I dove in and tackled the oil tank installation. Seems like everything involves more problems than I anticipate. I am getting frustrated with aftermarket parts that only sort-of fit. Got the tank on (which requires removing the rear fender completely), but the V-Twin oil lines I bought were about 3/8 of an inch too short to work. No way to bend them to fix.
I ended up bending up some from straight tubing, but I am still fighting some leaks. Suffice it to say that I have never gotten on well with flare fittings... Any coupling that fails about 30% of the time causes issues with the engineer in me.
I also installed the speedometer that I bought in Australia. Fits okay, but I am able to confirm that I was sold the wrong one (1:1 ratio, should be 2:1). It read about double the correct speed. The lesson here is don't trust the seller to know what part you need... I guess it at least fills the hole, and might prevent a ticket if I get stopped.
Anyway, that's all the news that's fit to print. Bitmonkey posted an eBay 1939 U that has been pretty helpful to document the way mine should be (will be?) one day.
Not sure if the hubby is really back from down under.... I think he has just changed what he is "under" as it is now the Harley rather than being on a Southern continent. He has my permission to look for the right speedometer since I know this will drive him crazy until it is right!
ReplyDeleteWow! It's starting to look like a real motorcycle. It's gonna be a BAMF when you get the rear fender/taillight on it.
ReplyDeleteI've seen HD guys recommend using Loctite thread sealant on those fittings. I think this might be the stuff:
http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Thread-Sealant-Temperature-37397/dp/B0002KKTH2
I think SB Chevy guys use the same stuff for their head bolts that run into water jackets
You are SO lucky to have a wife that gets you AND tolerates your crap. You better keep her happy.
ReplyDeleteFortunately I think she's starting to warm up to the smell of 60-wt and exhaust.
ReplyDeleteAfter much research, I concluded that flare fittings should NOT have thread sealant on them, because the inner surface of the flare is the sealing surface. Best guidance I found is to put a little heavy grease behind the flare between it and the retaining nut, and to put a drop of oil on the threads.
Most important is the the tube needs to line up PERFECTLY. This was pretty damn hard to do on the innermost Harley line, because of tight clearance between the line and the rear cylinder.