I have a 2010 Fatboy with 11,000 miles. I had the HD dealer do the 1000 and 5000 mile maintenance because of the warrantee. My two year warrantee will expire in a few months.

I have always worked on my own cars and my 81 Honda CB750K (I bought it new and I still have it and it runs good) Now I would like to do my own maintenance on my Harley Fatboy. Below I have listed what I have done up to this point with questions mixed in as they came up. Being a new Harley service tech with no official training (ha ha) I have questions and would appreciate any suggestions I can get.


To prepare for the adventure of maintenance. I bought the Fix your hog DVD’s for HD Softail and Dyna. These are a good confidence builder but I really can`t recommend them for a 2010 Fatboy because they do not show my bike.
I also bought the HD service manual for 2010 Fatboy. (so far this has not been that detailed)
I bought a Sears yellow aluminum lift (this is junk and I will be returning it / it is not stable at all there is way too much flex to be safe) I will be buying a Pitbull or J&S lift before lifting the bike again.
Tools I needed (I already had a ton of tools / these are odd tools that I needed)
Torque wrench 1/2“ drive ft lbs (I bought the beam type / I read they never need adjustment)

???????? Do I need a inch lbs torque wrench?

Oil filter wrench (strap type so you don’t break the oil sensor) (I had this but many people may not)
¼” 12pt wrench / 12pt ¼” socket (rear brakes) ???????? The manual is wrong on this / not metric?
T30 or T40 ??? torx (rear brakes)
36mm socket (rear axle with torque wrench)
10mm 12pt wrench / 10mm 12pt socket (front brakes)
26mm socket (front axle with torque wrench)
Sears vacume brake bleeding tool (optional)
10,000 mile service items
3 – quarts HD synthetic engine oil (engine)
HD Oil filter
2 - quarts HD primary oil (primary 1 – quart / transmission 1 – quart)
3 - O-rings / primary gasket (comes as a kit from HD)
Permatex antisieze ???????? Is this correct / It is silver?
Brake cleaner

I changed the engine oil with HD synthetic. I changed the primary with HD primary oil. (I replaced all o-rings and primary gasket and I changed the oil filter.
???????? I waited on the transmission because the manual says 20,000 miles / what do you think?
I adjusted the clutch and lubed the cables.
I adjusted and lubed the throttle cable.
New tires (I needed new tires)
After a lot of research I then ordered new Michelin Commander II tires online from Revzilla. I removed the front and rear brakes and wheels. I called around to find someone to mount and balance the tires but did not have much luck finding a reasonable priced place to mount the tires so I had the HD dealer mount them. ($30 a piece while I waited / all the others wanted me to leave the tires)

Front wheel removal
Cover the front fender to protect it. Break loose the axle bolt before lifting the bike up. Remove the caliper pins and pads. Remove the caliper bolts while holding the caliper. Wrap the caliper in a rag and secure it with a strap to prevent damage to bike and caliper brake line. Remove axle nut and washer. Support wheel while you slide out the axle catching spacers as they fall. (no more than a gentle tap with a rubber hammer is needed) Remove wheel from under fender.
???????? Should the brake fluid leak from caliper when you remove the brake pads and caliper as I described above? (Mine did)

Front wheel replacement
After cleaning the axle and all spacers and brake parts I put generous amount of anti seize on the axle. I then placed the front wheel under the fender and aligned the spacers and slid the axle in by hand. (no more than a gentle tap with a rubber hammer is needed) This is not that hard to do if after you take the wheel off you put everything on the axle the same as you took it off until you put it back together (helps you to remember the way it goes back together) I thought the HD manual is terrible for both the front and rear wheel removal and replacement. (I like descriptive pictures with detailed exploded views of exactly how it goes together so I made my own as I went along with detailed notes of every step) I then loosely tightened the pinch bolts and axle nut. I put the brake caliper assembly together with the new pads and put the caliper bolts (with anti seize on threads) in loosely / I then put the caliper pin (with brake grease on sliding part and anti seize on threads) in loosely. I spun the wheel and made sure everything was in the proper place. I tightened the caliper bolts, caliper pins, pinch bolts and axle bolt. Pump the brake until you get a good strong brake and then pump some more.
???????? What should I do for the pinch bolts? (anti seize or Locktite) What about the axle bolt? (anti seize or Locktite
I am still having issues with the front brakes. I have bled them / I have a strong pedal but they don’t stop the bike very well. I did not replace the pads because they looked like new. Tonight I will replace the pads and the brake bleeder (it rounded a little) what size is the wrench needed? 3/16” ????

