Sportster Project

Rabbit Ear Handlebars…

herseyc — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 10:36:01 +0000

The 88 “Swedish Style” Sportster project is getting a set of rabbit ear bars. The current bars on the Sportster are OK, they were just some I had but I don’t really like the pull back on them. I got a good deal on this set of rabbit ear bars at the Peanut City Chop and Swap a couple weekends ago so they are going to replace the ones that are on there now.

The Peanut City Chop and Swap (@peanut_city) was a great event! This was the second annual Peanut City Chop and Swap. The first one was back in 2019, I picked up a set of bars and the carburetor for the black 1988 Sportster at that one. It was canceled last year due to the state of the world but this year it was back! Already looking forward to next year. Picked up these rabbit ear bars from Derek (@InTheWeeds). Thanks for the great deal on the bars!

Pretty easy to change them out since I am just swapping the bars and don’t have to replace any cables, wiring, or brake line. Well the brake line is a little tight. I think it’s ok, but it might get replaced, or probably not.

The rabbit ear bars look pretty good on there I think. I like them a lot better than the pullbacks.

Want to watch me sweat and drop tools? I did a quick vlog on swapping the bars on the Sportster.

If you enjoy my vlogs please subscribe to the Sportster Project YouTube channel.

Until next time… Build. Tinker. Ride.

New Battery in the New (to me) Bike…

herseyc — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:09:03 +0000

I picked up this 1999 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide (FXDWG) a few weeks ago. Very nice bike. The bike was very well kept by the previous owner but it had been sitting for awhile so the battery was dead and would not hold a charge. First time I have owned or tinkered on a Dyna model.

I ordered a Twin Power AGM Battery from JP Cycles. I am a fan of the Twin Power “Shocker” Batteries but I have not been able to find them anywhere. I wanted to get this bike back on the road so I settled on this AGM Battery since it was readily available.

To replace the battery remove the seat and disconnect the battery cables, negative first. The negative cable is attached to a stud in the frame, it will stay attached to the negative terminal on the battery. You disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal after you remove the battery from the bike. Then disconnect the positive cable.

The battery, cover, and tray on the Dyna are a bit different than other models, at least different from other models I have messed with (Sportsters, Softails, Touring…). The battery tray sandwiches the battery and battery cover between the tray and the frame to hold it in place. There are 2 bolts, one that locks the tray in place and the other that lowers the tray. The tray pivots on a keyed post on the front of the battery tray which fits in a slot in a tab on the frame.

Sorry the picture is so grainy, but hopefully you can see the two bolts on the rear of the battery tray that hold the tray up against the frame. The bottom bolt locks the tray in place, the top bolt lowers the tray. Use 1/2″ socket to remove the bottom bolt completely, then loosen the top bolt with a 1/2″ wrench until the tray is lowered far enough to get the battery out, you should not have to completely remove the top bolt.

I did a video blog on removing and replacing the battery in the Dyna. Check it out:

Remove the negative battery cable from the old battery and put it on the new battery. To put the battery back in you just reverse the process. When reinstalling the battery connect the positive terminal first, then the negative cable to the stud on the frame.

While I had the battery out I put on a NOCO X-Connect Cable to allow me to easily connect my NOCO chargers/tenders. This gives easy access so I don’t have to remove the seat to connect a charger to the battery.

I also replaced the rear seat screw with a knurled thumb screw. These knurled thumb screws are really inexpensive and make it easy to remove the rear seat without needing a tool. Definitely worth the few bucks.

The battery is replaced and the bike is running. Since she has been setting for a bit I need to do a fluid change on her. I also need to get by the DMV (ugh) and get a plate for her, going to try to do that this week.

Shadow Fuel Pump Delete

herseyc — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 13:04:07 +0000

Removing the fuel pump to simplify the fuel delivery system on a my wife’s 1999 Honda Shadow VT750 ACE. The new TJ Brutal Customs peanut gas tank raises the fuel petcock well above the carburetors which will allow fuel to be gravity fed. Since the fuel pump is no longer needed it is getting DELETED!

The TJ Brutal Customs VT600 Custom Peanut Gas Tank is designed for a Honda VT600 VLX 88-07, but it only took a little tweaking of the rear mounting tab to make it work on the 1999 Honda Shadow. The location of the petcock on the custom tank is well above the carburetor fuel inlet, so there should be no issues removing the fuel pump and relying on gravity to get fuel into the carbs.

Since there is no filter screen in the tank or on the petcock so I added a K&N in-line fuel filter to help keep junk out of the carbs. I like these K&N Fuel Filters, they are small and do the job.

No issues so far. Starts, runs, and goes like it should. I saved the fuel pump in case we do have issues and need to add it back. I don’t think we will have any issues.

