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[Dan_Lockwood]

Well as some of you probably know, I did my 30t front sprocket I bought from Rob May many years ago.

I decided to not use the Falcon belt that I got with the sprocket, although it is brand new.  I didn't want to chance it with all the reports about belts breaking etc.

I went with the swingarm modifications.  barefoot3zk5 sells a gusset reinforcement set of 1/4" thick steel plates that get welded to the outside of the rear axle slot on the swingarm.  He also supplies a little piece that you weld on the rear side of the axle cam adjusting pads to make up the difference when you move the axle back up to .200".

So I started out by pulling down the primary.

I had no issues with the comp or the clutch basket nuts.  I will say right now that the snap ring that holds the throw-out bearing plate in the clutch basket is way too weak.  When I removed it with my snap ring pliers, I didn't notice at the time, but it bent into a smaller diameter.  When I went to re-install it, it would not grab all the way around the groove in the basket and the throw-out bearing plate would not stay in squarely.  I bought a new snap ring and it bent just the same as the old one upon installation.  I took it back out and opened it up a bit to get it back to original size.  I was then very careful and had to almost thread it into the basket groove, but I'm getting ahead of myself...

So no issues getting the outer/inner housing off and cleaned up.  The chain tensioner looked almost like new.  There were very few particles on the drain plug magnet.

I didn't have a sprocket nut socket so I bought a Northern Tool 3/4" socket of the correct size in a 6-point, but it's a shallow well socket.  So I take it to work and put it in the lathe and do a cut off to make it two pieces.  I then measure my clutch shaft that extends out from the sprocket nut and I turn the base socket opening to just .030" larger than the shaft.  This in my mind allowed me to keep the socket more squarely on the thin nut.  I also turned down the face of the socket to get as much surface on the thin sprocket nut as possible.  After all the turning down of the hub, I took a piece of old roll cage DOM tubing and cut a piece long enough to make it fit the total length of the clutch shaft.  Now I have a 3/4" drive deep sprocket socket.  I will say that I left my three pieces at work while I was out on a road job and the guy in welding said he'd weld it up and have it ready for me when I got back.  Well he did, but boy, it's not very pretty.  He said that the socket steel was very hard and it took him several tries to get the MIG to penetrate fully.  Anyway, it worked and that's truly all that matters.

I know, I know, lots of work instead of just buying a Harley socket.  I had only $15 into the socket and my time, so I felt good about the whole process.

I had my SERG on the table lift and by now I have the rear wheel off and the belt just hanging in the opening.  I didn't have the sprocket locking tool so I used my old trusty Vice Grip locking chain wrench.  We bought this way back in '71 for the Polaris snowmobile clutches.  You had to hold them while removing the crank bolt.  I clamped onto the sprocket directly and wedged the Vice Grip down into the pocket just in front of the lower frame tube stamped cross-member.  I had my 3/4" 24" breaker bar on the nut and couldn't budge the nut.

I watched a couple YouTube videos and a couple guys had to use a little heat on the nut several times to get it to break loose.  So I got out my torches and got a small hot flame and concentrated the heat just on the outer edge of the nut.  I didn't want to get it too hot on the shaft to ruin the seal.  I had a 5' piece of my old roll cage tubing on the breaker bar and I was literally lifting my bike off the lift table.  I didn't want to use an impact as I've heard horror stories about rattling the trans gears causing issues internally.  After three very long sessions with the heat I finally got it to break loose and it was still very hard once it started to turn.  Damn that red Loctite is strong!!!

So in the process I put so much force on the Vice Grips that they bent the stamped steel cross-member between the lower frame tubes.  I little bending and a little touch paint and all was good with the world again.  I can't believe they only torque that nut down to 35'/# plus to align the locking plate up correctly.

To be continued, see next post.

[Dan_Lockwood]

So that part was over and on to the swingarm.

The gussets I bought from barefoot3zk5 fit nicely.  I did a bit of smoothing them up first and then clamped them on the bottom rear of the axle slot.  I had previously ground off some the paint, powder coating maybe, from the area to get a better start on the welding.  I then got out my very old air die grinder with the straight carbide 3/4" dia cutter.  Lots of grinding later I had two .200" longer extended slots.  All went good and after just a little small pad cleanup grinding, I hit with the rattle can paint.

