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[miker]

Of course you wouldn't want that bottle there,even a little one,,,
I think it is a good call not to go to an oversquare motor too.
It should be right with the spinny around parts balanced and trued.  I hope when you are done with this you spend the rest of your money on tires, gas, hotels, and food riding the thing around. 

MIker

[lilbear]

Of course you wouldn't want that bottle there,even a little one,,,
I think it is a good call not to go to an oversquare motor too.
It should be right with the spinny around parts balanced and trued.  I hope when you are done with this you spend the rest of your money on tires, gas, hotels, and food riding the thing around. 

MIker

I agree Miker, that's the reason we buy these things anyway!  Best of luck.

[Hoist!]

Of course you wouldn't want that bottle there,even a little one,,,
I think it is a good call not to go to an oversquare motor too.
It should be right with the spinny around parts balanced and trued.  I hope when you are done with this you spend the rest of your money on tires, gas, hotels, and food riding the thing around. 

MIker

You got that right miker! That's all I wanted and expected when I bought it. Never in my life have I seen such problems across the board on the majority of these '07 CVO's! And the only way I see to get it to where I don't have to think about it all the time, and wonder when it's going to break again, is to build it properly from scratch. Been doing that for years as bikes get older. W.....ty long gone. Never gave it a passing thought. You do what you gotta do. But it's completely ridiculous to have to think you need to do this on a brand new $30K motorcycle.

It makes me sick to see everyone here struggling and fighting with the MoCo to only get what they paid good money for in the first place. And then continue to kiss their asses to get what's rightfully theirs. And get it with inferior parts and improperly equipped and trained techs, the cheapest way they can give it to you. Then have the balls to not admit any problems and fix things like a moron would. Meaning continuing to do the same thing over and over. the same way, and expect different results. I find it insulting that they treat us like idiots, ignore our complaints as much as possible, then deal with it the way they are.

Like I've maintained, this isn't rocket science! A large bore engine needs to be designed properly from scratch. Not just pop 4" barrels on a 96" engine, as they appear to have done. Our choices have become only two. Let them treat us like morons and continue to tear apart our brand new bikes, and temporarily fix them over and over, until they get past the 2 year w.....ty. Then leave you with a pile of junk in the end. This will not fix anything, and lets HD off the hook after the 2 years. My solution will hopefully get this fixed permanently, and allow me to move on with my life, instead of having to deal with these idiots forever! Like beating your head against the wall. It feels good when you stop!

Hoist!

[miker]

Amen Brother Howie, hopefully some will glean some insight from our suffering.

The technical problems with these bikes go way back.  The VL that I have was famous for ....guess what...overheating....So they came up with knuckle, guess what....valve sucker....Ok we'll do a pan, see gmr's comments on those pos....Okey dokey the shovel...Some of us have been lucky enough to sell one.  I have no comment on evo as I never owned one.  So we drink the kool aid, not I, I maybe own three or four HD shirts, have not been in a dealer since I picked up my bike and have no intention what so ever to give them any mo' money!  I am with ya Bro.

Miker

[REGGAB]

I think it should be that strong miker! But I wouldn't add that little bottle in there, would I?

Decision's been made. I'm keeping it 110". I'm ordering a Race Forged 4-3/8" crank w/rods from S&S. I can't do that until this motor comes apart and we check and weigh the pistons we'll be using. Vern wants to check my CP Forged pistons out, to make sure Alex didn't screw anything else up. I'll reuse them if they're fine. There's only 600 miles on them. We'll be reusing the Axtell barrels too. We'll also need to get the piston weight to S&S before they can build the crank. S&S will special build a Race Quality Forged crank, which will be trued, and balanced exactly for my pistons. We're shooting for ZERO RUNOUT on this build, and don't want it to ever change! The cases are probably going to Scott at Hillside Cycle in Upstate NY to have them modified for the Timkin Bearing. I'll probably use the same cam grind, and have Wes make the same cams for a gear drive application. He's cleaning up the heads too, and I'll get to have the exhaust port thermal coated, which we didn't do last time they were down there. I'll probably have my Fatcats Thermal Coated as well, while everything's apart and in the waiting stage.

So except for a bulletproof stock bottom end now, nothing will be different with this new build. The bike ran great. I was happy with the performance. Going to 116" using a 5/8" leg would take away from the longevity/reliability. I didn't want to fix one problem and cause another one. So I think I'll just perfect the design of the 110, as HD should have before they built these POS engines! Now I'm using a real engine builder, with the best parts available from bottom to top. There's no reason to believe this won't finally take care of this motor once and for all!

Thanks HD for giving me a long term project and ruining every trip I've tried to take this year. Next year will be different! But don't worry. I'll do your engineering and R&D for you. And hey, I did it for free. All you have to do is read about it right here! No secrets with me. And guess what, you won't have to lie and say "it's supposed to make that noise" any longer. Think of what the shareholders would say if people finally stopped complaing about the garbage you make today, instead of bringing the market the best product you could!

(I had to do it!)
Hoist!

I REALLY hope the MoCo reads this..........but will they listen?  Nah!  Nice thought though.  Howie, we're constantly wishing the best for you and Cybil.   

[JesterDecor]

Thanks HD for giving me a long term project and ruining every trip I've tried to take this year

? What about Hoist's Wild Ride in May ?

No matter!! You WILL be in N. GA *happy dancing* 

[Binx]

No matter!! You WILL be in N. GA *happy dancing* 

  YIPPIE YAHOO!!!!! 

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!! 

[Hoist!]

Calm down BSR's!

