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. 

Piglet

Soichiro Honda 

Soichiro Honda, circa 1964

Three years after William Harley and his partners, Walter, William and Arthur Davidson rolled out their very first motorcycle in Milwaukee, a child named Soichiro Honda was born on the other side of the world. Soichiro grew up around his dad's bicycle shop and, in 1928, at 25 years old, the young man opened his own auto repair shop. Captivated by speed, Soichiro built his very first race car and started competing. In 1936, however, when Harley and his pals were introducing their brand new Knucklehead engine in Milwaukee, USA, Mr. Honda was injured in the opening race at Japan's first racetrack, the Tamagawa Speedway; the next year, he gave up racing and formed a company to manufacture piston rings, supplying them primarily to Toyota. His new company's success would be short lived though, because just four years later, the Japanese government authorized an attack on Pearl Harbor, setting the stage for the bombings that would soon end the second World War and would alter the young man's business plans once again.

In 1946, just one year after his country was nearly obliterated by the infamous bombings that killed hundreds of thousands of Soichiro Honda's fellow countrymen, he started a new business, focused primarily on providing affordable transportation to those left behind. Honda did this by fitting small, two-stroke motors onto bicycles- sound familiar? Three years later, in  1949, Honda's very first actual motorcycle rolled out of the factory and quickly earned the name "Dream." The very first Honda Dream, or "Model D" as it was officially called, was powered by a 98cc two stroke engine, but Soichiro felt like the noise and smoke from the Dream made it more of a nightmare, so in 1951, his company introduced the new, quieter and cleaner, four stroke Dream. The new machine boasted a 146cc engine and it's popularity surged, putting Honda's motorcycle company on the map.

Fast forward to 1968- Soichiro's company rolls out it's 10 millionth motorcycle, proving to the world that the man from Hamamatsu, Japan had become a formidable businessman and a force to be reckoned with. In 1973, with his company well established, Soichiro retired at the age of 67. Soichiro continued working with his company as an advisor, and served on the Board of Directors, so he could keep his finger on the pulse of his company to ensure it's success.

  

Original ad from 1978

In 1978, among the 27 models of motorcycle that Honda offered, the company introduced a new entry level machine- the CM185 Twinstar. The Twinstar was a small, but elegant bike that was refined and smooth, friendly and reliable. It was a twin cylinder four stroke that breathed quietly out of two chrome megaphone exhaust pipes and started easily with either the kick-starter or the electric starter. The Twinstar was adorned with chrome fenders, a seat big enough for two, passenger pegs, a grab bar, a locking gas cap cover and, it had a neutral riding position that was pretty comfortable for such a small motorcycle. Thousands of Twinstars were sold across the world in 1978, but there was one in particular that was sold in Ohio, USA, that would be the subject of this story.

And this is where our story truly begins...

"Piglet"

Sometime around 1995 My wife's folks took a trip to Ohio to visit some family and, while visiting with his nephew, my father-in-law noticed a small, blue Honda motorcycle tucked away in the corner of the barn. My wife's folks were doing quite a lot of travelling in their RV back then, so the prospect of finding a small, economical motorcycle to tool around on really sparked my father-in-law's interest. As it turns out, his nephew got the little blue Honda brand new, back in 1978. He rode it for a few years, then parked it in the barn and pretty much forgot about it, so it didn't take much convincing for him to sell it to his favorite uncle. My pa-in-law got the old Twinstar running again, then loaded it up in the back of his truck and he and my mother-in-law started writing the next chapter of the old Honda's life. And what a life it was. My wife's parents lovingly named the old Honda "Piglet" (because it wasn't quite big enough to be called a "Hog") and they took it all over the place- Tennessee, Niagra Falls, New York, Canada, the West Coast and everywhere in-between. Everywhere they parked their home away from home, Piglet got unloaded and they would set out exploring the area on the old Honda. 

After a few years of travelling, Piglet started getting tired and the folks decided that they wanted something a little bigger (and more comfortable than a motorcycle) to get around on during their travels, so they upgraded to a diesel coach and started pulling a car to the campgrounds. Piglet got parked back in a barn, where it would stay, untouched, for over 16 years. 