Until next time… Build. Tinker. Ride.

Registering an Antique Motorcycle

herseyc — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 16:09:23 +0000

I own several motorcycle registered as antique vehicles. What makes a motorcycle an antique? In Virginia if the model year of the motorcycle is more than 25 years old prior to January 1st of the current year, and you are not using it as a daily rider, you can register it as an antique and obtain antique plates for it.

There are a few benefits to registering a motorcycle as an antique vehicle. The first benefit is the antique license plates are permanent, which means they are valid for as long as you own the motorcycle. There is a one time $50 registration fee, you do not have to renew every year as you do with regular plates. Once registered as an antique you no longer have to pay personal property tax on the motorcycle. Motorcycles registered as antiques do not require the annual Virginia State Safety Inspection, instead it is your responsibility to certify the motorcycle is safe to be operated on Virginia roadways.

With the benefits there are a few limitations and restrictions. First off an antique motorcycle cannot be your primary general use vehicle or daily driver. Does this mean on a pretty day you cannot ride to work? No. The antique motorcycle just cannot be your primary, or only means, of transportation. You can ride the motorcycle to and from shows and events or use it for pleasure within 250 miles of the registered address. I am not really sure about how strict enforcement of these restrictions are, but if you violate them and get caught you could lose your ability to use antique plates for 5 years. Antique motorcycles, like any other vehicle registered in Virginia, must be insured with motor vehicle liability insurance or you will have to pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee.

If your motorcycle meets the age criteria to be registered as an antique, but you plan to use it as your daily rider then you have to register it with standard renewable plates and have an annual State Safety Inspection.

The process for registering a motorcycle for antique plates is pretty simple. The details of the process can be found here: Virginia DMV Antique Motorcycle Plates. The motorcycle has to be more than 25 years old prior to January 1 of the current year (for example in after January 1, 2021 any model year 1994 or older motorcycles are eligible for antique tags). There are 2 forms you have to complete: one is the license plate application (VSA 10) and the other is the Antique Vehicle Applicant Certification (VSA 10B). The Antique Vehicle Applicant Certification just states that you own or have access to another vehicle which has an active registration. If you have more than one antique vehicle you can use the same vehicle on multiple VSA 10B forms but you have to submit a VSA 10B for each antique registration.

Complete the forms and head to your local DMV or DMV Select (or make an appointment if your local DMV office is not allowing walk-ins yet). You will probably wait for a long time (it is the DMV) but once you are called to the desk the DMV clerk will review your VSA 10 and VSA 10B, enter your information on no less than 35 different screens, and ask what style antique tags you want. There are two choices for motorcycles: a black and white and a yellow. Samples are shown below:

You pay the $50 fee and will be issued a temporary tag (which usually expires in a month), the antique tag will be mailed to you. I have always received mine within about a week of submitting the application at the DMV.

This is pretty much how it goes in Virginia. I am sure the process, requirements, benefits, and limitations will likely vary from state to state, so if you are not in VA check your state’s DMV site for how to register an old motorcycle as an antique.

If you have an older motorcycle, which you just use for occasional rides for pleasure or to events or shows, registering it as an antique is pretty simple and can save you a few bucks on fees, inspections, and taxes. Enjoy.

Build. Tinker. Ride.

90 Sportster Leaky Fork Seal…

herseyc — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 10:55:49 +0000

Getting close to getting the 90 Sportster back on the road. While it is on the lift being put back together I noticed a leak in one of the fork seals. When I put this bike together originally I did not mess with the front fork. Who knows how long the fluid has been in there or how old the fork seals are, so the forks are getting rebuilt while she is up on the lift.

Picked up a 39mm fork seal kit from JP Cycles. This kit is inexpensive (about $20) and includes everything necessary to rebuild a set of 39mm front forks: seals, dust covers, o-rings, bolts, copper washers, and clips.

First thing to do is to remove the front fender, front brakes, and front wheel. Loosen the pinch bolts and carefully slide the tubes out of the tree. Then disassemble the forks removing all the seals and dust covers. The bottom bolt is a 6mm hex, loosen this bolt before removing the top cap keeps tension on the spring and helps keep the internals from spinning when you loosen the bolt. After getting the forks disassembled and cleaned up I put them all back together with the new seals, clips, and dust covers from the fork seal kit.

When I was pulling apart one of the forks the clip which holds the seal in was missing. Might be what contributed to the leaking.

Yet another video in the blazing heat. I have to turn the fans off in the garage when I am recording a video, otherwise the fan noise is all you hear. I was drenched in sweat by the end of it and it did not even take that long. I might need to rethink some kind of cooling system in the garage. It has just been crazy hot and humid lately. It will cool down soon I hope then I’ll forget all about how hot it is in there. I might start saving up for a mini-split system in there.

