCLE !!!

( P.S. the '69-70 bonnie was the most fun ;-) )

 

[Kaboomba]

good story!

my father-in-law has a Norton Commando 750 that he bought in 1973. He has a total blast on that thing.

P.S. ...when he's not fixing it or fiddling with it to make it run JUST right!

 

[BigCahuna]

Tell me about the 20/60 wt diesel oil. Who makes it?.,,

 

[bonnie john]

whoops

spark plugs, hd champs broke down fairly early, used ngk's since then

currently using plat tips

and a choke cable. when the book sez "don't lube", there's a good reason for it (friction fit-no friction, no choke)

 

[bonnie john]

local brand called PENRITE HPR DIESEL, CH-4/SJ

.122 zinc, .11 phos, seems to work pretty well

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: bonnie john

sure, it vibrates, is slow, drags on corners and leaks a little oil and gas


A hard core sport bike riding friend bought a Harley about 10 years ago. He said "It's the most fun you can have going slow".

Originally Posted By: bonnie john

BUT IT'S ALL I EVER WANTED IN A MOTORCYCLE !!!


And that's all that matters.

 

[CATERHAM]

First bike I bought new was a '69 Norton Commando 750 'S'.
I loved that bike.

Recently checked out the new Norton Commando 961 at a Toronto Motorcycle show. A pretty bike but at $30,000 I think I would prefer a nicely restored original.

 

[JonfromCB]

bonnie john, I can relate to that. I'll start with a disclaimer that the AMF/and earlier years are a different story!

I've owned a dozen bikes in my life and now have a "built" 02 Road King and a 08 Goldwing that we tour on for several weeks a year. The HD is my everyday workhorse ride. I've ridden it all over North America. It's not as comfortable and capable as the Goldwing for two-up, three week trips, but when it comes to reliability, ease to work on, parts availabilty, durability, and a first class high quality dealership network, the HD will always be my daily workhorse and bike of choice. NO other makes I've owned ( three Honda's, a Kawasaki, two Yamahas and a
BMW) have been as trouble free and given me ZERO "bad dealership experiences."

 

[SWSportsman]

Originally Posted By: JonfromCB
....the AMF/and earlier years are a different story!...


Jon, in my experience even the AMF era problems were greatly exaggerated. My friends and I purchased several FLH's during that time and suffered no more problems that usual. AMF didn't know how to handle Harley from a business administration standpoint, but the bikes were being built very much the same as they had in the past. The HD's required more attention than the Japanese bikes of the time, but tinkering on them was a fun part of the ownership experience.

My 1980 FLH 80 cu.in. went a little over 90,000 miles before I sold it and the only thing it required other than regular maintenance items was the replacement one burned out coil. There was a little oil seepage, but nothing regular cleaning didn't take care of. We got similar good service out of my wife's 1982 FLH (first one we had with belt drive).

 

[RonH]

1992 still used a chain? I thought all big Harleys were belt drive? I've never owned one, but ridden a couple buddies and my thoughts were "if you're happy, I'm delirious", not for me.
An old 80 something year old friend of mine who's been a Harley lover for over 60 years commented to me the other day on the AMF years. He said they had a barrel off a 1979 Harley, don't know any more than that, and they could put a micrometer firmly in the bore where it would stay in place and just by simply pressing in on the sides of the cylinder with hand pressure the bore would distort enough the micrometer would fall out, flexing the whole thing. He said "Don't buy a 70s Harley"

 

[boraticus]

My brother-in-law has a '78 HD. Not sure which model. It's nothing but trouble. He works on it more than he rides. Major stuff too. Lots of engine problems. Could also have something to do with him not being the sharpest tool in the shed and a ham fisted, wannabe mechanic.

Not a good combination to say the least. If you're the owner of a maintenance intensive machine and you don't have money to pay to have it fixed, you had better be a half decent mechanic.

 

[Robenstein]

My father has two bikes a 95 HD Low Rider and a 79 Honda CB750.

The HD has been a pretty good bike for 15 years old. It has needed only a starter and had some issues with the turn signals.

However, his 31 year old Honda has only needed the carbs cleaned once, and a stator. I guess you cant really complain about the basic maintenance like a new chain and sprocket every 20k miles.

Now I have a friend that has a late AMF era Sportster and it has been nothing but junk, and its low mileage. He is always having issues, especially with the valvetrain.

 

[boraticus]

Hey! Fixing them is half the fun right?