New life

My father-in-law and I had a mutual love for antique cars, hot rods and motorcycles and we could sit and talk about them for hours. He also knew that both of my sons were up and coming gearheads and that they were just as interested in riding motorcycles as their dad. When my father-in-law decided to clear some space in his barn for a new project, he knew that all he needed to do was offer us his old motorcycles. As soon as he asked us to come get them, my boys ran over as fast as they could! It was this fateful day that would ultimately breathe new life into that old Twinstar, yet again. Being a Harley guy, I was pretty unfamiliar with the Honda, so I enlisted the help of a good friend of mine to help me get Piglet running right. It didn't take my buddy long to get the old Honda back to her old self again and the mood was absolutely electric when he brought it back to the house. Soon after, I started teaching my oldest son how to ride the little street bike. It wasn't long before he had the hang of it, so he moved on to riding my Sportster and my youngest boy took the controls of the old Honda. 

Before he passed last year, my father-in-law got to see both of his grandsons learn how to ride a motorcycle on the very same bike that he and his beloved wife used to ride when they were out exploring the country; the same bike that his brother's son started out riding, all those many years ago. 

Value versus worth

We often confuse what something is worth by it's market value. Market value is generally based on a variety of things, but most of all- it's based on what someone is willing to pay for something. The Honda Twinstar played an important role in the history of Honda motorcycles and it is often overlooked for it's contributions. For example, the Twinstar started it's life in 1978 and over the next several years, it would get a bump in displacement to 200cc, then in 1982, it got bumped up again to 250cc. This new CM250 would later become the well known and widely loved, Honda Rebel. Countless motorcycle riders have learned to ride on a Honda Rebel and many still do. The Rebel has become so popular in fact, that Honda increased the displacement again to 300cc, then 500cc and now, diehard Rebel fans can get their beloved Honda with an 1100cc mill! 

While this old 185cc Twinstar may not be worth much to anyone else, to the MotoWriter and family, this unimposing and otherwise unimpressive little Honda, is priceless. It has been in our family since the day it left Soichiro Honda's factory in 1978 and it has travelled all across this great nation and into Canada during it's 43 year lifetime. For every generation that it has carried, and will carry, on its modest little frame, this old Honda Twinstar has secured it's place in the MotoWriter garage as one of the most valuable motorcycles, if only inside these four walls.

No matter what you do or what kind of bike you ride, have fun and make the best of it, because your actions today will be your memories tomorrow and we only get 75 good years to make the best of this life.

Ride Safe and make good choices!

Piglet, with OEM mirrors and the factory front fender replaced

  

Not quite a Hog... more like a Piglet

My youngest son, learning the ropes on Piglet

My oldest son, taking Piglet out on the road

Funny story about this one... to be told later

My oldest boy replacing fork seals

My baby boy, taking his first ride on Piglet

My boys astride their respective steeds

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Cruisin' The Coast, 2020!

The 24th Anniversary 

2020 marks the 24th anniversary of the event dubbed "America's Largest Block Party." Cruisin' The Coast is a week-long event that draws thousands of antique and classic cars, motorcycles, rat rods, street rods and one-off customs from all over the country and abroad. Car enthusiasts come to the Mississippi Coast in droves, just to enjoy cruising their prized possessions along US Highway 90 from Ocean Springs to Bay St. Louis during the first week of October. Every city along the coastline has special events to host the cruisers, all starting with Gulfport's "View The Cruise" kickoff block party. The City of Gulfport blocks off the entire downtown central business district so that the cruisers can bring their cars in and show them off. The event is free to the public and it does not disappoint. This year, me and the missus rode the MotoWriter Road King Special down to the event, grabbed a cup of delicious coffee from Coast Roast Coffee & Tea and set out walking to check it out.

Fueled by Caffeine

Armed with my trusty GoPro Hero 6, inspired by the lovely Mrs. MotoWriter, and fueled by a deliciously caffeinated beverage from my favorite roaster, we took to the streets to check out this years' offerings- and we were not disappointed. I ended up getting some great video shots from the event and we even ran into several friends while we were out kicking the bricks. Check out my latest YouTube video for that footage.

Hurricanes Delta and Gamma

Apparently, while Gulfport was busy setting up for View The Cruise and the rest of the Coast cities were getting their venues ready, the Tropics were churning up a little lagniappe for 2020- two more hurricanes. We've had so many storms this year, that we've used up all the names and are now 7 deep into the Greek alphabet... 2020 has definitely given us plenty to talk about. Fortunately, Gamma ran its course and fizzled out down around the Yucatan Peninsula. Unfortunately, however, Delta strengthened and started heading toward us. By mid-week, we had a legitimate concern that we were going to take a direct hit, so a lot of the cruisers had packed up and headed out of town. We got lucky again, though, and the hurricane weakened a bit before making landfall to the West of us, in a small town West of New Orleans. As I mentioned in my last post, "Hurricanes", living on the Gulf Coast is awesome... with the exception of the occasional life-threatening, property-destroying, home-ravaging hurricanes. But, for the steadfast cruisers and spectators, their fortitude paid off and they were able to enjoy the entire week of Cruisin' The Coast events with nothing more than a brief and occasional rainshower.

