Blood, sweat, tears & beers . . .

A little more modification Josh...

He-he-hee! Looks like little wiper blades, too. Yup, my wife came home last night and saw me wearing them and said, "You didn't wear those in public, did you?" "Of course, I did." She rolls her eyes and says, "You're gonna look like a dufus if you wear those to school like that." I told her not to worry - I have a spare pair I'll wear to school. But when I'm riding, these go where I go.:rant:

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

The Autolite 4265's are a stock plug replacement...They are not a colder plug,they cover a wider heat range than Champion/stock and have a longer insulator which would make them a little hotter plug than the stock

Autolite Application and Description.....

Autolite 4265 Spark Plugs For Harley® 1975 Thru 1981 Shovelhead Models & 1984 Thru 1999 Evolution Big Twin Models (Pack of 4)

Fits all Harley® Shovelhead models 1975 thru 1981 & Evolution Big Twin models 1984 thru 1999
Autolite 4265 copper core spark plugs
Features include a longer insulators which resist carbon fouling and operate efficiently over a wide heat range.
Insulators seal against combustion pressure leakage and transfer heat from the lower insurator tip into the threads and cylinder head
Copper Core center electrode is sheathed in nickel chromium alloy for superior heat dissipation and durability
'Necked Down' Center Electrode requires lower sparking voltage for easier starting and heat range control

Thanks, Lucifer. I guess a hotter plug like the Autolite 4265 would help with cold starts for a kickstart?

Went for another night ride tonight. It got cold quick after the sun went down. Lots of fun. Learned a lot from Tattoo, who I went to see earlier. A couple of his buds showed up who ride shovels and pans. I learned to hold the throttle open when cleaning out. I tried this several times and once when the motor was cooled down and it started right up one or two kicks with the key on. He said I was running rich from the soot on the ends of my exhaust pipes - said that I had too much oil in the oil bag. We tipped the bike and got rid of the excess. Oil's the wrong type also. He said use Valvoline racing oil SAE50 VR-1. The 20W-50 I'm using is too thin for riding around here, especially in summer. He goes to a SAE60 when it gets really hot. My clutch springs need to be upgraded to heavy duty ones (Barnett). My drive chain needs to be upgraded to an o-ring type.
We also made some adjustments and lengthened my shifting rod and now it shifts better - it's a little easier to find neutral, too. There were many other things too numerous to mention. We had a good time in the 75 degree weather.

Then I rode to the church meeting and ate and met some more bikers - two baggers and a sportbiker. Mine was the only American iron. Another interesting day has slipped away and I'm not as sore as I was yesterday. Tattoo calls me a "newbie"!

Raining today, but thankfully the brunt of the storm that has ravaged other parts of the country went around us.
Picked up some SAE 50 racing oil & new filter and doing the oil change today. I'm also reinstalling my engine breather/oil collector. Just have to remember to drain it every few days or right after a ride. Then moving the rear wheel back to get the excess slack out of the chain.

Here's a picture of the EBOC. It was designed for shovelhead motors right here the good ol' US of A. Any shovel owners out there that want to try one can contact: sales@motorcyles-stuff.com.

Is this the first time Tattoo has seen the bike?
After so many years not riding it probably is like be a "newbie". But you're moving up fast...
Sounds like you learned a lot. Yea I always ran a straight weight oil untill I got an Evo and the MOCO recommened a multi grade oil.

It's the first time Tattoo's seen it running and me riding it. We had a great time. Well, got the racing oil in, new filter and the EBOC gizmo installed. Had to design a special bracket to hold both the oil filter & the EBOC. (See pics). Going back out to the shop and take some slack out of the rear chain. Maybe on pay day I'll get an o-ring chain and some Autolite 4265 plugs. So far, though, the Champion's are working fine - maybe 'cause I "shaved" 'em like Charlie does to his plugs!

ALmost forgot to mention that I was stopped by a N.C. state trooper for turning right on red. After I pulled over, he approached me and the first thing he said to me was, "Nice bike!" No kidding. He lectured me briefly and let me go. Another thing on that last ride was I hit some water on the street. I guess they were draining a fire plug or something. I found out firsthand what a rooster tail was! Ha-ha! I was dry in no time. Not so "newbie" anymore . . .

What exactly did you do wrong to get pulled?

I turned right on a red light. There was a itty bitty sign next to the light that read "no turn on red".

It's still raining - no ride today. Think I'll check nuts & bolts today on the beast, maybe clean the spokes on the wheels.

Does anybody know what to use to get oil off the chain side of the tire?

Dish detergent & water

Carbon Fiber Drive Belt!

Man,is it coming down here(rain). not goin' out for breakfast today. Gonna get out griddle and whip up some sweet potato pancakes.

mant those sound good, eat sweet potatoes a lot of ways but hadn't tried pancakes before

Another week and I hope to get some of em cooked fer me!

Go to your nearest CrackeBarrell, The've got em on the menu and buy the mix in their store. You'll thank me for the tip.YUMMIE

We're back to below normal temps for a few days - good chance to catch up on some more maintenance. Yesterday tightened every nut, bolt and screw I could find. Tightened the head bolts down. Noticed that the rocker cover nuts weren't very tight and cinched them up too. I was surprised it took a couple of hours to do everything. Today I'm cleaning and polishing.
I don't have an o-ring drive chain, so I'm taking special pains to keep the chain adjusted and clean. Hate to spend extra money on a chain when the one I have is fine. Tattoo said get rid of it. He must figure I have money to burn! When I wear this one out, then I'll upgrade to an 0-ring chain.

I used a 9/16" box end wrench and a length of 22" pipe to tighten my head bolts down (see pic of home made "torque" wrench). It's the only way I could reach all the bolts. Tattoo showed me how. My "real" torque wrench with 9/16" socket would not fit on any of them - the end of the torque wrench is too big around to get the socket on the bolt head squarely.

I think my "specialty" tool worked just fine.

Had sweet potato fries with a sandwich at local pub last night... with you guessed it, red neck bud...!!!

Sounds good! I've never had sweet potato fries before . . . bet they are yummy.