We limit access by GUESTS to protect our members from spam, hacks and trolls. Please register to gain access to all our resources.
Posted by lumper
- May 25, 2011, 15:52:31 PMHi all,
So it all came together today.
After running out of gs on the highway this morning, my day shaped up and I came home to find my jack had arrived, so I swapped out the wheel and all is well
The bad news is by the time I got it all together and had today only to do it, I didn't bother with anything else.
Plus I caused a whole new problem I need some help with, lol.
I accidentally snapped one of the nuts/bolts that bolt the exhaust to the motor.
IT is tight enough that I dont have much of a leak and I can ride for a little while, but obviously this will not do, so I need to know how to replace the stud I snapped.
It looks like I can knock it through the other side and then replace it with a new one and get a new acorn nut to go with it?
I hope?
After doing this though, I see it is a nice easy little job, so I will plan on pulling the fender again and the wheel and then doing the brakes, and the gear oil and a good cleaning in there.
I have to work again in the morning and I didn't have any cash left after running out of gas this morning so I decided to just put it back together, make sure I did it right and then I can worry about it either next week or after Bike week.
I am going to pull the motor after Bike week anyway to do a rear valve cover gasket so I will go through everything at that point.
I decided I am even going to take the rear fender to a friend who has a body shop and have him smooth it all out and shoot it to match so when I relocate my plate and tail light there wont be any evidence of it ever having been on the rear fender.
I have an interview tomorrow for a different job that i really want to get and be done with the Harley sales thing, I love the bikes but I hate sales and remember why i got out of sales years ago.
thats another story, but I needed the bike to be able to run me 50 miles tomorrow early before work to see about this other job and now I can.
I am just glad this all worked out.
I got lucky with the wheel and tire being in such good shape and so cheap and the fact the it was a bolt on and go job made my life a lot easier.
I still have to take this other one to a shop and investigate and then either fix the rim or pull my tire and tube for a spare.
Thanks again for all your help.
I hope not but I know it wont be long before I am panicked about some new calamity, lol.
Thats just how it goes for me, but I really enjoy in this case as I am learning a lot about my bike.
Thank for everything, and if you know anything about replacing that stud for the exhaust to motor mount, please do tell.
Lump
Posted by lumper
- May 20, 2011, 20:44:20 PMthanks Troll.
I will def change the gear oil while I am at it.
The wheel doesn't have the disc so I am going to use mine, I was going to check the pads and if they are getting close I figured I would change them while I was at it but not if they are looking good.
The job is pretty cool.
The guy who I work for owns 8 or 9 dealerships and has a patent pending on his methods for running the dealership, he actually sells the concept to other dealerships and trains them in it and they then use his system, lol.
IT is interesting, fun though and something I Can do.
I hate sales hours which is why I got out of sales in the first place years ago and started my own business, but at this point with my back I dont have a lot of options so I am going to make the best of it and enjoy the fun parts and ignore the rest and see how long I can make it work.
Thanks again,
Lump
Posted by Troll
- May 20, 2011, 20:12:58 PMThe wheel bearings are sealed units, and shouldn't need any actual maintenance, unlike the earlier H-Ds that used normal cone bearings (that were actually outer wheel bearings from a Chevrolet). Late model H-Ds use sealed bearings now, too. If I were you, while I had it jacked up, I would dump the final drive oil. 80-90 gl 5, and not much of it, so unlike the cars that often have 2 quarts of 80-90, you have like 1/2 pint. Does your "new" wheel have the brake disc on it? Unless you are going to replace the pads while it's apart, I would transfer the disc from the old wheel to the new one. It takes about 100 miles to bed in new pads, and replacing the disc with a strange one might cause the pads excessive wear, or they may never bed in properly and start to squeal, and not generate the stopping power they are designed for. Good luck with the new job. I worked for an H-D dealer for a while before going back to cars, and it is an interesting experience.
Posted by lumper
- May 20, 2011, 19:55:20 PMWell my wheel shipped today, scheduled to arrive Tuesday so in the meantime maybe Sunday I can find time to go out and take off the fender and get ready.
As soon as my new jack arrives I am going to take it off and investigate.
I found a wheel off a 99 vulcan, and it has the same exact tire I have now and the tread looks really good, same valve stem, and the wheel itself looks great and straight so I got pretty lucky in that respect, 180.00 shipped with the tire, I thought that was pretty cheap.
With this new job it is going to be hard to find time to do alot of things I was able to do before so this way I can just paint the new wheel when it arrives and then pop it on so I am back on the road and not having to wait until I figure out what I can do with this wheel.
That way I will have a backup once I determine if mine can be fixed and it looks like it can be in my opinion but I need to look a lot closer.
I also bought wheel bearings and brake pads I figure while I am in there may as well take the preventative route and do it all at once.
We have had 7 days in a row of rain and today was the first day that it only rained for part of the day, so I haven't missed any riding at all, lol.
If I hurry and get this wheel on I can get back on the road never having lost a riding day to the wheel, only to the weather.
