A Mission From God

ok God dammit, this transmission is turning into a real MISSION!!

I was making a quick putt to check on something a couple weeks ago.  (luckily it was only a 5 or 6 mile round trip) when I got back to the house I found out one of the studs for the transmission had come out going down the road. 

for some reason, the stud hole runs all the way into the tranny case.  so when the stud backed out, it was just like removing the drain plug.  ALL THE 80/90 WT FLOWED OUT!!!

when I went to the bike shop to get a new stud, they didnt have one in stock.  they got on the phone, and online and hunted around for me, and two shops in the state had the studs.  each of them was about an 8 hr round trip drive in the car.  not worth it to pick up a $4 stud.

a week goes by, and the stud arrives at the shop, and I go get it.  the nut for the stud is another $2, so I had to get it.  let's see; $80 in gas from two trips to the shop just to get $6 worth of hardware.

when I went to put the new stud in place, it threaded right up.  that is, until it was to the point it needed to tighten up.  it seems the threads were hashed at that point so it wouldn't tighten.
I figured if i put a washer or two on the stud, it should tighten up BEFORE the hashed threads.  it didnt...instead, the stud just wouldn't tighten up, and the threads seemed to be coming out in pieces.

so, it looks like I am going to have to pull the tranny AGAIN!!

yes, it is the same tranny, that had the shiftr alignment spring break off two days before a week long ride with friends.  the same tranny that broke off a tooth on the mainshaft 5th gear, and the same tranny that had the wrong seal put on it, and needed to be replaced.
so let me see...since July, this tranny has been pulled out of the bike....oh, Hell..let me think.....4 times?...or is it 5!?!

so now I need to pull; the oil tank, primary, clutch and compensating sprocket (again), and the tranny so I can repair (hopefully) the threads in the case.  even if I have to put a helicoil in its place, I have to do something.  I just cant afford a new tranny case, or even a used tranny at the moment.

I guess it is time to be like the Blues Brothers...cuz this transmission is turning into a "Mission From God".

catch ya on the road sometime...

Ride Map

This is a map of the places, and roads that I remember going to over the past 30 years.  A lot of the other places, I can remember parts of the roads, but not most of the way...what can I say, a lot of those years is a bit fuzzy...I also placed red stars on the places, or runs I want to go to.  Sort of a road Bucket List. 

Some of them, are close enough in time and distance to one another that one big cross country ride could hit several of them.  And, I have enough friends scattered out across the country, I would love to be able to meet and ride with.

And if any on my friends know of a road, or a run that might be tool good to miss, that I dont know about, hell just let me know.  It just might make it onto the map  lol

Catch ya on the road sometime...

Flaw in the design?

Ok, I just have one question for the Harley engineers...why would you have the hole for the stud that attaches the transmission to the plate that mounts it to the bikes frame go all the way through the tranny case? 
Apparently, when I put the tranny back in the bike after replacing the 5th gear mainshaft, and mainshaft oil seal, I didnt use loctite on that one stud.  Somehow it backed out going down the road, and I lossed all my tranny gear oil.  Thank fucking God I was only on a very short couple mile putt and didnt screw up the tranny...or go down as the 90wt flowed out in front of the rear tire.

To top it all off, the damn mounting  stud had to be ordered, because non of the shops within an 8 hr roundtrip drive had the damn thing!!  I wasnt gonna waste a day, and about $100 in gas to run and get a $4 mounting stud.