American-V
» FILTERING: THE NEWS You at the back, stop picking your nose and tell me the next major improvement to a Harley’s oiling after the recirculating system brought in with the ’36 Model E? Yes, that’s right, an oil filter. You could certainly add one to a generator motor, once people realised it would be a good idea to filter out any nasties, having scavenged the oil from the sump.. And you still can, ether by hanging a canister off the side of the bike, or now with this decide that bolts on where a generator would ordinarily live – presupposing that the generator has been replaced by a later alternator. W&W 52-314 W&W 52-317
for 1986-90 H-D Sportster, S&S P, SH, Superstock & Buell. H-D Knuck / Pan & S&S KN
www.wwag.com
PUMP IT UP
We’ve had years of tricky bolton air-rides for Softails now and years of air-suspension as standard on the Tourers, but for some reason there’s not been a big rush to use the compressor of the former to control the settings of the latter. That’s changed now, which will add a whole new level of sophistication to the Tourer: not to make it go up and down, but to be able to adjust the bagger for different loads. The Mini-Air control’s compressor has a pressure gauge and is designed to mount to one of the shocks, making sure you leave access to the built-in switches, and it’s reckoned you could fit it in fifteen minutes. Zod 734479 Zodiac Bagger Mini Air Control for Touring Models www.zodiac.nl
PM BELT UP Storehouse have been stocking-up, on belt drive primaries from Performance Machine of late, including their new Contour open belt system. Supplied in a chrome, polished, black anodized or the stunning Contrast Cut finish for a host of applications from PM’s Phatail wide tyre set-up to stock applications – 1991-2006 Softails, 2007-to-date Softails excluding the Rockers, and now one for the 08-on Rocker – there should be something there to suit whatever you’re doing ... providing it’s a Softail, of course. So many variations, in fact, that they didn’t have space to write them all down ... or forgot, so for more data see your local Storehouse dealer. www.mcseurope.nl
Important: Check Your Laced Wheels Without wanting to start a panic, if you’re running an original 16-inch laced steel wheel in the front or back of your Harley-Davidson, we want you to check your wheels – especially if you’re about to change your tyres. There have been a couple of rim failures, brought to our attention by BaZa® Bloxham whose own 2003 Road King Classic suffered just such a failure, and we want to try and work out if there is any common denominator between them. There is no suggestion that there is a manufacturing defect, but the failures are potentially serious enough to cause a loss of control so we are taking it seriously. BaZa is collating details from the Rider’s Club website, and we’re covering it here to make sure we get as big a control group as possible: the more responses, the more integrity the data will have. And if nothing else, we will hopefully help to reinstate a safety check that is easy to forget – removing the rim tape and inspecting the rims. And the inspection? You are looking for a build-up of rust around the circumference of the rim, not across the profile. This isn’t the sort of rust you’d be cleaning off the outside of the rim, but that has come through from the inside: for example if the chrome is lifting though the steel beneath bubbling. It is far easier to see any problems with the tyre off, when you can check the state of the steel beneath the rim tape, but it can be done with the wheel and tyre in situ. If you have any doubts as to what you’re looking
at, tap the rim with a spanner at various locations round the rim, and listen for a marked change in tone: check the state of the metal near the different tone Pay particular attention on baggers, because many people won’t remove the panniers from one tyre-change to another, so it could go unnoticed. Yes, it will be a pain in the backside because the mudguard, belt and brake rotor will all get in the way, but make the time to check it. Please note this only applies to steel, laced wheels only. If you’ve got a mate with a bike lift, go and see them and make life easier on yourself. And if you can think of anyone else who might struggle, take them with you. The more the merrier. If you’ve had to replace a tube because it was damaged by rust, you should already realise that you’ve got a problem. Why shouldn’t you panic? Because currently the cases are isolated, don’t affect a particular model or year, and there doesn’t appear to be any trends. If we can spot a trend, we can make sure people are aware. What’s the worst than can happen? The rim could develop a split, which could puncture the tube, or unseat the tyre. The next worse thing is that you’ll have to stump-up for another wheel. In most cases, it’s a problem that can be fixed by getting rid of any rust when changing tyres – a good stiff wire brush will do the trick – and ideally a an anti-rust paint: it will only become a problem if it is left untreated. If you can see daylight, it’s too far gone and you owe BaZa a beer.
The information we want is: • Model? • Year of manufacture? • Current mileage? • Number of previous owners? • Are they the original wheels? • Average length of time (or mileage) between tyre changes? • What tyres used? (If not Dunlop, do you adjust the tyre pressures?) • Who changes them? • Are new tubes used when changing tyres? • Is the rim tape renewed when changing tyres? • What sort of inspection made: internal / external and visual / audible? • Is a visual inspection carried out of the INSIDE of the wheels at tyre change? • What was the result of the inspection: BaZa has now fitted a Fat Boy wheel to the back of his Road King. Send your responses to wheelsurvey@americanv.co.uk and we’ll forward them to BaZa, or else go to the HDRCGB’s online forum and enter your details there: simply (simply?) type the following address in your browser www.harley-davidson-hangout.com/forum/hdrcgbgeneral/75837-survey-wheels-rusting-q.html
66American-V.co.uk American-V.co.uk
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