The Custom Is Done!!!!!

That's right the day has finally come. Friday the 16th I showed up to work and found the last piece to my puzzle sitting on my lift. My exhaust pipes that I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I opened the box feeling like it was Christmas morning examining each piece and admiring the handy work that had been done only to realize that I was missing a piece. I've waited two weeks for these pipes and they forgot to send one back. Of course my mood had totally changed. An hour had past before I had found out that the guys in the shop decided to have some fun with me. They thought it would be funny to hide a piece of my exhaust from me. What a great group of guys I work with! I was just happy to have my exhaust there all in one piece. So with great care I assembled the final pieces and man does the bike look good. I think it exceeded everyone's expectations, even my own.

Not done yet. I still had to break the motor in and take it for a test ride. Once I was done with the bike in the Dyno room it was time to take it out on the road. I couldn't wait to get it outside. I was not disappointed. The bike ran extremely well. It was very responsive and you could feel the torque come on quickly. That big twenty one inch tire up front handled very well. The other great thing about the bike is that it was turning some heads. I got a lot of looks. One guy almost rear ended the person in front of him while starring at the bike. I knew then that I had accomplished my goal.

Now it is time to share this creation that I pictured in my head 6 weeks ago. This Friday the 23rd of Nov. Adventure will be unveiling the motorcycle at noon. I am excited to see the response it will receive and hope to see a lot of people there. I would like to thank Mike Davis, and Jeff McInturff for giving me the freedom and budget to do this project. Also Monte for handling all the parts ordering, and Glenn for getting the exhaust in two days which was going to take three weeks. John Erwin for the super cool paint job. Thanks to all the other techs in the service dept. for their ideas and for hiding my exhaust! I haven't forgotten.

This winter the service department has been given the opportunity to do three custom motorcycles for the sales department to sell. Last year we built one custom Street glide. Now these are not one off OCC bikes built from the ground up but they are not your run of the mill Harleys that you see everyday either.The first bike we are building is an 2008 Street glide. I like the street glides because they are sportier than an Ultra but still give you saddle bags for storage with option for a detachable tour pak. This years bike will have a real race inspired feel. Think of the Night Rod Special and you will have an idea of what I am talking about. This bike will have a real hot rod feel to it. If you like black then this bike will not disappoint. This build started the first week of October. Once the bike was in I couldn't wait to start tearing it apart. I know, why tear a perfectly good brand new 08 bike apart? Because we can! Anyway, in a matter of a few days the bike was in many pieces to say the least. All the painted parts were sent out to be repainted, engine covers were sent out to be powder coated, and parts and accessories were ordered for the bike. Now it is a waiting game. Good thing I am not impatient!!!So, here it is the last week of October and the bike doesn't look much different than it did three weeks ago. I've learned some lessons during this built. When someone tells you'll have something in a week, you better figure two to three weeks. So those of you who are thinking of tackling a project like this don't be in a hurry. The good news is that my parts I sent out for powder coating will be here tomorrow. The rims and front end will be in at the end of this week. Painted pieces will be here in about another week. So it will probably be back together middle of November. Which still puts us about two weeks ahead of schedule. My personal goal was to have the bike done by Nov. 1st, but that is not realistic at this point.So stay tuned........

The 2008's are here.

I'm going to try to not make this sound too much like a commercial for the new 08 Harley lineup. But there is some cool new features on some of the new bikes. Mostly the touring models. How weird will it be not to have throttle cables anymore? That's right a fly by wire throttle system. I think it's pretty cool. At least until I have to take one apart. I'll have to get back to you on that one. No more lubing cables, or making adjustments. I'm all for that.

Here is a new feature you may not appreciate as a rider but the battery cables attach to the top of the battery instead of on the side. For me as a Technician I love it. It is so tight where the battery is, that trying to change one can be challenging. Especially when there is extra wires hooked to the batteries.

Okay, back to the cool stuff. Brembo brakes on the touring models. Not only do they look good but the stopping is better. Those of you have V-Rods now what I am talking about. Finally, optional ABS braking system on your Harley. This is a feature a lot of you are familiar with on your cars or trucks but it may seem a little weird feeling on your motorcycle. It is something that you need to get used to. It is definetly a feature that can mean the difference between putting your bike down or keeping the shinny side up.

Performance

Do you want to get more performance out of your ride? Well there are several ways and levels to do this. First, let's talk exhaust. Probably the first modification people make is slip on exhaust. They are cheaper than full exhaust and easy to install. Most people do it to change the sound of their bike. Your not going to really improve horse power or torque with this change. The good thing is you really don't have to change air cleaners either with most slip on mufflers. Nor will you have to retune your motorcycle.

