Hold my beer!

How did I wind up here?

Many, many… many moons ago, I began wrenching. I suppose it started with my first bicycle that, as best as I can remember it- my parents bought for me, from a local guy that took different bikes and put them together to make pretty cool, custom built bikes. Now, there wasn’t a “custom bicycle scene” back then, no, this was back in the late 1970’s and a custom built bike was cheaper than a mainstream bike like a Schwinn, Huffy or Mongoose. I didn’t truly appreciate it until years later, when I realized that it was a one-off bike and that no one else had one like it. I still have it, by the way. 

Back then, a kid’s bike was his ticket to explore the world. We could go as far as our little legs would take us, as long as we were back home by the time the street lights came on. It was awesome growing up in the ‘80’s- no cell phones, no computers, and no video games (yeah, we had Atari, but we weren’t that interested in being inside when there was a whole world of stuff to get into). We climbed trees, went fishing, looked for weird bugs and played in the dirt- life was grand and summers were the best time of the year. 

But, even the best bikes got flat tires and, we were at a time in our lives when we were growing… so dad’s tool box was one of our best resources to fix those flat tires, tighten the chains and adjust the seat heights and handlebars of our trusty steeds. My dad’s Craftsman tool chest was the best, too. Before I was born, dad worked as a welder and a mechanic and he had a tool for just about any job. When we moved South, dad had to sell off a lot of his heavy-duty stuff, but he kept the essentials and I grew up using those tools, as much as (or maybe even more than) he did. I went from turning wrenches on my bikes, to working on go-carts, dirt bikes, and ultimately- my cars.

Growing up

I’m not a mechanic, not by trade, anyway… not anymore. I grew up in a single-income household, so we didn’t have a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong- it was glorious- dad worked and supported the family while mom stayed home and took care of the house, the kids, the meals and keeping it all together. They worked together- each doing their part and both making sacrifices to ensure the overall success and happiness of the family. As a result, we never went hungry, we grew up close and we grew up with a sense of security. But, not having much money, meant that we didn’t have a lot of material things- our cars were older and dad was the repairman for, quite literally, everything that broke- appliances, cars, lawnmowers, you name it. You see, when you don’t have a lot of money, you have to do be the mechanic, the contractor, the electrician, the plumber, the cook… you get the idea. As a result, each of us kids learned a little about everything, and a lot about some things. I took to mechanical work like a duck to water. I found an incredible sense of gratification from replacing a water pump, or rebuilding a carburetor. It seemed to come naturally to me… I didn’t mind getting grease on my hands or busting my knuckles on an exhaust manifold. In fact, I considered it a badge of honor. In junior high, I met a girl that I knew was going to be my wife one day, and by graduation, she was my girl and she knew it, too. 

I didn’t have any real plans for the future, but I knew I was good at mechanic work, so for our first anniversary, she bought me a huge Craftsman mechanic’s tool set! I worked a few jobs after high school, a couple of them being a non-certified mechanic jobs at local shops. I enjoyed them, but as life tends to do, my career goals changed and I found myself trying out a few different jobs and ultimately, found myself being called to a “job” that would ultimately become my career for the next 24 years. I never gave up wrenching though- from oil changes and brake replacements on the family trucksters, to body work on wrecked vehicles, to repairing and maintaining motorcycles- all using that same tool set that she bought me all those years ago… with a few extras that were added along the way.

A couple of years ago, I was able to convince my boss to send me to Harley-Davidson University in Milwaukee for some motorcycle tech schools. Those classes not only helped me in maintaining our motorcycles at work, but they have also given me the knowledge, confidence and experience to work on my personal bikes, and the bikes of friends, too. I’ve also been blessed with becoming a certified motorcycle operator and instructor… something that has benefited me a hundred times over.

Hold my beer

One of my fondest memories as a kid, was dad saying “hold my beer” as he showed me how to fix something. I would hold his beer, as he showed me what to do, then he’d say, “now, your turn.” I’d finish replacing the brakes, or the alternator, or whatever it was that we were working on, as he carefully watched (and often corrected me) to make sure I did it right. The feeling of accomplishment when the job was done was incredible! The “I did that” feeling is something that I still chase to this day. In my chosen career, it’s not the same. The “things” I have had to try to fix over the course of my career, aren’t often tangible things…not like replacing brakes or rebuilding a carburetor. 