As a little reminder, the shoulder for the shock mount on the top rear should also be trimmed up a bit.  With the axle now back further, the two axle cams can hit the boss for the shock.  I used a thin cut off wheel disc and cut back about .100" and that seemed to be enough on trial fitting.

After all of that I got it all back together.  By the way, the rear wheel/tire may look light enough, but when you have the table lift rear wheel tray out and you're trying to drop the rear tire and pull that axle all alone, that thing is way heavier than it should be.  Finally a 1"x2" across the tray opening and using the center jack to lower the bike just right, it got the axle out/in, but it was a hassle.

So I get the bike back up and running and do a 5 mile test.  I do the GPS and find that my speedo is about 8 mph fast at 70.  I knew I would be getting into the TTS to do the VSS calibration.

I thought I had it all figured out, but I couldn't communicate with the ECM.  I finally took my wife's 17" HP laptop out in the garage, as it's the original PC I used with the original TTS software and the Fullsac map Steve sent me back in June '09.  Even with that I couldn't get the ECM to download or communicate.  I loaned a friend my cable set and I think he gave me back a wrong cable.  I finally found a cable setup at work that would plug into the module and my PC, a RS232 to USB.  I had to load a driver for the cable and finally I could get the ECM map to download to the PC.  I then did the calculations and did the ACR save and then the new ratio save.  The Bootloader would get to 25% and then I would get a 280 error and the programming would lock up.

Back on line again and I found as Steve from TTS told me, there are many cable sets out there that and they're not all created equal.  I finally found a cable at OfficeMax that they said I could bring back if it didn't work.  I bought it and loaded the drivers and tried it all again.  This time I got the Bootloader and held my breathe.  It hit 20% and then jumped to 42% and I knew all was good.  The bike now is just 1 mph fast at 60, so I guess it's close enough.  One could keep tweaking the number by a couple points and trying it over and over, but I'm good with that.

Now to the performance review.

All I can say is WOW!!!  When I took off up the freeway entrance ramp I pounded second gear and it "felt" like I would pull the front wheel of the road.  Now I'm sure that didn't happen, but the feeling was there.  Overall the bike runs great and seems to be better in all gears.  Knowing that my speedo may be 1 or 2 mph fast, at 80 mph yesterday I was at 3200 rpms.  I normally do not ride this fast, but the rain was coming and I didn't want to get caught in a downpour.  The first gear parking lot improvements are very nice too.  I can now take off with less slipping of the clutch and my clutch out in first gear speed is slower than before.

I think that this is the most bang for the buck upgrade I've done.  Just doing this even to a bone stock Ultra would be a great improvement.

If you're on the edge about making this change, bite the bullet and do it.  I'm sure that a shop with experience with doing sprockets would not have had all the issues I did.  Getting the swingarm modified my be a bit more difficult though.  I'm sure any competent independent that can weld could do the whole job for you.

I give this   

Sorry for the rambling on and on and on and on and on and on, damn fingers won't stop typing...

[garya1]

Hey Dan,

Great Write up. What year and model bike is this?

Your lowered your final gearing by about 6%. Your speedo is now off by 6% and your torque AT the rear wheel went up 6% as well.

I think you are correct about bang for buck. How else can you pick up 6% torque for about $100.

Depending on your tuner, you should be able to adjust the speedo in the software by 6% and your speedo will be corrected.

Your butt dyno should be happy!

[Dan_Lockwood]

My bike is an '09 SERG.

Yes, I did get into the TTS program and they have a calculator for bike and tires etc.  I had asked guys for their new number, but when I got into it, it did it for me anyway.

Everything now seems to work just fine and I do feel more get up and go overall.

I think that Harley did a big disservice to us with the new primary gearing.

I would have rather done the EVO Industries new clutch basket and primary chain change, but it was lots more money.  In that you only need to take the outer primary off and you should have to recalibrate the VSS.  It is also is just over a 6% change in the gearing.

But the sprocket was cheaper and everything is now stock Harley parts.

[garya1]

Dan,

Your bike had original final gearing of 2.875 in 6th. You now have 3.066 in same gear. This is actually 6.6% lower and a corresponding increase in torque at the rear wheel of 6.6%.

On the other hand, I just went with the 31 tooth front and stock belt. All I had to do was add a 1/4 inch piece of square stock to the adjuster cams in order to get the belt tight. Still have a little slot left to add tension if belt stretches. My final ratio is 2.967. I found this to be great for my riding style. I would have liked to go 30 tooth like you did, but I did not want to do any welding on the swingarm.