That's the line I usually get when ape's HD is all apart in his shed for three months at a time. I don't mind making adjustments or voluntary improvements etc. but complete engine re-builds or major engine repairs are another thing. For the amount of money he's pumped into his bike, he could have probably bought a new engine that would fit or even a newer Harley for that matter.

I really found it humorous when I dropped by on one day on one of my old '70s Yamahas to drop something off for his wife, to find him down on his knees in the shed with his bike all apart. His usual line is "I thought I heard that J#p cr#p pulling in." I replied, "Yeah, but I rode it here. It's not in pieces in my garage." He said "Yeah, my bike is old." I replied that his bike is four years newer than mine. Can't use that for an excuse.

His shed looks like some perverse saddo-masochistic sex aid shop with all of the walls covered in leather vests, chaps, tassels and posters of mean looking dudes resting against or on their Harleys. I find it funny yet very unsettling at the same time. Strange stuff indeed.

 

[Redline955]

Boraticus, why do you give a flying fook? If your friend loves to work on his HD's, which apparently he must, why deny him the enjoyment. To some, having a bike that alway's runs denies them the seat of the pants wrenching experience that a lot of us went through. If I hadn't had so many European bikes, my skills with a wrench wouldn't be anywhere near where they are today. I don't get the beefcake poster thing myself, but at 14 or 15 I did have a poster of Bridgett Bardot, in knee high black leather boots, straddling an old panhead (I think) on the wall in my BR.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Hey! Fixing them is half the fun right?




Not for him. He got stranded when riding back from Minneapolis on it when it broke and had to push it for 2 miles to hide from a coming thunderstorm in an underpass until I got there with a trailer.

After that he sold it and bought a used BMW that now has 80k miles on it with very little work.

 

[Silk]

Nice to own and ride a bike for that many years - but for me my riding has moved into so many different things that one bike couldn't cover them all.Certainly no a big block HD,but maybe a Sportster could.My current bike could easily be built around a Sportster,but for a same year and condition a Sportster costs twice as much as a BMW...not what I call value for money when the BMW is a better bike.

In 1992 I was living on Waiheke Island - not the place for a big block Harley bonnie john.

 

[bonnie john]

hi silk, i lived in castor bay for quite a few years before i came over here

got the hd at shaft when they were in otahuhu, really helpful, offered me a new jacket and helmet as a freebie. did a deal for $800 off, i paid about $24,ooo. about the same as a new small car back then

much more fun than a toyota or mazda

what did you do on waiheke? i used to drink an organic wine grown there, i think it was STONELEIGH VINYARDS, nice drop

 

[Silk]

I don't know if you know,but Shaft and Universal combined a few years ago to make a sort of super bike shop in Kyber Pass Rd.

I'm a mechanic,so that's what I did on Waiheke.A huge variety of work as no one took anything off the Island for repair.It was a tough stressful life though,wages were low and prices high,everyone did more than one job just to survive.Living in paradise isn't all it's cracked up to be.I wish I had of kept our place and rented it out,then rented in Auckland - it would be worth more than 10 times what we built it for in 1988 now.

The wines from Waiheke are some of the best in NZ,always getting awards.Too expensive for me....only had one glass I filched when over there.Not like the Daly wines I used to drink from West Auckland.

 

[bonnie john]

been there once

they're still holding a $200 deposit i put down for an '03 in 2000

prolly kiss it goodbye, still got the receipt though ...

ps used to do the "wine trail" through kumeu and henderson with the folks on sundays in the '60s and '70s

don't know how the heck we made it home to dairy flat m8

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Redline955
Boraticus, why do you give a flying fook? If your friend loves to work on his HD's, which apparently he must, why deny him the enjoyment. To some, having a bike that alway's runs denies them the seat of the pants wrenching experience that a lot of us went through. If I hadn't had so many European bikes, my skills with a wrench wouldn't be anywhere near where they are today. I don't get the beefcake poster thing myself, but at 14 or 15 I did have a poster of Bridgett Bardot, in knee high black leather boots, straddling an old panhead (I think) on the wall in my BR.


I don't give a flying fook. I just find it ironic that I'm riding a very reliable old Yamaha and he's calling it J#p cr#p when his Harley is in pieces all over his shed......again! Many of us like to wrench but I also like to ride.

Bridgette Bardot, most certainly. The beefcake thing is more than a little weird. Put the bike pics up, but, hey, who needs pics of dudes draped all over them? Especially with all of the leather accessories dangling off of the walls. Part of the cult I guess? To each his own.....