Gophers and Cheese

It's been about a week and a half since my last post.  Two things have kept me from posting. The first is I got an iPhone last week.  I'm like a kid with a brand new toy.  The first week I was up past 1:00am for 4 days in a row downloading apps and playing games. Then this past week I was in So. Cal. for work.  I've never been to California.  It was warmer than Minnesota (obviously) but it wasn't that nice - it was cool and wet most days.  I was jealous seeing quite a few bikes on the highways but after witnessing it, I think lane splitting (which is legal there) is insane. Here is a pic of the cloud cover.  Highs were in the 60s and lows were in the 40s but it was cloudy and rainy most of the time. The weather did clear up on the day I left (of course). I want to go back at some point and ride out there.  I didn't have the opportunity on this trip. Anyway, I'm back.  A lot of snow has melted but much still remains.  The ridi...

I attended the Progressive International Motorcycle Show this past weekend (lots of pics to come) but something that really stood out to me was new Harley Blackline (their new "Dark Custom" softtail).  It wasn't the bike that caught my attention as much as the way they mounted the indicator lights. The ring and mount around the speedo that holds the indicator lights as well as the plastic housing for the indicator bulbs & wiring seems perfect for what I am trying to do with my speedometer relocation.  Assuming these parts will be available separately, this could be the simple solution I (and many others) have been looking for.

After my fall on a patch of ice in late November (read about it here , here , and here ), I was forced to add some repairs to my winter wish-list of modifications.  The two areas that suffered the most damage were the rear brake lever area and the front brake lever / mirror area.  Thankfully, most of the damage was light and cosmetic. I was lucky enough to get a replacement mirror as a Christmas gift and just ordered and received a new set of black hand levers.  I went with Drag Specialties instead of H-D this time.  I guess that means I'll need to replace the clutch lever too to ensure they match.  Add it to the list...

I ordered a speedometer backing plate (part # 67320-95) and it arrived earlier this week. It's a nice solid piece of metal.  For some reason, I was expecting plastic.  I was pleasantly surprised. Here is a test fit.  The backing plate sticks out a bit because there isn't a trim ring covering the entire side of the speedo.  I plan to paint the side of the speedo black (it's currently ivory) so I think it'll be less noticeable when it's all done.  I will probably paint the Auto Meter clamp black too.

This has been the scene in my garage for much of the winter. A night here and a night there, I back the car out and move the bike into position to work for an hour or two.  Then I move the bike out of the way and bring the car back in from the cold. I'm making progress and checking projects off my list but it's a long, slow process...

When I started doing the wire tuck and tank lift, I decided to relocate my ignition too.  Why not, right? I made a bracket (see this post ) and modified & painted a PVC pipe cap to function as the back of the ignition switch (see this post ). After carefully removing all the wire wrapping, I had a ton of extra wire leading to the ignition switch. I marked the wires (since two of the three were red) and cut nearly 12" out of them.  I used waterproof butt splices and crimped them tight to rejoin the wires. Then I covered them with Kuryakyn Roundit wire wrapping.  It's the first time I've used it and the stuff is great- highly recommended. I then applied some clear silicone glue to inside of my modified PVC cap. and pressed it to the back of the switch housing.  The matte black paint I used on the cap matched pretty well. I used the stock star washer with my custom bracket and bolted it to the switch housing. Here is the complete assembly installed fr...

After getting to a stopping point on the carb cover installation a few days ago, I had two options: Remove the air cleaner assembly and carb to loosen the throttle/idle cable bracket properly and hope I don't mess up gaskets, o-rings, and such along the way Just bend the thottle/idle cable bracket out of the way and bend it back when I was done I went the easy route (#2).  I was able to get the stock cover off easily after bending the bracket slightly with needle-nose pliers.  Many thanks to members of the XL Forum for the tip. Here is my new carb cover installed: I love the way it flows with the rocker covers.  I want to get socket cap screws to replace those that came with the cover.  The tiny buttonheads seem way too easy to strip.

I've reached 200 posts and Gophers and Cheese is still not quite a year old.  I started this blog in March 2010, have enjoyed maintaining it, and hope to keep it going for a long time to come. The 2011 riding season is just around the corner.  We just need a few days above freezing to melt some snow and one good rain to wash the salt, sand, and chemicals off the roads.  Personally, I can't wait but I'm not quite ready.  My Road King needs new tires and my Sportster's winter projects are far from complete.  Friday's high is 32° F and it's been a long time since we've been in the 30s.  It's a good sign of things to come and great motivation to finish my projects. Last year, my first ride of the season was March 6th.  In 2009, my first ride was February 8th (just two weeks away!!!).  I'm excited to see what 2011 brings but, like I said, I need to get going if my bikes are going to be ready.  I can't believe it's almost February!

