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Restoring the "faith"....after a breakdown.

banjopete

banjopete

Member
After a breakdown and subsequent repair, how long to you all take to re-establish "faith" in your ride? Two "majors" in the last month ( clutch disintegration and shorted stator)...have me continually watching gauges and only taking rides within easy recovery distances. what's your feeling,
500 miles, 1000 mi. or good to go right after the fix?

Pete
 
Can't worry about breakdowns, if you do you'll just be riding around the neighborhood. Owning a Harley means your going to have to work on them once in a while. Major issues can be a pain but look at it on the bright side, you've got them out of the way. Ride on.:)
 
I had the inner primary bearing replaced last June and still hear a faint bearing noise I think some 13 months later and still trying to forget about it. I am not implying that dealer did not repair bike properly for I have rode bike 1,000 miles since and noise heard now has not worsened. It may have always been there since new but IPB was making so much noise while failing that you cold not hear anything else. So I should take Jeff advice and just ride and enjoy instead of being pensive..........:small3d019:
 
For me, it depends on the nature and complexity of the failure and your confididence in the repair. A major top end overhaul would keep me a short distance from home for the first couple of hundred miles. A couple of 50 mile out and back rides before taking off on a typical 300-400 mile outing. A clutch or stator replacement wouldn't cause me to deviate from my normal riding.

I have two of these vtwins, both earlier models, and I have only been stranded once when a pushrod adjustor came loose and closed an exhaust valve. On close examination, the adustor had cracked when tightened but I did not catch it. I am afflicted with a dread disease known as "tinkeritus" and the only time either bike is out of commission is when the disease, which does go dormant for extended periods of time, returns full blossom and I am compelled to change cams, replace 16" wheels with 18" wheels, install a Twist Gear setup to modify the old five speed, or find something else to modify. Making the modification is the only way to fight the disease and return it to dormancy. So, if I worried about re-establishing faith in my ride, I would be in a constant state of dispair. I make the modifications and ride and I think you should do the same.:D
 
Anything made by man can and will fail, somewhere between mile 1 and when you sell it. Check it over carefully, pay attention to any clues it gives you that something may be getting ready to crater and address it in a timely manner. Ever think about all of the single engine airplanes flying all over the world? Enjoy it or sell it.
 
dbmg said:
I had the inner primary bearing replaced last June and still hear a faint bearing noise I think some 13 months later and still trying to forget about it. I am not implying that dealer did not repair bike properly for I have rode bike 1,000 miles since and noise heard now has not worsened. It may have always been there since new but IPB was making so much noise while failing that you cold not hear anything else. So I should take Jeff advice and just ride and enjoy instead of being pensive..........:small3d019:
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Don't get me wrong I hear sounds that may or may not be there but after I've checked and double checked and found nothing I rider like I stole her. Besides that's why god invented extended warranty's.:newsmile100:
 
My bikes are all evo engines which are fairly reliable although they are all over 20 years old and stuff sometimes breaks but not often once fixed then they are good to go although after having the engine in bits IE replace the base gaskets I will do some shorter runs to start with

Brian
 
I just rebuilt my cam chest so I had to give some thought to this myself.

My feeling is that if there's a problem with a repair it will probably show up pretty fast. I intentionally took test rides within a couple of miles from home, coming back , looking and listening, going out again. I more or less had a test plan, putting the bike through its paces. Everything I expect the motor to do within reason to allow break in.

Once it's demonstrated that it operates ok then I don't really feel it's more liable to fail than it was before. Within a couple of days I figure the risk factor is normal. Regular inspection and maintenance takes over from there.
 
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