tech

Build Moto sees a future for mechanics

Build Moto sees a future for mechanics And so does Harley-Davidson which is now a sponsor by Wayfarer Would you have liked to build a motorcycle when you were in highschool? A mentorship program based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is teaching teams of high school students how to work on motorcycles. Mentors from various companies are scheduled to donate time and effort to educate students about motorcycles, their maintenance, and custom building them. Milwaukee also has a history with international motorcycling community and hence some big brands are coming onboard. Build Moto program will get support from Harley-Davidson as a sponsor from 2025 donating motorcycles, parts, accessories, support, and manufacturing expertise to enable a generating of motorcycle mechanics and gearheads. Students will also learn fabrication, welding, machining, and of course the marketing and fundraising skills which is essential to the motorcycle industry. Small businesses, race teams, employment at a factory or dealership– it all will benefit from this knowledge and experience. While that’s the big picture–for the immediate short term effects, teams of students from schools will be invited to design and build flat track racing motorcycles that meet American Motorcyclist Association specifications. Social media will document and promote the progress till the final winner is awarded their prize. The global village, the internet and the community is definitely the need for the art and craft of motorcycling to survive and prosper. It is the connection between the rider and his community that spurred the Golden Era for motorcycling and this highly skilled, highly evolved industry can do this again by involving the community. As Build Moto says on its website– “Build a motorcycle, Build a future”. Certainly agree to that! Consider Visiting https://buildmoto.com/ About Build Moto BUILD is a non-profit organization building trade & life skills through motorcycle fabrication. We […]

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TwinPower Launches Innovative Bag-in-a-Box Oil Program for Dealers

TwinPower Launches Innovative Bag-in-a-Box Oil Program for Dealers Free Rack Helps Manage Storage and Dispensing Oil and Lubricants Keller TX – July 10, 2024 – Twin Power, a leader in motorcycle parts and accessories, today announced the return of one of its most popular dealership support efforts, the 6-gallon Bag in a Box Dealer Oil Program. This program provides dealers with a free, heavy-duty metal dispenser rack when they purchase six boxes of Twin Power’s high-quality oil and lubricants. This innovative program offers numerous advantages over traditional 55-gallon drums, especially for dealers with limited space or a focus on service and repair. “We are thrilled to bring this efficient and environmentally friendly program to our dealers,” said Twin Power’s Brand Manager James Simonelli. “The Bag in a Box system is compact, easy to use, and offers substantial savings, which makes it a great choice for shops looking to streamline their operations and reduce costs. And, it’s the same great oil that we offer in our quart containers, not a short service interval or break-in oil.” The 6-Gallon Bag in a Box Dealer Oil Program offers numerous benefits to dealers. First, the free dispenser rack provides a practical solution for oil storage and dispensing. The system’s compact design requires no more space than a single 55-gallon drum, making it ideal for shops with limited storage. Additionally, the easy-to-use system simplifies oil dispensing and allows dealers to keep service quantities of several different weights of oil available to technicians. Environmentally, the bag-in-a-box design eliminates containment and disposal issues associated with traditional drums, reducing waste and eliminating the challenge of handling drums of oil. The six-gallon bag saves dealers up to 30% compared to quart prices, providing significant financial benefits. The oil in the bag-in-a-box system is the same top-quality product found in

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The Mike Parti Story

A portrait of an avid motorcyclist by Michael Fitzsimons  Parti was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on June 23, a long time ago. At 15, Parti bought an old Ford jalopy. When his mother saw the car, she threatened to chain the tires together until Parti turned 16 and got his driver’s license. Early on, he bought an old Indian Scout for $15, which Parti pointed out was the going rate for a bike that didn’t run in those days. NOTE FROM Bandit: Mike Parti sadly passed a few years back, but his bikes and his legacy live on. Recently his daughter Clarice “Tish” kindly donated this historic sidecar rig to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. We are exceedingly proud to add this unique Bonneville Vincent powered sidecar rig to the race inspired exhibits. Click here to read this photo feature article only on Bikernet.com * * * * Subscribe to the Bikernet.com Free Weekly Newsletter by clicking here  

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Engine Guard Kit Installation

An eye-opener by By Christy After installing the forward controls on my motorcycle, my boyfriend suggested an engine guard just in case I accidentally drop my bike. This highly polished, chrome-plated guard matches stock plating and works great with the FXST Forward Controls. Engine Guard Kit 49000138 | Harley-Davidson USA I had a first-hand visual experience of how well this works when my boyfriend’s foot slid on something, and he dropped his bike while stopped in the driveway. The only damage was a slight scratch on the engine guard. Click here to read this photographed tech report on Bikernet.com * * * * Get the details to all the Tech and Garage insider info in our Free Tech Department at https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Techs_Bike_Builds.aspx

