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Today I spent a goodly part of the day wrenchin’ the Dyna. An interval service was a bit overdue and I wanted t get it done before Biketoberfest. Bummer, I found a few issues…<\/p>\nToday I spent a goodly part of the day wrenchin’ the Dyna. An interval service was a bit overdue and I wanted t get it done before Biketoberfest. Bummer, I found a few issues…<\/p>\n
There’s a bit of debris in the thick part of the tread on the rear tire. It’s about a millimeter thick by maybe 3 millimeters long. No leak, I doubt it goes all the way through, but I didn’t pull it out, either. When I get back I’ll order a new tire. I’m not happy because this tire, while not new, isn’t all that old either. But I don’t like to screw with tires, they’re too important. For the near term I’m going to gamble that it’ll survive the next week or so. I hope that’s not a mistake.<\/p>\n
There’s been a nagging hot-start issue for a while now. No issue on cold starts at all, only hot. So I tore into the starter wiring which, for this bike, meant removing the battery and the caddy it lives in, along with associated hardware. I discovered\u00c2\u00a0the boot covering the battery positive on the starter had obviously been dislodged for a while. The terminal nut’s torque was a bit under\u00c2\u00a0spec, too, so I cleaned that all up and put it back together. Not sure if it cured the issue but it hasn’t\u00c2\u00a0been touched since 2008 so maybe…<\/p>\n
While the battery caddy\u00c2\u00a0was out I had partial access to the back of the electrical caddy on the other side of the bike. I’ve wanted to get back there for a while. For nearly a year I’ve chased an intermittent demon that causes a fuse to blow. The fuse takes out the signals and brake lights. Not good.<\/p>\n
Intermittent\u00c2\u00a0problems are hard, but careful observation has me believing\u00c2\u00a0it’s only triggered when actuating the left signal. It never<\/em> occurs when I ride alone, only when Pam’s ridin’ bitch. The frequency has been on the rise.<\/p>\n So, poking around back there with a powerful flashlight I thought I saw the glint of copper through some worn insulation. Digging a little deeper confirmed it. The harness had rubbed the back of the starter housing, and apparently for some time.<\/p>\n It’s going to take some effort to effect a permanent repair. There’s very limited access there, and no less than three separate bundles enter the harness just upstream from that spot. It’s all got to come apart so I can open the harness. From there it might be as simple as wrapping the worn spots or as hard as replacing one or more individual wires.<\/p>\n I just don’t have the\u00c2\u00a0time now, I need the bike running for Biketoberfest.\u00c2\u00a0So I wrapped the offending spot with insulating tape as best I could.<\/p>\n The lesson here is not to put off service until a few days before an event. You never know what you’re going to find.<\/p>\n Tomorrow I’ll finish up, clean and put away the tools, \u00c2\u00a0and give the ‘ol Dyna a much-needed bath.<\/p>\n See you in Daytona!<\/p>\n [UPDATE – August 20th – Not a single fuse has\u00c2\u00a0blown in several hundreds of miles of two-up ridin’ so I think that’s one problem fully identified. The permanent fix will be a bit of a pain in the ass, but that’s okay. The hot-start issue remains. Daytona was \u00c2\u00a0a blast.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I spent a goodly part of the day wrenchin’ the Dyna. An interval service was a bit overdue and I wanted t get it done before Biketoberfest. Bummer, I found a few issues… There’s a bit of debris in the thick part of the tread on the rear tire. It’s about a millimeter thick … Continue reading Wrenchin’ on the Dyna<\/span>