Hot Shots
This photo is of me and my good friend Suzanne Austin (aka the world-famous biker comedian Bag Lady Sue). This picture is from an impromptu photo shoot on the backstreets in downtown Denver. My bike is a 1993 Harley-Davidson FXSTS 90th anniversary Springer. In addition to the obvious mods, it has a 110"/110 hp RevTech motor and six-speed transmission. Suz has her own custom 1981 Ironhead Sportster, which didn’t make the photo, I’m guessing because she was wearing a skirt. However, I’m not sure that would have stopped her!
Mark Bowron
Evergreen, Colorado
Head Shake
After reading about Tom’s head shake problem in Sportster Corner, I wanted to share a similar problem I had with a brand-new 2005 Deuce! I felt a shake on my maiden ride home from the dealer. It would start around 45 mph. It wasn’t a violent shake. It was mild, but I knew it wasn’t right; I soon had it back to the dealership to check it out. The dealer told me he went over the front end components, head bearings, wheel bearings, and wheel trueness and balance. He test rode the bike, and said it was acceptable, but on my ride home it felt the same to me! Also, if I removed my hands from the bars, it would enhance the shake a little more. I called the mechanic who worked on it and told him about it getting a little worse if I removed my hands while it was doing it. He told me not to remove my hands when riding! So I dealt with it for about 5,000 miles until I replaced the front tire. The original tire had a flaw I didn’t see until I looked real hard at the sidewall. There was an area that didn’t conform. I would suggest having the dealer put on a wheel from another bike and then test ride it to see if it still has the head shake.
Kokomo
Via Internet
A Joe K. Encounter
Joe K., I’m not sure if you remember me, but I was the Danbury cop with the Charger whom you met last Super Sunday. It was great to meet you, and talk about bikes and whatnot. Not often do I have the chance to meet and speak with stand-up people like yourself while at work. You suggested I send some pics of my bike, so here’s one of my 1999 Fat Boy and my Uncle Mike’s 2003 Fat Boy. When I was a kid, my uncle and father would take me riding with them, which only made me obsessed with having my own Harley. I also have a 1991 FXR.
Dave Williams
Danbury, Connecticut
A Good Mexican Dive
Chris, I had an absolute blast on the HOHS Mexican Riviera cruise! It was a pleasure meeting you, and it really caught me by surprise on the dive boat when I found out who you were. Enclosed is a picture of myself with my 2002 Deuce. Thanks for putting it in the magazine, and thanks for being a good dive buddy.
Roger Miller
San Jose, California
Be Cool!
Chris, having read the oil cooler articles, I find myself pondering another issue about reducing oil temperatures. If I’m not mistaken, BAKER makes an enlarged oil tank for Touring models. Have there been any studies, articles, installs, etc. relating to this particular item and topic?
Also, has anyone written anything about the new AMFD RideMaxx EFI Tuner? The concept seems logical, but at the same time, it seems too simplistic considering the multitude of performance add-ons and upgrades.
Bud
Via Internet
Bud, BAKER Drivetrain does offer an enlarged oil tank for Touring models. Check it out on its web site, www.BakerDrivetrain.com. As of yet, we have not done any press on this component. As for the RideMaxx, we did an installation of that system in the September ’08 issue. — Chris Cruising With Grandpa
These are my grandsons Cole (on back) and Jake, who are usually burning up the yard on their four-wheelers in Hampstead, Maryland. But they jump at any chance to climb on my 2005 Electra Glide Standard and ham it up. I love your mag, and would be thrilled if you put these future riders in its pages.
