The VHT high heat paint is a ceramic paint. You bake it after painting, its pretty tough stuff after baking it. Just follow the baking instructions on the can.
He passed away the day after I first went there. The staff were telling me about how he loved to chat with customers though. That wouldve been really cool.
Found the cause of the annoying rattle I had been hearing. Tab had broken loose on the exhaust chrome cover, so I pulled out my mighty $79 120V stick welder and tacked it back in place. It doesn't vibrate anymore, we'll see how long it lasts.
Thanks!
She’s a mostly stock 2012 xl1200v Sportster “72”
One of my favorite things about her is the paint… Hard Candy Big Flake Red.
The stock Dunlop white walls were replaced with Avon Cobra’s… they were transformative… they were superior in looks, ride and performance.
Burley Slammer 10.5’’ shocks replaced the originals to achieve the aggressive stance I was looking for… the ride was no better or worse… so I claim it as a win!
The original solo was replaced with a solo springer, then with a Le Pera Cherokee.
When the Le Pera was added, a HD detachable chrome “sissy bar” backrest seemed like a good choice.
Cycle Shack slip-ons provide an awesome note and gives an original appearance unlike any other 72 I’ve seen.
The standard cow bell was replaced with a chrome round horn cover to compliment the round air cleaner on the other side… gotta keep things symmetrical.
Chrome Bullet style turn signals, a chrome visor style headlight trim ring, and battery / oil tank covers push her into the Chrome ***** realm!
A chopped fender edge brake light was added, the license plate bracket was turned sideways and the belt guard deleted.
The stock mini-apes were pushed forward 4’’ to 5’’, the rear view mirrors were flipped and installed underneath and Nostalgic hand grips were exchanged for stock ones.
She's detail cleaned constantly.
That’s enough to make her mine.
The odometer reads just short of 15,000 miles.
I LOVE this bike as she is, but there are a few other ideas I’d like to do later on.
Next winter I’d like to have Astech Seats update the Le Pera Cherokee to a reptile theme and modify the backrest to match.
I’d like to design complimentary graphics to install on the chrome battery/oil tank covers to tone them down a bit.
I've been able to ride her 3 of the last 4 days!
I just installed the HD tall boy bars that come standard on the 48 special. I was gonna go with the HD chizel low bar but the tall boy fits the bike better.
Newbie Baby Steps of the Day: Spent about 30-45 minutes practicing turns, particularly right hand turns from a stop, to recover from the anxiety incurred from last weekend (both a wipeout of my own on a slow speed right turn, followed shortly afterward by witnessing a fatality). Got better with the maneuvers, and stopped when I felt I was close to overthinking and thus starting to screw up.
Then did my first ever oil change. Super simple, but takes more time doing it for the first time. Got a K&N oil filter so I won't have to mess with a strap wrench next time. It was nice that the gasket was pre-oiled. It's a good thing that I put a little bit of Seafoam in the old oil a couple weeks back (it's been mostly sitting for 2.5 years since the last oil change), as what came out looked mostly black. I also dislodged some large black flakes with bubbles in it, which seemed at first to be deteriorated rubber, but seems to have actually been old dried oil. I went with Red Line 20w50 for the new oil, which may be overkill, but better safe than sorry, yes? I should probably change the transmission oil soon as well, but that's more involved, and I'm not sure where to get the proper gasket set yet.
Now to find a replacement rear turn signal cover, as I lost the old one in my lowside dumbass maneuver last week.
04-16-2019, 08:00 PM
RIP
