Questionjunk parts? i don't know what parts to use? you lost me there because i know better. dyno don't lie. dragstrip don't lie. street don't lie. i built this motor in 1995 or 96, whenever the edelbrock heads just came out. the most recent addition was the header which i replaced a couple years ago for more ground clearance. believe me, i did my homework on it before i built it and it's served me well as it has 45,000 miles on it. i still have all the long hand math, weeks of it, i did calculating everything out. this wasn't a whimsical let's try one of those, one of those, one of those adventure. the motor was engineered and it did exactly what it was supposed to. there may be better stuff on the market these days, but i haven't got a burning desire to upgrade since it runs pretty damn good. my health is so bad, i have a degenerative spinal disease which will eventually put me in a wheelchair, i'm not even supposed to ride, but i keep pounding it out. you can't help me, but thanks for all your insults.
Followup To
Question -
i was afraid you'd say that. i'll check for frame cracks. i have some crack dye and developer. i still haven't checked the rear shocks. you know, i've seen a few cracked frames in my day but they didn't produce this type of handling problem. usually it was kind of a drifting, not quite in touch with the road thing. i have 52,000 miles on the bike and am a slave to fashion with the white walls. the motor makes too much torque for them to handle it without spinning. V thunder single fire programmable ignition (tweaked by yours truly) w/ dyna single frame dual coil, ported & polished edelbrock heads, andrews ev51 cam, mikuni HSR 42 with a pulse tuned manifold extension i made that allows all hell to break loose at ~3300 RPM, hooker 2:1 header, jims powerglide lifters, andrews pushrod kit, motor gear reduced to 24T, Barnett extra plate clutch kit with heavy duty clutch spring. anyway, i hate to chance a new set of rubber on a guess, especially since the front one was replaced last season. i was hoping to wait until both were shot and then get something that could hook up better and go back to blackwalls. i have a friend whose bike i built, 92 FLSTC. motor is real similar to my set up except branch heads. he's had really good luck with Avon Super venom rear and an Avon Roadmaster or something front. always been a dunlop fan myself. i'll let you know what i find. meanwhile zenbiker@insightbb.com is me if you think of something.
followup To
Question -
no loose spokes front or rear, no rim deformities front or rear as measured by a precision pointer set against very edge of rims on the lip. front end fall away is per HD manual. rear wheel is aligned in swingarm, swing arm isn't loose. wheel bearing endplay w/axles at manual specified torque .002" front, .003" rear. my tires are OEM Dunlops wide whites. front one was replaced < 1000 miles ago as i already stated, rear tire has about 2K left on it. as i said this shake started without any particular precursor n after anything was done. one day it was just there. let me put it like this, I couldn't clamp the front wheel in the wheel vise of my bike lift and physically twist the handle bars back and forth that much. if i was to estimate how far to the left and right the front most portion of the front tire is moving during the twisting back and forth it would be a good 6"(!)at its full arc, outside to outside. while this twisting is happening the wheel and handlebars will actually be pointing in OPPOSTITE directions! that's what's killing me over figuring this out, i have NEVER seen anything in a front end ever that is this pronounced and violent. it's like a giant had the front tire in one hand and the handle bars in the other and was twisting them in opposite directions. it doesn't stop even in a lean when cornering (REALLY SCARY!) it does it on acceleration and deceleration, under load or at even throttle. the bike doesn't otherwise exhibit ANY handling abnormalities even at high speed, 100+ MPH(the only thing stock about the motor is the displacement) the twisting only occurs at about 45 MPH.-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
i have a 94 heritage. about a year ago it developed a front end shake at around 45 - 50 mph. it's violent enough when it comes on that if you hold it in that speed range, even going straight on a level surface, that it reminds me of fairing induced high speed wobble. the front end is twisting and the wheel and handlebars actually point in opposite directions at the peaks of the wobble. i haven't had any collisions, hit anything, had any slide outs, etc. nothing is loose as in the neck bearings, load is correct per drop over point with the front end, no shake is present. i replaced the front wheel bearings & races, the ones i removed were still fine. i replaced the front tire and tube, the fork oil, fork springs (installed progressive suspension springs). i have checked for loose spokes, bends or other deformities in the rims. runout, both lateral and eccentric in both wheels is fine. proper tire seating on the rims is OK. i have used a precision straight edge to check for any tweaks or bends in the fork tubes, and checked the lower tree pinch bolts. i've checked rear wheel alignment and everything there seems OK, too. the only thing i haven't done yet is bottom out the rear shocks and reset them. if i deflate the front tire down to 15 psi, it's barely noticable, but at 36 psi, it is scary! i always noticed that when my back tire was close to being shot the bike would squirm a bit on certain types of pavement, but this is like that times 100. i've been a biker for near 35 years and know my way around bikes. this is the first problem i have ever encountered i can't figure out. i can do about anything, my garage is better equipped than many shops, in fact i have been working on bikes as a small shop for years and have more than i can count i've built and repaired successfully. these days everybody thinks they are a bike builder, i know, but except for this 94, i built every HD i have ever owned. anyway, i'm at wit's end with this one. help!
Answer -
CHECK REAR WHEEL SPOKES, AND HAVE WHEEL TRUDED, I USE ONY METZLERS ME880 TIRES CHECK AXEL TORQUE AND WHEEL END PLAY. STEERING FALL AWAY
Answer -
this is a good one? I would replace your tires with Metzlers Me880 tires front and reat and check fram for Cracks in welded area's like down post and neck,
sounds to me like you also know you stuff but with out the bike here where i could ride it on the street and DYNO i can only guess. if you do find it let me know this is a good one SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY 602-705-7474 www.southsidesdyno.com
Answer -
WELL WHEN YOU WANT TO REALLY WAKE UP YOUR MOTOR LET ME KNOW. YOU WILL HAVE TO GET RID OF A LOT OF PARTS YOU PUT IN THAT MOTOR. LIKE THE JUNK HEADS AND CAM AND EXHAUST SYSTEM AND IGNITION. I GUESS YOU KNOW HOW TO BUILD THEM BUT YOU REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT PARTS TO USE FOR PERFORMANCE THATS FOR SURE. HOPE YOU GET YOUR PROUBLEM FIXED CORRECTLY AND GOOD LUCK FRIEND. JOHNNY
AnswerSORRY IF I INSULTED YOU. IT WAS NOT MENT TO BE A INSULT. BUT I HAVE WORKED ON BIKES MYSELF FOR 35 YEARS AND OWN MY OWN DYNOJET 250 DYNO SINCE 1995 AND HAD 3 YEARS DYNO TUNING BEFORE I WAY ABLE TO BUY MY OWN DYNO. I HAVE BUILT PROGAS AND PROSTOCK AND PRO FUEL BIKES AND I KNOW WHAT PARTS WORK AND WHAT PARTS ARE JUNK. I SPEAK THE TRUTH WEATHER A CUSTOMER LIKES IT OR NOT AND I SPOKE THE TRUTH TO YOU. SOME LIKE THE TRUTH AND SOME DON'T. I GUESS YOU DON'T. WELL ANY HOW RIDE FREE AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR SELF. I AM VERY SORRY IF I HURT YOUR FEELING IN ANY WAY. SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY
