30,000 miles...

[thelyn]

Hi, was prompted to post by Michael D's "knock...knock" thread.

My almost-stock '91 FXRS-CON isn't knockin' (yet) but has just hit the 30,000 mile mark. I've done all the oil and fluid changes, new pads etc. Uprating the suspension back and front soon (Progressives, Hagons) and swing arm and other bearings will be sorted also. The drive belt, primary and pulleys seem ok...for the moment.

That's the factory service manual list sorted. And then some.

But I can't help thinking...is there anything else I should be looking at? Lifters, blocks, anybody? Or am I being paranoid?

L. x

[Kiwi]

at 30,000 miles its barely run in

my evo has around 250,000km on it and the bottom end hasn't been touched

top end had a rebore about 100,000 km ago

[Chris L]

My old Superglide had 33000 on it and was fine when I traded it in, so you should be ok for a while. Thats low mileage for its age innit.

[BaZa®]

Lyn I know you said you have done ALL the oils but did that include the forks and brake fluid?

As they say that is only run in now but it is a few years old and do you know when they were done last if ever?

Just my 2 cents worth. See you soon at the AGM...Or a field somewhere.

[thelyn]

Hey Baz,

Yes, I overhauled the brakes before Xmas during a break in the rain. That included a new dose of DOT 5. The fork oil (last replaced a year ago) will be redone when the Progressives go in round about MOT time in a couple of months. Um, and I keep service records...don't you?

I'm not worried, just worried in case I SHOULD be worried. That's what comes of living in London...

So, Baz, don't you worry your pretty little head none...unless you know the 30,000 mile secrets of lifters and blocks that I don't...

Cheers to all who responded! The sun's gonna come out soon, and there's a field...

See you there!

L

[Chris L]

Originally Posted by thelyn

...

...unless you know the 30,000 mile secrets of lifters and blocks that I don't...

The secret is....stop worryin about em, just ride it.

[BaZa®]

Lyn Ace cafe today at about 11am.

[SJC69]

My advice would be unless you have had any other problems or noise not to worry about the lifter blocks as previously stated 30K is not many miles on an EVO
I could still see some of the honing marks in the bores of my evolution cylinders at 40k miles!

RE FXR specific.
Swinging arm bearings. They are not bearings as in the sense of metal bushes or roller bearings but are in fact Cleave Blocks, which are a metal rubber bush filled with silicon, mounted within a tolerance ring. {A piece of thin ribbed metal} Two long sleeve nuts joined by a piece of studding in the middle act in place of the spindle which mounts through the gear box casing and then through the rear engine rubber mounts.
The cleave blocks twist rather than move with the swinging arm movement.

Getting them out, if your spindle/sleeve nuts have never been removed you will most likely have great difficulty getting these out as they will probably have corroded into the metal sleeve of the cleave block and the gear box casing. If stuck on the metal sleeve when you pull/drift/spin them out the cleave block inner may well pull out or cause the block to leak, either way it will then need replacing!

You will also need some sort of press to get the blocks out and back in, as well as a spreading tool to get the swinging arm back onto the gear box with new blocks fitted. You can use sockets as substitutes for the special tools to press the blocks in & out and make a spreading tool out of studding washers and sockets etc. And don’t forget to generously lubricate the spindle with some form of anti-cease when replacing it!

You will also then want to check the alignment of the bike and mounts when completed.

So my advice would be if you have no lateral movement, damage or signs of fluid leakage I would not replace them unless you are completely stripping the bike for a total refurbishment.

Steering head bearings, you will also have great difficulty removing the head bearing cups from the frame without the split top hat cup removing tool as there is no access to get a drift onto the cup! If you do have the bearings out drill and fit a grease nipple to the headstock so you can grease the bearings without removing the forks, you will need a whole tin of grease to fill the headstock up afterwards and place the nipple so it will not hit the headlamp shell when turned on full lock but it will save time later.

Engine mounts, check all the tie rods for wear and tightness and the mounts for cracks splits etc. If you replace any of them other than the front mount you will need to re-align the drive train to the frame to the wheels to get the bike to track properly. When I stripped my FXR to powder coat the frame and rebuilt it I then set it up properly & realised that it was never set up that well from new, it does make a big difference and is not that difficult to do, just appears to be very difficult.

Check your oil filter mounting bolt for tightness due to its location and access they have a habit of coming loose then you oil filter bounces along the road oh and fit the right size filter as the extra long one will get bashed by speed humps.

Check all your wiring earth points to the frame for tightness and a good contact, especially the one under the ignition module most just use a self tapping screw!

Good luck and if required I can let you know how I realigned my bike.

Steve

[thelyn]

Thanks, SJ, all dead useful stuff. I've had to deal with the oil filter mounting bolt shaking loose (twice!) and suffered the wrong length filter prob (thanks to local dealership only doing Softail filters), grappled with a crappy earth to the frame in the last couple of years, so hopefully...well at least I'm kind of aware...

I think the swing arm bearings (cleveblocks etc) are OK, wheel bearings are about to be sorted, the sun's coming out, and off we go for 2008...

Cheers for your informative response. Much appreciated, seriously.

L x

[kiwidave]

Lyn, my personal 2p is that the lifters themselves should be changed every 30,000 to 40,000, especially if you have the stock early type ones still in place.

H-D redesigned the lifters in the mid 90s to make them stronger, and I have read much wisdom about the preventative-maintenance nature of doing this.

The blocks themselves may never need changing.

Everyone is right, 30,000 is nothing on an Evo. But nonetheless I have taken the lifters tip on board. But that's just me.

Whenever you do decide to do that, get actual H-D ones. They are good, not that dear, and there is no need to spend more on fancy hi-perf versions.

In my case, the job is made so much easier by having adjustable pushrods that can be removed without the rocker boxes coming off