I keep my Roadking stock and I play mod with my Dyna. Both are fault free.

 

Break it in easy like the owners manual says and put synthetic oil in it at the 1000 mile service and ride that baby til you feel like messing with it. Just follow the maintanance schedule in the owners manual and you will be fine. Lots of people have bikes and never touch them except riding and that's fine........me I'm Mr **** Retentive Wacko so I have to practically check the oil while I'm riding because by some majic stroke of science the oil may have disappeared in 11 miles........but that's just me.....not the bike.

 

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...aintsearch.cfm

 

Welcome aboard from Omaha, Nebraska.
[sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

I'm not far behind with my 2000 FLHTC at 105,000 miles and I also travel the desert SW in the summer heat with no oil cooler.

 

Wow, the rumors that never seem to go away!

Oil cooler...My '04 Dyna's digital oil temp dipstick averaged between 250 and 285 degrees while riding through Northern AZ on my way to Needles, CA two years ago and the bike never missed a beat. Cook the motor without an oil-cooler...I don't think so.

Automatic chain tensioner...I've considered getting one just because I think it's a nice unit that would make maintenance a little simpler...no other reason.

Oil breather...Maybe after a long stretch of Interstate at high speeds you'd get a little oil, but otherwise not much of a problem. I've had zero oil moisture on my '06 Street Glide in the 5,000 miles I've driven it.

 

The geniuses that keep telling you how crappy Harley's are and how much they leak oil etc are either still living in the 70's/80's, or have never ridden a Harley. Next time you hear that, ask them why they aren't wearing their Miami Vice clothes, as they are living in the wrong decade!

Ride what you like, when you like. You don't like my ride, well tough **** turkey! I like it and I'm not getting rid of it just because a few pansies out there feel the need to belittle everything that they can't have.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

to all newbe's these guys have just said what alot of have always belived harley makes one great bike . we all we all know about rumors need i say more .

 

Just ride the bike if it stops on you then you worry.

 

Absolutley. Some mods are done out of neccessity like crank case breathers, which are more of an old problem than a new problem. Others are done just because we can do them.

Breather: Most do this to reroute oil mist from going into the carb to the atmosphere or a filter/container when they do a high flow air filter. It's not really neccessary and I have never experienced oil blowby yet and I have a sportster, which were notorious for this problem in the past. If you experience it, then you probably overfilled the oil tank or it's on a high mileage bike.

Chain Tensioner: The automatic one is not neccessary, but it's just there for convienence. The 06 bikes actually come with automatic chain tensioners now. Adjusting the chain does not occur frequently and is a lot easier and less expensive than adjusting the valves on japanese bikes. You bike has hydralic valves so you don't ever have to worry about that. A lot of guys will just add these because they don't want to look at the primary chain for tens of thousands of miles.

Suspension: A lot of people will do these mods because the suspension is designed for the average rider, which harley-davidson thinks is 180 lbs. This is not just done to harley's, but other bikes as well. Italian bike makers think that 180 lbs is the average rider weight also and their shocks are often swapped out also. A lot of people will switch over to progresssives because they're inexpensive and they see a big improvement. Those people include people who ride japanese cruisers as well.

Oil cooler: If you ride in the dessert or heavy stop and go traffic in real high temperatures you might want to consider one, but it's not neccessary. Just run synthetic oil and it should lower the temperature by 15-20 degrees and extend the drain interval on top of that.

Remember that a lot of the mods we do are more because we can and not because they are neccessary. Wait until you get a few accessory catalogs and then you will understand.