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Personally i would leave all the cosmetic stuff until you have put a few thousand miles on the bike, iam not a fan of coatings on my bikes. I would suggest you take a look at Pacific Mike on you tube to see how the work is actually done on a shovel, and i would read the Factory Service Manual front to back before i did anything on the motorcycle cause if you reckon hoses are expensive wait till you have to replace parts on a shovel and the pain is worse if its self inflicted Next go down to your local grocery store and buy some cliploc sandwich bags and a permanent marker to identify the parts your taking off. The front wheel, i would see if it effects the handling or the tyre pressure and if it dont i would live with it till you see whats available. As far as cleaning the grease off put some sort of a tray underneath the bike put some kerosine in a container and a small width paint brush and get stuck into it...use a garden hose to rinse off. So what iam saying is the way to go about a restoration is, you get the bike mechanically sound and reliable first. Then you pull it apart and do the cosmetics last. The fun part of that is when your riding around on your crusty around the edges looking bike you meet people who know people who have that bit your looking for or know of a guy who has stuff.
Hi Chase,
couple of things i would like to comment on, your bike looks 100% better after your first Wash ! A friend of mine recommended to me "Spray Nine" degreaser spray to clean off years of dirt & oil , i have personally not had a chance to try it yet but he's a professional Auto Body Shop owner & swears by this stuff !
looking over the photos that you have posted i have noticed a few things , some of wich you already well have discovered, before i let you know what i have observed i want to be careful not to step on any body's feelings & say i think its great that you are keeping this bike in the Family & will be putting her back on the road again !
ok, i think the oil lines are the best place to start so that when it dose come to fire it up you gotta have oil control ! so, the FXDG originally had Braided Steel oil lines & the 3/8 in ID is correct , the 5/8 i believe is the O/D for just normal oil lines & the 3/4 OD is the Braided oil line & yes the 45 $ for 5 ft is pretty much normal , with an oil cooler you will need 10 ft ! if your worried about the cost go ahead & just use the normal rubber lines, you can always up grade later !
ok next is throttle control, who ever modified the throttle when they changed the carb (?) did not remove the right side tank to route the throttle cable correctly next to the frame under the tank going in between the Heads down to the carb ! my personal opinion is to NOT go down the same route that most new H-D owners do & keep buying & putting on "Custom" after market parts that don't serve any purpose other than adding Bling Bling ! Because there are so many small details, in the end you have spent a fortune on parts nothing works like it should because no manufacture designs there products to work other manufactures stuff in either fit or finish ! i would concentrate in stead get as close to stock as you can & just replace whats necessary to get her back on the road, i would just get a set of original push pull throttle cables from S&S for your throttle cable housing , & take the time & effort to install them correctly . . . now that i looked closer at your throttle cable housing , it looks like they sawed of the original end of the housing & grafted on an 81 & earlier grip !
ok next you mentioned your oil pump, lol , what you see there is just a chrome cover , if you remove it you will see the original pump underneath , the FXDG oil pump was black wrinkle finish , those chrome oil covers look like Dog poo any way Lol ! But on another note your lifter blocks have the wrong screws in them , the correct type are the the 12 point socket head screws, the ones you have in there now are for the counter sunk lifter blocks !
ok for the push rod covers , heres how i do them : push the bottom cover down with the spring cover into the lifter block , place a wide tip screw driver on the spring cover & while holding it down, place the upper cover at an angel withe the top placed into the head & then slide bottom of the cover down the length of the screw driver on to the spring cover !
i think that ok for now we go on for hours, but you gotta start some where ! good luck happy wrenching ! keep us posted !
Last edited by troy montoya; Apr 20, 2023 at 01:30 AM.
Yes, nice bike! I would also suggest you enjoy riding it for the season before any major disassembly. As far as part costs, you do know that HD also stands for "hundred dollars", don't you? haha
If you don't go with the braided lines like Troy suggested, 3/8 ID oil hose for automatic transmissions has a bigger OD and is better suited for hot oil than 3/8 fuel line that most people use. You can get it at any auto parts store a lot cheaper than $9/ft.
If you are still having trouble with the pushrod covers, it sounds like the upper end isn't seated correctly in the rocker box. Also, make sure the old seals are not still there, top and bottom. I can do some of mine without tools, or lightly pressing down on the collar with a screwdriver levered to the cylinder fins.
Yes, nice bike! I would also suggest you enjoy riding it for the season before any major disassembly. As far as part costs, you do know that HD also stands for "hundred dollars", don't you? haha
If you don't go with the braided lines like Troy suggested, 3/8 ID oil hose for automatic transmissions has a bigger OD and is better suited for hot oil than 3/8 fuel line that most people use. You can get it at any auto parts store a lot cheaper than $9/ft.
If you are still having trouble with the pushrod covers, it sounds like the upper end isn't seated correctly in the rocker box. Also, make sure the old seals are not still there, top and bottom. I can do some of mine without tools, or lightly pressing down on the collar with a screwdriver levered to the cylinder fins.
Dont laugh... I had an oil clean up like that on a Springer I bought 2 seasons ago. I initially used Goop and let it sit over night. A lighter spray from the hole knocked a lot of crud off then I used the heavy duty Dawn (its an 8.00 spray type bottle) and the stuff was really nice when done. I used a stiff kitchen brush to rub it in.. One of my buddies is a detailer and this was his magic potion. It worked..
