#1
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Fender extension install
As I may have mentioned before, I'm a dumbass. I wanted to get this out of the way at the beginning of the story.
So a few weeks ago, I was riding with John (Swmnkdinthervr), and he mentioned that I ought to get rid of that ugly plastic rear fender liner and put in a black piece of sheetmetal like he's got. I had to admit, it looked much better than the hunk of plastic I had. But like most everything I hear, it just sort of floated around in my head aimlessly. But then I decided I'd show my bleeder threads who the boss was, and I had to replace my rear caliper. Caliper replacement means wheel removal. Wheel removal means I could do something about that piece of plastic I never would have thought twice about had John not said something and made me self-conscious. So I looked into it, and lo and behold, H-D actually makes something to get rid of it. Hot damn, I don't have to fabricate anything, I can just bolt it on. So when I picked up the caliper today, I grabbed the fender extension as well. I already had a rattle can of wrinkle black at the house, so I figured the paint could dry while I was removing the wheel and swapping the caliper. I figured an hour tops. But remember, I'm a dumbass. Got home and immediately sprayed the first coat of wrinkle black. Changed clothes and headed out back to yank the tire off. One look at the fender extension, and (picture 1) there were dead bugs all over the paint. Not the best start, but considering where the thing was going, not the end of the world. So I yanked the tire off. I smeared copper anti-seize all over the axle, so it popped right out. Unfortunately, there's copper anti-seize everywhere. Oh well, I'll clean it later. After getting the axle out, I remembered I had to remove the upper belt guard in order to remove the wheel, so I fumble around for the floor jack, prop the wheel up and remove the guard. Picture 2 shows that nasty piece of plastic that I just had to get rid of. It also shows rub marks from the 5-1/2" wheel I had on for a little while. Two bolts later, and we're at picture 3. Oh man, I'm cookin' now. I put the nylon nuts on the main breaker lugs to keep them from shorting on the sheetmetal piece I'll be installing. I actually say out loud, "wow, it's so nice to have a factory part so well thought out". So I grab my now-wrinkle black sheetmetal and go to install it. there are two lugs on the lower part of the frame that it bolts into, and there are two brackets you install at the top with quick washers to hold the bolts. Had to break out the tin snips to get the washers onto the brackets (later it occurred to me I could have just turned them sideways), but I got them on, then bolted the top in. You have to bend the sheetmetal to the contour of the frame. I did, and attached the lower left (drive side) bolt. When I went to attach the right side, I couldn't see the frame lug. Why? Picture 4 tells the story.....The hole was in the wrong place. No big deal, I'll take the thing off and drill a new hole. So I go down to the basement (the bike is in a 10x12 wooden shed with no electricity, my tools are in the house) and grab my cordless drill and bits. I go outside, line up the sheetmetal with the plastic, pull the trigger on the drill, and the battery's dead. No big deal, I walk back down into the basement and put the battery on the charger. I spend the next hour swapping out the rear caliper and installing the SpeedBleeder on the front caliper and bleeding it. When I finished with that, I walk back down to the basement to get the battery and look square at a bright blue Makita box with my corded drill in it.......Once again I say out loud, "dumbass". I go back outside and drill the new hole (picture 5). With nothing standing in my way, I bolt the sheetmetal into place (picture 6 &7).....looks great. I lay towels over everything and spray it with the paint again to cover the bolts and the couple of places I boogered it up. So I put the wheel back on, torque everything down, and go to spin the wheel to make sure the pads aren't dragging and the wheel's on straight. It doesn't spin. Picture 8 tells the story. The tab sticking out of the drive side was nestled ever so snugly between two teeth on the drive belt. My sunny disposition was out the window at this point. I should have checked it before I torqued the wheel down. It might be an issue because the bike's lowered. All sorts of things swirled through my mind at the moment, including the entirely rational thought that I needed to take the wheel back off. But I didn't do that. Instead, I got mad and grabbed the tin snips. There's no photographic record of what I did with the snips, and that's probably a good thing. I'm not proud of the things that came out of my mouth during the next 10 minutes or so, nor am I proud of the things I did with the snips. Suffice it to say that the wheel stayed on, the sheetmetal is still in place, the bike moves with nothing hitting the drive belt, and I've got some work to do with a jigsaw, a file, and more paint the next time the wheel comes off. As you can see in picture 9, the bike is just fine, and I'll be riding to work tomorrow. Aside from the fact that the damn thing didn't fit, I'm glad I did this, as it really does look better.
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You might be a king or a lowly street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper. Make Doof Clenas Fun Again (MDCFA) |
#2
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ya gotta love "factory perfect" parts.....
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Josh..the Husband of Amy CAUTION! You have entered a Harley based forum. Apply a liberal amount of BS repellent to skin before reading anything by anybody. |
#4
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I forgot one of the best parts about it. When I took out the stock fender liner, I had my floor jack still under where the wheel would have been. As I pulled the thing off, I heard something metallic hit the floor of the shed. I looked down, but didn't see anything. I wnt on with what I was doing, and forgot about it, until.....
I got ready to take the bike off the jack, and started moving all the crap out of the way, including the floor jack. Lying just in front of it, were a nut and washer. To put this in context, this was just after I'd mauled the new fender liner with the tin snips, so I wasn't exactly happy at the moment. I grabbed a wrench to see what size the nut was.....19mm. Nothing I did yesterday was 19mm. Uh oh. The only 19mm that I could think of were the rear shock bolts, and they were still there (and not nuts). I finished bleeding the brakes and took my test ride, but the whole time I was thinking WTF was that nut from? I figured I wouldn't be able to ride today until I figured out where it went, which meant ripping the back of the bike apart again. After dinner, I took Dana out to the shed to show her what I'd done, and I showed her the nut and washer, which I was worrying about even more, as the washer was dented as though the nut had been torqued down pretty hard. She took one look at it, looked down at the floor of the shed and said............... "Dumbass, that's from the front wheel of the floor jack."
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You might be a king or a lowly street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper. Make Doof Clenas Fun Again (MDCFA) |
#5
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Ouch.
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David John Riding my motorcycle is life. Everything before and after is just waiting. |
#6
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Good story Russ. Glad it all worked out man.
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mike 'Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.' - William Penn I want to live and ride free, unencumbered by all but God's love. '06' FLSTNI, $43 per gallon! |
#7
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Good job, looks good.
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Serg
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#8
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That is rich! There are always nuts and/or bolts left over after every job. That's man-law.
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#9
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Good job.
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Jim I drawl Did you know I liked Bobbers? |
#10
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#11
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No good deed goes unpunished.
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Introducing the Al Gore engine Obsolete Doof 1998 Obsolete Springer Rider Part time Shovel Rider Some time XLCH Kicker |
#12
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I always enjoy reading a new chapter from Russ's Adventures In Motorcycle Repair
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Tom "Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter."...Satchel Paige "Mother Nature may dictate I grow older but there ain't nothin' nor nobody can make me grow up." ..Me |
#13
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It is always an adventure.
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You might be a king or a lowly street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper. Make Doof Clenas Fun Again (MDCFA) |
#15
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__________________
You might be a king or a lowly street sweeper, but sooner or later you dance with the reaper. Make Doof Clenas Fun Again (MDCFA) |
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