73 flh starter dragging..
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,125
Likes: 51,441
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
Your this far so I'd say crack the cases and have the rods & flywheels checked , from the wear patterns on those pistons the wheels may a twist going on . The flywheel trueing on some of the earlier bikes was off quite a bit sometimes .
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,125
Likes: 51,441
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
Good looking old shovel. It brings back good memories. Here's my old '73 in '73 when I was stationed in Germany. That's me on the left.
I had problems with the rear head not seating to the cylinder properly. When I rode to England once, I blew a rear head gasket over the oil passage. I pulled the rear plug and rode on into London where Fred Whar milled the head and fixed the problem. I also had problems with the rear brake caliper. A valve spring from car engine fixed that.
I had problems with the rear head not seating to the cylinder properly. When I rode to England once, I blew a rear head gasket over the oil passage. I pulled the rear plug and rode on into London where Fred Whar milled the head and fixed the problem. I also had problems with the rear brake caliper. A valve spring from car engine fixed that.
I am going to pull the cases apart and go through the entire motor..I am very lucky to have a good friend and a shop that has helped me out in the past with older bikes..He does a lot of 45 and pan restorations..So I will keep ya posted and Thanks again for all the help..
If you are going to spend the time and money to crack the cases, go ahead and go to an 80" motor (wheels, rods, pistons, cylinders). S&S has some great kits to bump it, and while you are at it, go ahead and get the heads and Super E. You won't look back. Put your old parts on a shelf and give them to the next owner.
Been to Warr's , the place was closed the 4 days we were in London in 88 so we had to do the jumper cable recharge on my brother's bike back across the channel to Paris to find a shop to fix his blown stator & regulator on FXRT he was riding . We'd do the cable thing ride for 50 or so miles till the bike started cutting out then the cable thing again , was a long wet day but what the hell it's what being a biker was all about then wasn't it you did what you had to to get there .
A couple of thoughts. When you put the motor back together, make sure you go back with the triangular spacers under the cylinder nuts. They spread the torque when you tighten them down. A lot of the time, folks lose one and don't go back with any, and wind up breaking a corner off the cylinder. Also, torque your heads in a star pattern like lug nuts. Your shop manual will spell this out. The cold torque is best done with the motor on the bench. Retorque after warm-up, along with everything else.
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Thank you for the heads up AL..I am rebuilding the motor and my buddies shop cyclemhttp://www.cyclemos.com/restore.htmlos Unkike me he has the room and is very organised..He has helped me with a couple of my other projects..
