Running repairs!

The Harley has been running fine, and when ever it has been dry enough I have been out on it. No excuse is too small - haircut, going to get milk, dropping a cheque off to a mate....

Its ace to be out on the road, and especially on something like this bike. just the style I want to be riding. It sure turns heads!

first mishap last night, got stuck in a load of traffic, and not being comfortable to be bombing up the outside I was pottering along all stopping and starting. Cleared the traffic, pulled up the the lights and I felt the clutch cable go!

Balls!

Luckily I had stopped in a quiet area next to a tyre garage. the guys there were great, and lent me some tools I didn't have with me to investigate. Got the clutch cover off, and the brass finial and cable no longer wanted to be friends. the cable had pulled through with the solder.

Due to the time there wasn't much I could do, so the guys said I could leave the bike there over night.

3-4 mile walk home wasn't too bad - I was actually pleased that I knew what the problem was. 18 months ago I would have just phoned the AA, but my confidence is definitely greater now then then.

Walked back down this morning with a rucksack full of tools and stuff.

Got the cable off, re-threaded the finial, splayed the ends, and re-soldered the bugger in place. I had to cut about 10mm off the cable as it didn't want to go over the old solder.

it worked a treat, but the clutch arm fits dead tight to the clutch mechanism, so I had to trim the whole lot right back. no grinders at the garage (due to H&S) so just used pliers.

got it all together, but noticed that the base of the cable - where it threads into the engine case was damaged and the threaded section had a crack from over tightening. I of course finished it off and sheared the thread in my hast, but managed to get the bike home despite  dripping a bit of oil.

A trip down the dealer, and a new cable was acquired. the sheath section fitted spot on, but the actual cable is had the wrong attachment on the end. I cut the old one off and made up a replacement on the lathe, but the cable was now too short. 

Double Balls!

I now need a full length of cable to make a new inner cable to the right size!

despite the problem, i actually enjoyed it all. instead of showing contempt and resentment against my new machine, I actually feel like i know it a bit better, and enjoyed the camaraderie that I got in the garage when fixing it!

oh - and there is now a lovely oil patch in the road from when i was changing the cables over! haha!