The Motion Pro 39mm Fork Seal Driver is handy to have to install the seals and dust covers but there are other methods which work just as well.

Once the forks were back together I filled each of them with 10.2 Ounces of fork oil per the repair manual.

After getting the forks, front wheel, fender, and front brakes put back together I buttoned up the rest of the bike. She is ready to be taken out for a ride…

Build. Tinker. Ride.

Rebuilding the carb for the 90 Sportster…

herseyc — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 11:19:40 +0000

In my last post I disassembled the new to me CV carburetor which will replace the carburetor I took off the 90 Sportster to use on the 88 Sportster. The carburetor has been in the ultrasonic cleaner, then rinsed with hot water. After a good rinse I blew out the passages with compressed air. The carburetor is clean, now to rebuild it.

I am using an All Balls Racing Carburetor Rebuild Kit to rebuild the carburetor. Replaced the emulsion tube and jets. I am using a 48 pilot and a 180 main jet. The jets may need to be changed for tuning, but the 48 and 180 are where I am starting. All the gaskets and o-rings are replaced. New float needle and new guts for the accelerator pump. I am installing a thumb screw mixture adjustment screw. New hardware to put the float bowl, accelerator pump cover, and top cover back together.

I really like the All Balls Racing Carburetor Rebuild Kits. You can find less expensive carburetor rebuild kits out there, but the All Balls Racing kits are the most complete kits I have found and include high quality components.

The All Balls Racing Carburetor Rebuild Kit includes:

4 x Float Bowl Screws
3 x Accelerator Pump Cover Screws
3 x Carburetor Top Cover Screws
2 Different Float Bowl Gaskets (I think one of the bowl gaskets is for a carburetor without an accelerator pump)
Float Needle
Accelerator Pump Diaphragm
Accelerator Pump Spring
Accelerator Pump O-Ring
Accelerator Pump Boot
Drain Plug O-ring
3 Main Jets (175, 180, 185)
3 Pilot Jets (42, 45, 48)
Emulsion Tube
Needle
Mixture Screw
Mixture Screw Spring, Washer, and O-ring
Intake Manifold Gaskets (2 x intake to heads, 1 x intake to carburetor)
2 Air Cleaner Gaskets

If you are doing a full rebuild the All Balls Racing Kit is definitely worth the money in my opinion.

Genuine James Gasket also has a good rebuild kit but it only includes the gaskets, o-rings, float needle, and accelerator pump components, not all the other parts and pieces. So if you are just replacing gaskets and not the jets and hardware the Genuine James Gasket Carburetor Rebuild Kit is a less expensive option.

I picked up a intake manifold on eBay. It also gets new gaskets before it is installed on the bike.

Couple more things to do and then the 1990 Sportster will be back on the road.

Build. Tinker. Ride.

Cleaning the carb for the 90 Sportster…

herseyc — Sat, 14 Aug 2021 11:30:27 +0000

I pillaged some parts and pieces from the 1990 Sportster to get the 1988 Swedish Style Sportster running. Mainly the from the intake, including the manifold, the CV carburetor, and the carburetor support bracket. I picked up a used intake manifold and a used CV carburetor on eBay. Ordered a carburetor rebuild kit and a new carburetor support bracket to get her back on the road.

Put the 1990 Sportster back up on the lift to start working towards replacing the parts she donated to the 1988 Swedish Style Sportster project. The used CV carburetor I picked up is suppose to have come off a running bike (I believe it came off a Dyna) but it is in need a good cleaning. I am going to disassemble it and clean it up. Then I’ll rebuild it.

The carburetor still had the factory plug over the mixture adjustment screw, so I removed that since I am going to replace it with a thumb screw for easy access and adjustment. Pretty simple to do, just use a 5/32 drill bit to carefully drill a hole in the plug, then use a machine screw to thread into the hole and pull the plug out. Be careful not to screw up the mixture screw ,which is just behind the plug, or you’ll have a hard time getting it out. Make sure you get the spring, washer, and o-ring out as well. It can be a little tricky but just take your time.

Here is the vlog I did of disassembling the CV Carburetor for cleaning.

Once I got it all stripped down I put it in the ultrasonic cleaner to get the gunk off. When it came out of the ultrasonic cleaner I gave it a good rinse and then used compressed air to make sure all the passages were clear.

The carburetor is all clean and ready to go back together…

I’ll rebuild the carburetor using an All Balls Racing Carburetor Rebuild Kit but that’ll be another vlog.

Until then… Build. Tinker. Ride.

