farm1810

Well so much for my happy little project. I live in Delaware and we have state operated inspection lanes we drive through. So I went there this afternoon. The bike is due for inspection in August, but I decided to forfeit some time in order to get the trailer inspected and titled and the MC inspection too. Both go through the inspection lane, no problem at all. But then, I gather up my MC info. I have the registration, but the insurance card in the saddle bag is expired. CRAP! I should have checked before I left the house. Oh well, my mistake. So I go inside the office area figuring I will still get my trailer title and registration squared away. They give me number 447. They were serving number 393. Okay, so I take a seat. Things were moving along pretty well and after 35 minutes or so, I get called to a window. I have the certificate of origin, a bill of sale from the internet, and the inspection document. WRONG! The internet bill of sale has an invoice number and that invoice number is referenced on the certificate of origin but Delaware does not recognize that as a valid bill of sale. I must go to the Harbor Freight store and get a bill of sale with the store address, price, VIN number, Year, Make, and so forth. So I leave DMV with a larger stack of papers headed to HFS. They are only about 15 minutes away to I go straight there. A store manager comes forward, takes one look, and says just a minute, I will take care of this. She comes back in about 5 minutes with a bill of sale, she has signed the certificate of orgin (as requested by DMV) and I am good to go. So I quickly run back to DMV and get in line again. Number 586. Now serving number 544. Great. I get a diet Dr. Pepper and sit it out. About 45 minutes later I am called to a window. The DMV representative looks through the paper work and types something into her computer. She looks at the screen, then at the paperwork, then at the screen, then asks, Which HFS did you go to? I say, University Plaza. She says, sorry, this Veronica person is not an authorized signer for that store. GREAT! She tells me that I need to go back. Have an authorized signer, there are three in their database for that store, sign the certificate of origin on the line where Veronica signed. Then the authorized person needs to write a letter of correction that lists the make, year, VIN, and the words NO FRAUD INTENDED, then date and sign it. So I leave, go back to HFS, a different manager comes up front, apologizes, signs, hand writes a correction letter. By this time, DMV is closed. I'll keep you updated on how I resolve this with my next trip.

It's .032 6061 Aluminum. So it's pretty stiff for the thickness. I used 1/16" textured ABS for the side panels. It isn't recommended to put the spare on the back as it throws off the trailer balance, but I thought it looked neat, so I shortened the frame behind the axle as well as stopped the enclosure short. It was still a little light in the tongue weight department so I made a tongue stand and bracket out of 1/2" steel. Tongue weight is now about 16 pounds unloaded. I haven't taken it to the scale and checked the trailer weight yet, but I plan on it. I was shooting for about 210 lbs - used lightweight materials, threw away the HFS steel fenders, used aluminum, and so forth. We'll see.

Took the first test ride today. As all of you say, I didn't even know it was back there except when I looked in the mirror. Thanks for all of the great ideas on this site.

I was checking the wiring on the trailer I just built and accidently touched a parking light wire to ground while lights were turned on. No big deal, it blew the 15 amp headlight fuse. As I was doing this, I realized that the headlights and parking lights are on the same circuit. Never thought about it before. I have put a set of front parking light / turn signal housings / sockets on the rear to get a little extra light in the rear of the bike. So I got curious about how many amps I might be taxing that 15 amp fuse with. I have read that the headlight is about 7 amps. And that each parking light is about 2 amps. So 2 in the front, and 2 in the rear gives me 8 amps. Add the headlight, thats 15 amps. How can that be? I am assuming I have something wrong in my assumptions about amperage draw of these bulbs. Help??

Yes, I think I will make a quick release vice mount for the top of it. It can be my portable work bench when not in use behind the bike!

I think I finally have figured out the attachment function. I have added a trunk furnished by star4772 (thank you). Also, did the V-Max gears about a year ago. What a great mod! Added the passing lamps and relay. Did the LED brake light and put front turn signal / parking lights in the rear for some added safety. Wife and I got the Russell seat. WOW! It is pricey, but what a difference! Wonderful. Did the handlebars recommended here and found a Venture tank the same color. So got the extra gallon of fuel. Has one small dent, but one only sees it in a certain light. Wagner rad cover, different handlebar grips, passenger pegs, rider pegs, and so forth. I just got a Stratoliner wheel, so not in the pics. I need to get a tire for it. This site and all of you have made this the most fun MC experience I have ever had and I have had bikes since I was 16 years old. I just posted some pics of the little trailer I am building. Again, selfishly stealing ideas for all of you. Thanks so much. Wife and I really, really appreciate it.

