1200S: service time, part 12

You thought the Sportster was all done... but wait there's more!

The belt - it's a good idea to inspect the belt for wear and correct tension at this point. A belt is surely the lightest, simplest and least demanding in terms of maintenance, unlike chains and drive-shafts. There are only three things to do here: 1) make sure it's clean (I checked every tooth, as well as both pullies) 2) check that the tension is correct, and 3) check that the rear wheel axle is perfectly perpendicular to the swingarm so the belt isn't contacting with the pulleys' edges, that's it. And how do you do that last part? The Sportster has this neat little built-in feature to help you ensure the axle is straight: there is a small "index" hole on each side of the swingarm, that you use as a fixed reference point from which to check the distance to the axle. I used a coat hanger with a thin rubber washer to make my version of the tool, and it worked well.

The mirror - When I fist bought the Sportster, it came with a hideous billet mirror that I quickly dispatched. If you want to relive the horror of those early days, have a look at this post. After that, I adapted a bar-end mirror with the help of uncle Fester, who fabricated a spacer so I could mount it on the clutch lever perch (I don't want to cut the grip and I don't want to make the bike look wider), but this was never an ideal solution and it provided very little in terms of visibility. Looking through the myriad options available on the aftermarket (I didn't want to fit the original mirrors I still have from my previous Sportster), the only one I found that seems reasonably sized, fairly elegant and simple is this spot mirror from Lowbrow Customs. It's also the only one that has a threaded body (instead of an integral threaded bar), which means you can mount it with a bolt in many different ways, such as I did here, just with a longer 10-24 bolt than the one provided.

Regular service - as this all became more of a sprawling saga, I will spare you any more ramblings at this point, but it goes without saying that I also took care of regular service items such as oils and fluids, spark plugs, filters, lubricating cables, checking fasteners, inspecting the brakes, etc. For more on those, refer to this older post. All of these things are worthwhile and so important.
A couple of hiccups I need to mention, for full disclosure: the derby cover sprung a leak as soon as I put the bike on the side stand, and the carburetor too leaked a little. It was probably a little bit of incontinence due to excitement and it stopped after a short while (just long enough to go looking for a new gasket). Happens to the best of us. As for the derby cover, I put the bike back on the jack, took off the cover and found that the quad-ring gasket had come out of its groove (I must have knocked it out of place when I put the cover back on before). So, I cleaned the groove with a rag and some brake cleaner, then I applied a thin layer of gasket sealant, put a new gasket back on, making sure it stayed put in the four pinch points along its groove and very carefully replaced the derby cover.

I had to replace the battery, which was not cheap and really annoying: had I been able to ride this bike regularly and take care of all the repairs in a short amount of time, the battery would have probably survived and kept going for a few more years. Sadly and worryingly, the reality is that since I don't get to ride anymore, these bikes are sitting idle and the batteries are wasted. The idea that you can hook them up to a Ctek or similar battery tender and just keep them on, and expect everything to be fine one or two years down the line is pure fantasy: those chargers are just meant to save your battery from going totally flat, but they can't do miracles (and keeping them plugged in all the time eventually wears the metal plates off, and your battery is dead anyway).
Now, for the sake of objectivity, I should point out that this particular battery is at least 10 years old anyway at this point, so it's not a complete waste as it was probably on its way out anyway. That said, an original Harley-Davidson battery, which is so beautiful it forms part of the bodywork, is just prohibitively expensive, whereas the Motobatt I got is less than half the price (still expensive), but ugly as sin and needs to be covered up.

That concludes this particularly thorough round of servicing & repairs. I started about seven months ago, even though the bike had been waiting for a lot longer than that; the actual time needed to get everything done is of course measured in days, not even weeks, but it is what it is.

Anyway, I can now take the bike out for a test ride to see how it all performs.

I had not ridden the Sportster in three and a half years, so setting off on the test ride felt new and exciting, not only because of all the unknowns I needed to verify, but also because I was re-familiarizing myself with this awesome machine.