Dave “Pappy” Calp
Finksburg, Maryland
Lingerie Liability
Ms. Schmitt, I was reading the Letters section in the November issue when non-biker Cicutto was tearing apart your article on lingerie liability by stating he didn’t believe it could happen. He further wrote that “Genevieve’s friends would be of a stature that the size of their lingerie would cover the entire car.” If he only knew what you and your friends look like! All he needed to do was watch the special that was on either Discovery Channel or The Learning Channel about the exploits of women riders, which I believe Betsy was a part of, and he could see that your friends and riding buddies are fit, and I would say on the hottie side of the fairer sex. Oh, well, we can’t help the few that do little research on a matter before they write in and less for non-riders who have not had any riding adventures. Anyone who has ridden a long time knows he will run into some of the weirdest %#!& and will have bought something stupid for his head (Santa hat) only to have it fly off.
Roy
Somewhere In Iraq
Sporty Shake
I was reading Sportster Corner in the December issue, and have to comment on the high-speed head shake. I am 41, retired Air Force, and have been a mechanic for 22 years. Back in June, I purchased my first street bike, a 2008 883 Custom. I began having problems similar to yours last month. The handlebars would vibrate slightly at 55, but it was really noticeable when accelerating above 55 or slowing down to 55. At 70, it would go back to a slight vibration. A friend of mine noticed that the right fork tube appeared to be higher than the left. I took a tread depth gauge and measured from the top of the fork tube to the top of the tree. The right tube was 3/32" higher than the left. I brought the bike to my dealership, and in addition to readjusting the forks, asked them to check the wheel bearings and the front end. All was normal, and the forks were reset to spec. The mechanic and service writer both told me the Sportys have a little vibration due to the rubber-mounted engine. My Sporty rides just like new now.
Here’s another tip: is there any irregular tire wear such as cupping, uneven wear, or flat spots? Even the slightest blemish in a tire can cause problems. Close your eyes and run your fingertips lightly over the tire tread. You’d be amazed at what your sense of touch can find that your sense of sight can’t.
Quentin “Harry”
Louisiana
Snake Bite Run
There’s a little piece of road, 211 East on the perimeter of Shenandoah National Park, that I’ve affectionately dubbed Snake Bite Run. It’s three miles of twisties that will come up and bite you if you’re not careful. But here I’m just posing with my 1999 Road King Classic somewhere in the George Washington National Forest.
Angel Lugo
Manassas, Virginia
On The Road
This past August, the wife and I were watching all the bikes staging for the car ferry SS Badger to Wisconsin from Ludington, Michigan. I turned around to look at all the iron preparing to roll onboard when I saw one ratty-looking bike in the back of a Ford pickup. Not just any pickup, mind you, but the American Iron Magazine pickup. As for the ratty-looking bike, it was Buzz’s ’48 Crustoration Panhead. I thought it looked familiar and then it presented itself in a different light. And who was getting something out of the truck? It was Chris Maida. I first met Chris and Buzz in Sturgis, Michigan, in August of 2003. It was a pleasure to ride alongside Buzz’s ’55 Panner and with Chris on the Ride Home for the 100th. When Chris started to go over the ’48 Crustoration bike with me, it seemed like I’d known Chris for 20 years. Thanks, Chris. One just doesn’t know who you’ll meet on the road. Here’s a picture.
Jim Best
Holland, Michigan
Jim, it was great to hang with you again. One of the best parts of my job is getting to meet AIM readers at events and on the open road. — Chris Key West Bound
That’s highway 93 running through an awesome glacial gorge in the Maligne Mountains of Canada’s Jasper National Park. I’ve been to three corners of the country thus far, but still gotta make it to Key West. I’m doing the rest of the lower 48 on the way to and from Florida.
“Ironbutt” Bill Polick
San Diego, California
Carb Approved
Good article on the EPA and CARB requirements for motorcycles in the October 2008 issue. However, you forgot about Assembly Bill No. 829, Chapter 325, of the California legislation. This bill would allow aftermarket and performance parts to be sold and installed on motorcycles,
concurrent with a motorcycle’s transfer to an ultimate purchaser, where the parts have valid State Air Resources Board Executive Orders.
