Tag Archives: Harley Davidson Motorcycle

Taking a motorcycle trip? 5 tips to get prepared

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Summer is here and there is nothing better than taking a long trip on your motorcycle. You can take your Harley Davidson around town, across the state or even across the country. It really doesn’t matter as long as you are having a great time. For most people traveling is simply a way to get to their destination but for Harley Davidson touring motorcycle owners, the true fun is in the trip itself. Before you start planning a long road trip you want to make sure you have a check list of things covered to ensure the safest and most enjoyable trip possible.

  1. Map your route: If you are going to be taking a long trip you want to make sure that you know exactly where you are going. For example, if you are taking a trip from Orlando to Key West you want to know exactly which roads to take, the best time to be on those roads and so forth. The less you have to worry about that while riding, the more enjoyable the trip will be.
  2. Check the weather: One of the biggest problems Harley owners have is weather. Driving in the rain for a little is one thing, but having to do a long trip in pouring down rain is quite dangerous. You also want to make sure that you store proper rain gear.
  3. Storage: Speaking of storing gear, you want to make sure that your bike has all the necessary gear it will need for the trip. This is why touring bikes are the best for long trips. They have so much extra cargo space when compared to other Harley motorcycles. That extra storage is so valuable when you are taking a road trip but do not only take your stuff. Obviously you want a phone charger, extra clothes, water, medications, etc. but you also want to make sure you bring stuff you may need for the bike like a plug kit for the tires, road flares if you have to pull over and so forth.
  4. Big parts: There are so many parts to a motorcycle and if you are planning on taking a road trip you want to make sure that all those parts are in peak working condition. For touring motorcycles you may want to replace the dresser bars, fat mammoth spoke wheels, gas tank or any other parts that may need to be upgraded. A great example is the gas tank. There is actually a specific custom stretched gas tank for baggers that you can purchase. It holds more gas than standard tanks, perfect for long road trips.
  5. Small parts: This includes latch covers, dresser hand controls, mirrors and other small items. These are the ones that actually wear down more often because they are moving parts and they are smaller so they may wear down faster than handlebars would. They are also very easy and affordable to replace.

Before you take a long motorcycle road trip you want to also make sure you take your Harley out for a ride around town for an hour or two. Make sure everything feels right, you are comfortable and everything is working as it should. That way if any parts need to be repaired or replaced you can do it while at home, not while you are stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

If a part needs to be replaced you want to know about it as soon as possible before your trip but what if you want to upgrade parts as well? Maybe your Harley could use a new set of dresser bars, hand controls, fly by wire grips or something else like that? Touring motorcycles are better for long road trips but they also have more parts on them so they will require more attention. So be prepared as best as you can, follow this checklist for the best motorcycle road trips and enjoy the ride.

5 Common Mistakes Made When Ordering Harley-Davidson Parts

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Rebuilding, retooling or transforming your Harley-Davidson motorcycle with brand new, custom parts can be exciting, especially if you are getting creative and giving your bike a whole new look. It’s an opportunity to give your bike a new identity, a new feel but you still know it’s the same reliable motorcycle you have taken out on countless rides. You can change the color, you can alter the style, you can even transform how you control the bike when riding. There are so many options available but unfortunately this also leads to plenty of mistakes made during the ordering process.

Even if you are not a motorcycle mechanic you may want to do the ordering yourself so that you can find the best deal, will not have to pay a markup and you also get to spend more time looking through the selection available to you. Mistakes and accidents are made, it happens, but the goal is to limit them as much as possible. The last thing you want is after hours or even days of looking through catalogs of various custom Harley-Davidson parts, paying for them and waiting for them to arrive, is to finally open the box and realize you didn’t get what you wanted. Here are the 5 most common mistakes made when ordering Harley-Davidson parts and things you can do to avoid making them:

1. Ordering the Wrong Part: It may seem odd that you would order the wrong part but it happens and it happens a lot. There are plenty of reasons why, the most common being the make and model of the motorcycle. Custom parts that are made for Harley-Davidsons are actually just made for Harley’s and not for other manufacturers. When you are searching online for custom handlebars you want to make sure that you are ordering them for the right type of motorcycle you have. If you have a Honda or a Kawasaki you have to make sure that whatever you are ordering is compatible with the bike you have. Bike parts, for the most part, are not universal and every manufacturer is different. If you are looking at the information and it doesn’t list compatible bikes or the manufacturer then you may want to give the company a call to double check.

