My first Harley,,,couple of questions
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From: McLouth Kansas
My first Harley,,,couple of questions
Hi guys,,,,I have a 00 Dyna WG TC 88 that I bought new, and it is my first Harley. Before that I rode a "71" 650 twin Yamaha, and I still have it BTW it's a shrine in my garage,,you know the first bike thing.
As of now I have 23K on the Harley and everything runs just fine, only add on's are a KN air filter and Vance Hines pipes and a stage 1 jet kit to richen up the lean air/fuel from the filter and pipes, 48 slow jet and a 195 main jet.
The belt drive concern's me, and the useful life I have with it. What kind of service life can I expect out of this belt ? I dont want to get stranded out in who know's where with a broken belt. Replacing the belt is not like a chain on my old 650 LOL,,,,with this Dyna, it is a different deal to replace and could be a winter project item. Do I replace it this winter or do I have miles left in it??
My other issue is the cam bearings and the problem they seem to bring on,,,what, when, or where do I do anything with this as well. How will I know I have a cam bearing problem,,,when or if it occurs.
When I bought this new bike my ideal was to get a long life engine with little problems,,, What kind of useful miles can I expect from the engine,,,my old Yamaha seemed to need new rings about every 20K miles and a valve job,,,I think this engine can do better,,,for sure.
Thanks
As of now I have 23K on the Harley and everything runs just fine, only add on's are a KN air filter and Vance Hines pipes and a stage 1 jet kit to richen up the lean air/fuel from the filter and pipes, 48 slow jet and a 195 main jet.
The belt drive concern's me, and the useful life I have with it. What kind of service life can I expect out of this belt ? I dont want to get stranded out in who know's where with a broken belt. Replacing the belt is not like a chain on my old 650 LOL,,,,with this Dyna, it is a different deal to replace and could be a winter project item. Do I replace it this winter or do I have miles left in it??
My other issue is the cam bearings and the problem they seem to bring on,,,what, when, or where do I do anything with this as well. How will I know I have a cam bearing problem,,,when or if it occurs.
When I bought this new bike my ideal was to get a long life engine with little problems,,, What kind of useful miles can I expect from the engine,,,my old Yamaha seemed to need new rings about every 20K miles and a valve job,,,I think this engine can do better,,,for sure.
Thanks
Last edited by racer11; Aug 29, 2010 at 10:46 PM.
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I don't know about the cam bearings. Now, if in fact you still have the original belt it is 10 years old and to me that is a bigger concern then the miles. My Indy said the belt's will bust at 5'000 or 80'000 you just never know. He said if I never have a problem then it's probably a good idea to replace around 40'000 miles. I'm thinking with your Harley after 10 years this would make a good Winter project if you are good with a wrench.
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From: McLouth Kansas
GPHDXCL.......
Thank you for the advice,,,,and I can agree about the belt and its age as a factor,,,I think I have a concern because of deterioration vs the miles.
I imagine I will be good for the rest of the summer ,,,,I don't ride hard at all and put little of any stress on the belt.
I guess that gives me 2 winter project's,,,,final drive belt replacement and a engine build on my Vette,,,,who cares if the winter will be as bad as last years
I will be tucked away in the shop.
Thanks
Thank you for the advice,,,,and I can agree about the belt and its age as a factor,,,I think I have a concern because of deterioration vs the miles.
I imagine I will be good for the rest of the summer ,,,,I don't ride hard at all and put little of any stress on the belt.
I guess that gives me 2 winter project's,,,,final drive belt replacement and a engine build on my Vette,,,,who cares if the winter will be as bad as last years
I will be tucked away in the shop.Thanks
Last edited by racer11; Aug 30, 2010 at 05:10 PM.
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That is a pretty tough motor. Keeping the oil fresh is no big deal, with the miles you ride once a year should do it. It could last a very long time depending how much you hammer it.
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I ride really easy 99.9% of the time,,,I probably hammered the engine twice in its life time, I save the hammer fun for my Vette LOL . I'am going to switch over to synthetic oil, in about 500 miles I will have 2000 thousand on the oil that is in the engine now (valvoline VR-1) and then I will change it and run it till the riding season ends and winterize it with fresh oil in the engine.
I was looking at my service manual tonight and replacing the cam bearings and chain tensioner's should be no big deal to do. In fact I can take the cam plate cover off and ck out the primary tensioner to see if the wear pad is still with in spec's, all I need is a new gasket when i put the cover back on. I probably will add the to my winter project list along with replacing the drive belt.
