I saw a used Fatboy or RoadKing (whichever one has the thick front legs... I know
nothing about BTs) at the dealer a few years ago and it had been ridden in the winter (I
assume) because the front legs were all pitted with spots where the clear had chipped
and then the ali was very oxidized. With the clear on most of the legs though it looked
like it wasn't really in a good state to be polished up easily. The poor dude that owned
it before must have taken a nasty hit in the trade in price for it. An afternoon with a
buffer would have given him an extra grand on the trade value easily.

Gazza

 

ooh ya brother! you know that is right, i hit my lower legs on this bike as well after i shaved off the duel caliper mount... came out great!!!

 

first off... THANK YOU lhcstreetbob!!!! he was cool enough to hook it up on his stock st bob front turn sigs... i am going to wire them to act as my running/brake light/turn sigs for the rear of the cafe! they are in killer shape as well! HELL YA THANKS AGAIN!!! as an added bonus, while digging though dads attic for all his old bike parts i tracked down some xmas lights from the early 80's and about 50 extra bulbs! ha ha ha SICK!... i wrapped the house up in them tonight... no clark grizwald but it will do... did not get much done on the bike tonight... had to clean out hte carb on my snowblower... the jet was almost completely solid ha ha ha ooh well... she purrrrrs like a kitten now

Joe i also snagged up some gasket paper... the people at the auto parts store are worthless... i got the hight temp gasket paper that was as tightly packed as i could find it... looks like it will work great... plan on cutting those out tomorrow... also ordered the parts i need to create an oil cooler for this bike... I am crossing my fingers that i can make this work! we will see...



mocked up where i think i will put them... already got the frame a bit dirty :



Put another mount on the other light so that i have both mounting points:



ha ha ha and a few shots of my house.. ya gay i know but i love the 80's lights

 

tips on making the gasket, TAKE YOUR TIME. its going to be there for as long as you want that part on the engine, so do it right. if you have a area along the edge and its slightly thinner, that is opening up the possibility to blow that part of the gasket. i mean its not a huge risk but it CAN happen and if you know about it beforehand you can prevent it and not have any problems at all.

i love those 80s lights haha.

 

SCREW IT! buying new... failed 4 times making a gasket, it was OK the ones i was making but not perfect... just do nto want it to leak after all the work is done... i will just suck it up and pay the 60 bucks for 3 gaskets... RAPE!

 

i havent bought a gasket for an engine i was rebuilding in years. it takes awhile to be able to create the gaskets and the first tries might/WILL suck.

buy the gaskets if you just want it done, but dont let the material go to waste, try making some gaskets for more simple parts or small engine blocks like a weedwhacker. once you get the hang of it youll save some money in your future builds.

or ditch paper gaskets and use Permatex The Right Stuff, it actually replaces OEM paper gaskets on most engines, its really good ****. lots of silicone stuff ***** up inside the engine and can wreak havoc on parts inside but this stuff was designed specifically to REPLACE paper gaskets and doesnt have any bad side effects, plus its dead simple to use and very forgiving of surface imperfections on the engine cover face

whatever you do, i know youll get it together. im getting anxious man i can wait to see the thing finished!

 

HELL YA JOE!!! THANKS MAN!!! i made a few smaller ones and those came out good... but the large ones just will not come out right... i am going to use Permatex The Right Stuff on the side casings (per your advice) and then just order the head gasket... want that sucker to be PERFECT!
i saved one gasket... can i clean and use this again? i usually ALWAYS just replace gaskets cause they are hella cheap! but not for this sucker they are not

 

usually I dont re-use gaskets, but if i have to I use permatex on both sides so it seals well. but it really depends on the cover, it WILL change the clearances so keep this in mine depending on what you are doing it for. if you can, just install a new one be it The Right Stuff or an OEM replacement.

 

Does anybody remember how my Sporty's engine looked? The exact same way!

~Joe

 

so joe... if I am reading these test right... if i use Permatex The Right Stuff on the side cases i will not need a gasket at all! looks like i just run a bead of this on the inside of the case and then bolt it on... is that correct?