Another sportster thread

[dxhall]

I have joined the forces of darkness and purchased an ‘06 Roadster.  I am now getting a sense of the Harley marketing machine.  Did you know that because of the power produced and loads handled by Harleys, it is only safe to run Harley approved tires?  Is there a legit reason for that, or is it pure marketing hype?  Sounds like BS to me.

[LowRyter]

all BS about the tires and sportsters......... .........   

[cliffrod]

it's just marketing hype.  Any good tires like the regular Dunlop equivalent of the typical HD-logo Dunlop to save a few $$, good dual compound tires, whatever are fine.  No bikes are coming into the shop or back into the shop with shredded non-HD tires...

Follow their instructions to a T and you'll also need to make sure the rear axle is installed from the exhaust side (on single sided exhaust bikes), just like the axle is installed at the factory.  This requires additional labor to r&r the entire exhaust system every time the wheel is removed.  So aftermarket shops simply reverse the axle so the single axle nut is under the exhaust.  After that, it's faster, easier & much less expensive to service the rear wheel. 

HD Dealer labor prices are nuts.  Think the current local dealership labor costs to change a tire is $150-$200 each plus tire & any incidentals.  We save a lot of people a lot of $$$ on tires at the shop.

Enjoy your sportster.   

[Kev m]

Enjoy!

My buddy Chris just ran his third IBR on his 06 1200R (with about 250k miles on it). Only came in 43rd again, but better than I could ever do.

Fwiw I've always swapped my Harleys to Metzelers, but others prefer Pirellis (edit, oh yes and Avons, thanks got the reminder Davevv). There are a lot of options.

Any questions, just ask.

[dxhall]

The bike has 6100 miles and I think the original tires.  Kev - are you running Metzler ME 888s?

[Kev m]

The bike has 6100 miles and I think the original tires.  Kev - are you running Metzler ME 888s?

Mileage on the stocks will vary with the right wrist. We've gotten as much as 10k or as little as 7k on the rear, more on the front.

I'm a little weird. I think I've got a 110 wide ME880 on the front that's a few years old now. And I'm running a 140 wide ME888 on the rear.

I think the 880s are out of production and I liked them a little better because they were stickier in wet, but the 888 isn't bad.

[davevv]

Avon Cobras on my '04.  They work fine.

[LowRyter]

Pirelli makes tires that are Ducati specific too.  Usually $10 more and "out of stock" have to order them. 

[bodine99]

HD has a deal with Dun. & Mich. special $$. Parts 1x a month gets to do a "trade " order on service items. Tires, tubes, batteries, oil bulk and cases o/filters ect. It's all about getting owners back to the service dept. so they can charge you the big flat rate fee. and make xtra $$ on parts. Their Syn-3 oil came about in 02 for the V-rod. it also obsoleted the dino oil. The dealers put it in BT's eng., trans., and pri. XL's get it in the trans./pri. and engine. Checkout Redline gear case oil for the pri.& trans on the XL and use good syn. engine oil. Tires of your choice from a local brick and motor shop. On-line tires might be hard to find a shop to mount them. Great bike enjoy!!!

[Kiwi Dave]

So aftermarket shops simply reverse the axle so the single axle nut is under the exhaust.  After that, it's faster, easier & much less expensive to service the rear wheel. 

It's a long time since I owned a Sporty, but I'm curious.  Is there any downside to fitting the axle in the reverse position from the original way?

[Kev m]

It's a long time since I owned a Sporty, but I'm curious.  Is there any downside to fitting the axle in the reverse position from the original way?

IN THEORY if the bearings seize you MIGHT spin the axle and lose the axle shaft nut. Despite the large c-clip on the shaft end.

In reality I can't imagine you'd lose the axle itself, pulling over LONG before the nut could even come off.

So I think it's an over-abundance of caution. And it's why my axle had been inserted from the left since the first tire change about 25k miles ago.

[cliffrod]

IN THEORY if the bearings seize you MIGHT spin the axle and lose the axle shaft nut. Despite the large c-clip on the shaft end.

In reality I can't imagine you'd lose the axle itself, pulling over LONG before the nut could even come off.

So I think it's an over-abundance of caution. And it's why my axle had been inserted from the left since the first tire change about 25k miles ago.

In general (without measuring a variety of exhaust vs axle configurations) I would add that the extended threaded portion of the axle may not remain within the swing arm if the 1. Nut did fall off and 2 the axle did migrate out until it contacted the muffler.  If you missed that much happening under your seat without stopping, you're probably already headed for a bad result.

We've been reversing axles- usually after explaining it to the owner and asking their preference-  like this for decades on every bike that has come through the shop.  We've never had or even heard of a failure as suggested. 

The most common HD axle issue is usually related to the axle spacer tube being improperly modified, installed or left out or similar by another shop or individual.  It's always scary to have someone ride in on a bike like that.

[Rough Edge racing]

 I don't know if a rubber mount engine swingarm is the same as my 03 rigid mounts, but the rear axle pulled out to the right with the stock exhaust...
 Mine came with a newer Shinko 712 on the back, I installed a Shinko 230 V rated Tour Master on the front...Since moving back the foot controls and pegs and a few other changes, I push the bike harder in the turns.. The rear end squirms around enough to noticable . Wheel bearings, swingarm are good,35 psi, Koni Shocks...It's the tire....

[Kev m]

I don't know if a rubber mount engine swingarm is the same as my 03 rigid mounts, but the rear axle pulled out to the right with the stock exhaust...
 Mine came with a newer Shinko 712 on the back, I installed a Shinko 230 V rated Tour Master on the front...Since moving back the foot controls and pegs and a few other changes, I push the bike harder in the turns.. The rear end squirms around enough to noticable . Wheel bearings, swingarm are good,35 psi, Koni Shocks...It's the tire....

No, on the rubbermounts the whole chassis is a little more squat. And the hidden exhaust crossover mounts a lot of things low.

So on many models the lower/rear muffler is in the way of removing the axle. So you'd have to undo both rear shocks or remove said muffler to remove the axle from the right.

[analog kid]

Wildguzzi should have a Sportster sub-forum....





Out for a short blast on my Sporty this afternoon, I helped pull an FLHP back onto the road from being half into the ditch. This was a road through a forest, basically through a swamp, so there was no shoulder, just a steep drop at the asphalt edge. Approaching the scene, in the distance I see a Kia Soul perpendicular to the road with the rear wheels in the left ditch. Closer to me on the right  is an HD with the front wheel off the road edge and the rider flagging me down.

Seems the Kia first  went off the road somehow, the HD rider passed him and in the process of turning around on the narrow road - to check on the car driver - his front wheel hit the soft , six-inch-wide shoulder  and dropped off the edge.
The frame grounded out on the asphalt and hung the bike up, kept him from a trip down a steep six-foot embankment.

As we are wondering how 2 people are going to yank an FLH back up on the road, three bikes pull up. The first bike is a V9 Bobber! 
Guzzi around here are rarer than rare. Theres not one on every street corner like in the States  . And I'd never even seen a V9 before....

So we got the bike back on the road, the car driver had called a tow, no one was hurt, no FLH paint got scratched ( that i could see) and everyone went on their way.   And I beat the thunderstorm home! The rain began two minutes after garaging my bike. Yay!

Erm, not that my post has anything to do with the OP of course... ya, HD branded tires are not required. I had Dunlop D404s installed 3000 km ago. Some would get negatively excited about that, but they have been fine so far. And I got a deal (Guzzi content) .
Best wishes with your new bike.