2. Make, Model, Year: Was your bike made before 2000 or after? Do you have a wide glide or a street glide model? Was anything changed or custom built on the bike before you started ordering new parts? All of these questions have to be asked before you start ordering anything. There could be a huge difference in the selection on front controls, wheels or handlebars just because your motorcycle was made in 1998 rather than 2001. You need to have all the information before you even begin to look at a specific selection. Again if you are looking at a new fender or an exhaust you want to make sure it is compatible with what you have and if the information is not available to you in a catalog or online then call the company directly to make sure you are ordering the right part.

3. Is it the right size: A quarter of an inch can feel like a mile if you order the wrong size. That is a huge problem, especially if you are waiting for a critical part. Imagine ordering T-Bar handlebars that are too short so the turning radius doesn’t provide enough room? Or what about ordering wheels that are too big or too small? This is a very common mistake, especially if you are trying to alter the feel or style of your motorcycle and they are made in two different ways. The first is that you order something that is the wrong size and it flat out doesn’t fit on the bike. Your measurements may have been off, you were given the wrong sizes before ordering or something else, but if what you ordered doesn’t fit it is a waste of your time. The second mistake made with size is that a Harley owner will order something that fits, but doesn’t give them the feel or control of their bike they were expecting. An example would be Ape Hangers that are too big and you do not feel comfortable or in control when you are riding. It can be tricky because how are you going to find the same model bike you already have with the part you are thinking of ordering so that you can get a feel for the size you want? There is one thing you can do, in the example of handlebars, if you are switching from T-Bars to Ape Hangers example, and you may not have any idea what size to start with. Even if you have the same two people, on the same model bike order handlebars they may sit on the bike completely differently so they will need different sizes. That’s why the best thing you can do to order the right size Ape Hanger handlebars is to sit on your bike in a comfortable way and hold your arms up as if there were handlebars already there. Pick the angle you are most comfortable and then have someone measure, that is the best and most effective way to get an accurate idea of the size you need and you can use a similar strategy when trying to determine what other size parts you need to order.

4. It didn’t come with it: This is an accident often made and it can be extremely frustrating when you make an order. Let’s say you need to order front ends and you find the perfect one, perfect size for a great deal and you place the order. It arrives and when you open the box you see that it is missing fork stops and wheel spacers. Frustration takes over and you are angry because you don’t have everything you need to put your bike together. Then upon reviewing your order you realize the front end you purchased did not include the fork stops and wheel spacers you need. It’s a mistake that happens all the time and sometimes the company can even make the mistake of having a picture of the complete part when you are looking on their website. That’s why when you make a purchase you need to go down the list of what you are getting and never assume everything is include. Sometimes the reason you are getting a great deal is because you are ordering something that is either not assembled or doesn’t have the additional pieces you thought would be included.

5. Does it come assembled: Obviously there are some parts you will purchase online or over the phone that are coming to you already assembled. But then there are others that are not and sometimes a mistake is made. Again the website you are on may show you a picture of a part completely assembled because that is the best way to show off the item to the customer, it allows you to get a better feel for how it will look on your bike, but when you receive it you notice it is in pieces.

Mistakes happen and companies do their best to eliminate them while still having a customer friendly site that is easy to navigate through but it is not simple. Think of how many custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts there are that you can buy from one company and you get the idea of how there can be so much confusion. Online ordering is fast and easy but if you are unsure of something speak with your mechanic before placing an order or even call the company directly so you know exactly what you are getting.