The snow will be comming soon, and my winter project will begin. So i will use this thread to detail what happens, what strange things i find, and whatever stuff. A little history for today. Tomorrow i will post about some carb anomalies.

It was the early spring of 1993. I was at the corner of Wellington Road and Horton Street. A Honda GW was two lanes over - the rider wearing the usual suit those guys wear. I wasn't noticing him. Then some young dude pulled up between us, right beside my open window, on a LOUD Harley. probably an old softail - may have been an IronHead Sporty.

Shorty helmet, leather vest, cigg hanging from his mouth, bike shaking like a woman in heat. I never thought about a m-bike in my life before that moment. I just said to myself "I gotta get me one of those" [the bike, not the w in heat].

Took the course in Early July, bought a Yamaha Virago 500 1 week later, went thru 2 Honda Shadows and 3 more Viragos before getting an EVO sporty 1 year ago. Got me a IronHead a couple a months ago.

Now i got what i really wanted all along. Now we are finally rocking and rolling.

Mick,
Sounds like you have the HD Sporty Fever!! Good Luck on your project, we'll be Watching!!! :D

Hey Guys,

So, here is my carb/choke story. The bike has been startable in the cold [0`C, 32`F] weather, but it would take 5 minutes. I figured "old bike, just needs a little babying, fool with the choke a bit, fool with the throttle a bit and it goes".

So i'm in my shop a few days ago, fiddle with the choke lever and it does not feel right. I removed the A/C cover and the choke mechanism is loose, almost falling off! To be clear, on the front side of the carb, closest to the engine is the control for the accelerator pump; on the outside is the control for the choke plate; in the middle is a two-part plastic piece that connects to the other two mentioned parts. 1/2 of this two-part plastic piece was missing, but i did not know that. I could see tho that something was wrong.

While i fiddled with it, trying to figure out how it works etc, i see this other plastic piece sitting on the engine block amid the speedo cable and the pushrod tubes. I don't know how long it sat there but i think i got lucky on that one.

I managed to get those two pieces to fit together, and to re-install them. I had to use one hand to hold the choke plate control in position, the other hand to hold the acc pump control in position, and a free hand to install the two-part choke control. Then i had to get a clip to hold it onto the shaft so it would not fall off; the original piece was missing so i do not know what kind of clip was there originally.

Now comes the good part of the story. The bike started much more easily after this fix, but was still a hard go.

The bike had been left in a situation where virtually all of the bolts, nuts, washers etc rusted. I have been replacing various bolts etc with stainless steel. I decided to check out the bolt holding on the A/C cover. While fiddling with it i discover that it is TOOOOO LONG!!!! It stops the choke plate from closing when the choke lever is pulled out!

This is why the mechanism broke: pull the lever out all the way and it put too much pressure on those plastic pieces.

So i cut 1/2 inch or so from the bolt. WOW! -2`C [less than 30`F] this morning, pull out choke lever, turn on key, it starts immediately and i can adjust the idle speed with the choke lever! No more fiddling with the idle speed screw, the throttle, or the choke lever. It just goes.

Cool!

The last guy to have this bike was much taller than myself - he had forward controls that mounted on the very front engine mount bolts. I wanted to move them back to the next set of bolts, about 3,1/2 inches.

The left side was easy - just had to install a shorter rod. Got some 5/16 threaded stainless rod, cut it to the needed length, and installed it covered with a chrome plated copper water line used for installing sinks [and probably toilets too].

The right side was more of a challenge. I had to remove the welded-on upper rear nut from the engine mounting plate, cut a crescent shaped piece out of the chrome bracket of the forward controls, and install two of the pieces upside down! But it works!! The original installation had the rear brake master cylinder installed on the fwd ctls bracket - i moved it back to it's original position and connected it to the footpeg with some 1/4" stainless threaded rod with that same chrome cover.

The whole thing works much better for tall guys like me [5'7" tall that is].

damn mick , I just looked up london canada on a map and your only about a 6-7 hour ride from me (well thats if I road straight through the big mud puddle). never been to canada , I might have to get up there some day , think the border law would give me any grief with the old fehead?

The Canadian government told me to get out and stay out back in '87. I've only been back once since then in '92. Maybe I can go with you Flathead :D

Gary

A friend of mine tried to go into to Canada on his BMW a couple of years ago, they told him to turn around and go back!!! Wouldn't let him in!!! :eek:

They turn youse guys away because we don't want to share our beer or our women, which everyone knows are the best in the world.