Again, this is the way to get more torque for less than $100.

[RayG]

Very nice job Don, considering you had to make or modify a number of tools to get the job done.  I did my 08 SERK way back and I was one of the victim's of the Falcon belt breaking on July Fourth.  I found a dealership had the right belt, 136T I think!  The belt I got was an OEM for the overseas bikes, I put about 40,000 miles on the belt but got a rock in the middle putting a good sized hole in it so I just installed the spare I had this spring while I put in the 6th compensator and the Baker Trap door unit.  I have to agree with the benefit of the 30 tooth conversion, well worth the work to get it done. 

Do you have any photos of the bracket install and your paint job.  I wanted to put the brackets that you installed but was concerned with the paint.  I would like to see how a real pro handled the job.   

Nice job

[Dan_Lockwood]

I thought I took some, but I'll have to look further to find them.  I'll post some as soon as I can.

[garya1]

Very nice job Don, considering you had to make or modify a number of tools to get the job done.  I did my 08 SERK way back and I was one of the victim's of the Falcon belt breaking on July Fourth.  I found a dealership had the right belt, 136T I think!  The belt I got was an OEM for the overseas bikes, I put about 40,000 miles on the belt but got a rock in the middle putting a good sized hole in it so I just installed the spare I had this spring while I put in the 6th compensator and the Baker Trap door unit.  I have to agree with the benefit of the 30 tooth conversion, well worth the work to get it done. 

Do you have any photos of the bracket install and your paint job.  I wanted to put the brackets that you installed but was concerned with the paint.  I would like to see how a real pro handled the job.   

Nice job

Yes, for my 07 and your 08 we have a 66 tooth rear belt pulley. Our belts were 137 stock so we could drop to a 30 tooth on the front and just use an OEM belt with 136 teeth for the international model, P/n 40056-07.
In 2009 Mother changed the rear pulley to 68 teeth (A good thing) The stock belt is 139 tooth and unfortunately there is no 138 tooth OEM belt and the aftermarket belts BREAK. Thus the swingarm mods for the 2009-2015 to keep the stock belt.
Although I AM happy with the 31 tooth front on the 2015 bike. The final ratio is mathematically, almost the same as our 2007/2008s with a 30 tooth front pulley.
A stock 34 tooth pulley on a 2015 has a final drive ratio of 2.8750.
A 30 tooth 2007-2008 with stock rear pulley is 2.976 final ratio.
A 31 tooth 2009-2015 with stock rear pulley is 2.968 final ratio with 3.3% torque increase.
A 30 tooth 2009-2015 with stock rear pulley is 3.066 final ratio with 6.6% torque increase.

[Dan_Lockwood]

Gary, thanks for the input.

I do have a question though.

garya1
Belt is tight and has a little more adjustment left if needed in future. The 3.5 percent final drive ratio change increased torque and acceleration. Instead of 78 mph at 3000 rpm, it now runs at 75 mph for 3000 rpm. A very low cost way to get a 3.5% gain in torque and a lower first gear for off line acceleration.

I'm assuming you're talking about your '15 when you say you are running the 31 with the stock belt.  Your 75 mph at 3000 rpm is confusing.  I now have the 30t and at 80 mph I'm doing only 3200 rpms.  I checked my speedo again with GPS and at 80 I'm within 1 mph.

I was wondering how we have two different sprockets but very close to the same rpms and mph?  I would guess that if you went up to 80 mph you'd gain another couple hundred rpms to be very close to my setup.

Are the tires diameters that much different between the '09 SERG and your '15 SERG?  I have 18" front/rear, but I'm sure the sidewall profile is lower on my 18" rear than yours as more of an Ultra setup.

Just curious where the difference came from...

Also on my bike and newer I believe, the stock belt is 140t and the Goodyear/Falcon belts are 139t that is needed to run the 30t without the swingarm modifications.

If anyone is interested, I also have a new Drag Specialties Falcon 139t 1" wide belt in the box for $75 shipped lower 48.  Be forewarned, they do not have a good rep.  Just say'n.....

Anyway you look at it, it's big bang for the bucks involved.  I'm very happy with the ratio and performance increase especially for two up riding.