Cruisin' and Riding

As for me and my missus, we were able to enjoy the City of Gulfport's event on the first Sunday, then after a week of grinding away at my regular job, I was able to get on the MotoWriter Street Bob and shoot some more video for y'all on the Saturday before it all wrapped up. All in all, it was a good week. Even with all the craziness of 2020, there were still over 6,700 cars registered for the event. 

Even though I no longer have my classic car, I still get giddy at the thought of Cruisin' The Coast. There's just something special about seeing your cities and towns over run by these beautiful old relics of the past, thundering down the highway in their former, and current, glories. The live music, the crowds of families and friends, and the smell of too-rich carburetors, burned rubber and bar-be-ques, wafting in the salty Southern air just takes me back to a better time in life. If you ever have the opportunity to do it, I highly recommend visiting South Mississippi for Cruisin' The Coast. In the meantime, check out the video I made, by clicking here. While you're there, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you don't miss out on any of your favorite MotoWriter content.

Blessings

God doesn't call you on the phone or send you a text... but he does talk to you and answer your prayers. Just not the way you expect, sometimes.

Look, you don't have to believe in God, that is your choice and I'm not going to try to force my beliefs on you in this blog or on my YouTube channel- that's not what The MotoWriter  is all about. With that said, however, I do believe in God and I believe that, while we don't always hear or see His work, He is always protecting us and keeping us safe.

Broken cables, dead batteries and flat tires- DANG IT!!

How many times have you been out riding, stopped for gas and, when you hit that start button, the only sound you hear is the clicking of the starter solenoid? Have you ever gone out to the garage, fully intent on racking up some miles on an absolutely beautiful day, only to see one of the tires is flattened against the concrete? Or what about, when you're out riding with a couple of your buddies to celebrate a birthday, only to get about a third of the way before the throttle cable on your buddy's antique motorcycle breaks? 

When things like that happen, it's easy to get caught up in the moment, get mad, shake your fist to the sky and ask why you've been forsaken, but have you ever thought that the breakdown might have been God's way of keeping you from harm somewhere further down the road? What if that throttle cable snapping was the answer to your loved one's prayer, asking God to keep you safe? What if that flat tire or dead battery was God's way of stalling you, just long enough to let the truck that was going to run a red light and smash into you, get through the intersection without incident?

It's all about perspective.

I don't pretend to know everything, nor should any of us. I can't say that I've never been annoyed, thrown a tool across the garage or cursed the rain clouds when I wanted to ride and I definitely won't sit here and tell you that I've always had the best attitude about things. What I can say, however, is that the older I get the more I realize just exactly what is, and what isn't, in our control. I can also tell you that with adversity there comes opportunity- I've seen proof of that more times in my life than I can count. 

We should embrace that adversity and learn from it; become better versions of ourselves every time we are faced with a challenge. Life caters to no one and time rolls on, whether we are having a good time riding our motorcycles or if we are broken down in the parking lot of a casino with a couple of our best friends. We should be thankful that the trip didn't end tragically and be grateful for the laughs we shared and the camaraderie we had. 

Good friends, good times and the blessings of the day.

By now you've probably figured out that this piece is directly related to my latest video that I uploaded to my YouTube channel last week. If you haven't seen it, I made it simple for you to find, by linking to it in second paragraph of this post (and I just snuck it in again, here). My plan that day was to bring my two best pals down the coastline, through a few backroads, across the state line and end up at a restaurant & brewhouse for lunch, before making our way back to our respective homes, via some scenic and somewhat winding backroads. 

While we didn't end up at our pre-planned destination, we did end up spending some good quality time riding, laughing and helping each other out. We proved that day, that good times with good friends don't always have to go as planned. With a little faith, a good attitude about our predicament and a little bit of bailing wire and some roadside ingenuity... we still managed to have a great day on our motorcycles and isn't that what it's all about anyway?

Writer's note- 

As I wrote this post, the fact that today marks the 15th anniversary of the day that Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama coastline, was not lost on me. Nor was the fact that the people of western Louisiana and eastern Texas are now suffering through similar devastation from Hurricane Laura. Adversity has a way of bringing out the best in people, when you have enough faith to see it, that is. 15 years ago I, along with so many others, saw our coastal home devastated so badly, that I wasn't  sure that we could ever recover from it. But we did. We pulled together, helped each other out and supported each other as Americans, Southerners and most of all, children of God. While our communities still bare the scars that mark that tragic day, we have rebuilt our homes, our cities and our neighborhoods... even better than what they were before that fateful day 15 years ago. 

