Build a Harley

[SVRACER01]

i think you can disconnect the fuel line from the induction module and then just turn the key on. fuel pump should just pump it all out. ill double check that on tuesday.

[klp]

Great build and this has been fun to watch. I built a POS chopper this winter, not done but close so I appreciate the fab work you are doing.

I am not a pro but in the front wheel pic the axle lies behind the fork - I think this is caster? I know many bikes allow the axle to fit directly below the leg or close to it. Leading type axles with the axle in front of the fork is also pretty common, more so on dirt bikes. I don't know if I have ever seen the axle behind the wheel, I am thinking this will make the bike ultra stable but lazy in turns.

Is that something you have considered? Carry on!

[tls25rs]

Pretty sure the axle will be in front of the wheel when he is done. Just the way the forks were leaned up against whatever it is they are leaned against for the photo. Calipers mount on the back side of the forks. Sure James will clarify though.

[union]

Axle will be out front. Its just leaned against a table to show what it look like when I get it finished.

[union]

Things have been progressing a little slow lately but stuff is still happening.

The seat from Sick Saddles arrived. I don't know if its fair to the new seat to compare it to the Harley seat. Its light years ahead of it in looks and comfort. I got it with the leather upgrade and the gel memory foam upgrade.





Of course being the kind of person I am I couldn't leave it alone. The mounting bracket on the new seat is different then the one on the stock seat. The harley mounting bracket has a coating on it and is clamped in place as opposed to screwed in. It's a clean set up and there are no screw heads to scratch the paint. The bracket on the sick saddles seat is raw metal and is held in with screws. It's just as effective to attached the seat but the exposed screws are a potential gouge in the paint.



My quick solution was to cut up bicycle tube and wrap the bracket.









I also have some 3M clear film on the way to help protect the fender.

Seat on the bike.





The last thing I took care of this weekend was the installation of the "quiet" baffles.



I did it with the pipes on the bike. Would have been much easier to do this before they were put on but I guess you live and learn sometimes. They didn't have as much of an effect as I was hoping for but it's an improvement.

Due for delivery on Tuesday is my Ginz sissy bar. The shocks might be in this week but we will see. We have a race weekend coming up so after we are done with that I'm hoping we have time to figure out the front end and come up with a clamp design.

[zombie]

I really like your work
very clean and lots of attention to detail.
Looking forward to seeing the front end transplant.
here's my little bobber I finished, 68 triumph bonny

[union]

I really like your work
very clean and lots of attention to detail.
Looking forward to seeing the front end transplant.
here's my little bobber I finished, 68 triumph bonny

Sweet looking bike. How is it to ride after 10min?

[zombie]

Sweet looking bike. How is it to ride after 10min?

it's a bone shaker thats for sure. I just use it for bopping around locally
the sprung seat works well tho

[union]

The last of the obvious visual stuff has arrived and been installed.

Ginz Hellbent Monolith sissy bar. It was well worth the price and the wait. Mirror chrome.



Detachable hardware for it



On the bike





I have an idea for a pad for my wife that Ed from Sick saddles will help me out with. I'm going to keep that quiet for now.

Still waiting on Ohlins. They told us maybe this week. As I've said in previous posts once the shocks are here and on I can then figure out the front. Also waiting on a new master cylinder for the front brake to show up. Going with a Brembo 15rcs.

[cdovego]

I have an idea for a pad for my wife that Ed from Sick saddles will help me out with. I'm going to keep that quiet for now.

giggity

[union]

Today was paint protection day. The new seat has exposed screws which I covered in bike tube but I wanted a bit more protection for the rear fender. I bought a small roll of 3M clear bra and the supplies to make my own piece.



The area I'm looking to protect.




Figuring out the pattern.







Pattern done



Time to transfer the pattern to the 3m film





All cut out.



Here's where I wish I could say it all went on with no issue. That wasn't the case. I couldn't get the original pattern to lay smooth. No matter what I did I got creases in it. It was partly due to being a bit too wide and my inexperience in doing this. I went back and narrowed the pattern a bit but still kept it wide enough to protect what I wanted.



Overhead view after the film was installed.



Close up of a seam. You need to know to look for it and it wasn't easy to get.



In the end the cutout was not perfect. It was best I could do by hand. I don't think anyone will see it once it dries and I get the seat on. Overall I'm happy with the outcome.

Got some more good news on Wednesday. Shocks finally made it across the ocean and I should have them in hand on Monday. If work cooperates I should have time to install them this coming weekend.