Rear wheel removal
Cover the rear fender to protect it. Remove the belt guard and Mark an X on the axle adjustment bolts and loosen 6 full turns on both sides. Remove the axle retaining clip and break loose the axle bolt before lifting the bike up. Remove the caliper pins and pads. Remove the caliper bolts while holding the caliper. Wrap the caliper in a rag and secure it with a strap to prevent damage to bike and caliper brake line. If the pipes are in the way as mine were remove bracket and loosen pipes to slide them down and out of the way. The axle will come out the pipe side of the bike. Remove axle nut and washer. Support wheel while you slide out the axle catching spacers and brake caliper bracket as they fall. (no more than a gentle tap with a rubber hammer is needed) Remove wheel from under fender.

Rear wheel replacement
After cleaning the axle and all spacers and brake parts I put a generous amount of anti seize on the axle. I then placed the rear wheel under the fender and slipped the drive belt over the sprocket. I lowered the bike until it the axle path was lined up. I placed the brake caliper bracket groove over the tab and aligned the spacers and slid the axle in by hand. (no more than a gentle tap with a rubber hammer is needed) I then loosely tightened the axle nut. I put the brake caliper assembly together with the new pads and put the caliper bolts (with anti seize on threads and brake lube on the sliding part) in loosely / I then put the caliper pin (with anti seize on threads) in loosely. I spun the wheel and made sure everything was in the proper place. I then turned the wheel alignment adjuster back the six full turns watching the X I marked on the bolt. I checked the belt tension and measured the distance from the swing arm to the axle. I then tightened the caliper bolts, caliper pins and rear axle. I put the rear axle retaining clip on. Pump the brake foot pad until you get a good strong brake and then pump some more. (Bleed brakes if needed) Put the exhaust pipes and drive belt back in place and tighten all bolts.
???????? What about the axle bolt? (anti seize or Locktite)

 

Ahhh, looks like U understand and can do more than most in here that's been working on their bikes for yrs already..

Good Job and good work doing Ur research.

Here an actual work sheet I've kept just for new owners like U to help make sure U do all that the Dealers do and when to do them on Services.
http://www.adventureharley.com/softa...nance-schedule

Tires and brakes I don't mess with. we have a local INDY that I ride the bike in and he will R/M/B/R tires for $60 per and brakes $17.50 per. With my back I can't stay bent over very long and still walk the next day or two. So for me its money well spent.
I buy the tires and brakes from Dennis Kirk, best price on them I've found and great service.

Most of us change the motor/filter and Primary every 5k or less. I'd also recommend doing U Tranny at least every Yr or 10K, some/lot of members do all three every 5k.
If Ur only putting 5k a yr on Ur bike most in here also agree its better on the internal parts to change all three oils in the fall before U store the bike for winter. Getting rid of the old oil and contaminates while she sits all winter is better.

Another thing I didn't see was U might get some HD Neck bearing grease and do the neck bearing at least once per yr. I bought a cheap grease gun and use it only for the neck bearings.
I do mine at every oil change, which is for me close to twice a yr and grease it till U get a little grease that comes out of the neck, U'll have to wipe the excess away at first and for the next couple rides.

Also U might get a real K&N washable Air filter that has the lifetime warranty and clean it every 5K also, If U are going to change out the stock A/C and do a stg1 HIgh Perf A/C, Like the SE - A/C, then wait till then to buy what U need.

Hope this info helps U a little more than what U already did.

again, great job and safe ridding.

OHHH another thing,, snug up Ur battery bolts every 5k too. those little suckers have a way of coming loose and cause a miss,, I Know from first hand exp on this one.

.

 

Good post, I like the way you broke it down.

This isn't to bad of a lift...IMO of course...others will disagree I am sure.


There are a lot of torque specs in the service manual that call for low torque values...I would recommend getting at least a cheap one for those rare occasions that you need it.


On the HD website they say the synthetic oil can be used in all 3 holes...does anyone do this?



What type of lube is recommended?


I am going to say no on that!!!

According to the manual...torque and nothing else.

 

The Fix my Hog DVDs are for softails, what they show applies to most softails. I got them too, and they don't show "my" bike either, didn't find that a problem. I thought they were quite useful and as you said a "confidence builder" Since all Softails have basically the same frame/engine not really a need to show every type.

As for the service manual not detailed enough? About the most detailed book you will find.

As for putting anti-seize on the caliper bolts ... don't think that is such a good idea. Service manual doesn't ask for it, and when you torque them, the anti-size will cause you to over torque the bolts.

For balancing the tires, use Dyna beads. Where I live nobody can balance motorcycle tires. Dyna beads work a charm.

 

Thank you for you advice.

Once I get this all figured out and know I am as correct as I can be without being a mechanic that works on bikes everyday I plan on posting this for others to use.

I think it will help to have as a guide for others with my specific bike to have details and advice on how someone else has done this.

Maybe others can do the same and detail all the steps they go through for the bike they own and work on. Then others can correct any mistakes and we can keep a running guide for each model on this in a share somewhere.

They do something similar to this on another site I use for my Honda CB750K. They call them stickies

http://www.cb750c.com/modules.php?na...=viewforum&f=4

They have a moderator who controls changes to these do it yourself guides and keeps them correct.