"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR MOTORCYCLE TODAY"

[m143]

Dragged the 350 Alpina out from an extended layover.
Gotta try to keep up wih boyz.

[hacksaw]

Good luck ! Lol

[oldironnow]

Fatfatboy wrote

I got the bar swap completed today.





Removed the stock 4”risers with 1” pull back and stock flat bars.
Replaced with a 2” riser and 14” ape hangers with 9” pullback. Had to add some wire extensions after running the wires through the bars and top tree.
Had to replace the upper clutch cable and brake line as well.
Added some new grips to help with death grip of the right hand which should help with the elbow pain on long rides.

Also changed the windshield out to a 10” windshield that I can look over if needed.
 I had replaced the stock 6” with an aftermarket 13” windshield I put on a little after I got the bike.  It was wider and taller so gave better protection for the passenger but it had a slight bit of distortion in the upper corners that threw corners off causing a bit of depth deception in certain curves. So I went to an HD windshield. Shorter and not as wide but much better quality.

The bar swap took the aggressive stance of the sport tour out but comfortable riding is more desirable at this point.
It sits me straight up with my lower back against the passenger bump up. I can even lean back if wanted.

I gotta say these newer bikes are a lot more time consuming to tinker with. It used to only take an afternoon to do this job.
I started this project in July and tinker with it here and there, ordering parts in between tinkering and doing life.

While setting up bars I noticed that because of the more upright position I’m getting more pinching in the hips.
Fortunately Harley put slightly more forward controls on one of their other bikes. An eBay search found a pair of take offs on da cheap, I love Harley people, that are a direct bolt on. So those will be next then the adjustable Progressive rear shock which will more than likely sit in its box until winter. After this project I have a feeling the rear shock swap won’t get done in one afternoon like the dual shock softails were.

Love that beast.
Jealous of what looks like a foot of front wheel travel !
Also, dug how you captured both yourself and Sasquatch in the pic 👍👍

[oldironnow]

Ratana got new front pads last night while listening to Kevin Harlan call MNF.
One pad was thin. Two were decent. One was beveled radially.
The important work was to clean and lube the carrier sliders. They were quite dry and gummed up.
Lever feel at rest feels much better.

[Fatfatboy]

m143 wrote

Dragged the 350 Alpina out from an extended layover.
Gotta try to keep up wih boyz.

That's awesome Walt. Much more cooler than a Hondzookyamikaw. Real life character.

[Fatfatboy]

oldironnow wrote

Also, dug how you captured both yourself and Sasquatch in the pic 👍👍

Good eye. I didn't notice it. If I did I probably would have darkened my head like I did on the plate of Sachmo. You never realize how thin your hair is until a photo of the top you your head shows you.
Looking closer I saw the purple cross on the rear fender of the Fatboy poking through the vent in the fairing, and how messy my shelves are.
Man i could spend a whole weekend cleaning that up.

[Fatfatboy]

oldironnow wrote

No clicky clicky torque wrench. Doin it old school.

[hacksaw]

Not for nothing , but for the over 20 grand people care paying for Harley’s , they should be having this stuff installed as part of the deal . Even if the buyer is paying for the  parts. When you bring it in for 500 miles or whatever the mileage is now for first service
Buyer had a chance to ride it and gave a feel for what changes were wanting . They should install bars and controls for free at that point. They actually used to do seats. Hd parts oh course , on the record anywayz.
When I bought that t100 I had the exhaust changed . They had the wrong pipe but I wouldn’t take the bike until the right pipe came in. I paid for the mufflers . But the installing was on them. Might have taken them half hour that  would have taken me 2 hours if I didn’t have to find the right tools. Lol.
I doubt I am buying any new bikes again anyway. And if I do it won’t be a Harley.
I just will work on my old shit. lol.

Which reminds me me I should post on that

[Fatfatboy]

Ha, Harley give away labor. That's comical. The only thing they give away is coffee and donuts on Saturday.
They are not who they used to be. The fact that Triumph gave away labor shows why they have increased sales for the last 5 years and Harley has dropped continually since the late 2000's.

