2013 Softail Breakout Mods
#171
#173
#174
The struts have to come off in order to take the turn signals off correct? I'm having my struts powder coated soon. When I have the struts off I'll see if the spacers for the turn signals are interchangeable.
#175
#177
#178
#180
Road time...
I took the bike up to Diablo, WA yesterday. Perfect weather, no traffic and absolutely beautiful Pacific Northwest run up in the Cascade mountain passes. I'll put up some pics soon. Bike works amazing! Just a heads up, and thoughts on the mods I did:
Belt drive - love it. The wine off of the belt drive is freakin awesome. After the first 1,000 miles it seemed to be all broke in and got a little bit louder. It sounds like a street rod with a roots blower on it. Not obnoxious tho. Perfect. Also, after the thing broke in, the steel ball weights in the BDL clutch pressure do make a bit of noise at idle, so don't freak if you hear a ticking or a slight rattle when it idles (if you install one of these). Off idle, on up… no noise. Clutch feel is freaking great! Super smooth. Lots of folks seem to like the old school drive when I take the bike out.
One odd benefit with the clutch install - this might sound odd, but when I first got the bike, I couldn't ride without a slight steering input (i.e. no hands on the freeway) - it would pull hard to the left no matter how much I shifted my position. After losing all the weight from the factory parts, the bike tracks completely straight.
Final thought – It has finally set in that I bought a $1,500 BDL drive for $3,000… and got PM’s chrome cage… Maybe it is worth it for some bikes/riders and unnecessary for others. It seemed to match my machine, and the safety aspect for a passenger is what pushed me to buy. Not sure I’d do it on a solo machine. I’d rather fab my own outer guard and send out for platting… or run it naked.
The Air Ride Technologies suspension is first rate. The factory suspension spring rate was too stiff for riding solo for my taste. The hydraulic dampening was ok… Aesthetics aside, the new suspension parts were a vast improvement over the stockers. The bike just floats over the rough concrete slab freeways we got up here. Love it.
Belt drive - love it. The wine off of the belt drive is freakin awesome. After the first 1,000 miles it seemed to be all broke in and got a little bit louder. It sounds like a street rod with a roots blower on it. Not obnoxious tho. Perfect. Also, after the thing broke in, the steel ball weights in the BDL clutch pressure do make a bit of noise at idle, so don't freak if you hear a ticking or a slight rattle when it idles (if you install one of these). Off idle, on up… no noise. Clutch feel is freaking great! Super smooth. Lots of folks seem to like the old school drive when I take the bike out.
One odd benefit with the clutch install - this might sound odd, but when I first got the bike, I couldn't ride without a slight steering input (i.e. no hands on the freeway) - it would pull hard to the left no matter how much I shifted my position. After losing all the weight from the factory parts, the bike tracks completely straight.
Final thought – It has finally set in that I bought a $1,500 BDL drive for $3,000… and got PM’s chrome cage… Maybe it is worth it for some bikes/riders and unnecessary for others. It seemed to match my machine, and the safety aspect for a passenger is what pushed me to buy. Not sure I’d do it on a solo machine. I’d rather fab my own outer guard and send out for platting… or run it naked.
The Air Ride Technologies suspension is first rate. The factory suspension spring rate was too stiff for riding solo for my taste. The hydraulic dampening was ok… Aesthetics aside, the new suspension parts were a vast improvement over the stockers. The bike just floats over the rough concrete slab freeways we got up here. Love it.
Last edited by head_hunter; 05-01-2014 at 12:47 PM.