William Rupert
LeoVince Exhaust Systems
Richmond, California
Right you are, Bill! Thanks for the heads up. A Change Every Time
In Dave Telling’s article Charging Systems (November ’08), he lead me to believe Harley uses a series style of regulation in which there is low resistance in the system under conditions of high-current demand (lights, music, or electric clothing), and which introduces resistance into the circuit when demand drops. If this is the case, high resistance in the load should lead to increased voltage across the stator windings. Is this stressful to the insulation? Or is the regulator an upgraded version of the Zener diode regulator on my old BSA, in which the shunt current of low load heated the regulator, and the stator always ran at max output?
My main question, which no one seems able to answer, is which operating condition is more stressful to the charging systems as a whole: operating with a high-current demand, or turning off all but essential electrical loads?
Lloyd Webster
Swan River, Manitoba, Canada
Lloyd, the greatest overall stress to charging components is normally when the load is heavy. That’s because current is what generates heat in the parts, not voltage. You are correct in saying that the stator winding voltage will go up some, but the voltages developed are well under the insulating capabilities of the windings. What often causes windings to fail is a combination of excessive heat (from a variety of sources, including long periods of low-speed operation) and vibration. These two can combine to cause interwinding short circuits (because the heat softens the insulation), which causes even more localized heat, and, in time, burns up the winding. The shunt-type regulation of the old British bikes actually stressed the Zener regulator more at light loads, because there was no regulation of the generator itself. The full output would have to be handled by the Zener diode if no other loads were present. If you have one of those bikes, a few accessory lights might help your Zener diode last longer! Most modern bikes use some kind of series regulation, or a separately excited field, like a car alternator, and are most stressed at higher loads.
However, there are exceptions to this rule. A regulator that introduces an electronic resistor to control alternator output will tend to run hottest at mid-level current demands. However, the alternator and rectifiers will run hottest at high-current demands. On the other hand, a regulator that shorts out the alternator windings when it goes above the voltage setpoint, which is a common design, can actually cause more heat at low loads. This is because the peak currents in the windings are greater when the alternator output is shorted. When the bike has more electrical loads, the windings may actually run a bit cooler, but the rectifiers will run hotter, because they now are supplying more current to the load.
In the end, the answer really depends upon which part of the charging system you're targeting. The most efficient (lowest heat) design is the alternator that uses a separately excited field (like a regular car alternator), but that type is not common on bikes because of the extra windings, slip rings, etc. that would be needed. I believe that in the future, we will see high-efficiency, switching-type regulators that will be very efficient and compact, and work with existing alternator designs.— Dave Telling
The Soft Sell
Dear
AIM, just me and my daddy taking a ride around the house with our Harleys. We’re practicing for the next Biketoberfest. Thank you for taking the time to look at our picture. My daddy would sure love to be in your magazine.
Scott and Bryanna Rice
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
G’day!
I thought you might like to see a picture of our friend Amy with our Harley. Amy moved to Perth, Australia, around three years ago and is pictured on a recent visit to the UK. My family and I live in a village called Pease Pottage, which is in the county of West Sussex. When Amy came to visit, she was very keen to see and ride our 2004 FLSTCI. As far as she is concerned, she’s “only 90 years old” and doesn’t see why that should dampen her enthusiasm for Harleys, or motorcycles in general. Indeed, she does ride trail bikes with her sons in the Aussie outback. I think we could all take a lesson from her that even though your body may grow old, your spirit doesn’t have to.
Steve
Pease Pottage, United Kingdom
No Tellin’
Hey, guys, check out this view on the highway near Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia, during Freedom Fest 2008. A great place to break in our new 2008 Fat Bob. By the way, the angel in this heaven is my wife Kay. Next stop, the Mountainfest in Morgantown, West Virginia, an unknown secret that our friends at American Iron should check out. Hope to see you on the road!
Kevin Warnick
Roanoke, Virginia
AIM 
March 2009 Letters 
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