Over the past few years, though, my reputation for being “the motorcycle guy” and someone that is pretty handy with a set of wrenches, has given me the opportunity to recapture that feeling, once again. Several years ago, I bought a second-hand air-over-hydraulic motorcycle lift in order to help me work on my personal motorcycles. Having a lift makes all the difference, by the way. If you’re one that does his/her own maintenance… it will pay for itself after just a few riding seasons. With my reputation of working on my own bikes, my experience working on the bikes at work, and my passion for two-wheelers, I’ve had several friends, and friends of friends, reach out for help on their bikes. As I’ve been able, I’ve been happy to help. For a friend of a friend, I’ll charge a reasonable fee for my time, but for a friend, I’m hesitant to ask for any money. I wasn’t raised to try to profit from friends or family. Now, to be completely honest, that’s been to my detriment more than once, but I counted those as lessons learned and sometimes, a lesson learned is more valuable than money. 

As a dad, I’ve been able to see my sons apply those “hold my beer” lessons they got growing up, to their own adult lives. My oldest  has decided to put his repair skills to work as a professional automotive (and soon to be motorcycle) mechanic and my youngest, has applied his repair skills to a profession that allows him to fix people. I don’t think I could be more proud of the men they’ve become, and I know my dad was, and would be, proud of them, too. 

The next chapter

As my current career path (my “payin’ gig”, as I call it), nears it’s natural end, I’m looking toward the future with anticipation of what’s to come. I have a couple of prospective job offers that I’m hoping will pan out, because honestly, they would be awesome. I’m also looking forward to doing a lot more writing and a lot more riding. I can even see myself doing a bit more work in my garage, earning a little beer money and maybe even having some “hold my beer” lessons with my friends who want to learn how to wrench on their own bikes. I’m even looking forward to going to work, part-time, working on motorcycles (and getting paid to ride them, again) and hopefully, being able to teach new riders once again.

Regardless of what pans out over the next few months, or what doesn’t… I’ll still keep turning wrenches, twisting throttles and sharing my experiences with my loyal MotoReaders. 

Until next time…

Ride safe and “hold my beer.”

Dyna Update!

Fork seals

Ugh. Hydraulic forks are the best... until they're not. Most people will ride their motorcycles for years without ever even servicing them. The maintenance is pretty straightforward, most of the routine services simply require draining the old fluid and replacing it with fresh stuff, which, in a lot of cases, can be done without even taking the forks off the bike. Most fork seals last for years, and for thousands of miles, as long as the fork tubes are kept clean and free of debris.

But if you're a project hunter, like me, who can't turn down a great deal on a bike that needs a little love, chances are, you're gonna be doing a helluva lot more than simply swapping fluid. I've got two such bikes sitting in my garage, right now. One, is an '06 Sportster that I picked up for less than $2k a few years ago, and the other is an '11 Dyna Street Bob that I added to the stable a couple years later. Both of them were complete, but in deplorable condition- rust and corrosion was rampant on both, neither was running and both of them had been neglected for several years. But... I got them cheap and trusted myself with being able to get them back on the road, which I did. 

Both bikes have been awesome, but both have had the common issue of fork seal leakage, in part because I half-assed the job the first time on both bikes. Let me explain.

Sporty

When I first got the Sportster, the fork tubes were obviously roached. They were pitted with rust from top to bottom. The sliders were fine, but the tubes were simply beyond repair. Where I half-assed it, was I stupidly went on eBay in an attempt to save a few bucks and bought a set of used tubes that were significantly better than mine. With a new set of Genuine James Gasket seals and my new used tubes, I put her back together with some fresh 10w oil and she was good to go, for a few years anyway. After a few years of riding, one of the seals sprung a, very minor, leak. It was just minor enough to make me doubt if it was actually leaking, but after a few months, I realized that I was going to be doing a fork seal job again. 

Dyna

When I first picked up the Dyna- a 2011 FXDB Street Bob- I already had some knowledge of the bike's history. I bought it from a friend who, several years earlier, had bought it from a local Harley-Davidson dealership. He was the second owner of the bike and I was actually with him when he bought it. As it turned out, he didn't ride the bike as much as he thought he would and it ended up sitting in his driveway under a bike cover... for years. I hadn't seen the bike since he bought it and had no idea how bad of condition it was in before I agreed to buy it. It really didn't matter to me though, because for the price he was asking, it was worth it. When I first saw the bike, I was in awe of how bad it was. For a bike that was only 7 years old with less than 10k miles, it looked as if it had been abandoned in a field for a decade. I guess that's a drawback of living in the south, near the Gulf of Mexico- the salty, humid air makes short work of corroding metal. The ethanol based gasoline did it's own damage to the inside of the fuel tank, but that's a story for another day. 

