Team Green Pit Crew At Work
Road Captain USA
A Blog for Motorcycle Enthusiasts Since 2008
Dark Custom Sinister Low Rider
Christmas presents from Diana! She is the best isn’t she?! I wouldn’t spend a dime on cosmetic accessories but Christmas is a time to buy the ones you love something special they wouldn’t normally indulge in. So my wife got me these cool Dark Custom accessories for my 2007 Dyna Low Rider. The air cleaner cover on the left took several months to come in after being special ordered.
Here are the before pictures:
The air cleaner cover is kind of funky the way it goes on. I didn’t think it was the right part. I had to make sure with Doug the Service Manager at Rommel Harley-Davidson and ask him how it went on. I was also surprised to find out the decorative timer cover really doesn’t cover anything at all except a hollow compartment. The derby cover requires the new flat round gasket part# 25416-99C.
Here is the novice mechanic at work wearing one of his Dark Custom caps (I should have worn my black one):
Here is the primary side with new derby cover:
Everything went smoothly except… one of the screw holes in the timer cover… the threads just disintegrated. I didn’t apply any pressure and they just stripped right out. I’m glad this is strictly a cosmetic cover but the imperfection is driving me crazy! Please tell me what to do to fix this using the original screw and not tapping new threads.
The motorcycle is looking evil and somewhat sinister and definitely dark and is now a little custom. So now the Transformer has become the Dark Sinister Evil Custom Low Rider with lots of practical removable accessories like saddlebags, windshield and sissybar.
Thanks for the presents babe! I love you because you make me omelets for breakfast every weekend, make the best ice cream deserts with strawberries and chocolate and caramel and whip cream, plan the best road trips and buy me cool presents like these. And you encouraged me to buy my first Harley-Davidson and always go for my dreams. Almost at the five year mark! I think you’re a keeper!
Multi-Fit Derby Cover Dark Custom - Part# 25562-09
Multi-Fit Timer Cover Dark Custom - Part# 32414-09
Multi-Fit Dark Custom Air Cleaner Cover - Part# 61300057
Sucker Turkey Tube
So you want to know how to get good oil out of a slightly overfilled Harley-Davidson engine? Or rather you want to know how I did it!
The night before I did my first Harley-Davidson oil change on my own we were at a First State HOG dinner and dance. I was telling our chapter maintenance guru about some issues I was having with my Dodge truck and how it had too much steering fluid in the steering reservoir. I had bought some clear tubing at Home Dept for $4.00 to siphon it off. My mentor told me not to do that! He said to go to the grocery store and buy a turkey baster for less than $2.00 and suck out just the exact amount! A lot easier and more accurate!
So I’m doing my first Harley oil change and I fill my motorcycle with too much oil! I’m freak’n out big time! I’m explaining frantically to Diana this is a big deal! It’s not like I can fit a turkey baster into that little hole and bend it around inside the engine and suck out the oil!!!! What am I gonna dooo?! My motorcycle is gonna be ruined!!! I’ll blow the valves or something horrible!
So I now have a turkey baster and clear tubing for the Dodge and a light bulb goes off in my sick demented head! The next day I cut off a foot long length of clear tubing and squeezed it into the opening of the turkey baster. Then I fed the tubing down into my engine and sucked up the oil 1/4 oz at a time for several hours until my oil was at the dead nuts on correct level. So that’s how I stuck a turkey baster into a small hole to suck up unwanted lubricant! Sounds like something out of that new American Pie movie. “One time at band camp…”
Motorcycle Maintenance Mishap
So the first time I change my fluids without my mentor supervising I make a dumb mistake. I fill according to the service manual spec and just before almost dumping in all the specified oil I stop a few ounces shy to check the oil. Too late! I don’t understand it!!!! Why is there too much oil in the tranny? Then I do it again in the engine! After my motorcycle maintenace mishap Diana does hers and she hits it dead nuts on in all three chambers! She rocks! We have a lot of left over oil because the motorcycles don’t take all the recommended amount. Not sure why. Maybe I didn’t warm them up enough to facilitate the drainage of the oil. I dunno! So now I have too much oil in my tranny and engine and freak’n out because I’m going to ruin my motorcycle! I can’t sleep that night knowing it’s not right. After a sleepless night I did figure out how to correct the fluid levels and get them just right. I’m not ready to tell you how. Maybe in the next post. First you tell me what you would do if I came to you for help; besides take my tools away. How do you remove good oil from an overfilled motorcycle engine?
Zen and the Stupid Mistakes
Did Zen ever make any mistakes when he was practicing the art of motorcycle maintenace? Back when I was a kid riding dirt bikes with my best friend Marc we used to make a lot of dumb moves wrenching on our motorcycles. Once Marc stripped his spark plug hole. He tried to glue the spark plug into the cylinder head with Crazy Glue. The spark plug shot out like a missile the first time he tried to kick start the Honda. The projectile almost hit me in the head! Marc’s older brother was an ace mechanic at the local Kawasaki dealer and always came to our rescue. Unfortunately I still screw up and make some dumb moves. Like the time I connected a new battery in my first Sportster negative to positive and positive to negative. Fried that sucker! Made a nasty nasty smell! That’s why I hate working on my newer Harley-Davidson motorcycle! A few years later I have picked up my tools again to do my own motorcycle maintenance for financial reasons. I have also come to realize if you want to know it was done right then you have to do it yourself. This way you also know if it was done wrong. Regardless, you know what was done! I recently made another dumb move but before I disclose it and embarrass myself, please tell me your dumbest motorcycle maintenace mistake story?
What Tires You?
What tires you like and why? How much pressure do you use? How often do you check you tires? When and how do you check them?
I run the stock Harley Dunlops on my Dyna Low Rider at the recommended 30 in the front and 36 in the back for one up motorcycle riding. I measure cold at home. I check often in the beginning of the season and taper off towards the end. I fill them at home with either a small portable or large shop compressor. When they are punctured, I replace them. I run tubeless so I can patch them if I’m on a ride and get a flat. I replace the damaged tire as soon as possible. I hate paying to replace a tire that had plenty of tread left but you gotta do what you gatta do! Whatta you do?
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