Now if you go with a full exhaust system you will have to probably go with a high flow air cleaner. Not all exhaust are created equal either. There are a wide range of exhaust available out there. Choose wisely. Don't be afraid to talk to a service tech at your local dealership about which exhaust are best for your setup. Going by looks or sound isn't always the best way to choose the best exhaust for your bike. A full exhuast will change your air/fuel mixture so you will have to rejet a carb or remap your ECM if you have a fuel injected bike. Now I'm talking only Harleys here. There are several different ways of remapping your ECM. Depending on your configurations of pipes,air cleaner and motor work, which we will get into later, it may be as simple as a download in to your ECM from the dealership. You may also have to go to a seperate device such as a Screamin Eagle race tuner or a DynoJet powercommander. There are others on the market but these are what I am most familiar with. These also require time in the Dyno room to tune your motorcycle, and it is not cheap. Be prepared to pay for a few hours. You will see improved horsepower and torque from these modifications.

If you are looking for big increases in horsepower and torque then motor work is where you are going to find them. Bigger cams, bigger cylinders and pistons, high compression pistons, head work. But this is also the most costly. My suggestion is to do some research or ask questions to your local dealer about different configurations of motor work. They will be able to give you a good idea about the sort of numbers you will get out of certain configurations.

Another thing to keep in mind is whenever making big changes to your motorcycle you will also change things like fuel economy, runability issues, and engine life.

Battery Maintenance

How many times have you waken up for a big day of riding and you go to start your motorcycle and nothing? Okay maybe a few clicks. A dead battery! That's the worst. I'm gonna give you some tips on keeping your batteries in tip top shape.

First, if you don't have a "pig tail" on your battery, then what are you waiting for? If you don't know what I mean when I say "pig tail". I am referring to a plug that can be connected to your battery that will stay on your bike all the time. It is made to be plugged into a battery charger. But not just any charger. I'm talking about a smart charger. There are several different brands of chargers. The cool thing about these chargers are that they are small and they charge your battery to the appropriate voltage and then shut down. And if the voltage drops again it comes back on. This can give your battery a much longer life. Bikes these days are so advanced with more electronics and security systems. These systems can draw voltage from your battery even when the bike is turned off. These chargers are inexpensive and are a good investment, unless you like buying new batteries every year. And for you guys or gals that think starting up your motorcycle in the winter time letting it idle for few minutes helps charge your battery this is not the case.

Second, a clean battery is a healthy battery. I know you spend a lot of time cleaning your ride. Now you have to clean your battery too. Well probably not as often. It may sound impossible but dirt and debris on your battery can also draw voltage from it. So give it some attention. Also, your connections should be kept clean from corrosion. To help prevent this, some dielectric grease will work wonders.

Third, make sure those connections are tight! Even if a connection is a little loose you are asking for trouble. You can have a fully charged battery and your connections are loose you still get no power. This could send you on a wild goose chase of checking wires, and fuses. Here you had a loose battery cable all the time. Been there, done that!

If you are not sure of the condition of your battery, then I would take it to your local dealer and have it tested. Most places probably won't even charge you for this.

Syn 3 or not Syn 3

So what is Syn3? It is Harley Davidson's Screamin Eagle synthetic motorcycle lubricant. This is a full sythetic lubricant that can be used in all three cavities of Harley Davidson motorcycles. So, is Syn3 for you? Well, let's look at some of the key benefits of Syn3. Like I had mentioned before you can use it in the engine, primary chaincase, and the transmission. This gives the consumer the convenience of a muti-use product that will lessen the chance of mixing incompatible lubricants or filling a cavity with the wrong product. Another benefit of Syn3 over Harley's HD360 motorcycle oil is it's improved film strength for better wear protection, improved deposit control and overall performance.

So with this information you may be asking yourself, is Syn3 going to replace Harley's HD360 oil? Syn3 is not ment to replace HD360 but for Harley-Davidson to give consumers an alternative product. So, if you are the average Joe that keeps his or her motorcyle stock or maybe doesn't ride in hot climate applications HD360 oil may be fine for you. But, if you like your motorcycles bored out and like lots of horsepower and torque you may consider Syn3 as an alternative lubricant product that will keep those engines running smoothly.

Will Syn3 lengthen my service intervals? The answer is no. Harley-Davidson recommends that you still follow the proper service schedule found in your owner's manual. Although Syn3 is a high performance lubricant you still need to follow the regular service intervals so optimum performance is maintained for your motorcycle.

Another cool thing about Syn3 is that can put it in your new Harley without voiding your warranty. Syn3 is approved by Harley-Davidson for use in all stages of engine life and is not detrimental to the engine break-in cycle. If switching to Syn3 it is recommended to completely drain all cavaties that are going to be filled. Syn3 is not to be mixed with other lubricant products.

Not all of Harley Davidson powertrains can use Syn3. The only powertrains Syn3 should be used in is the Evolution XL, Evolution 1340, Twin Cam 88, Twin Cam 96(all displacements), Revolution and all Buell models. All other powertrains are not recommended to use Syn3 because Harley-Davidson did not test Syn3 in these engine configuration.

Another difference between Syn3 and Hd360 is price. Your looking at a four dollar per quart price difference between the two. Syn3 retails at $9.95 per quart, where as HD360 oil retails at $5.95 per quart.

Please feel free to leave your comments and questions.