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Had a rainy Sunday, bummer. I’m afraid to tidy the shop up until I have a bit of seat time and the hot thinner oil doesn’t find a way out leading to another teardown.
Shop is coated in Marlboro light dust and dog hair anyway. Roofy T is an old, shedding, itchy Golden Retriever and my dude. Our ages are now about the same and I suffer from the same itches and shedding.
Work & weather getting in the way this week, hoping to get some seat time before the roads are covered in salt.
Also, I forgot who posted the modified 1/2 wrench for the head temp sensor, that was a great tip, thanks.
Managed to eek out a bit of time for the first one mile breakin ride. So far so good, no pushrod tube leaks, no leaks at all. Has a bit of a stumble on tip in and when it recovers it feels snappy. Still lots more breakin and tuning to clean up but so far so good.
Hoping to get a 2 mile ride in today after repairing a friend’s street twin, he had a minor spill and took out the exhaust and right side levers.
And Xmas came a bit early, old lady knew I hated the cobra cone intake buckhorn and she gifted me the cobra plain round one:
Got the 2 mile ride and cool down in, managed to get 18 miles in yesterday afternoon. Found a leak on the front cylinder, looks to be the rocker cover, I reused that seal a few times. Hoping its not the rocker box but at least its not a head pull yet.
The tune has what seems to be a lean spot on tip-in from 2-3k. I was expecting some teething issues on the tune, the hard part for me is restricting the rpms during break-in and the damn cold weather.
Any thoughts or advice on the tune is appreciated, PV2. Hoping to avoid the wideband autotune options and Im not sure on the basic auto tune, which uses the stock 02s. I havent done a deep dive on the tuning yet, still focused on mechanicals.
Bike feels strong, cant wait until Ive got a few hundred miles and can start swinging the wrist.
Cool looking and I'd like one too!.. but don't leave the bike parked out in a tsunami or even a Minnesota gullywasher or the crankcases will fill with water. Don't ask me how I know
I should hunt for a rain sock for the cleaner, but the way my sheet leaks ain’t no water building up…
After another 20 miles and swapping the rocker cover gasket, it’s the damn box. I have a few spare gaskets so that’s not a snag.
I’m thinking it’s time to replace my 35 year old 3/8 drive torque wrench. Just like duffing the 7 iron off the tee on a 150 yard P3, it has to be the club.
Hoping to hit Harbor Freight for a replacement. If the weather holds out and my new box gasket doesn’t leak, I’ll start thinking on the tune.
Still looking for advice on the tuning, but that’s a bit down the road.
I think contacting Hammer again with your tuning concerns is probably your best option. Tuning support comes with the purchase of the kit. Im very interested as to how this goes for you, as i have a 1275 kit coming my way soon for install on my 2016 48 in the spring. Sorry to hear about the rocker box leak. Thats a good looking ride!
Thanks RD. I haven’t reached out to the Hammer team yet and Aaron did send tuning instructions with the file. Once I have the leaks buttoned up, I’ll do a deeper dive on the tune.
i hope my inquiries on the tuning didn’t get misconstrued as a complaint with Hammer, they been super responsive with my questions. Basically I was fishing for someone novice like me who’s been down the road in my same shoes and could help.
And the tune is the key to a great running bike. The dead spot on tip-in is a bitch, lean in past apex grab throttle and huh————waaaaaa. Im sure it’s going to be a process.
The kit is sweet, you’ll be happy with the quality and packaging. If you’re doing this yourself and it’s the first time, I’d familiarize yourself with the hammer site and videos. That’s the reason I went with them, they’re open to sharing the process; most experts only share the pricing.
Too damn cold and work getting in the way this week for the rocker repair. One more good thing, with the wire wrap and coil relocate I won’t have to pull the tank to remove the rocker box.
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