Just got back from Glendale Harley, new tires mounted. $50 cash for both wheels. The ND tires look very nice. Can't tell much of a diff on the front 120 vs the Dunlop 130 as far as width goes, but the 120 ND definitely has a nicer center peak / apex vs the Dunlop 130's flat face. This should make for better turn in with less effort.

I had them balance the rear wheel with weights as normal- Good thing I did too since it took a lot of weights to balance that tire (two strips on one side and one strip on the other side). As long as it runs smooth I'll be ok with it, but that many weights was unexpected. On the front I'll use DynaBeads for balancing.

I had them inspect the Dunlops and they are perfectly fine. the rear slice was superficial and the front tire sidewall cracks were also superficial. I was told the front sidewall cracks are not uncommon since the 130 tire is quite wide for the 3.5" rim, i guess there is a lot more stress or flexing along that point of the tire.

Now on to the front forks and spring swap / Ricors.

 

While they're expensive ($2K) you can change the primary ratio by going to a belt drive. Not sure if this is the same across all Harleys, but this is what I found:

Stock chain: Front:34T Rear:46T
BDL open: Front:52T Rear:69T
Rivera/Primo Front:49T Rear:76T

I went with the Primo. Better accel. off the line, tighter gearing, but RPM at 70MPH increased to 3000. Also, such a large change screws up HD's gear indicator, but Primo has an electronic fix for that. (Harley Tech is clueless)

 

You know you're in trouble when it feels more like a Lazy-Boy recliner!

I want to get an independent to do mine as i'm a little leery of my rear bearings. I think I can already hear them when I idle up to a stop, and the Dealer will replace them with the same crappy HDs. I'd rather go with Drag Specialties or something better.

 

Two more comments:

- The Power Vision tuner can alter the gearing field to match the new physical reality

- A belt drive on an already wide bike like the Breakout makes it REALLY wide!

Jim G

 

yeh I don't think I'll do belt drive on the Breakout.

I got everything installed late yesterday, bike is waiting for a test ride today. Pulling the forks and reinstalling was actually pretty easy on this particular bike.

DIY Warning - There was a LOT of preload on the stock springs via a really long spacer sitting on top of really long progressive springs. I would not advise removing the top tube caps while fork tubes are on the bike.

How I safely remove these is to first loosen the top triple tree pinch bolt, then loosen tube top cap while on bike (maybe 1 or 2 turns), then loosen bottom pinch bolt and pull fork leg out (wipe upper part of fork tube first with wd40 for easy slide out with no scratches). Next, set bottom end of fork on ground, on a couple of layers of soft cloth. place the 35mm socket on cap bolt, then drape a big towel over the fork tube that has a hole poked in it for the 3/8" drive ratchet wrench. Use a bungee or tape and do a wrap around the towel about halfway down the fork tube- then stick the ratchet wrench through the hole in towel into the 35mm socket and proceed to remove cap nut, while putting your body weight over the wrench to control pop-up of the cap / keep pressure off the threads. When the cap pops free, the towel will prevent the cap from flying out of control and you can easily take it off without damaging the cap finish.

Putting the cap back on after spring swap was easy- the Race Tech springs only required a short spacer and 7/8" of preload. Again easy to do while fork tube is off bike and on ground. It only required some moderate body pressure to get the threads started. Tip: To get the cap threads started it is easier to hold the cap still while pressing down and spin the upper fork tube, than it is to hold the tube still and turn the cap. Plus you have to hold the upper fork tube up with your hand, with the thin 5w oil the upper tube will creep down if not help up, and you don't want fork oil everywhere.

First impression sitting on bike, holding front brake, rocking bike forward and back, these forks really feel stiff now. The Ricor dampers actually "damp". . I hope, not too stiff. Only a ride will tell. I will say though, there is not a lot of over-travel built into the Breakout forks. Even before this spring swap, I noticed on hitting some minor ruts that the fork would not drop enough to take up the pavement void, and you'd hear the 'clunk' of the extension stop. The fix for this might be to go with a set of FXDWG tubes, 1.5" longer, then adjust the preload and sag to give the bike a longer overtravel.

so I'm not expecting this spring and damper upgrade to cure that, just the dive, ride quality and washiness. If that works out then I'll look into getting the WG tubes.

Anyway- more to report later after a ride. To recap, I put on new ND tires, new ECB HH+ front brake pads, Race Tech 1.0kg springs for 06+ FXDB, and Ricor Intiminator Damper valves. Everything installed easy and no fitment issues noted.

I put the rubber fork boot gaiters on the fork lowers as well, (short ones for 49mm Dyna forks) they fit perfect but I'm not sure if I like how they look- I'll post pics later as well.

 

test ride completed - verdict, five freaking stars. these tires change the whole feel of the bike- easier turn in, no more slow turn flop, sticky as heck. This with the new springs and Ricors, the bike rides incredibly better and my issues are resolved.

 

Yes, I have been telling Breakout owners for a while that the bike REALLY improves with decent tires versus those stock slugs.

Jim G

 

Jim, that is certainly NO exaggeration. It is like removing lead shoes. I can see why so many complain about the slow turn flop, that 130 up front is too wide and flat, and the Dunlop 240 is also really flat. The Pirelli's are indeed an exceptional tire- And I am a total Pirelli "hater" as far as car tires go, so me being so happy with these ND tires says a lot.

 

Some pics today!

 

[QUOTE=LA_Dog;13880479]Some pics today

Have you got a pic of the rear tire LA dog?