In 2024 Harley sold 151,000 units
Triumph sold 132,000 units.

Not surprising HD's tours and trike sales were up 8%. It's the softail and sportster line that has dropped.
I blame that on the drop of the Dyna and the Evo Sporty's. They screwed the pooch on this.
If I was looking for another cruiser I'd take a real hard look at the Triumph Speedmaster as long as I could find a better pillion seat. That stock seat is made for a girlfriend, not a wife.

Since the handlebar swap on the ST I really don't have a reason too look. It really changed the comfort of the bike.

[hacksaw]

Well I think one can still negotiate with some HD dealers .
I haven’t followed this particularly but many dealers had a glut of inventory pushed in them by the mother company .
Triumph unit wise out selling HD I did not know.
But of course triumph make most of its bikes for people whom could afford them . I would buy a Speedmaster myself. I very often upgrade seating no matter the brand.
But as far as your wife goes ,
I am sure you have several bikes  that can accommodate her. So is a seat actually a deal breaker?
I am going to have to go look at speedmasters now.

HD ruined the sportster. I could spend a lot more time writing on that!
This past spring I checked out a hd dealer and they had over a dozen used trikes on the floor. They may sell more new ones than they have  but 8% rise really is negligible depending on what the volume actually is.

[hacksaw]

Part 2

As I was saying. If Harley sold 100 trikes the year before and this past year sold 101 , is that 1% more?
Idk. My point really is trike convertions , the ones with independent rear suspension, seem to becoming known as the way to go. Somebody needs to come  up with Indy suspension kit for actual used hd trikes.
Otherwise I may as well get a 45 trike just to putt around or a can am Ryker.

The real problem for HD besides otherworld pricing is competition from used Harley’s . Many out there. And older models even I can play around with . (Except perhaps inside some older bat wing dressers that take days to take apart) one can find 10 year old , even 5 yo, SE dressers for thousands less than new.
My only advice to save Harley as such , is to get rid of losers like foreign made 350’s et al , live wires, punk Americans, bagger racing 🤮and drop the prices of their bikes in the showroom floors. They should also shrink the motorclothes and give more space to servicing older models. BMW sure does.
Which is another question .why can BMW market all kinds of different bikes from scooters to behemoth tourers as Well as pride themselves on their vintage department?

[Fatfatboy]

Hers were I got the info on HD’s sales.

https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news/news-details/2025/Harley-Davidson-Delivers-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Financial-Results-and-2025-Outlook/default.aspx

As for HD wrenching on older bikes I think the problem there is a lot of guy wrench on their own because the older bikes are much simpler and the aftermarket is rich with parts.
I think their plan is to make the bike so complicated that only the dealer has the equipment to work on them. This is a BMW trick as well.
They make more money on repair’s, maintenance and upgrades than selling bikes. At least the dealer does.
 
Around here we are loosing indi shops for the same reason HD is losing riders. The owners are retiring out and no one is there to take over.

One of the reason why there are more HD trikes are sold more than kits is because of resale. A used HD will sell for more or get a a better trade in than an aftermarket. Plus a bank won’t finance a $10k out fit. At least that’s what I’ve noticed.
I think if hd would supply indi suspension on their Trike’s more people would buy and trade in the ones they have.

IMO trikes are fine around town and highways but on backroads with curves they are work.

[hacksaw]

Right now I am so upset over the murder of Charlie Kirk I can hardly think of.
And why do I now have to sign on from my phone each time I try and post ?

I think you’re wrong about the demand for service work on older bikes. I don’t rebuild motors. Many guys like me don’t have tyre machines. So your argument is in reverse .Indy shops closing creates a demand for  Harley to honor its heritage. Of course that might hurt sales. But it hasn’t hurt BMW!!!!!! And BMW line up is much more complicated than Harley could ever think of.
Lower prices! So stop wasting money on the things I already outlined . Even buying a softail is supporting bagger racing. A needless expense that passed on to every sale.
Again , BMW emphatically support their vintage products. And they have a diversified current line up that makes Harley look like attic  cat . And some of their machines msrp are affordable to regular consumers .
I don’t particularly doubt Harley’s financial report.  They could do better with cutting the BS and reaching out to main stream American riders .

The people with independent rear suspension trikes claim they way out do stock harley ones. For 40 grand stock trikes need to do better than ok around town

[hacksaw]

Dammit. I am getting fed up .
Fk Harley . I was just now trying to change the subject a bit . Do rather than argue anything I decided I better post what I did on my bike today.
Well not today but 2 days ago . And of course this damned forum rejected the  picture I just took moments ago.
I am really  fed up with so much BS !

[Fatfatboy]

Man, I’d really like to see what you’re working on. I’m not sure why you’re having so many problems posting pics. Yeah, it takes a few steps more than FB but it always works for me.
Are you using photos on your phone?

[hacksaw]

Hey! Well this site frustrates me.
I no longer can stay signed in and my fingers make ne have to try to many times . Especially when I finally get it , the  forum gives me a message that I have to try again later bcz there is too much activity. WTF???
 
I take the same pictures on the same phone I always did.
But they won’t post here.
My life expectancy really has no room for this.
Oh well

[oldironnow]

BMW is hitting every niche in the marketplace -
Urban electric to ADV.
Small displacement to monstrous CCs
Retro-vintage in both medium and large size.
Cruiser and a top-shelf Superbike.

And that’s the way to go for HD ?

HD barely took a step on that journey and the faithful had a shit-fit.

BMW is making its way because its customer base is open to change and has the buuuuuuuxxxxxx

[oldironnow]

Got down to the valves and adjusted most.
A few were just at maximum and a few were just at minimum.
Popped in a new air filter to replace one that was waaaaay overdue.
That was the big issue.
Too many dust storms through its doorway.
Fork seals and oil next.
Carb balance.
Install an APE Racing manual cam tensioner.





Dirty air filter-


Clean air filter-



.

[hacksaw]

No that is not true.
All I was showing was what BMW was supporting its vintage products. If you knew Harley types personally instead of what might be on the internet , you would know there is overwhelming concern on Harley not dealing with older models. Calling them the Faithful really is inaccurate.
Maybe the former faithful is.
So , let me reiterate . It’s bmw dedication to its vintage stuff that last the groundwork for the general acceptance of all its diverse products. Even if one has no interest in older stuff , it sets the stage for brand integrity
Conversely “we don’t work on shovelheads” and “catalogue shows that part obsolete”
Creates an aura of abandonment and resentment that isn’t found in BMW folks. So Harley’s involvement with Augusta , spinning off live wire as its own brand, Asian small bores, dropping real sportsters , etc etc are all viewed from the perspective of questionable Harley traditional dedication to its base .
Harley tradition as American made type of thing since 1903 type things rings a bit hollow . BMW is more European than German and is a product of post ww2. I don’t know if I can make myself clear. They didn’t cater to American tradition and then pull the rug out from under its traditional customers.

[Fatfatboy]

oldironnow wrote

BMW is hitting every niche in the marketplace -
Urban electric to ADV.
Small displacement to monstrous CCs
Retro-vintage in both medium and large size.
Cruiser and a top-shelf Superbike.

And that’s the way to go for HD ?

HD barely took a step on that journey and the faithful had a shit-fit.

BMW is making its way because its customer base is open to change and has the buuuuuuuxxxxxx

BMW has a great available variety for global sales but it seems the US isn't buying a whole lot of it.
2022 they sold 17,690 units
2024 it dropped a bit to 17,272 units. The biggest seller is their adventure bikes.
Globally they sold 210,400 out selling HD by 50,000 some odd bikes. Europe snagging up 118,727 of those which makes since just like we snagged up 95,000 HD's of the 148,000 made.
Germany only picked up 3,800 HD's out of the 24,000 that went to the EMEA. The Netherlands are the biggest buyers of the MOCO but I couldn't find a quantity. Who'da thunked it.