All the snow birds that did not come to Florida are in hibernation Dale

 

HEY! I resemble that remark!
It's not nearly as much fun just sitting on my bike in the basement as it is actually riding it!

Thing is there are some 'hearty' souls out riding today here.

 

Ha! My bikes are still in the trailer from Thanksgiving... Damn weather has just sucked, too cold, too rainy, too one thing or another..... So, when my buddy mentioned that he wished he could ride this weekend, I told him that I'd ride mine anytime, anywhere (that my wife would tow me).. I could even put my son's dvd player in the trailer and I could watch it as I rode...

 

Too quiet... we must keep this great thread alive!

No snow here, thankfully. I was in Phoenix all week at a very intensive business conference and basically offline. Just flew back home earlier this evening.

Had a nice package that arrived while I was gone... the correct swingarm pivot axle and bearings from TT! I plan to install them as soon as I can, but I have to rip off the swingarm and have the old cleve blocks pressed out and install the new ones - which might take awhile. Gotta get myself psyched up for all that - but since it's too cold to ride here anyway, I have no viable excuse for not getting started soon... other than pure laziness.

Gonna go chill with my wife and some quality adult beverages now. 'Night all!

 

pictures are always appreciated.
something to look at with donuts and beer!

 

That's a relief. I found it easy to fit them, just needs removing everything behind the gearbox to do so. I have mine apart again and am about to modify my TT bushes to fit the 07 swingarm. Can't see the point of buying new ones when all they need is machining down a little. Kid brother is good at that sort of thing!

 

Yeah, they are quite expensive, Graham! More expensive than they should be, considering what they are. I thought the TT replacements would be bearings, but upon inspection they are actually just bushings - really just big heavy solid bronze chunks.

I examined the difference in the two bushings, since I still have both of them right here, and I took some measurements of it. Maybe these dimensions will help you in milling your old bushings to fit your new swingarm:

The overall diameter of the newer one is 1 11/16", and the milled-down part is 3/8" long with a diameter of 1 3/8". The newer one also has an odd, 3/4" wide stamped fluted little metal ring around it that sits in a slight milled depression not more than 1/32" deep, starting 3/16" from the opposite end, so the flutes on it protrude slightly from the overall diameter. I think it might be better without that little ring at all - it seems like it would reduce the stability of the bushing in the swingarm, and the older-style ones don't have it... they are smooth all the way across.

I haven't had the rear end apart on this beast yet - so that will be an adventure for me. One thing I am wondering is how high I will need to crank up my lift to get the rear wheel off, considering the rear fender is quite low to the ground. I don't have one of those fancy full lifts - mine is just a Larin that will lift the bike up to 16". I hope the rear wheel will come out at that height. I don't like to have it up that high for long... kinda scary.

I am starting to think that I may just have my indy install these... they could probably do it in a couple of hours, and I wouldn't have to worry about my bike falling!

 

The bike looks really great with the bars and seat!

It's 34 degrees (F) here in Atlanta this morning... squelching all thoughts of a ride... but at least the coffee is nice and hot!

 

Mmmm, hot coffee

You know I was just whining about nothing! Usually the weather here on the West Coast allows for almost year round riding, with the right cold and wet weather gear. We just had such a great long and sunny summer (with 6 weeks vacation!!!) that I got spoiled.
The bars look good on, and seem more comfortable. Internal wiring rules.
Thanks for the info and inpiration on the swingarm. I changed mine last year and I'm going to take it apart next week to grease the bearing and check things out. Gotta do the wheel bearings at the same time. THEN she'll be ready to go....
anybody try the Easy Brackets, or the Barebacks for saddlebags?

 

This hot coffee is going down mighty fine on this depressingly cold day! I really don't mind riding in cold weather either, but 34 degrees is below my hard deck!

I put the Easy Brackets on my wife's bike so she could have rigidly mounted removable leather saddlebags. I really like the Easy Brackets - I think they are the best option for removable bags. They have a lock on them that enables you to lock them on the bike but remove them quickly. When they are removed, the Easy Brackets go with the bags, since they are bolted to the back of the bags, and there are only the two chrome replacement bolts that remain on the bike... you would have to examine them closely to even know they are for holding the Easy Brackets on and not the stock bolts. Very clean look with the bags removed. I also got her a leather strap they sell that slips into the brackets on the bags and allows her (well... me!) to carry them both easily with one hand. Nice to be able to take the bags off the bike and keep them in a safe place - especially since they are not lockable bags.

I got her bags from Leatherneck Jim's. They are the "pleather" bags because I didn't want to have to deal with keeping real leather looking good. They match her Mustang seat very nicely. They have the rigid backs that are needed for the Easy Brackets to bolt onto, and not have to have rails to support them.