What should I change/check on my ‘12 fat boy lo that hasn’t seen the road for the last 5 years?

 

Oils, tires, belt, brakes, fuel and fuel tank, battery.

 

TIRES, TIRES, TIRES. Did I mention tires? You only get 2.

 

Pull out the fuel. I use a kerosene syphon. From the fuel pump thru the injectors will be still fluid. Probably a new battery The see if it will start. May need some starter fluid till that fuel trapped from fuel pump to injectors get purged.

Until you run it, the majority of the engine oil from the oil bag will be in the crankcase. It will actually take a few miles at slow speed to get it all in bag since it's still putting out oil and only sends back 20% more then it puts out.

My 04 bag will empty in about a year. Use to do about 1/4" in 4 months it set when we traveled but last time was a year.

Then change the three fluids after a few miles to warm all.

If tires are original, I would change them . If they have dry rot from sun damage, you will see sidewall cracks and cracks between the tread grooves.

 

Currently, it won’t crank due to a dead battery, so I’ll add that to the list. Does the primary cover use a traditional gasket or did they switch to an o-ring style?

thanks for the suggestions. Was there ever a recall for the fuel line developing pinhole leaks?

 

Your primary cover gasket (outer or inner cover gasket) is not an o-ring, the outer primary cover gasket is part #60547-06. If you should pull that cover, I have reused that gasket several times as long as it doesn't get damaged when removing it...

If you are referring to the derby cover, technically called the clutch cover, which is the smaller round cover that bolts onto the outer primary cover with five T27 screws, and is removed to adjust the clutch and refill the primary oil... It has two types gaskets.

For your year/model the clutch cover gasket is the o-ring style gasket, part #17369-06.... I have successfully reused that gasket also...

There is not a recall for the fuel hose developing pinhole leaks that I have heard about....

As mentioned, be sure to check the date codes on your tires... 7 years is the accepted max age that is considered safe, regardless of tread depth... I've yet to see a tire manufacturer claim anything more than 10 years is the absolute max safe life of a tire...

Additionally, I would flush your brake system fluids, front & rear. I forget when they switched from DOT 5 back to DOT 4, but DOT 4 has a recommended 2-year flush interval. While DOT 5 does not absorb water like DOT 4, and didn't have a flush interval in the HD Service manuals when they came out back in the day, IMHO, it also should be changed. The additives wear out over time, and while it doesn't absorb water, water still gets into the systems, and will eventually cause corrosion of internal brake system parts. I waited 9 years to flush the DOT 5 from my 2003 Heritage, and when I did, that fluid was pretty disgusting. I now change my DOT 5 fluid bikes on the same 2 year (or occasionally three year) interval as my DOT 4 fluid bike.... It's cheap insurance to me..

Good luck getting the bike back on the road...

 

thanks...got married, had kids, etc. everything went on the back burner.