On the hunt for a Springer Wheel

So here I am needing a wheel and rotor for this Crossbones front end.


The guy that sold it to me wouldn't sell me the wheel to go with it. He said he was going with a hydraulic frontend on his build and wanted to keep the wheel to use it. He did leave me the spacers so I need to wheel to work with what I have. I was skeptical, because it didn't seem like enough spacers.




In the past I have made assumption about "parts is parts" and I have been very wrong. I figured that the wheel was very specific for a Springer. I also was lucky enough to run across a 97 Heritage Springer and Crossbones to take pictures of. I assumed that the little spacer on the 97 and the fender support on the Crossbones were similar. NOPE. Daniel Martin from Longbow Customs helped explained the situation to me.
 

Everything before 2000 was a Timken bearings and needed different spacers and such.This is the pre-2000 Heritage spacer for a Tinken bearing. It's what you can't see that matters.


Anywho, Daniel went on to explain that most any hub for 2000-up 16 incher for Springer or Hydro Softail will work. Here's a little more specific info.

Finding my 4 speed leaks

I have been having such a difficult time with the primary and figuring out which end was leaking. So I pulled the transmission and decided to see if there were any major or weird leaks. I put this together to leak check it. I tried to set the regulator as low as possible, about 6 to 10 psi. I then put the rubber tip to the vent screw hole on the transmission top. Then I start spraying it down with soapy water and looked for bubbles.


I found the bubbles at my drain plug even with my new proper seal. So I pulled the plug to take a look. Here's the problem, the last little bit of the threads and sealing surface aren't there.


Silicon to the rescue. I put the plug mostly in and just coated the last couple threads. The instructions on this copper silicon says go finger tight, wait an hour, torque, and wait 24 hours. That seemed to work. No more bubbles there. Don't use silicon on engine parts, but on a transmission, you should be fine since there aren't any oil passages to clog.


The next bubbles I found were clear up here. That's really odd, because it has to be a porosity issue and it should technically be "above the water line", but I might as well fix it.


Black silicon here so it doesn't scream like the orange stuff.


I filled the transmission with Bell Ray Big Twin oil, so if it leaks, I can find the red trail.

I did this work weeks ago and I haven't gotten around to blogging about it. The drain plug seems to be holding.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Sunday Wrap-up

I was just about home and I got a call from Mike(Speedjunkie). His regulator had quit in Snyder. Mike only had my number because KenK had it and happened by where he was broke. We called Hippy in Lawton and he couldn't help. His truck was broken from the 8 inches of rain in Lawton that day. Then Rob got home and called his Indy shop owner a Sunday, but he didn't have the right one. So Mike charged his battery and Rob took his battery and they got Mike's bike to Rob's house in Lawton. I came back to Lawton with my trailer and drug his bike to my house in OKC for the night.



We had a good regulator, but it was on my bike. So we robbed my bike and Mike went back to Kansas in the morning.


JamesD brought me a NOS regulator from his stash later in the week.
 

South Central Fest was great. Thanks to Don and Barb for setting it up and thanks to everyone that made it great.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Sunday Part 1

About three o-clock Sunday morning a heck of storm blew in. Don says Noland was packed and on his bike before the second raindrop hit. That shovelhead was heard for miles burning out of valley in the middle of the night. One lightning strike hit so close to camp that we thought we were dead or tree was going to fall on us.

I had already loaded my bike onto the trailer and me and my family burned home. We caught Wyatt, Shane, and Kye going around Abilene.



My wife took some pictures with the Creative Shot mood on accident, but they turned out pretty cool.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Saturday Part 2

Oops, I got my postings out of order. This is Saturday Part 2. Here's the other half of the hosting team Don's wife Barb sitting with him.



SQUIRREL! GROUND SQUIRREL!


He's on to me.


Well it wasn't a BornFree Knucklehead, but JamesD did a heck of a giveaway. He gave away a set of NOS Dixie Distributing 80 inch cylinders, pistons, rods, valves, and gaskets.





Pibb was the lucky winner.


Don had a runner-up drawing for a Texas size Texas belt buckle and that went to HillcountryFLT.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Saturday Part 3

The Water Valley Volunteer Fire Department had a big dinner and all day party in the park on Saturday. Clearly this is not Mark's first goat rope.


They roped goats all day and then they had to take them home.


Jiffy Pop is still available believe it or not. It is hard to find with all the microwave popcorns on the store aisle though.


Later in the evening there was a story telling contest and I'm sure Noland won with Troy a close second. Here's part of one and full one from Noland, used with permission. (Troy didn't let film any of his stories, but remember he's a fisherman.)




The usual suspects...


did the usual deeds.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Saturday Part 1

So Nolan(gator25) rolls in at like 3AM and straight throws a sleeping down and passes out. He had ridden across most Louisiana and Texas to get here.

About 8 or so the next morning, he thinks someone is throwing pebbles at this head to mess with him. So he throws back his sleeping bag to yell boo at them and low and behold he was eye ball to eye ball with a buzzard that had been peeking at his head. (Photo credit to KenK)


Pondering...





Texas Mark made breakfast tacos.





Speedjunkie's bike.








WGLDRDR's bike.


Kye's bike Black Betty.


Jason's Half@ss Shovel. It made it there and back with no issues amazingly enough. Part of the reason I brought a trailer actually.




Trent's bike with a new seat. This what he had to say about finding the seat.

"So one of the cool stories on my ride thru Texas last weekend was a complete stranger walking up to my bike and saying he had "The" seat for it in a small town in nowhere Texas at a gas stop. This guy has had this seat for 20 years just sitting in his garage. He gave me a heck of a good deal on it ($50) and it is like new. Matches the bike good."


Pibb's bike Ralph.


Kenk and his bike.

South Central Shovelfest 2016 - Friday Part 3

We made it to Harper Park, Water Valley, USA. Great little camping spot.


Don's rigid is almost together. It's real nice.


Party time.


Is Lone Star better than Stag? Don't ask Pibb, he's a Budweiser man.



Kye and Corkpuller.


Don chugs that water like a beer.






Don and Jason(Shovel4life)



Troy (Corkpuller), Mark, and KenK.






Rob, Trent(KS 1977 shovel), WDGLRDR, Kye, Jason, Mike(speedjunkie), and Don.








"I drove 1100 miles to listen to an oil thread! WTF!" Pibb.