P.S>
I have now ridden every 2011 and 2010 model Harley that is out and I can honestly say I fit better on my drifter than any of the Harley's and I like my bike even more now after having been able to try the bikes I always wondered about but never had an opportunity to ride.
Although I really like the cross bones and that sporty 48 I wouldn't trade my bike for either one.
Lump
Posted by Troll
- May 17, 2011, 07:43:49 AMGood for you. Hope everything works out. I would really like to see the damage on the wheel. It's kind of a forensics thing...figure out what happened....this kind of stuff doesn't occur in a vacuum.
Posted by lumper
- May 16, 2011, 20:53:56 PMTroll, my new job is keeping me from having the time to get out there and take the pic, lol,
I will make time tomorrow to snap a pic though.
I came home today to find my tax return arrived, I am ordering everything I need today and tomorrow and hopefully early next week I can be back on the road if all goes well and the wheel I buy will bolt right up.
Lump
Posted by chief
- May 15, 2011, 15:15:23 PMyep, meanie wheels will work, so will concours and various other vulcan models... look in the tires/wheels area of the mods/tips on the website for more info.
Posted by Troll
- May 15, 2011, 08:36:18 AMsure, go ahead. You have my address
Posted by lumper
- May 14, 2011, 20:06:24 PMI will try to get a pic tomorrow, I cant get the wheel off yet though as I still need a jack, but I think I can get a shot that will show it.
I found used wheels from $100.00 to $200.00.
I really want to stay with the spokes, I love the look.
Whichever I get I will have to sand and paint them anyway so as long as they are straight I dont much mind the finish.
Do you think if I sent you a pic of a few wheels or a link to them if I cant copy them that you could tell by looking at it?
I have never had one off yet so I am not sure what I need to look for or anything.
I have a manual coming any day though, 
Thanks Troll,
Lump
Posted by Troll
- May 14, 2011, 19:50:12 PMGo to http://www.bikebandit.com and look up the part numbers. I'll bet, but I can't prove it at the moment, that mean streak alloy wheels would fit, too. Can you provide a picture of the damage? Replacing the hoop is going to be cheaper than the whole wheel, unless you get a real good deal. I just checked, real quick, and all the spoked wheels for vn1500s use the same hub assy., so therefore, by extrapolation, you can assume the rest of the wheel is the same......
Posted by lumper
- May 14, 2011, 19:24:40 PMHi guys,
Chief, or anyone who knows, will a spoked wheel for a 2002 Vulcan Classic FI VN1500-N fit on my 1999 Drifter 1500?
I am looking at some used wheels and if any of these will work on my bike I can probably afford to grab a used one for now and then see if mine can be fixed or not, so I Will have a back up until I can buy a new wheel.
I found a few I wondered about.
I found a 99, a 2000, a 2001, a 2003, a 2005 and a 2006 all from Vulcan classic 1500's.
Do you know if any of these are the same as our Drifter spoked wheels
Any info would be great, if I can verify I can use these I am going to bid on a couple one at a time and try to get one next week.
Thanks again,
Lump
Posted by lumper
- May 14, 2011, 17:08:24 PMDrifter will never be for sale, it is my full on project bike and I dont see myself ever getting rid of it.
I actually saw an 800 Vulcan classic two tone with a lot of extras there today some one traded, I might snag it for my wife, it runs good and sounds great and is very clean.
I think I get a 20% discount so I am going to look into it but I didn't want to mention it on my first day.
I was able to ride about 15 Harley today though, every model except the new rocker, it was fun.
I am spent now, after two years of sitting and resting I just spent 10 hours on my feet and these dogs are barking.
Anyway still bumming my bike is here with a flat and I am not able to ride, but I just keep thinking positive and soon enough I will be back on the road.
Lump
Posted by VN1500
- May 14, 2011, 13:22:31 PMQuote from: lumper on May 13, 2011, 17:01:22 PMSo how long before your Drifter will be for sale?Well I got hired today at the Harley dealer so things are looking up.
I will let you know though as soon as I get this wheel off.
Lump
What kind of work will you be doing at the H/D dealer Lump?
Posted by chief
- May 14, 2011, 08:34:03 AMI hope they appreciate your bike as much as we do!
Posted by lumper
- May 13, 2011, 19:13:42 PMlol, I'm not even going to ask, just glad I can afford to fix it myself.
I will see if I can get them to take the tire off this rim and mount it on the one I buy though, then if this one can be fixed it will be my back up and spare.
I am sure in time using the shop will be a cool bonus but I am not taking anything for granted, at least now I dont have to ask my wife to fix my bike, lol.
Thanks again though, it feels good to have figured out a way to get back to work and working with bikes is always fun.
Whats funny is the last time I pulled in there on my Drifter when I came out I had a crowd around it and people love to talk to me about this bike, it is going to make my job a lot easier when I fix the flat and can park it right in front, I can just hang out around my bike and meet the customers as they come to me, lol.
Lump