Hello,

Here's the story: I was riding my 51 in downtown Milwaukee headed to the HD Museum last Saturday. I got about 10 blocks away and my pan head shut down on me. I lost all electrical power. Fast forward to the garage. Pulled the battery and checked it..no voltage. This was one of those small batteries that the previous owner had put in. Went out and bought the correct 6volt battery. Had the dealer fill it and let it soak for a few hours, then took it home and put a low voltage charger on it over night. Checked it with my meter and its reading 6.2 volts.
Tried hooking it up to the bike today and the leads just want to spark like crazy when i touch them to the battery posts. Thought maybe I had them reversed so I switched them and got the same reaction; just alot of sparks.
Do I have a short somewhere?? What's the best way to check for this?

Thanks
PS: I made it to the Museum via my trailer...great show Bill!!!

 

Think I would test the cut out relay and the generator

 

How do I do that without a battery hooked up?

 

You have a definite short somewhere Unless you're a purist I'd convert to 12 volts

 

Sounds like you need to get a volt/ohm meter and start chasing for a short.Not knowing how it is wired if you have a terminal block just pull one wire at a time..

 

Finally had a chance to work on my bike this weekend. Found the short in the termial block behind the coil. Now it's time to pull the kickstarter and replace the seal and gear.

 

You might think about a couple of things when doing the seal and gear...in addition to the rubber o-ring inside the kicker shaft, replace the bushings (press fit in and out plus ream to fit)

and...

Use Baker gears for the kicker components. Bit more expensive but definitely worth the effort. The Tawain Ted $hit will take a dump on you sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the bushings and gears!!

One more question: I'm going to pull apart my forks this winter and go thru them. I am seeing oil leaking out of both forks at the lower end. I'm sure it's probably just a bad seal, but wondered if I should be prepared for something other than seals? The forks are not making any noise when I ride it, but I can tell the front end feels 'rougher' than usual.

Remember the bike is basically new as it was rebuilt only a 1000 miles ago...however that 1000 miles take it back to 95....so it hasn't been riden much since rebuild.

Thanks again for the info!

 

The studs coming out of the lower end are separated from the tube by a thin (very thin) paper gaseket. I have got in the habit of using two in each side.

When you take the tubes apart and after draining the fork oil, just remeber the caps are under a lot of spring pressure. Without a fork tool you need to be careful taking them apart so the nut and spring do not go flying across the work area. Getting them back in is a bit tougher by can be done by putting them in a vice with aluminum jaws.

Make sure when you take it apart you also replace the upper seals and remember there is a retainer clip that holds those seals in place.

Last thought...

Prior to taking off the cap loosen the nuts on the bottom prior to taking off the caps.

The dampner tube valve (which has the threaded end that goes through the bottom of the tube with the nut) is flatened on each side and fits through the notched hole on the bottom of the tube. Sometimes there are shims (very thin steel shims) that are put into the bottom because when when tightened they will still leak. This is mostly die to wear and tear and old age; these shims take up and slack and prevent leaks at the bottom. Als try and remove/replace each in the one they came out of. Again wear and tear on old forks and they just sort of fit better in the same grove they were put in in the first place.

 

The studs coming out of the lower end are separated from the tube by a thin (very thin) paper gaseket. I have got in the habit of using two in each side.

When you take the tubes apart and after draining the fork oil, just remeber the bolts on to are under a lot of spring pressure. Without a fork tool you need to be careful taking them apart so the nut and spring do not go flying across the work area. Getting them back in is a bit tougher by can be done by putting them in a vice with aluminum jaws.

Make sure when you take it apart you also replace the upper seals and remember there is a retainer clip that holds those seals in place.

Last thought...

Prior to taking off the cap loosen the nuts on the bottom prior to taking off the caps.

The dampner tube valve (which has the threaded end that goes through the bottom of the tube with the nut) is flatened on each side and fits through the notched hole on the bottom of the tube. Sometimes there are shims (very thin steel shims) that are put into the bottom because when when tightened they will still leak. This is mostly die to wear and tear and old age; these shims take up and slack and prevent leaks at the bottom. (My 49 front end has them - my 65 does not. Had the fork bushing replaced due to age and thought maybe I would not need them even with new dampners, but ended up putting the shims in and finally no leaks.) Also try and remove/replace each in the one they came out of. Again wear and tear on old forks and they just sort of fit better in the same grove they were put in in the first place.