Jeep Wrangler JL Tailgate Table

herseyc — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 10:47:25 +0000

Had a great vacation on Ocracoke Island! Spent a lot of time on the beach and ate a whole bunch of ice cream. This was the first time we had the 2020 Jeep Wrangler out on the beach. The first few days of our trip a lot of the beach was open and you could drive on the beach for several miles. The NPS closed off some of the beach a few days into our trip, assuming this was due to all the sea turtle nests up and down the beach, but there was still plenty of beach to explore. It was a fun and relaxing vacation but now back to reality. Cleaned the Jeep up inside and out, not sure we left any sand on the beach… I think most of it was in the floorboards.

While Sandy and I were spending our days on the beach I thought that a table would be pretty handy. Typically we use the top of our cooler as a table, but that becomes a bit of a pain in the ass having to take everything off the top to gain access to a cool refreshing beverage. While sitting on the beach I was browsing Amazon for a folding camp table we could pack for the next trip and I came across this Rough Country folding tailgate table.

There is a Mopar Tailgate Table available as well but it is over 2x the price. There are a bunch of other tailgate tables available, but the Rough Country tailgate table appears to be pretty close to the same as the Mopar table, even down to the Jeep cut out in the frame. For $79 I think it’s a good deal.

I ordered a Rough Country folding tailgate table from the beach and it was on the porch when we got home. After unpacking from the trip I opened the Rough Country Tailgate table box and checked to make sure it was all there. The hardware was all there and nothing was damaged, all good. The table seems well built and the finish is nice – no chips or flaws in the powder coating that I could see. Yesterday afternoon I installed the table on my Jeep.

The installation instructions are pretty good and the installation is very simple. Remove the tailgate trim, drill 4 x 1/2″ holes in the trim panel (the locations of where to drill the holes are marked and easy to find), reinstall the trim, and install the table on the factory mounts in the tailgate with the provided spacers and hardware. I installed it by myself in about 20 minutes, would have been a little easier with a second set of hands but it wasn’t too bad doing it alone. One thing that tripped me up a little was having to remove the table from the mount to install the bottom screws. Removing it was not really that big of a problem, a second set of hands would have been helpful in getting it back together. Other than that it was an easy installation to the factory mounts in the tailgate.

I posted a video of the installation on the Sportster Project YouTube channel. Stop by the channel and let me know what you think. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next one.

I think it’ll do the trick. Folds up nice and tight.

Pretty solid. I have taken a couple of rides around town and I don’t notice any rattling. The specs say it will hold up to 75 lbs, not sure I would put that on it, but it should hold sandwiches, snacks, and drinks just fine.

The Rough Country folding tailgate table is a nice and easy addition to the Jeep. Now we have a table to help keep the top of the cooler clear for easy access and it’s attached to the Jeep so I don’t have to worry about remembering to pack it. Can’t wait till to get back out on the beach and try it out. Might end up getting a tailgate table for the wife’s Jeep as well.

Build. Tinker. Ride.

1988 Swedish Style Sportster vlog…

herseyc — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 12:44:32 +0000

Last night I was hanging out in the garage after work, enjoying a cigar and a cold beer. Sandy and I are getting ready to head out on vacation so I am not starting any new projects until we get back. I did a quick video blog for the Sportster Project YouTube channel on the 1988 Swedish Style Sportster project. Just talking through some of the things I did to get her back on the road.

If you have any questions or comments about the bike drop a comment on the video. Also please subscribe to the Sportster Project YouTube Channel. I plan to add new videos to the channel about every 2 weeks.

Looking forward to vacation. Just going to hang out on the beach, drink beer, eat crab cakes and shrimp salad, hunt for sand dollars, and fly kits. See you when I get back from Ocracoke Island.

Until I get back… Build. Tinker. Ride.

Sportster Project YouTube Channel…

herseyc — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 23:40:44 +0000

I have been blogging on SportsterProject.com for around 3 years now, and I published a tech blog for a decade or so before that. I have always enjoyed blogging and now I am going to dip my toe in the waters of video blogging, also known as vlogging. I have uploaded some videos to YouTube from time to time, mostly just short clips of milestones in a project. Things like first starts or first rides. I am looking to do some more video blogging and expanding the Sportster Project YouTube channel.

The content on the Sportster Project channel will be pretty similar to what you will find here on SportsterProject.com just a different medium and hopefully a bit more personal and interactive. I plan to focus on building, tinkering, and riding motorcycles. Build. Tinker. Ride.

I still plan to write blog post to document my projects and I will be adding video content on a regular schedule. As I get things rolling my goal is to add a new vlog to the channel at least every 2 weeks, maybe more often, we will see how things go.

Going to start out pretty simple, I have a lot to learn about creating and editing video. Here is my first vlog introducing myself, the channel, and bit of my thoughts for the future of the channel.

Please visit the Sportster Project YouTube channel and make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

I am looking forward to learning more about creating video blogs and sharing them.