The bike looks a whole lot better rinsed off. The Oil lines don't look too bad; I would let the be for now. You may need a third hand on the pushrod covers. You may need someone to hold them straight and make sure they are completely in their mounts. The visible rust in the tanks is not the issue. There is probabably dried up rust and gas in the far corners that you can't see that you don't want loosening up and clogging things down the road. It is not uncommon to have 1/4 inch or more of junk in the bottom corners. You can try to start her up with the S&S untouched. Put gas in, turn on the fuel, if it is an "E" model, remove the air cleaner cover, and give the throttle a twist while observing in the carb opening. If fuel spray it will probably start and run. If not pull the carb and clean / rebuild.
A new set of either S&S or OEM throttle cables routed properly should have you fixed up with what you have if the carb has two cable sleeves mounted on it. If not the new two cable bracket is available for the S&S.
The rim could be fine as is but a well placed whack with a sledge should square it away enough.
Does this have an S&S Super "B", "E", or "G" carb on it?
The bike looks a whole lot better rinsed off. The Oil lines don't look too bad; I would let the be for now. You may need a third hand on the pushrod covers. You may need someone to hold them straight and make sure they are completely in their mounts. The visible rust in the tanks is not the issue. There is probabably dried up rust and gas in the far corners that you can't see that you don't want loosening up and clogging things down the road. It is not uncommon to have 1/4 inch or more of junk in the bottom corners. You can try to start her up with the S&S untouched. Put gas in, turn on the fuel, if it is an "E" model, remove the air cleaner cover, and give the throttle a twist while observing in the carb opening. If fuel spray it will probably start and run. If not pull the carb and clean / rebuild.
A new set of either S&S or OEM throttle cables routed properly should have you fixed up with what you have if the carb has two cable sleeves mounted on it. If not the new two cable bracket is available for the S&S.
The rim could be fine as is but a well placed whack with a sledge should square it away enough.
Does this have an S&S Super "B", "E", or "G" carb on it?
So the oil return line has a hole in it. I wouldn't blame you at all for missing that this thread is getting lengthy. But that oil line will have to be replaced before getting any fluids in the bike and trying to start it. The pushrods, I'm thinking something is not seating properly whether it be the lower seal in the lifter for the pushrod cover where the bike was flooded, or the upper seal and cover aren't going into place (actually not sure if these are seals or not, parts manual calls them "Quad ring for the lower and "O ring" upper).
So should I forgo a set of Arlen Ness handlebar grips that come with a dual throttle cable? This kit is around $60 but if it's junk or I would be better off with some S&S cables and a set of OEM grips I'll go that route. S&S cables are very expensive, around $80 a piece for open and close. Not that I'm opposed to putting the money into getting quality parts for the bike, just wondering if that's the going price for a set of OEM cables or if I'm paying for the "S&S" there? If so, who makes OEM cables?
Interesting tid-bit. I was looking at the pictures of the bottom of your bike and noticed that there was not a skid plate on the bottom of the frame to protect the crank case. I looked it up in the HD parts catalog and they were only used from 1971 to early 1981. I guess I would have been wrong if I told you yours was missing. Maybe you could retro fit on to a later bike for the protection. They started using them again because my late model has one. There are all kinds of them for sale on e-bay.
Yes definitely repair any oil lines that have a hole. You could just cut the hose where the hole is and install double ended barb to save a little money trying to get it up and running.
I should have said O.E.M. style cables. Barnett is a good manufacturer but any quality offering should work. The grips and control housing look OK to me.
Hello Chase,
taking a closer look at your throttle housing it looks like some one just slid on an 81 & earlier throttle grip up to the end of the 82 & later switch housing ! invest in a quality set of cables from Barnett ! they make cables for 82 & later housings in black vinyl with use with S&S carbs ! oh , it might be wise to take off the Air Cleaner first to see what carb is on the bike , if its an S&S "B" that could explain the 81 & earlier throttle grip !
Also noticed your "flex" oil line from the Motor Block to the Rocker Boxes is to long heres a picture of the correct "hard" line , . . . you should be able to source a complete kit with the long line & the short line from the rear Rocker Box to the front Rocker Box for little money.
don't worry about the length of this thread your just getting started , Lol . . . here you can see that some one slid the 81& E. throttle control up to the 82& L. switch housing !
if the bike has an S&S B Carb, that might explain why they did this mod !
here are the correct "hard"oil lines for the top end oil supply, this kit has the fittings included . . .
ok ,keep chompen at the bit you'll get there , hows else is it going ? got a new battery oil & filter ? i would imagine once the throttle & oil lines are taken care of next comes any electrical issues once you get the battery hooked up ! good luck !
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Next go down to your local grocery store and buy some cliploc sandwich bags and a permanent marker to identify the parts your taking off. The front wheel, i would see if it effects the handling or the tyre pressure and if it dont i would live with it till you see whats available. As far as cleaning the grease off put some sort of a tray underneath the bike put some kerosine in a container and a small width paint brush and get stuck into it...use a garden hose to rinse off. So what iam saying is the way to go about a restoration is, you get the bike mechanically sound and reliable first. Then you pull it apart and do the cosmetics last. The fun part of that is when your riding around on your crusty around the edges looking bike you meet people who know people who have that bit your looking for or know of a guy who has stuff.