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Part 7 of VLXAFL5: Final Assembly Begins

by Bandit with photos by Weed The Paint Returned from TNT It’s been awhile, but I haven’t dawdled. I’ve been working hard on various projects. That guy in Deadwood, who was once 45 John bought a 1960 Panhead roller/basket case and I’ve been helping with the reconstruction. I rebuilt or built and trans from a case and a sketchy box of parts. With Fab Kevin we built a front disc brake. John rebuilt the rear star hub and I helped with fitment and the rear brake. We slid in the engine after I stumbled. I used the rear axle and a flat lift jack to jack up the bike, so I could block it, remove the jack and start to install the 5-speed trans in a 4-speed S&S case. The trans didn’t want to go so I filed and ground all the paint out of the 4-speed slots and the slot I made and welded for the 5th stud on the right. I even had to grind the rear tab on the trans case more for additional clearance. I couldn’t run an old school 4-speed trans for a couple of reasons. It’s an alternator S&S engine and I wanted it to be electric start. Click here for the accelerating Tech adventure with detailed photos and tips. * * * * Don’t stop there, we have a whole department on Motorcycle Tech since 1996. Click and build now! https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Techs_Bike_Builds.aspx

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John’s 1960 Panhead 4-Speed Rebuild

by Bandit, John, Frank R.I.P. and Lee Clemens with photos by Weed We Started with Box of Parts and Pieces A friend, the notorious Deadwood John, called recently about his 1960 Panhead roller project, sort of a basket case on wheels. The engine still remained in the frame and a glide front end was in place, but not much else. He wrote to Ron the shop owner in Alaska and said, “What about the transmission?” Ron who ran this shop for 40 years was an old friend. Semi-retired he was willing to help with all aspects of the build, so he sent John a box of transmission parts. John tried to hand it to his engine rebuilder who rightfully turned him down. I’ve been around 4-speed transmissions for 50 years and rebuilt one in 1971. Kinda fucked it up but made it right. Click here to read this photo feature Tech only on Bikernet.com * * * * See more Tech and Tricks at our dedicated Tech Department with feature articles and photos. Click here and start rebuilding.

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VLXAFL Build episode 6

Heading to Paint Hopefully by Bandit with photos by Weed This has been an interesting one. The issues with the primary drive and transmission alignment held up this puppy through the summer, the rally and now it’s October, about to be November. Oops, it is November. Click here to read about this custom build project with photographic documentation. * * * * Find more Custom Builds. Click Here.

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VL,XA,FL Knucklehead Build part 5

by Bandit with photos by Wrench I’ve been waiting on my chain primary drive from Tech Cycle and Paul Cox, it’s cool albeit terrifying. We only go around once. It arrived the other day and we started the alignment procedure. Answers and solutions are coming. Then we looked into how the drive chain would align with the sprocket on the transmission and wheel. Click here to catch-up with this live build project in a photo feature only on Bikernet.com * * * * * * * * Sign up for Free Weekly Newsletter from Bikernet.com to stay updated on latest Motorcycle news, events, products, tech, tips, reviews, deals, fun & more. Click Here to Join – it’s Free  

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VLXAFL-5 Knucklehead Chop makes progress

by Bandit with photos by Wrench Oil tank, Battery, kickstand, Transmission, gearing and… I escaped to my shop and attempted to shift my mind from treacherous doom and gloom over to mechanical freedom. I needed to finalize, or sorta finalize my rear brake system, and shift linkage. With the proper, old frame, S&S transmission case, Irish rich, Carl Pussar and I started to piece together a 5-speed transmission. Rich had the detailed S&S instructions. I had a brand new JIMS countershaft (turned out to be the wrong one, a 6-speed counter-shaft), and I found out S&S no longer makes these transmission cases. Ah, but there was hope. JIMS bought the pattern and they are starting to reproduce a case that will fit in any old 4-speed frame and house a tough-as-nails 5-speed Evo transmission. Click Here to read this Tech with detailed photos, only on Bikernet.com * * * * * * * * * * * * CHOP TILL YOU DROP — Have a look at the vast number of custom build projects only at Bikernet.com Visit: https://www.bikernet.com/pages/bike_builds.aspx

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Road Test Report: Trike Kit Failure

Howdy! Grab a chair an’ a beer, ‘cause I’ve got a warning for ya! A lot of ya will remember be from Thunder Press, and remember my wife, Reggie’s pink trike. She’s put almost 100K miles on it, and rode it all over the western states. A while back, she noticed a clunk, an’ when I checked it out, I found that the left side axle housing had broken the welds, and the angle destroyed the bearing surfaces of the aluminum center housing. I found out that Champion Trikes, the makers of the kit I used, (before Harley made trikes) had been sold and the design changed, so no parts are available for the older kits. With a lot of miles on the bike, we decided it wasn’t worth buying another 10K kit, so she bought a new trike and I started to put her Heritage back on 2 wheels. That’s when I discovered that the main supports were also broken, and it’s lucky she wasn’t slidin’ down the highway on her ass at 80 miles an hour! I’m not knockin’ Champion Trikes here, since the current owners had nothing to do with the kit I bought 16 years ago. I just want to let anyone with one of the early kits know that there’s a problem, and they need to check all welds closely! I’m including some pix of the damage to let ya know where to look. The white paint is where the welds broke, and should be one piece. Ride safe, y’all, and we’ll see ya on the road! Buckshot, Thunder Press (Retired) * * * * * * * * * * * * Get all the Tech and Tips from the old to the new — for Free. Visit https://www.bikernet.com/pages/Techs_Bike_Builds.aspx

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