New Shocks!

Hi. I put the new shocks on my bike Saturday. Lowered the bike a full 2 inches, maybe a little bit more. Now I'm not only flat-footed at a stop but I can bend my knees a little bit. Feels much safer and in control.

I found the shocks on Ebay - Eastern Performance Cycle - in Crofton. $189.00 total for 11 inch, chrome, Progressive Heavy Duty, New In Box. Real perdy shocks. Road up there Sat. morning and picked them up. Nice store. Nice area too.

Got home and got to work. My new bike lift worked great. I made sure there was nothing under the top of the back fender that could get in the way, since it did make the clearance smaller, esp. near the sides of the fender. Still had at least an inch of clearance I guess. No bolts or wires in the way. I set the shocks to the 4th preload setting so they wouldn't have much 'give' when I hit a pothole. Very firm for sure, but tolerable. May have to take it down to 3 on the preload.

Since I had taken off the saddlebags and their frame thingees a couple weeks ago, I decided to put them back on. Now seemed the best time since the saddlebag frames are connected to the top shock bolts. All is good, but now the shocks are covered up. boooo

Since I was on a roll I figured why not change the oil too. You know, I looked all over the service manual, etc... and could not find a picture of where the get-rid-of-the-dirty-oil hose was. I didn't want to make the mistake I had read on this list about emptying the trans. fluid instead of the oil. So, I followed tubes around from the oil tank, filter, etc... and finally found it. I also had found a great site online that had BIG PICTURES of the exact thing I was looking for. In my case, it was a rubber tube connected to a spot on the bottom bracket of the battery case. Had that little worm screw thingee fastener holding it on. Undid the worm screw, removed the tube end from the bracket holder and voila! oil came out and into my oil pan. After putting on a nice new chrome oil filter (from Walmart no less - they had them there) and reattaching the hose, I filled it up with some synth oil and there were no leaks. Yeah. Two down.

Road the bike around and noticed a big difference in the security I feel now that I've lowered it. I dont' feel any diff. in handling, cornering, etc... except for the firmness of the preload. After a long ride around So. Md. I parked and checked for leaks. None. And the engine sounds better. Smoother. Some little clacking noises are gone.

So next I want to check my transmission fluid. Maybe get a new seat. A Single. God I love my bike!

Thanks for listening. I'm so proud of myself. Can't you tell!?

cbspec said:

So next I want to check my transmission fluid.

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It's not like the transmission fluid in an automatic, it gear oil, usually around 80 weight (in a car, not sure about a Harley)
Congrats on your first mod

For Harley parts check out this place http://www.mandmcycles.com/ 10 to 25% cheaper than a dealer.

I ordered a Sundowner touring seat Wed, got it Friday and put it on Got it delivered to my house via Fedex in 2 days $40 cheaper than driving to Harley dealership and having them order it.

Cool link. Thanks.

You know, I checked out numerous places, including the 'stealer' up in Hughesville for the price of those shocks. All wanted the list price of $269. Asked Jaag's too. Same price. So after looking on Ebay and luckily finding a place not too far away, I called them and asked why? and if they were used, etc... They said nope, New In Box. Had too many sets and wanted to make some room. Cool for me. I bought them. Saved $80. Plus since I was going north from down here, figured I add some other stops to my trip. Places I wanted to go but been putting it off.

Working on this bike is pretty easy. No computerized stuff. It's understanding the way things work together and why that's the pinch. There are places online that do the explaining very well for newbies like me. I put some of those links on my Sportster webpage on my website. Check it out if you want to. http://cmvisions.com/page_7.html
I have others I want to add. Esp. the one with the BIG PICS of the oil change stuff. Great.

Thanks.

cbspec said:

My new bike lift worked great.

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I bought the bike lift from Sears last week. I caught it on sale Friday for $80. Haven't used it yet but at least it's assembled and I have it for when it's needed.

cbspec said:

Since I was on a roll I figured why not change the oil too.......

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I attempted to change my oil for the first time a few weeks ago. Was no problem getting the oil out, but when I started working on getting the filter out, i realized i was basically going to have to take my pipes off. That really sucked. I was not happy. Luckily, my neighbor was able to help me.

Poor designing from Yamaha. My next project will more then likely be to purchase an oil filter relocation kit!

Glad you got the lift jbooty! Better price than mine too. It's easy to put together the few pieces not already assembled. My bike felt very sturdy while on the lift. The belts and ratcheting tighteners held the bike firmly in place. I couldn't even wiggle the bike at all. Very steady.

I want to change the mid controls to forward controls on my bike. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to reposition the bottom pipe so I can have better position/reach to the frame for the bracket placement for the brake. It'll be close but I'll figure out something.

Why would they make the filter so hard to remove? Not so you have to take it to the 'stealer'?! Nawwww. Nope. No Way.