[union]

Sticking with this weekends theme of making patterns I made a pattern for a pad for the sissy bar. I sent off the measurements to Ed at sick saddles and hopefully soon he will get back to me with saying he is good to go with it.

Anyway here it is.





It's going to be made to match the seats which are outstanding.

[union]

The ups guy was nice to me today.

Shocks finally showed up





It's going to be a long week waiting to install these.

[PainfullySlow]

Badass looking build that I am just now catching up on. I love your attention to detail and thoughtfulness that is going into your build. Too many HD riders just through everything from the Kuryakyn catalog on it and call it 'custom'.

I did a HD build myself not too long ago as well. It looks like you have everything well in hand but if you have any questions feel free to ask. I am no HD expert, but maybe it is something that I came across during my build.

Here is mine when I bought it:



and here is how she sits now:

[union]

Today was shock install day.

What the stock shocks look like on the bike.



First thing that gets done is a current ride height measurement.



Next before you life the wheel off the ground break the bolts and nuts loose.



Shock comparison.



The installation was pretty straight forward. A couple of parts ohlins sent were not used. They sent a specialty spacer that was supposed to cover a nut on the stud but Harley must have changed the shape of the stud so that wasn't used.

The new shocks are significantly longer which cause a small issue. The bottom mount now fouled with the exhaust. I ended up adjusting the ride height adjustment all the way in and changed how the spacer order went. Even with the adjuster all the way in I still gained 44mm of rear ride height.



Outside and 100% buttoned up.



Next weekend I'll tackle the front brakes. I was hoping to get them done this weekend but the pieces haven't arrived yet. I have a new master cylinder on the way. Looking for a bit more feel from them.

[union]

Its been a while since I've updated this but work has been done.

Phase one on the front end upgrade

New Brembo 15 RCS master cylinder



Old brake system comes apart and off.









Now that the brake system was off I decided to tackle the the brake light switch.

New switch that works with the Brembo master.



Switch housing opened up and old switch was cut out.





Brake light wire ready for new connectors.



New connectors installed.



Rubber grommet to line the hole in the switch housing to prevent wire from chaffing.





Ready to accept the new light switch



Now on the the hydraulics.

Since the fluid is new I don't need to flush the system. At the moment I'm reusing the brake caliper. To ease the bleeding of the new components I pumped up the brake caliper until the pads touched.



The original plan was the reuse the brake line along with the caliper. Of course with Harley being Harley they used two different sized banjo bolts and line fittings. The smaller of the two bolts went to the caliper and the other went to the master. If it were the other way around or if they used two small bolts then I could have used the line over.



Now I get to make a new line. Luckily I had the stuff needed for it.



New system together and ready for bleeding. This is where I pushed the brake pads back which in turn force the fluid out of the caliper, up through the new line, and then into the new master. Now minimal bleeding is needed.



New brake system is installed on the bike and ready for a final bleeding to get good lever feel.







This is where I find out Harley is once again being a bit special. Unlike pretty much every other manufacturer their brake light switch turns the lights one when its pressed rather then released. With the new switch the lights are on when the lever is not being used and then they turn off when the lever is squeezed. I'll be contacting Brembo this week to see if they make the other style switch.

[union]

Now it was on to the backing for the sissybar pad. Originally I was going to send the pattern I made to Ed at sick saddles but in the end I decided to make the backing myself so I could get the mounting points correct before I sent it out to get covered. This way I wont ruin the cover but trying to drill holes through it for mounting points.

Bought a 1/4 inch sheet of high density plastic



Pattern I made is on and ready for transfer.



[

Once I had it transferred over I rough cut it out with a jig saw.




I didn't take any photo of the fine tuning process but I just took it over to the wheel sander and cleaned it up and fine tuned it.

Next I figured out the placement of the fasteners. I used 1/2 inch emt clamps and well nuts to attach it to the bar.



Mocked up on the bike. Yes I know I'm missing one fastener. I "lost" one of the well nuts which later happened to be in my pocket.





This week I'll get it shipped out to Ed at sick saddles and hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have a nice back pad that matches the seats he made me.

Last thing I did this week was to install a new led headlight. I went the cheaper route and just bought a conversion bulb.



New bulb next to old bulb.



It was a bit of a pain to get the new bulb into the stock bucket but it did go in.

Original light in a dark garage.