The engine fired up easily thanks to the new battery and a quick boost from one of those "engine easy start" aerosol cans that spray a high pressure mix of highly flammable hydrocarbons and other goodies. Because the bike had been sitting for so long, everything inside the engine must have been bone dry and needed to get moving again; the hydraulic valve lifters were obviously completely drained: the engine ran but with a worryingly loud "clack-clack-clack-clack!" coming from the valves. First thing I checked was the oil pressure light, which went out immediately, and oil returns to the tank as expected, so I left it to run with the choke on for a short while, then it settled into its familiar idle tone. After a couple of minutes the lifters resumed their normal function and the engine ran beautifully. Everything is new from here on, starting with the clutch, which is perfectly smooth at least at the lever. The diaphragm spring is the same as before, so effort is no different than before. Followed by engaging first gear, which feels very slick (so is finding neutral again: the first thing I tried was to select neutral straight away, and I can do that from first or second gear engaged, both with the engine running and with the engine off). I pull away eeeever so gently at around 900/1000rpm as I go down the long dirt lane towards the open road, then pause as the tires contact the tarmac. The moment of truth is now a twist of the throttle away: if I got it right, the bike will pull away from a standstill, in first gear, with lotsa torque and a reliable climb up the rev range towards second gear and beyond. But if I messed up somewhere, that horrible clunk from the gearbox will return, or possibly something worse and I'll have to limp back to the workshop and start all over again. There is no point waiting around, I don't try to wheelie or do a burn-out, obviously. Just a normal, decisive take off in first gear: all signs of the old problem are gone, the gearbox just works like it's supposed to, so although it may seem obvious now, I can say with certainty that this was indeed the issue: the dogs on the countershaft 1st and 3rd gears were worn, and even though it was apparently minimal wear it was enough to cause first gear to jump out of engagement. What a relief to have this finally fixed!

I can also notice how the new clutch is doing: no squeals, chirps or other farm animal noises; it's not particularly grabby, rather just smooth and precise. Very nice. The original setup with the spring plate in the middle of the clutch pack is a bit odd, I definitely prefer it like this with the extra plates and no nonsense. As I ride, I can feel everything in this machine working properly, everything is perfect and any issues there may have been, big or small, are gone.

After a few miles of country lanes, twists and turns, hills and swooping corners, I cannot believe how well this motorcycle rides now, how reactive it is, between the refreshed steering bearings and the properly set up suspension, it feels light on its feet and capable of almost reptilian handling... it's amazing. The new clutch and the Dynojet kit also definitely work together to deliver instant power to the rear wheel, making it feel like there is no distinction between intention, throttle and acceleration: as soon as you think it, it happens, and the motorcycle is where you want it to be (I'll report back with a photo of a plug chop after I've had a chance to put some miles on this thing, it should give me an indication of how it really performs and whether the mixture is right overall). You ride on a surging, colossal wave of torque that actually made me utter some profanities inside my Arai as I overtook a large truck in a single glorious charge; I swear to you this is no hyperbole.

What is most remarkable about this engine is how light it feels at the throttle. What I mean by that is that as you blip the throttle, engine internals respond instantly and pick up revs with great ease. Of course this is not simply down to a jet kit, air filter and exhaust, but is the result of careful work at the factory in lightening and balancing the crankshaft, pairing it with light forged pistons and optimizing compression and combustion chamber shape. The effect is that a long-stroke 1200 twin ends up feeling like a two-stroke 250 in the way it "spins". By the time I return to base and shut the engine off, I'm left in stunned silence as I look at this beautiful machine, and think about all the work I have put into it to get it to this level. There really isn't much on this motorcycle that I haven't personally serviced and improved. Everything works.

After getting so hands-on with this motorcycle, and really appreciating how well it is engineered and built (the materials, the metallurgy, the fit & finish, everything), I scoff at those idiots who belittle the Evolution Sportster as any number of pejorative appellations (outdated, heavy, underperforming, underpowered, unreliable, etc.): based on my first-hand experience, it seems to me that this is an extremely well put together machine, with plenty of torque and power, easy to work on (far easier than any British or BMW, or god forbid a Japanese multi... or god forbid again, an Italian!) and very dependable and reliable even on tough trips. Sadly, those who don't like it, or can't handle it are really missing out.

There are very very few motorcycles that elicit the type of feeling that the Sportster does; it may sound corny, and it may sound like something out of a Harley-Davidson sales brochure, but the Sportster really has something special about it that can't be put into words; this is the ideal motorcycle I always wanted, the one that's just the right blend of brutal and traditional.

This is an amazing bike, that's strong as the steel it's made of. 

"Ten times better with the 'S' on the end"