Had a part break on a machine at the shop this morning. Pretty much shuts me down until the replacement arrives Friday, so I decided to jump on the ElectraGlide and give it a proper shake down after the recent work.

That got me thinking back on the various things that have broken on this bike. I don't bother keeping records, so this is from memory. And not necessarily in order.

I'm only listing the actual failures. I'm not including any of the upgrades I did.

The bike was just about 100% stock when I got it. Other than the carb plug being drilled out and the breather hose being routed away from the carb back plate, I think it was bone stock.

From about 10k miles when I got her to about 50k miles today:

Horn didn't work when I got it. Broken power wire. Easy fix.

Radio didn't work when I got it. Blown fuse on the power feed. Ended up deleting the radio.

Clutch rod throw out bearing smoked. Big time. It self-welded up solid. Replaced with the newer style that has the umbrella, and also swapped out to some higher angle ramps. Mark @Baker was very helpful with that. I understand he got sideways with the company. Too bad. He was a good guy.

Factory header Y-pipe broke. Replaced with Paughco true duals.

TourPack mounting bracket broke. Slugged, drilled, and welded it up.

Primary chain dropped a roller. Replaced chain with one from Diamond.

Rear brake pressure switch sprung a leak. Replaced with OEM switch.

Rear brake caliper bracket broke. Replaced with one I got from Beemervet. (Thanks again!)

TourPack latch broke. Replaced with a new.one from that eBay guy (Tom Buy and sell?)

Nut holding the front belt pulley worked loose. You all know the story on how that turned out.

Air filter on my Big Sucker broke, leaving the filter cover somewhere in Arkansas. This one is borderline, since the part that broke wasn't factory.

All things considered, I don't think that's that bad for a 31yo bike.

Gorgeous day for a ride here, BTW. Really pleased to be back on the road!

 

`89 Heritage Softail, owned since new (from memory).

At 60K (early `90s), shifter shaft splines failed, gearset removed to replace shaft, during teardown discovered loose transmission sprocket nut, no damage, not sure if the upgraded parts were even available at this time, so I just re used the original parts.

Cylinders pulled at 80K for base gasket leak, noticed a ugly gouge on one of the connecting rods (later explained by a former HD engineer to be a tool mark from straightening the rod in production).

Split the cases to replace the rods, found pinion bearing to be in very bad shape.

Overhauled flywheels, bored cylinders, reassembled.

115k, replaced drive belt, installed upgraded transmission sprocket components, replaced rear sprocket.

Changed out gearset to a splined mainshaft set (1999 model year parts) and OEM type clutch, for no reason at all other than to be messing with it....

120K: Replaced shift drum and shift shaft/pawl with 2005 model year parts, a big improvement in shifting, well worth the effort.

Somewhere around 2016 I installed Street Glide hard bags and a Street Glide tail light.

Summer 2020, approx. 140K:

Replaced handlebar switches with `96 and later parts, in order to install the later model master cylinder with smaller bore.

Replaced front and rear brake calipers with Wilwood units, huge improvement in braking with these calipers and the smaller bore front master cylinder.

Replaced rocker boxes with new OEM units.

Replaced steering head bearings.

Disassembled all electrical connectors, inspected cleaned and replaced terminals (only a few were ugly), replaced plastic connectors. New Ignition switch.

This may look like a lot of stuff, but for 32 years this bike has spent very little time down for maintenance or parts, and it has never stranded me.

Oh, several sets of lifters have come and gone, and the current cam is an EV 27 that has been in there for about 20 years.

Just computed fuel mileage, it is really hogging the gas, 32 MPG, time to dig into the (CV) carb, I don`t even know what size jets are in it, I got it on ebay many years ago, cleaned it out and threw it on the bike.

 

Well that makes me feel pretty good about a 92 bought on Ebay from a repo auction reseller. Slight primary drip, ignition pickup went gooey, broken shifter pawl spring, and the biggest headache was tracing a rear blinker issue that turned out to be a bent, shorting wire where it went through the rear fender strut.

Funny how we all love our bikes so much that we just don't give up on them...we ask for help, dig deeper, fix it, and ride. I know if I put that much effort into relationships I would be in a different place....

 

Like this, Dan? Yeah, they tell you in the FSM you can't straighten a rod, yet that's exactly how it's done at the factory when needed.....

 

It was in this area, a big v shaped gouge with raised material.
Nothing was damaged inside the engine, so it was not caused during engine running, it was the condition of the rod when it was installed at the factory. It hung on my garage wall for years, but with I retired and moved south, it went into the scrap can.

 

^ FWIW the old manuals for vintage bikes detail the procedure for rod straightening. Yikes !

 

Yep, and S&S still does - or did. They even gave specs and a photo on how to build a tool. There is a necessary way to actually, physically do it that they don't tell though.

 

Interesting thread. My '95 FXSTS (softail springer, bought new) has been very dependable for 26 years. Has just over 31k miles now.
No more problems than the average motorcycle, I'd say, and never left me stranded. And runs very good.
A carburetor refresh 6 years ago
battery and tire replacements as needed
occasional tail light and headlight bulb replacements
rear brake light switch replacement
neck bearings replacement (Springers have this problem)
wheel spoke maintenance twice
That's about it. I'm comfortable with it.
I have always used synthetic oil, even before Harley recommended or authorized it. Motor and transmission have never been opened. Everything original except the seat, exhaust pipes, air filter, and carburetor jets.

It still looks great. I like that the plastic doesn't fade and crack like some motorcycles out there....of course that is because it isn't made of plastic!!!

Needs a new set of handlebar grips....

 

Sounds like your bike faired very well there Omaha. Not too many things actually broke on my 98, except maybe the stator burned up.. Other than that I've made so many modifications over the year's, I don't think I gave time for anything to actually brake cept for the crank pin.... LOL...

 

Oops! Missed one.

VR went south. Replaced it and the stator (just because) at the same time.

That's funny, right there!

I was thinking along those same lines. I rebuilt the top end at just under 40k miles, so I never really gave it a chance to break.

Most of the stuff that's let go on mine is nickels and dimes. Nothing major. I make them into bigger problems than they are because I always use them as an excuse to improve something. Or at least overdo the repair.