The E15 Apocalypse

                       V-Rod Fuel Pump with High Pressure Side Nipple Pushing Out Of Body


So, E15 is on its way.  And the government has just now realized that Ethanol is bad for engines.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/study-new-e15-gas-can-ruin-auto-engines/article/2520078

From the article:

"The additional E15 testing, completed this month, has identified an elevated incidence of fuel pump failures, fuel system component swelling, and impairment of fuel measurement systems in some of the vehicles tested. E15 could cause erratic and misleading fuel gauge readings or cause faulty check engine light illuminations. It also could cause critical components to break and stop fuel flow to the engine."

We have been seeing this for several years now.  E10 is tearing up not just automotive fuel pumps but Harley-Davidson EFI fuel pumps as well.  There are several problems with E10.  It separates the moisture out of the fuel so water pools in the bottom of the tank.  Then when you run low you get a big shot of water into your motor.  It also softens up hard plastic parts that make up fuel pump bodies and makes them brittle.  We have seen fittings back out of their bores and o-rings fail where they never did with regular gas. (See Picture)  

Sadly there is not much you can do to combat these problems.  There are a few products on the market that fight the water issue.  Amsoil makes "Quickshot" and Startron makes a fuel additive.  There is nothing on the market that helps with the softening of the plastics problem.

Maybe the best course of action would be to call your Congressmen and Senators and tell them,        

                                             "HARLEYS DON'T RUN ON CORN!" 

 

Not All Batteries Are Created Equal

Contrary to popular belief. Not all batteries are the same. They may look identical and have the same outer dimensions but it's the guts that count.

For example. Take a late model Softail/Dyna battery. The stock battery is rated at 310 CCA. CCA being cold cranking amps. WalMart sells a lawnmower battery that will fit. It is the same outer dimensions as the stock battery. It even looks like it might be made by the same manufacturer. But the CCA is only 270. It will start a bike a few times. But not enough juice to last very long. Check the CCA rating. It needs to be the same as stock.

Also stay away from conventional batteries. The fumes from conventional batteries is corrosive. It will corrode wiring and steel. Stick to absorbed glass-mat or gel cell batteries. If you want to get the most out of your batteries use a battery tender/trickle charger. They can be had at most auto parts stores for around $40.

There are some high performance lithium-ion batteries coming on the market. They have a CCA higher than stock. This is good news for those of you who have high compression motors and need a little extra juice.

--Aaron

Tires Tires Tires

Here is some info on tires that you might or might not know.

1. Tire pressure. Check your tire pressure regularly. It doesn't take a lot of time. But we get bikes in all the time with 10lbs of pressure in them. Your tires will last a lot longer if you keep them properly inflated. And you only got two of them. The PSI printed on the tire is the Max PSI not the recommended PSI. The cold PSI for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles is printed on a sticker on the frame down-tube.

2. Tire manufacture dates. Pic #1 is a manufacture date on a Dunlop tire. All tires have a 4 digit manufacture date on them somewhere. It is usually in an oval stamp. This one reads "3006". That means it was manufactured in the 30th week of 2006. BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE of cheap tire deals from wholesalers online. Ask for the date code before you buy. Most of the time they are trying to unload old stock tires.

3. Pic #2 is Green Slime in an aluminum rim. BAD IDEA! In addition to pissing off your mechanic it rarely works. Here is another reason to NOT USE IT. It reacts with and eats aluminum. The rim in the pic had Green Slime in the tire for over 6 months. There were quarter size chunks falling out of the inside of the rim. Think of it this way. A $60 tow and a $150 tire is not equal to ruining a $1,000 dollar rim. Also don't use plugs or patches or other roadside fixes. A $60 tow is not worth your life if that tire fails.

A Word On Wiring

We have come across this quite often recently, so I feel it needs addressing. Fixing wiring or adding lights, LEDs, horns...etc... DO NOT twist your electrical connections together and then tape over them. DO NOT use cheap crimp connections that are the wrong size. That might cut it in the car world but in the air-cooled v-twin world its asking for a myriad of problems later.

Now before you laugh, we have seen this twice this month and once last month. So it does really happen. You would think it was common sense to solder and heat shrink your electrical connections, but not everyone does. My favorite was someone who went to all the trouble to heat shrink connections and had twisted the wires together underneath. The problem on Harleys and motorcycles in general is heat and vibration. You ground wires out, short them out and generally cause all kinds of mayhem and as the wires shake around they loosen up and get worse.

You can get all the supplies you need from AutoZone, Oreilly's or Radio Shack rather inexpensively. Doing the job right the first time will save you trouble and money in the long run. Nobody wants to pay for hours of electrical diagnosis that could have easily been avoided. Don't cheap out and cause yourself more problems later.

--Aaron

Introduction

So here we go with the tech blog.  What I hope to accomplish here is to impart some of the tips and tricks that I have gleaned over the 10+ years I have been working on Harleys.  The stuff you dont find in the service manual or on youtube.  Speaking of youtube, we might do some videos to help in what we are trying to get across.  We hope you enjoy your stay and feed back is always appreciated.

Thanks,  Aaron