Thanks Mike and Henry. I drank that damn kool aid years ago. The Evo's were the first sigh of relief and saved HD's ass in '84. They were pretty good out of the box until '87, when the beancounters demanded more. They cheapened up how the Timkin bearing would be installed by using steel inserts for the bearing race, instead of having the surface machined into the cases. Take a good design, and cheapen it up. Sure enough, bearing failures due to inserts loosening up. Fix it by '92 and everything's OK again until the beancounters demanded more again. '03 guess what? No more Timkin. Let's go back to the '30s and go back to roller bearings. We can get one extra motor/man/day production that way. Nobody actually rides these bikes, so why build them strong?

Well we ride the damn bikes. And we're tired of all this inferior crap breaking/leaking all the time. And we're tired of being ignored after doing all your testing and R&D for free. We buy your flagship motorcycle, and you treat us like idiots. These bikes are usually bought by smart professionals with above average earnings. And after all, you have no problem stealing taking our hard earned money. How dare you ignore us when we have legitimate concerns about the quality of the product we just bought!

Now, to really expect a legitimate response from them about this would be an exercise in futility. I was stupid enough to think that I could get it fixed right using one of their parts changers service techs. So, like you Mike, my bike will never see a dealer for service/repair again. Just like they never saw any of my bikes over the years. I won't look over my shoulder, wondering when it will break again. And I have no problem doing this, and cutting them loose.

But what about those not fortunate enough to have the experience and are counting on HD to make things right. I can't imagine how they feel getting told the MoCo's bullchit lines thru the dealer. Over and over, the same damn thing. The dealers actually start believing this BS after awhile. And the unknowledgable owner doesn't know better and starts believing it too. It's normal to have your bike in the shop 5 times in one season to fix the same problem over and over. Some set of balls they got!

Man, I had to say these things and get them off my chest. I hope enough of you get mad as hell and decide not take it anymore. A call-in campaign is not strong enough leverage against them. Sit on hold for hours, just to get a case number, to have it repaired so it will break again in _______'s time! The only thing they understand is $$$. And that's the only way to get their attention. Personally, I love my bike and will do what I have to to get it right. I don't need them anymore. But most of you rely on them. The only way this might change is to hit them in their pocketbooks. Sue the bastards I say!!!

Hoist!

[djkak]

Calm down BSR's!

Thanks Mike and Henry. I drank that damn kool aid years ago. The Evo's were the first sigh of relief and saved HD's ass in '84. They were pretty good out of the box until '87, when the beancounters demanded more. They cheapened up how the Timkin bearing would be installed by using steel inserts for the bearing race, instead of having the surface machined into the cases.
Hoist!

Actually the steel inserts have been cast into the crankcases since before the 1940's; probably since the beginning. The steel insert for the left main bearing was removed from the crankcase in 1990.

djkak

[Hoist!]

Actually the steel inserts have been cast into the crankcases since before the 1940's; probably since the beginning. The steel insert for the left main bearing was removed from the crankcase in 1990.

djkak

What happened in '87 when they started falling apart dj?

Hoist!

[djkak]

What happened in '87 when they started falling apart dj?

Hoist!

It certainly is possible that there was an issue with the Foundry producing the crankcase blanks in ’87. I don’t recall that ’87 had any more issues than any other year. I still have a couple of old crankcases with loose inserts; one from ’88 and another from ’89.
 
Steel insert crankcases have been leaking and coming loose for decades. It wasn’t very apparent until the primary housings were sealed up in mid 1984. Typically you would see engine oil transfer into the primary housing; although occasionally fluid would transfer in the other direction. I recall fixing an ’85 FXRS Stroker that would transfer primary fluid to the oil tank; fill it right up.

I would be surprised to find a crankcase from any Vendor with 50K miles and steel main bearing inserts that is able to pass a pressure test. If you happen to be removing a stator from one of these early machines and find RTV silicone behind it, either Spiderman’s mechanic from SDHD was working on it, or the insert is leaking and a band-aid was used to fix it.

djkak

[Hoist!]

It certainly is possible that there was an issue with the Foundry producing the crankcase blanks in ’87. I don’t recall that ’87 had any more issues than any other year. I still have a couple of old crankcases with loose inserts; one from ’88 and another from ’89.
 
Steel insert crankcases have been leaking and coming loose for decades. It wasn’t very apparent until the primary housings were sealed up in mid 1984. Typically you would see engine oil transfer into the primary housing; although occasionally fluid would transfer in the other direction. I recall fixing an ’85 FXRS Stroker that would transfer primary fluid to the oil tank; fill it right up.

I would be surprised to find a crankcase from any Vendor with 50K miles and steel main bearing inserts that is able to pass a pressure test. If you happen to be removing a stator from one of these early machines and find RTV silicone behind it, either Spiderman’s mechanic from SDHD was working on it, or the insert is leaking and a band-aid was used to fix it.

djkak

 

I'm pulling the original Evo out of my '85 FXWG this winter. It'll be interesting to see, after reading this, what the inside of those cases look like. This Evo has shovelhead flywheels and was always a real stump puller! And although I babied that bike over the years it still feels strong. The cases are having some issues now so I'm changing engines. But that motor still pulls like a mother to this day! The inserts used for the Timkin conversions, today seem to be designed with some type of flange around the insert, and get screwed into the cases after the normal interference fit is applied. I'm going for broke and that's what I'll be by the time I'm done with this SERK!

Hoist!

[110tHunDer]

. . .I babied that bike over the years . . .

HUH?!?

[Hoist!]

HUH?!?

That's what this was for Brian: 

I thought you'd note the sarcasm in my voice!

Hoist!

[naitram]

That's what this was for Brian: 

I thought you'd note the sarcasm in my voice!

Hoist!

i thought sarcasm was your voice