The fork tubes didn't look too bad at first glance- the uppers were a little spotty, but the lower sides looked fine, even though they were both leaking. I assumed that the seals were leaking due to being dry rotted, and I wasn't completely wrong, so in my eagerness to ride the bike, I bought a set of Genuine James fork seals for it, then tore it down and put it all back together in an afternoon. I was stoked to ride it... for a few hours anyway. I assumed that the problem was with the seals, since I had previously installed a set of the same brand on the Sporty and they were now leaking after only a couple of years of riding. In my frustration, I cussed the Genuine James Gasket Company for all they were worth, then went online to do some research.

The Sporty fork saga, continued

Having had my fill of frustrations with the James Gasket seals, all my research pointed me to ordering a set of All Balls Racing seals for my trusty little XL. Once I got it tore down, however, I quickly realized that the seals weren't the problem. Apparently, something (probably sand, since I live near, and often ride beside, a beach) had gotten under the dust seal and made a nice little scratch on one of the tubes. The eBay tubes, if I'm guessing by their appearance, were most likely show chrome which is pretty, but not the most durable for a machine that is ridden a lot, so I bit the bullet and ordered a set of new hard chrome tubes, made by Hard Drive. I put it all back together with some 15w, for a little better dampening. She rides better than a new bike now...with no leaks!

The daggum Dyna

I like this damn bike, a lot, but boy it sure makes me cuss sometimes. After getting the new seals, I tore the forks down and, after a quick inspection of the tubes, put it all back together with the new All Balls Racing seals. Success! No more leaking! I was ecstatic... such a simple fix... 

...or so I thought.

Within about a month of riding, that familiar old bead of oil showed up on the high side tube again. I put the bike back on the lift, pulled it apart for what felt like the hundredth time, and inspected it like a jeweler inspecting a diamond. All of a sudden, I saw it- a small, barely noticeable, chip in the chrome, just above where the seal sets when the bike is at rest. The chip was small, only about a millimeter in diameter and was barely discolored, making it hard to spot with a quick visual inspection. The location was such that, when the bike was rolling on relatively smooth roads, the seal didn't cross over the chip, but when the fork compressed under a harder bump, the seal crossed the chip and a tiny bit of oil would leak past. 

As I dragged my fingernail across the chip, I felt it catch the edge and at that moment, I knew that I had, now twice, cussed the Genuine James Gasket Company in error. Oops... sorry guys.

I did my best to try to smooth and polish out the chip, to no avail- it continued leaking, so I called my local indie shop, French & Son's, and ordered a new set of Hard Drive hard chrome tubes and a new set of All Balls fork seals. Once I had them back in the shop, I put the Street Bob back on the lift, tore it down for what felt like the millionth time, and went to work. Having pulled the forks apart so many times, it didn't take me long to install the new tubes and seals. I topped it all off with some fresh 15w fork oil, put it all back together and rolled it off the lift... again. This time it's (finally) fixed and now it rides better than a new bike, too. 

The lesson learned

My dad used to tell me that if you're going to do something, do it right the first time. Well, for the Sportster, the biggest mistake I made was trying to save a few bucks by buying a set of cheap, used fork tubes. In my defense, they lasted a few years before they got scratched. That could have happened to anyone, I suppose, but by buying the tubes used from an individual, I had no specs on them and ended up buying a set of nice looking, but not very durable, show chrome fork tubes that were susceptible to getting scratched. With the Dyna, however, I'll admit that I half-assed it from the jump. I should have taken the time to inspect the fork tubes before I ever put it back together the very first time, but I was trying to save time and money so that could get back to riding the bike as quickly as possible. In doing so, I ended up having to do the job, way more times than I should have. Besides the aggravation, I also wasted valuable time and money on seals and oil. 

Now that both of the bikes are back together, I can focus on actually riding them. Maybe, while I'm out riding, I'll stumble across another project bike that I can tinker with. One thing's for sure though, if I do get my hands on another crusty project, I won't be cutting any corners when dealing with hydraulic fork tubes... I might just go with a springer front end, instead!

Regardless of what you might find yourself working on next, remember this:

If you do it right the first time, you'll only have to do it one time.