Who is Kevin Kelly you ask? (The one who posted the horrible link). He apparently has no life and spends waaaayy too much time "posting to Technium and 9 other blogs"

I spend most of my time these days writing my next book. It is about "what technology wants." I'm posting my thoughts in-progress on The Technium. I solicit comments there, which in turn influence my ideas. It is a wonderful way to craft a book. Writing in public is more work, but it makes the book better. The final draft is due to be delivered in October 2009, and will most likely be published by Viking/Penguin sometime in 2010.

In order to finish this book on deadline, I've drastically cut down on travels and speaking, but when I do, I am represented by Monitor Talent.

In addition to The Technium I post to 9 other blogs, detailed below. All these bits are consolidated into one uber-blog I call my Lifestream.

Kevin, get a life. Oh crap! How lame is my life writing about someone who writes about blogging?

 

My biggest worry about the One Post Spammers is that if you click on the link provided, you'll end up at some chinese website that'll hook more virus' into your system than a 2 dollar hooker has. So beware....

 

If you are going to read about tools, I prefer Toolmonger. They have posted motorcycle specific tools in the past.

www.toolmonger.com

 

Well, there are some tools that you absolutely need to do the work on your HD. I've done gear drive cams on my bike and 3 others and the cam bearing tool was essential for removing/installing the bearings from the cam chest. Also have replaced the wheel bearings on 3 bikes with the tool from Georges Garage.......so, it was well worth the cost and time!

 

I've done those very same jobs, maybe not same wheels, and I only used my shop press for the ease. I very well could have simply used two sockets and a piece of all-thread or a bolt long enuff to reach thru the cam plate and both sockets. The cam bearing removal tool, talking about the outer bearings here, is made to support both front and rear cams in place during removal. The fact of the matter there is the rear bearing is a two piece which easily follows along when just pressing the front bearing out of the plate. No 'special' tool needed at all.

If you think about it, even the inner cam bearings can be removed with a cheap blind hole puller purchased from places like harbor freight, or if you like expensive tools, you can get the same from name brand vendors. Nope, no special tool needed here either.

Cam support plate removal tool is nothing more than a plate with a few well placed holes, some of which are threaded so as to give you the ability to 'push' the plate away from the crank case. Guess what? No special tool needed again.

With wheel bearings, all I use is a 1/2" round piece of brass to tap the races out from the opposite side.

I recently added a Baker DD6 gear set to my bike. I didn't need the main sprocket removal tool to take the main shaft bearing race off, I just cut it off with a dremel and cutting wheel. When installing the new bearing, I took the suggestion of Baker and installed a one piece bearing rated for higher torque which just slipped onto the main shaft. For the Main Drive Gear mounted in the housing of the tranny, I actually used the hold downs from my mill, along with the threaded rods which accompany them. Two flat plates with holes in the center, placed on opposite sides of the bearing assembly, and a bolt or piece of all thread to pull the main shaft gear bearing into place. Again, no 'special tool needed what-so-ever.

The one tool I REALLY like is the cam chain tensioner depressors. Although they have dropped in price on most of the sites I've seen lately, I would never pay 26-45 bucks for a piece of 1/8" rod bent in a P shape. Of course they did dip the P handle part in Plasti-Dip which you can purchase at any auto parts store, but still doesn't justify the need or the expense.

The harley manual for my bike shows you how to fabricate a 1/8" rod for adjusting the alignment of the rear wheel. That is WAY more complicated than bending a P out of the same material. The fact is you could literally use just a piece of wire clothes hanger, and yes, I do know they are getting harder to find these days, just sayin.

A small amount of 'enginuity' (mispelled intentionally) and a person can achieve the impossible. Not to mention saving quite a bit of cash spent for one time use and overly priced 'specialty' tools. I'll spend my money on parts, fuel, and maintenance thank you.

That's my other beef with these tools, they are rediculously priced. I can cut any one of them out on my small lathe and the mill that I have, but there's no need to waste the time or effort. Most people only use these tools ONE time, and never have need for them again. If harley says you need them, then you must because they sure are making a killing from them. I know for a fact, without any doubt, that I don't need them.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a small lathe or other machine tools to make the special tools, so the couple of hundred dollars that I paid for the specialty tools have paid for themselves vs. paying an indy or HD service to do the work for me. That being said, I really appreciated your comments on installing the Baker DD6 transmission, as that will be the next major work I do on my bike. Thanks!

 

There's no denying the savings over labor costs, I just believe that there is a huge profit being generated for tools which are not so technically advanced as to justify what they charge. The statement I made about being able to fabricate some on my machine equipment was just to show that it doesn't take alot of technical expertise to create them or replace them with a cost effective alternative.

Had I opted to purchase all the tools it is said one would need for that job alone, would have added close to a thousand bucks to the project. Perhaps that could justify the cost?