I really like ordering stuff from Dennis Kirk .  Since they are located only an hour north of Minneapolis, anything I order typically arrives next day even though it ships standard UPS Ground. You can also buy stuff in-person at their warehouse although the process is a little strange (because they are primarily a catalog dealer) but it's really great for trying on a bunch of helmets. Because I am in the progress of a tank lift and wire tuck, the coil and spark plug wires are much more visible than they were.  To dress it up, I went with Candy Red wires from Magnum Shielding .  I went with red because my tank will eventually be red & black. I also picked up some 1/4" and 1/2" Roundit Wire Wrap (6' length) from Kuryakyn .  This will hopefully help tidy up my wire tuck without having to cut any wires. Since I had to cut the clamp that held the gas line to the petcock, I got some cheap worm clamps.  I might get some fancy ones later but these should wor...

Because of the tank lift and wire tuck, certain parts of the bike are much more visible than they were before and, honestly, the stock black plastic carb cover looks like crap.  I've reached the point that I don't like adding chrome do-dads for the heck of it anymore but this is an exception. I found this great NOS chromed billet aluminum cover on eBay.  I don't think it's manufactured anymore.  It's a Landmark "Pearl" CV carburetor cover (part # LM000-95).  I think it will flow really well with the ridges in the rocker boxes on the motor. I thought it would be really easy to replace but I should have known better.  The four screws that hold the stock cover are easily accessible and are very easy to remove.  However, there is a bracket for the throttle wires that has two mounting points, one of the four cover screws (small red arrow below) and a screw on the side of the carb (large red arrow below). Without loosening the bracket, you cannot get the c...

At the start of winter, I had a relatively small (but ambitious) list of projects that I wanted to complete on the Sportster before Spring, mostly centered around changing my gas tank: Change tank (seal & paint) Change seat (because of tank change) Change risers & clamp (because of tank change) Relocate Speedo (because of tank change) Shave Forks (remove fender tabs) Repair damage caused by fall on ice Replace rear brake lever & bolts Replace mirror Replace or sand/re-paint front brake lever Clearly, the list above wasn't challenging enough so I have added the following projects to it: Repaint rear fender and relocate flying eyeball emblem Repaint horn cover Fabricate custom indicator light mount Tank Lift (includes making custom brackets) Wire Tuck Relocate ignition (includes making custom ignition bracket and chopping coil bracket) Change spark plug wires Change carb cover Extend gas tank vent hose since new tank has different location Change valv...

As promised, here is a color version of my last post. After this, I'll get back to sharing what's been going on with my winter Sportster mods. For now, enjoy one last dose of summertime bliss... All my recent re-posts from the Bearded Lady Motorcycle Show have inspired me to go back and review all the photos I took that day and I have pulled together another set. These haven't been posted before. I think it's important to call out that there were a handful of cool cars in addition to all the amazing bikes. The crowd was about as diverse as they come - young, old, singles, couples, bikers, non-bikers, club members, and people in costume. Here are some motorized bicycles.  I think these would be fun to ride. These old-school trikes always remind me of rides at a fair.  This one could use a little TLC. Yamaha chop: Here's a nice pair of shovelheads... And I'll end with a bike I've seen lots of places including The Joint , Maiden Rock durin...

All my recent re-posts from the Bearded Lady Motorcycle Show have inspired me to go back and review all the photos I took that day and I have pulled together another set. These haven't been posted before.  I'll give you the black-and-whites first and then post color ones. I think it's important to call out that there were a handful of cool cars in addition to all the amazing bikes. The crowd was about as diverse as they come - young, old, singles, couples, bikers, non-bikers, club members, and people in costume. Here are some motorized bicycles.  I think these would be fun to ride. These old-school trikes always remind me of rides at a fair.  This one could use a little TLC. Yamaha chop: Here's a nice pair of shovelheads... And I'll end with a bike I've seen lots of places including The Joint , Maiden Rock during the Flood Run , and even the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis.  It's the Mowercycle (aka Mowasaki).  It's a motorcycle/lawnmow...