So yesterday I was working on swapping my bars to an internally wired set. When I unbolted and slid the tank back I forgot to disconnect the fuel feed from the bottom of the tank. When I started to slide the tank back I felt some resistance but thought it was just the mounts binding on the back bone...

Thought that until my leg started getting a little wet, wound up snapping the Fuel Line quick connect to the breather. So today I went to my parts guy with my head hung low looking to see if he had the part (62349-04F), no dice turns out the only place that has it is about 2 hours away in Orange, VA.

So on friday I have a journey to make to pick up a $43 part so I can be mobile again. I could have them ship the part to me but then I wouldn't have it until mid week next week, and I would rather not do that.

So since I feel like an idiot, I was wondering what's the worst mistake you any of you guys have made while doing an other wise simple job?

 

I feel for you rook, put my gas tank back on my bike a few weeks ago…. did not connect the quick connector for the fuel line properly and blew the guts out of it when I started the bike, felt like an idiot explaining that one to my parts guy. ( 10 day wait for the part and $60 later)

 

that sucks.... we've all made bonehead moves one time or another... most of us are just embarrassed to admit them... LOL!

for example, when i decided to swap out my stock apes for wild ones, instead of figuring out that you could disassemble the connectors from the main harness... i busted out with a pair of scissors and cut the wires midway down the apes and slid the wires out of the triple trees that way with the intention of splicing and soldering

....of course, you can see the problem with that considering the wires i just cut were to be run internally with the wild ones

now THAT'S a bonehead move.

thank god, harley made a replacement set

 

Hey...have them Fed Ex it to you. The cost is not much more than the trip. I have dented a gas tank taking it off. Scratched my fender with a screw driver. Was drilling a hole in the swingarm on a Yamaha once and the drill trigger was locked on and I slipped and drilled a hole in the sidewall of the rear tire.

You need to add that fuel line to your "Wall of Shame" in your garage.

 

the worst ive done so far was pulled the tank towards the seat and the metal clamp on the fuel line towards the front of the tank gouged my head....

 

Wow, that tire one is pretty funny.

I asked them if they could fed ex it to me and apparently Waugh can only UPS Ground it to me, 5 day wait and a weekend... (I was surprised, I mean really I would pay for over night)

I've got a buddy that'll go with me down there on friday so I'm just going to do that.

I like the wall of shame idea, make sure I never forget to take the 2 seconds to disconnect the tank.

 

Yeah, the tire thing happened while I was talking to my girlfriends Father and drilling at the same time. I was telling him how much money I save by doing my own work and it always gets done right.

 

I just did the same thing.. only i knew you could somehow remove the wire from the connectors.. i couldn't wait and didn't have the patience, so i cut them.

 

When I was putting my primary back together last summer I almost destroyed my inner primary. I was tightening the compensator nut and couldn't get it to 150 ft/lbs. So I got down on my knees to take a look and saw the primary chain was hanging outside the case and being pressed into the gasket surface of the inner primary. When I backed off pressure a very decent size piece of aluminum broke off the inner primary. I thought I was fu*ked but tried it anyway and it sealed and all is good.......that was a close one, and a stupid mistake.

 

Most of my dumb mistakes were 30 yrs ago, but I've made lots of them, took both fork caps off a Kawasaki at the same time to change the fork oil, someone was with me and caught the bike before it collapsed, had a main fuse blow on a BSA, miles from nowhere, wrapped the fuse with the foil,got going again barely and melted the wires going to the battery, switched bars on a Suzuki without getting longer cables and when you turned hard left the bike accelerated on it's own, went through a door at a local hang-out with that mistake, put armor all on a seat to make it look pretty, first time I gunned it I was sitting on the fender, the tail light saved me from falling off. Road too many times after being at the bar way too long, so bad I had a hard time keeping the bike upright at a stop, but I rode anyway(moving was better lol). Fortunately those days are way behind me, I knew it all in my teens and early 20's, looking back I knew jack, surprised I survived.