Hey IronMan,

I was in WI back in the 60's. 1966 it was. Just finished Univ, bought a car and drove wherever. Had a friend in Cheboygan [sp?]. We went to Chicago for a hoot. Got run down by a military bus on some 4 lane hiway. Had a great time. Good bunch of guys on the bus.

I'll leave a message at the border for them to let anyone in who has an IronHead and knows the secret password: ******.

They turn youse guys away because we don't want to share our beer or our women, which everyone knows are the best in the world.

I don't know about all that...
I figured they were trying to protect the Tim Horton doughnuts :p

Heck I told the border guard that if he gave me some slack I'd bring him a dozen of Horton's glazed rings on my way back through, that's when he turned into a real bitch, jeeesh !!!

Gary

should have offered him a Molsons ;)

I've been to Canada several times, even got caught peein' along side the road by the OPP. opppsssss :)

I've been to Canada several times, even got caught peein' along side the road by the OPP. opppsssss :)

So, the Oh Pee Pee saw you pee, eh?

damn mick , I just looked up london canada on a map and your only about a 6-7 hour ride from me (well thats if I road straight through the big mud puddle). never been to canada , I might have to get up there some day , think the border law would give me any grief with the old fehead?


Pick me up on your way thru Mich. I'm only a couple hours away from London. Been thru there several times.

I think I've been told to get out and stay out about 100 times by now....

Never stopped me before...

How bad can a Canadian jail be?

:helpsign

I remember many moons ago as I was heading to Alaska by entering Canada through Sweetgrass, Montana...the Canadian border folks found a teeny, tiny bit of sweetgrass in my vehicle...ouchie! A full body cavity search and stripped my truck almost to the ground...they gave me a stern warning and let me on my way...after I got stuck putting my truck back together! No sense of humor at all! I'll bet it's worse now with the terrorist situation!

Now, when you say 'sweetgrass' do you mean the kid of 'sweet' grass we grow here in Canada and export to the U.S. or the kind of sweetgrass that grows in Sweetgrass, Montana?
I've gone back and forth across the U.S./Canada border at least 8 times since 9/11 & never get hassled, even on my Harley. But they did make me turn the engine off when they asked me a few routine questions because they complained it was too loud.

I went to the border once but these two were the border cops so I just turned around and went home , not worth the hassle
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Underground/6756/bd1.jpg

Pick me up on your way thru Mich. I'm only a couple hours away from London. Been thru there several times.

Ok, when you guys get here you can pee in my toilet.

Yep, sounds like Iron Butt riding in the great north. I'm waiting for the first snow here. Then I'll have to put the scooter away for about 4 months. While she's 'down for the winter' I'm gonna' put an S&S stroker kit & Andrews PB+ cams in her. Then I'll really be able to scare the bejesus out of these 'up high & out back' folks aroung here.
[IMG]

Mick... 1 minute Oh pee-pee... next minute O.P.P. then "Oh S#!t! :yikes

just wondering , is there a border stop on all roads into canada ? or can ya just take a back road in without the hassle (not that I got anything to hide , I just hate the law)

just wondering , is there a border stop on all roads into canada ? or can ya just take a back road in without the hassle (not that I got anything to hide , I just hate the law)

You might be able to find something out west along the border with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, or B.C.

There was one a year or so ago out east where people for years just crossed back and forth as they wished; 9/11 finished that off; there were terrible legal hassels etc. I think someone owned property in Canada and the entrance to their driveway was in the USA; something stupid like that.

I would check MapQuest and similar internet sites. Or check with your smuggler friends [heh heh].

Try the Mohawk reservation up near Massena NY. They straddle the border and they're known to carry some contraband across the border.

When I was in college at Canton, we went on a tour of the power dam in Massena, across the St. Lawerence River. We went down into the bottom level, not the normal tour stop. It was a looooooong hallway and I think it had a dirt floor. The guide said "look down the hall at the line of lightbulbs... where the line jogs is 1/2 a mile away and thats the Canadian border." One of our Professors said that back in the '50s when he was at Clarkson they used to go over to Cornwall for IEEE meetings (http://www.ieee.org). One of the guys in their class was an Indian that didn't have the right papers to cross the border, so they used to drop him off at the dam, and some of the other IEEE guys that worked at the dam would take him through that hallway to the other side, where they'd pick him up.

I bet the FBI will be monitoring this thread now :yikes

Gary

sounds like too much work , if I go up nort I think I'll just let them search me , I gotts nothin' to hide

You'd like that wouldn't ya you big sissy.

Don't forget the anal ease.LOL

Ironmick,

You said, Oh Pee Pee! Leave my sister outa this!!!!!