[RayG]

A little off subject here but I have trouble keeping rear tires on so while I doing the laser alignment procedure I found that I could have used a cam that aligns the wheel a little bigger on one side.  I used a laser to measure a point on the front of the swingarm and found that the tabs were welded about 1/16 off from one another.  I would have to grind the tab and make a new one or make a new cam that makes the tire dead nuts on the aliment procedure.  The way it is now the wheel is bolted in as the front noses in closer on one side.  I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right but I would opt for the metric style adjuster that lets you move the axle so you have it parallel with the front and still be at 90 up and down.  Sorry if I confused this, I know what I have and what it needs just not good at explaining it. 

[Dan_Lockwood]

I didn't check my pad where the cams go, but I do know that the right side cam is loose on the two flats and does NOT turn in perfect time or alignment with the left side that's attached to the axle.  This could give me problems, but I found that I can do hands off and the bike tracks straight without having to lean off the bike to keep it straight.  So I guess I'm close to being aligned.  Never gave it a thought that my pads could be offset from side to side.

[mr_magoo]

I too did a 30T sprocket a while ago while I was pulling a trailer a lot and it makes a huge difference off the line and was very pleased.  Now I just have to watch the right hand leaving lights and I go thru more rear tires.

[garya1]

Dan:
I'm assuming you're talking about your '15 when you say you are running the 31 with the stock belt.  Your 75 mph at 3000 rpm is confusing.  I now have the 30t and at 80 mph I'm doing only 3200 rpms.  I checked my speedo again with GPS and at 80 I'm within 1 mph.

I was wondering how we have two different sprockets but very close to the same rpms and mph?  I would guess that if you went up to 80 mph you'd gain another couple hundred rpms to be very close to my setup.

Are the tires diameters that much different between the '09 SERG and your '15 SERG?  I have 18" front/rear, but I'm sure the sidewall profile is lower on my 18" rear than yours as more of an Ultra setup.

Just curious where the difference came from...

Also on my bike and newer I believe, the stock belt is 140t and the Goodyear/Falcon belts are 139t that is needed to run the 30t without the swingarm modifications.

I stand corrected, Stock belt is 140 and 30 tooth requires a 139 tooth unless you slot your swingarm. Sorry about my poor memory! On the speed at 3000 rpm, first of all I could be off a mile or two on the speedo as I just let the Thundermax calculate the new ratio and have not verified with GPS. Secondly, your tire diameter is absolutely a part of it, you could actually look up the diameters of both tires and calculate how much the difference is. However today was one of those days and I am without the energy to do so. 

I for one, am very happy with my CVO wheels and tire and I plan to keep them! Been there done that, but stopped after 2007, now I ride the stock and they perform very well.

[garya1]

A little off subject here but I have trouble keeping rear tires on so while I doing the laser alignment procedure I found that I could have used a cam that aligns the wheel a little bigger on one side.  I used a laser to measure a point on the front of the swingarm and found that the tabs were welded about 1/16 off from one another.  I would have to grind the tab and make a new one or make a new cam that makes the tire dead nuts on the aliment procedure.  The way it is now the wheel is bolted in as the front noses in closer on one side.  I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right but I would opt for the metric style adjuster that lets you move the axle so you have it parallel with the front and still be at 90 up and down.  Sorry if I confused this, I know what I have and what it needs just not good at explaining it.

Ray,

I THINK your 2008 is the same as my 2007 and they changed everything in 2009. If I am correct, then your 2008 has a fr4ont Heim joint at the motor mount. When I use my lasers on this bike, I start by using top motor mount to set rear brake rotor vertical, then  get belt tight, then use front motor mount Heim joint for alignment to front wheel.
On my 2006 Dyna is has the good old threaded adjuster for each side of the rear axel so it is much easier.
On the 2015 SERG, I checked it with the laser and it was in alignment. Since both Heim joints on this model have been replaced with solid, non adjustable ball joints, I have NO IDEA how I would have made a correction if, when checked it was not in alignment.

I am hoping JERRY will read this and take a moment to educate us on IF there is even an alignment procedure for the newer bikes! Otherwise, when I get to work tomorrow I will check the manual as I have it at work where I do most of my services.

Maybe Mother got it so right this time around, that there is no need to EVER align your bike again! LMAO

[garya1]

Hey Mr. Magoo,

Yeah, I bet along with the 30 tooth you also have a 143 inch motor from S&S, you old speed junky! 

Hope you are doing well. I don't think I have seen you and your better half since Street Vibes about 10 or more years ago with JCZ and company.