This is the first time I have tried to add photos, so hope this works. I am almost done my little trailer project. The large front hatch makes it look larger than it is. This has been narrowed to 36" center to center on wheels, and 40" in length. From the frame to the top of the sides is 24". I moved the axle on top of the springs, removed one spring, lengthened the tongue, then raised the attach point to get the tongue level again, used LED lighting. Every one of these ideas came from all of you on this website. Thank you so much. Wife and I are towing from Northern Delaware to western North Carolina later this summer. R.

Your responses have been great, thank you. I wasn't thinking of lift i.e. the trailer starts to lift off of the ground, I was thinking about tongue forces. So a single axle trailer with a flat front surface, would this at highway speed - 75 mph - cause a lifting force on the tongue? That was my real question. I would assume with proper tongue weight this would be a non-issue. I recently read that a larger surface on the area facing the bike would / could cause exhaust to be drawn up into the rider / passenger area much like leaving the rear window down on an old station wagon. It's all interesting. I'll post a pick of the little trailer I am building once it is complete.

I was reading on another website about tow behind trailers. One person highly recommended a design that has the sloped front (toward the motorcycle) rather than a more flat front, possibly tapering at the rear. The reason given was, at speed the wind will tend to push the flat facein a way that lifts the tongue and rear of the motorcycle. The sloped front tended to use the force the wind at speed to apply down pressure. Has anyone here experienced either of these conditions?

I have looked through the past threads and cannot find the answer to the question about why the right side cover has the damper and the left side does not. Would the brakes be quieter if I used a dampered cover on the left too?

I got a used Stratoliner 18" front wheel with a used tire on it with maybe 30% tread left. It is all silver and I don't know that I like that look so may end up painting it to match the back wheel i.e. black spokes, aluminum polished wheel hub. What does everyone use in the way of a tire? I am more thinking about load rating that is appropriate for our heavy bikes.

I assume that I need to remove the rear wheel to do the leveling links. Is that correct or can I access without removing?

I have a 2008 RSTD with a trunk on the back. My wife would like some built in tunes and does not want headphones. I don't really want any tunes as I enjoy just being out in the wide open with my thoughts, but an unhappy passenger makes for an unhappy driver. I have seen some radios on the net of course. The trunk has pads for speakers and I can put those into position. I would like to mount a radio into the lid of the trunk I think, one with connection for MP3, and one with a wired remote control I can route over to her to have in her pocket. I have seen the wireless remotes, but I am afraid they won't work through the trunk lid. I really don't want to mount it on the handlebars, although I could. I have seen a round one, Jansen I think, that isn't bad looking. Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations? Thanks. R.

I have seen the "fly and ride" rental ads on the internet, but I love our RSTD with the mods we have made. And, it seems to me that it would be cheaper for a 1 - 2 week tour to ship the bike, pick it up and use it for the vacation, bring it back, have it shipped back, etc, than the cost of renting a bike. We are in Delaware and both employed so considering going cross country (which would be great!) is out of the range of our vacation days! But, we might be able to afford to ship the bike, buy econo plane tickets both ways and do something really great! Has anyone done this?

My rear tire has worn out, no big deal there. However, on the edges beyond the almost bald center the remaining tread has a patter worn with the leading edge of the tread being higher than the trailing edge. I noticed that I was getting noise in cornering that got louder as the tire wore down. Overall, not a big deal but I am wondering if this is an indication that my rear shock is starting to misbehave. I see no signs of leakage and with 40 psi in the shock, the bike handles okay. Any advice would be appreciated. R.

Wife and I just returned from taking Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Parkway from Front Royal, Va, to around Asheville, NC. We would look for fuel at about 140 miles and usually put in 3.5 gallons or so. We have since graded to the Venture tank so we have an extra gallon. Haven't ridden a lot since we returned.