The last several years I have not been riding much,,,the GF lost interest in riding, so I found a riding buddy who has a 06 dyna and we plan to take a couple of day rides in the near future. I needed to get a new Bat. and front tire and tomorrow I have a new wind screen to pick up and install. When that is all done I will be set to go,,,my friend did not have a riding buddy either and he is ready to do some miles,,,,I think I need to get another GF who like's riding a MC,,,I see all these other guys with pretty girls riding with them,,,,pretty girls make riding even more fun
I was looking at my service manual tonight and replacing the cam bearings and chain tensioner's should be no big deal to do. In fact I can take the cam plate cover off and ck out the primary tensioner to see if the wear pad is still with in spec's, all I need is a new gasket when i put the cover back on. I probably will add the to my winter project list along with replacing the drive belt.
The last several years I have not been riding much,,,the GF lost interest in riding, so I found a riding buddy who has a 06 dyna and we plan to take a couple of day rides in the near future. I needed to get a new Bat. and front tire and tomorrow I have a new wind screen to pick up and install. When that is all done I will be set to go,,,my friend did not have a riding buddy either and he is ready to do some miles,,,,I think I need to get another GF who like's riding a MC,,,I see all these other guys with pretty girls riding with them,,,,pretty girls make riding even more fun
My Lowrider has 70k on it(2004)which is 40,000 miles,and on its original belt. Im going to just keep riding untill it breaks,then phone CAA. Ive heard of 100k on a belt. My last bike,a 96 Wide Glide,the belt broke at around 80k,but I let it run to slack. Keep it adjusted,tight,but not tight enough to take out the bearings,and it will last,lond as you dont get a rock caught in it.
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From: Passaic County, NJ
Hi guys,,,,I have a 00 Dyna WG TC 88 that I bought new, and it is my first Harley. Before that I rode a "71" 650 twin Yamaha, and I still have it BTW it's a shrine in my garage,,you know the first bike thing.
As of now I have 23K on the Harley and everything runs just fine, only add on's are a KN air filter and Vance Hines pipes and a stage 1 jet kit to richen up the lean air/fuel from the filter and pipes, 48 slow jet and a 195 main jet.
The belt drive concern's me, and the useful life I have with it. What kind of service life can I expect out of this belt ? I dont want to get stranded out in who know's where with a broken belt. Replacing the belt is not like a chain on my old 650 LOL,,,,with this Dyna, it is a different deal to replace and could be a winter project item. Do I replace it this winter or do I have miles left in it??
My other issue is the cam bearings and the problem they seem to bring on,,,what, when, or where do I do anything with this as well. How will I know I have a cam bearing problem,,,when or if it occurs.
When I bought this new bike my ideal was to get a long life engine with little problems,,, What kind of useful miles can I expect from the engine,,,my old Yamaha seemed to need new rings about every 20K miles and a valve job,,,I think this engine can do better,,,for sure.
Thanks
As of now I have 23K on the Harley and everything runs just fine, only add on's are a KN air filter and Vance Hines pipes and a stage 1 jet kit to richen up the lean air/fuel from the filter and pipes, 48 slow jet and a 195 main jet.
The belt drive concern's me, and the useful life I have with it. What kind of service life can I expect out of this belt ? I dont want to get stranded out in who know's where with a broken belt. Replacing the belt is not like a chain on my old 650 LOL,,,,with this Dyna, it is a different deal to replace and could be a winter project item. Do I replace it this winter or do I have miles left in it??
My other issue is the cam bearings and the problem they seem to bring on,,,what, when, or where do I do anything with this as well. How will I know I have a cam bearing problem,,,when or if it occurs.
When I bought this new bike my ideal was to get a long life engine with little problems,,, What kind of useful miles can I expect from the engine,,,my old Yamaha seemed to need new rings about every 20K miles and a valve job,,,I think this engine can do better,,,for sure.
Thanks
Every engine requires maintenance. Did you expect the brake pads to last infinitely?
with only 23k miles on a 10 yr old bike, does your belt look like it's drying out? Cracking? Showing signs of severe wear? I mean, this isn't rocket science. If it looks like it should be changed, change it.
Useful miles? You only ride on avg 2300 miles a year. What do you consider "useful miles"? Motorcycles preserve one's sanity. Every mile I do is one mile closer to nirvana.
I think Darwin said it best when he said "Use it or lose it."
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