Picked up my bike from the indie shop today, detailed and waxed it. Got a new tire, rotor, pads, and rebuilt caliper. I use this German wax that is used to detail airplanes. $30 and I use it on my truck, too.




I terry'd all the chrome (still need to hit in between the spokes) and tightened a few small bolts that were loose. I forgot I had the problem pictured below. There is much play in the L-shaped metal housing the throttle cables feed into the handlebar through, they aren't connected to the handlebars. Is that normal?



Unfortunately, this small gash below the front fender badge was left on the bike as the indie was working on it. When I pointed it out they said they'd take $100 off the bill, and has a painter with access to Harley OEM paint that will fill it when I change my front tire. Any recommendations for this?


Beyond that, bike rode fine in the 2 miles I rode home on it. Any tips for riding during the break-in period of new pads and a rotor? Looking forward to more rides to San Diego. Check out this montage of video I took last weekend from a Centennial Police RoadKing of the sunset in North County along the beach -

 

There is much play in the L-shaped metal housing the throttle cables feed into the handlebar through, they aren't connected to the handlebars. Is that normal?


The cables are held in place by little "C" clips .... see #5 & 6
Yes it's normal.


https://www.dodgecityharleydavidson....ROTTLE_CONTROL

 

Dude, you spent more time looking at the side of the road and behind you than you did at what was in front. The scenery there sure is sweet but you got to pay attention to whats in front of you.

 

That is not wax, its a paint sealant. Says it on the bottle. Wolfgang Fuzion is their wax, I have a jar of that along with their sealant, good stuff.

 

While wolfgang is quality product...who ever told you its used to "detail airplanes" just feeding you a load to get you to buy it. While I'm sure somebody has used it on their plane, I'm fairly certain most automotive detailing product would work just fine on a plane as well. Somebody could go buy a jar of turtle wax, throw it on their plane, and now its "used to detail airplanes." Although to be honest, I have no idea what the surface is like on planes. Is it painted aluminum? Clear coat? Vinyl wrapped? I would venture to guess the surface of your bike/truck is a lot different than your average plane, which would mean the fact its "used on planes" is irrelevant anyway.

Its like those as seen on TV ads, or my personal favorite... ads on social media like Facebook and Instagram where the typical ad goes like this:

"Click here to purchase this TACTICAL flashlight at 75% off! Military grade, the government is making it illegal for civiliians to own this becase it's too bright! Navy SEALs used it on their mission to find Bin Laden! Buy it before its illegal!" .... and its clearly some cheap china made home depot-checkout line flashlight...black obviously because its extra tactical.

People throw words like tactical, and military grade around....not realizing military equipment is made by the lowest bidder and is generally a bucket of bolts.

 

"Unfortunately, this small gash below the front fender badge was left on the bike as the indie was working on it. When I pointed it out they said they"

OH MAN that woulda doitched me off to the max!

 

Yeah pretty much why I hate taking my stuff to dealer or repair shop. Most don't care about your property like you do.

 

OP, if you wanna learn about detailing yer scoot, listen VERY carefully to this gentleman. ..he knows where of he speaks...

Just sayin. ..

 

I've just been using the "paint-sealant" and applying it to my Harley as directed. Does this alone function as decent protection for my paint?

 

Protection wise, WDGPS is a excellent LSP. Most people get very caught up in what wax, sealant is used because the paint looks "Good". If I taped a panel off in half and put LSP #1 on the left and LSP#2 on the right, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in looks alone. Perfect paint comes from polishing paint to as close to perfection as the detailer can get.
Detailing a bike "Properly" takes many many hours. When I do a bike I estimate it at the very least 6hrs. Usually its around 8hr. Just the about the same as it takes me to do a car. When I do a bike I remove the gas tank, bags, side covers. This is the only way to properly polish the paint, I charge a good amount so this is what the customer pays for.
Back on topic. Wolfgang makes excellent products, including the one you are using. It lasts a reasonable about of time, cleans easy, and looks really good.
Your choice of a sealant instead of a wax is a great choice, wax=dust magnet here in Fl.
If you want to take it up to the next level try a paint coating. Game changer in the detailing world