By Hermskii's Request: Spam Post #1 (And off-topic, too!)

[a nameless entity]

Congratulate Me:

1) I've had a persistant oil leak on the underside of my bike for several years. It never amounts to much, because the oil level in the tank never goes down any faster than normal. But as you may know, a little bit of oil goes a long way when towards making a mess. It got worse this year, and my bike actually "marks it's spot" on occaision when I park it someplace during a stop over, which is a new thing. (Stop right there. Evolution & later engined Harley's DO NOT leak oil. -Ask me if I care what Shovelheads & earlier did. ) Kitty litter spread around the bike's parking spot in the garage last Spring to monitor the situation always shows four or five small drops. I have identified a spot in the engine cases that weeps a little oil, -the bike is 20 years old after all, but that's not it. I long suspected the oil pump gasket, and now I have proof. After all this time, a small piece has blown out enough to be noticeable, and there was oil all around the spot, and the pattern of oil on the underside matches the leaky spot. So at long last I've found it. I know where the leak is. Oh happy day.
-If the leak is on the sump scavenge side of the oil pump, it's not serious.
-If the leak turns out to be on the top end supply side, this could get serious.
But since everything has held up so well for about 5 years, I'll put off the repair until next Spring.

2) I'm not sure that all the oil drippage is necessarily from the oil pump. I have been noticing that the rubber stopper on the oil tank dipstick has shrunk over the last 12-15 years, which is when I bought a replacement for the stock unit. The new one has this nice thermometer built into it. I was able to get a new old stock item, -at a modern price. But the oil leak down the side of the oil tank from the oil misting past the old plug has been, er, plugged!

3) The oil filter on an FXRS model Harley Davidson is fitted underneath the bike. It mounts on a plate that accepts the oil line from the sump. The oil is then pumped through the filter, and goes into another hose which returns it to the oil tank. It's a good idea to occaisionally tighten this oil filter mounting plate. The bolt for it is well hidden just in front of the swing arm pivot, and it is a good idea to do this chore late in the day, so that the suns rays are at a low enough angle that they shine right into the spot and light it up nicely, rather than hiding it in dark shadows as they do earlier in the day. Of course it's now easy to see the bolt head, but the reach is so tight that as soon as you put your hand in there you are blocking your own view. The first time I ever did this chore it took quite a while to figure out which size wrench was correct, since it all had to be done by feel.
So there I was today, wondering which bloody size of wrench I needed as it's been so long since I last did this chore. Then I decided to see if I'd written this tid bit of information down in the maintenance hand book I keep in the garage. I turned to the section on oil changing, and sure enough, I had written down the size I needed after doing this the very first time, maybe more than 10 or even 15? years ago. 9/16!

Damn, I'm good!

So there you have it. My very first spam post in this forum. Those of you who have actually read the whole thing may reward yourself with a nice cold beer! (Under age members please substitute a can of soda pop.)

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Harley's are best. @@#$%^&* the rest.

[a nameless entity]

Oh yeah, and while I was at it I also replaced the rubber boots that go on the metal footpegs. These seem to need to be replaced about every 5 years or so. So I guess I'm now on my 4th or 5th pair.
I was pleased to see that the new ones are made in USA. The previous pair were surprisingly sourced from Taiwan, even though they were sold as "Genuine" Harley parts at the dealership. And they didn't fit as well as the made in USA ones had always done. Sliding a new rubber boot on the footpeg should require lots of spit as a temporary lubricant, and still be a pain in the @ss to fit, so that it will be tight enough. The made in Tai-fwording-wan set required glue to hold them in place, and it took me a damn long time to find a type of glue that would hold for more than just a few rides.
These new ones look like they've addressed the issue of looseness, so hopefully my brand new made in USA parts will do the job without any hassles.

[Hermskii]

That rules. I have a question. You gave a date that you wrote down the size of the bolt you never could remember which wrench fit it. Question 1. Was it a standard size or metric? 2. What was the date you wrote it down so many years ago. Last question: Did you actually fix this already or are you still planning on doing it in the spring? I lied. 1 more question: DId you ever inquire aboutthe shoe peg covers being made outside of the US and being labeled Guinuine???

Sorry I had to move this over here. Be sure to look and see what I put in it's place. It is titled "Hahahaha" over in the CG forum.

I always owned Honda Motorcycles. I never had one leak unless you count the time I wrecked my 85 Honda VFF 700F doing 75 on a 25mph max safe speed exit in Charleston South Carolina back in 1989. The radiator leaked coolant from a return pipe that was crushed on the right side along whith everthing else. I still was able to ride it home that night though I had no clutch, no mirrors, no lights and obviously no good sense in that I wrecked racing my buddy while we were both drunk. Neither of us won as we both wrecked and he ended up going to the hospital later that night.

[a nameless entity]

9/16!

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Harley's are best. @@#$%^&* the rest.

Upwards of ten years ago. Or more. I don't remember. This is the 20th riding season for my scoot. I had a full size shop manual thrown in with the deal for the bike. I use it for reference. I then bought the smaller maintenance manual to use in the garage. It's greasy and has notes scrawled in the margins on many of the pages.
I tightened that bolt yesterday evening.

20 years ago, Harley had two product lines for their bikes. "Genuine" parts which they promised would always be made in USA (with some exceptions), and "Screamin' Eagle" parts which would be sourced in Asia so that they could be offered at a lower price. For example there were for some time "Genuine" oil filters made in USA, and "Screamin' Eagle" oil filters made in Taiwan, which cost a couple of bucks less. The genuine filter had 8 holes around the perimeter for oil flow, the cheap one only had four. You could see the difference in quality too, although both fit the same.
Somewhere along the way over the years, "Screamin' Eagle" has come to refer solely to Harley's performance parts. And "Genuine" parts that used to be sourced in the USA are not necessarily sourced there any more. The foot peg rubber I bought this week is made in USA again, but the dip stick with the thermometer in it I bought is made in Taiwan. Both are lablelled "Genuine".
If I challenged Harley on this I'd be wasting my breath, as a lot of Harley parts have not been made in the USA for over 30 years. ie. They've been using Japanse shocks and forks since the '70's at least.

[twsted]

any pics of your bike a nameless entity?

[a nameless entity]

How's my avatar?

[K]

Oh how i hate you now.
I have a bike too. Its not working , It needs some parts and a rebuild kit. But i cant find them any where. I miss rideing that bike so much. Mine isn't a Harley though. I would much rather have a Harley.

Mine is a Kawasaki Ninja 600ZXR. Its a big dissmantled mass takeing up space in my garage. I wish i had money to fix it.