EVO All Evo Model Discussion

1989 Springer Softail Assembly

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Old Mar 17, 2026 | 10:44 PM
  #61  
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That is cool!
 
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Old Mar 27, 2026 | 07:13 PM
  #62  
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My girlfriend was visiting for my birthday, but had to go back home yesterday. So I'm back in the garage and made good progress. Transmission is assembled and installed, inner primary bolted on too.

Here's the gearset, and a new gasket stuck with Hylomar, my favorite sealer. It never hardens but gets tacky very quickly.



With that accomplished, I installed the shift forks and drum. The pawl adjustment was a bit off, so I fixed that.



There it is, ready to install. I won't be riding this for a year, so I'm leaving a note for my future self. I may fill it before I leave, it'll be a good way to see if I fixed all the leaks.



Anyone who's done this knows what a PITA it is getting all the bolts in. I found it easier to loosely bolt the plate to the transmission, then install the plate bolts. I used a hex bolt from the top for the front left one, because I can see it'll be a bear to tighten everything up with the inner primary in place. The shock is in the way of doing it from the bottom.



This is done, I hope never to come off again! You can't see them, but I couldn't resist using chrome bolts for the two front motor holes.


 
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Old Mar 27, 2026 | 07:29 PM
  #63  
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Nice job Joe! I look forward to seeing you on the road next Spring!
 
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Old Mar 28, 2026 | 10:51 AM
  #64  
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Looks great. Those transmission bolts about killed me. I ended up removing the rear shocks I got so frustrated. I crow foot wrench would have been a big help.
 
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Old Mar 28, 2026 | 12:49 PM
  #65  
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Yeah, they were a challenge. A crows foot did help, but I still had to remove the right shock to get at the fifth trans nut.

When I installed the top motor mount there was a gap to the frame that I needed to find a couple of thick washers to fill. I don't know why things are different now, but there's no tension on the mount.



After lunch I'll turn my attention to the front fender, it's been bugging me since I installed the forks.
 
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Old Mar 28, 2026 | 07:03 PM
  #66  
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A few easy but visible jobs done this afternoon, evening. I love that it's still light at 7:30pm.

First, as promised, I put the fender on. The aftermarket kit was missing a couple of fiber washers that I could not find. So I used bronze washers, turned down with my bench grinder, and thin neoprene ones. A little anti-seize on the sliders and they should be good forever.



The kit lets the fender follow the wheel, and not the dirtbike look they originally came with. I also transferred the patent emblem from the original shock to a new one. The cover on the original was loose and rattled like a bell. I found a cool copper emblem of a Roman Centurian for the caliper.



Here's the new tail light with the old chevron cover. I didn't like the blue dot that was in the middle.



The belt guards cleaned and polished up very well. I think the bike was pretty well cared for until the flood.



One more glamor shot!


 
Old Mar 30, 2026 | 04:13 PM
  #67  
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I had an hour today to clean up my workbench and disassemble the new front wheel.



Tomorrow I'll disassemble and clean up the original wheels, and maybe start lacing the good rims and spokes on the original hubs.
 
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Old Mar 31, 2026 | 04:42 PM
  #68  
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Things came up and I only had an hour or so today, but I got the original front wheel disassembled. The hubcap had me guessing but it just came off prying around the edges with a screwdriver. You can see what salt water does to zinc spokes.



Strange one-eyed creature on my workbench.


 
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Old Apr 1, 2026 | 06:25 AM
  #69  
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Buchanan for stainless steel spokes, Florida proof.
 
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Old Apr 1, 2026 | 06:02 PM
  #70  
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@Architect I have two later model wheels that I stripped for the spokes and rims. But I found two are bent and cracked at the hub end, they are probably two that pulled through the hub from being loose?

Everything is cleaned up and polished, read for assembly once I find two spokes. I'll text my friend in the morning.



Worse comes to worse, I'll clean up and use two of the twisted chrome ones that were on the original wheel.
 
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