This message is for all those who are suffering- have faith, help each other, trust in God to give you strength and He will. Don't lose hope- you will recover from this; you will because you must. 

From the MotoWriter, and all of your friends and neighbors to the east, we are praying for your strength and speedy recovery. 

Not all motorcycles are Harley-Davidsons...and that's perfectly OK.

As the title, implies... this is not going to be about Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Instead, let's just say it's about motorcycles in general... and the love and passion that they inspire.

A good friend of mine acquired a motorcycle a while back from a family member. It's an old bike, not necessarily cool or trendy by today's standards and it wasn't even in good condition. It wasn't running, the tires were dry rotted and flat, the gas tank was rusty and had pinholes in it, one of the head gaskets was blown and just to add an extra level of aggravation to the mix- the carbs were off and not synchronized. I could go on, but why bother? Suffice to say that the bike, by most people's standards, would be considered ready for the scrap heap. But... not for my buddy, nope, he decided that he needed to save it.

Look, I'm pretty handy with a set of wrenches. I know enough basics to get me by, and I am definitely not afraid to take on the task of breathing life back into an old, dilapidated and neglected machine... especially a vintage motorcycle, but my advice to him was "just get a different bike, man." He ignored my advice and decided to start turning wrenches to see what would happen... and I'm so glad he did.

Now, you might have assumed that my friend is a master mechanic, maybe a custom bike builder or some kind of vintage motorcycle expert... and you'd be wrong. He's just a regular guy that goes to work every day and tries to do the best that he can do for the people that he works for. The funny thing is, he's not even a biker! He's never even really ridden a motorcycle before all of this and he sure as hell never rode this one. So, why in the hell would a guy like him, take on a task that even the most experienced of mechanics would shy away from for a bike that he has no idea about? Let's look further, shall we?

The bike in question is an 1983 Honda GL1100i, yep... an ole skool Goldwing Interstate... and his father-in-law gave it to him. The bike is from Canada and it sat in a garage, untouched for the better part of 15 years. When my buddy and his wife moved their family back to the good ole U.S. of A. from the land of maple syrup, he brought this crusty old 'Wing with him, not really even knowing what he might do with it at the time. But, after being bitten by the motorcycling bug (and maybe after receiving some, slight, pressure from yours truly), he decided to make a move on it. He looked at a few different options to bring the bike back to life, but ultimately decided to open up a service manual and start turning wrenches himself.

He's still working on it, but as ole Doc Frank N. Stein said... "that bitch is alive!"  My buddy, who could also be known as Doctor Goldwingenstein, has touched, almost, every part of this motorcycle. Gas tank- repaired, cleaned and sealed; head gaskets- replaced (twice on one... don't ask); timing belts (yeah, apparently some motorcycles need belts for timing, weird)- replaced; one head replaced and all valves lapped; carbs (all four of 'em- sheesh!) rebuilt and synchronized; ignition system- upgraded; brakes- currently being rebuilt; and- just for shits and giggles- every one of those old incandescent light bulbs from the era when John Hughes' movies were in theaters and when MTV actually played music videos (gasp!), you know, those bulbs that looked as if they were actually powered by candlelight, well, those have been replaced with modern LED units. Add to that, he's cleaned, painted, polished and tweaked some of the cosmetic stuff to give it a slightly more modern, but significantly cooler, look.

Some of you reading this may ask, why bother? At the end of the day, he still has a 1983 Goldwing that is so old that it doesn't even show up in the Blue Book or the Nada guides. You might even say, it's not worth the time and effort that he's put into it. But... and this is my favorite part of the true motorcycling culture... it's worth it to him. It has value to my buddy and his wife- in both a sentimental way and in a personal pride and achievement way. He got it running again, not some shop or some mechanic, but he did it. 

You see, that's the beauty of motorcycles and the motorcycling community as a whole. We see the beauty in things that others may not see. We understand that every bike has a story and that story just gets more interesting as it gets older. In a throw-away society, we choose to salvage these old machines, restore them, customize them and make them our own. Most people that would never even attempt to work on their own car, will turn a wrench on their bike without a second thought. It's because, in part, motorcycles are personal machines. They aren't one-size-fits-all, they are specifically fit to us. Not everybody has, or wants, the same kind of bike, the same make, model or even style. And... the really cool part, is that true motorcyclists don't care what their buddies ride, just as long as they share that common bond- the passion of riding.