I'll get a photo of the new light in the same spot when I get the bike back home. That will also mean I figured out the brake light switch.

[union]

Because Harley set their brake light switch to work opposite of just about everyone else today was make a brake light switch day.

Most important was to get a switch that would work. After some google searches I found I wasn't the only person to have such an issue and I was directed to mcmaster carr where I purchased this.




Best part is it can be wired for normally opened or normally closed circuits. The bad part is it is a bit larger then the micro switch that brembo supplies and it doesn't mount up to the mounting points on the master cylinder.

Got out the supplies I needed and bought some 3m VHB tape to mount it with. If you're hot familiar with this, it is used in industrial applications where traditional fasteners like bolts can't be used. The longer it sits the stronger the adhesion gets.



Harley requires a normally open switch to work with the brembo master. So here it is wired appropriately.



A bit of insulation on the terminals and the switch is ready to be mocked in place.



In place and ready for final fitment.



Now the switch is completed and ready to be installed.



Here it is installed and ready to go.



In the end it came out looking better then I expected. You have to know to look to see it. I'm happy with the outcome but I'm still hopeful brembo has the switch I'm looking for.

The backing for my sissy bar pad arrived at sick saddles on Friday. Ed got back to me pretty quick and hopefully soon I have a pad ready to go that matches my seat. I'm using 1/2 inch emt clamps to attach it to the sissy bar. I used black plasti dip to coat them. No photos right now but if there is enough demand I can get them before I install the completed pad.

[union]

Today I decided to tackle the oil cooler. I was going to wait until I was closer to my first service mileage but the thread about corrosion behind the derby cover got me curious about mine. No point in opening it up without actually changing the oil.

Here is the Jagg slim line oil cooler going on my bike.





Old engine and primary oil out.



I was a lot cleaner then I expected. Not much debris at all.

I used a piece of step flashing to help with the mess of removing the oil filter.





Derby cover removed and there is a little bit of corrosion. Seems to be a common thing. I think next time I take it off I'll put a little never seize on the bolts and hope that helps a bit.



Back to installing the oil cooler.

Need to take it apart in order to get the offset mount on.



Back half on. Finger tight at this point



Front half on with the anti rotation bracket in place.



At this point the front half comes off and the back half gets tightened in position. Then the gasket is placed in between and the front half is installed again.

Radiator in place





Now to cut hoses to length.





Buttoned up and ready to ride. Just need to fill the primary.



Only got a quick 10min ride in with it so I don't know how affective it is yet.

Looks like the front end for my bike will be pushed off until this winter. The shop has been very busy so i haven't had much time to figure out the parts I need to make. At this point I don't want to have too much down time for the bike during prime riding season.

[SVRACER01]

not trying to be negative but, oil cooler is completely pointless around here. if you lived in the Mojave desert then that would be a different story. your bike though...

[dbdesigns]

Where's all the custom parts

[breakdirt916]

not trying to be negative but, oil cooler is completely pointless around here. if you lived in the Mojave desert then that would be a different story. your bike though...

road trip time

[union]

Sissy bar pad from Sick Saddles arrived yesterday. It is exactly what I was looking for and matches perfectly.

[xrocket21]

that looks great, and comfy as hell!!!

[union]

that looks great, and comfy as hell!!!

And you were disappointed in the beginning.

Next installment

This weekend I put on a new high flow air cleaner. It wasn't part of my original plan since peek performance wasn't what I;m looking for in this bike but I figured I have gone this far I might as well continue along.

I guess first I'll start with a profile with the stock cleaner. Visually I liked the stock cover. It has the retroish look I'm looking for.



A close of of the stock cover for comparison.



I ordered a DK Customs 587 complete kit. Shipping was pretty fast. Ordered on Tuesday and had it in my hands on Friday.



First stock cover had to come off. Pretty straight forward. Just a few bolts.



On with the new air cleaner.

First new gasket and mounting plate.



Now the mounting plate for the filter.



Fitting up the air element and the hoses for the breather that I got with it.



Deciding on where to put the breather element was probably the hardest part. Enough hose is included to put the filter pretty much anywhere on the bike. The issue I ran into was no matter where I tried to hide the filter I couldn't get the hose away from the exhaust. I decided to place the filter just below the air cleaner. I do have enough hose left over to change its location if I want to in the future.



New cover installed and now just some auto tune runs to go.



I forgot to order a rain sock for the filter so I went back ordered one of those, another filter and a different style cover in case I feel like changing the look.