I believe the Flanders part number is 650-08783. I put these on my RSTD and it was a HUGE difference in my back. Not only was my upper back bothering me, but my lower back even more so after a long ride. As I recall these bars provide one inch of rise, and 2 inches of pull back over stock. I did have to re-route the front brake flexible line, but all cables were of sufficient length. The three greatest mods I have made, all based on the great information on this site are: Flanders Bars V Max rear drive gears Russell day long seat I have made many other small mods based on the info on this website and it has been terrific. My last bike was a Harley Road King, and it is no comparison to his motorcycle in any way. I will add, make sure you have tire pressure to within 10% of max, and run about 5 psi in the front forks and no less than 20psi in the rear shock IF you ride alone and have no package load. 35 psi if you have a passenger. Low speed handling is difficult with low tires and / or low suspension air. I found this combination works great.

The small hand pump works great, is inexpensive, etc. I run about 30 - 35 psi rear, 5 psi front and this works well for me. I just checked my pressure last week for the first time in about 2 months and there had been no air loss. Pretty reliable system I think.

I have a set of Venture passenger hand holds on my RSTD. I'm getting ready to take a crack at a quick release trunk mount, but don't want to lose some form of hand grip for my passenger. Making the bracket / hand hold bar is no big issue, but what do people use for some form of non slip surface? I have seen the material for tools that you dip the handles of pliers (for example) into it. And, I have seen truck bed liner material in a can. Has anyone tried either of these for hand holds on a bike?

It's a Russell Day Long seat. It really works great! Expensive though. I had them add to the width of the passenger seat and wife and I sent to western North Carolina and back from Delaware without one complaint about butt soreness. The rider did well too in that area. If you get one, do not be put off by the initial feel of the seat when new. Follow their instructions about the break in period and you will be quite happy I am certain. The driver wings need to break in a bit, plus it forms to your butt and thighs.

I am in Delaware, so followed their instructions of weight, inseam - rider and passenger, then photos of me on the bike, wife and I on the bike, and so forth. They turned my seat around in about 2 weeks. I found another RSTD stock seat on ebay for $35 so I wasn't without wheels. I thought I might use the stock seat around town and the Russell only for longer trips. But now that I have the Russell, I can't imagine going back.

Here are the pics of my RSTD with Tour Pak added. This version was an aftermarket copy of the HD tour pack and had the rib in the bottom to sit atop the HD mounting bracket. I used my belt sander to take that off then welded up some square tubing to make the mount. I then put some rubber between my mount and the bottom of the tour pack, using 1/4" bolts and lock nuts. The back rest that came with it broke the rubber mounting blocks our first time out, so I ordered better replacements from McMaster Carr as suggested on this site. I'll be making another bracket at some point just to get a bit more sylish and maybe I'll have that one powder coated or chromed. This one just has some black RustOleum on it.

Just installed the Clear View windwhield. This one is 2" shorter than the original and does have the recurve at the top. This allows me to see over the windshield instead of through it which I like. The lowers are wider and have a curve to them as well. I had made some flat lowers from black lexan to more closely match the lower fairing and the grill cover. I tossed those and went with the clear view version. Here are some pics. Oh, I splurged for the vent, but don't have an opinion on that yet. Looks like a difficult item to clean once it is full of bugs.

Wife and I planned a trip from Northern Delaware to Western North Carolina. We just returned via the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. We had a wonderful time thanks to this site. We have been reading about seats for many months and slurged for the Russell Day Long based on remarks from all of you. Initially, I did sit about 1" higher and the wings were a bit of a pain. However, within the 500 mile break in period all was good. I am again flat footed when stopped (I have a 29" inseam) and the wings have broken in a bit making stops no problem. Wife was complaint free relative to butt issues on our trip, and so was I. Thanks for all of your great information. Here are some seat pics.

I had originally put the teardrop passing lights on my RSTD with the LED parking light / turn signal. I first had them with the wide side up but this looked rather bazarre relative to the headlight, so I flipped them. I had them this way until several close calls with autos and feedback that my turn signal was not well seen in the front. I had not changed the flasher so I was getting the rapid flash. I decided to swap to the Yamaha passing light and put the HD outer ring suggested on this site that gives the hooded look similar to the headlight. I had already moved the original front parking light / turn signals to the back to give me three across parking lights, so I purchased new original front parking light / turn signals but went with the yellow lenses as I liked these better than the white / clear. Here are some pics. Also, I did put in a relay along with a 3 fuse panel from Beaver Electric. It worked out great! I have made some other mods, some worked out some didn't. I'll post those over the next few days. Thanks so much to those on this site who helped me to find many products and ideas for using them. R.