Lean and mean

I've gotten lots done on the Low Rider over the last few days.

The oil bag cleaned up real nice. The paint was pretty scuffed and chipped so I decided to sand it down and spray paint it. It's only a temporary fix as I plan on getting a new, horseshoe style tank once money isn't so tight.

I went with a metallic gray looking color for the tank (but I'll be damned, I didn't get pics) and it turned out pretty sharp. I like the color so much that I'll likely end up considering it for the rest of the tins when I finally get around to them.

The Harley shop here in Michigan City ended up having the main gasket for my primary in stock which was an awesome surprise. They usually look at ya pretty funny when you tell 'em you're riding a shovel.

I picked up some Permatex (Hylomar) gasket sealer, cleaned all the surfaces where the primary cover and housing meet with some carb cleaner and elbow grease, used the sealer to "glue" the gasket to the primary cover and then put her all back together. Added ATF to the primary and checked for leaks... nada yet.

I decided not to pull the whole primary off and opted to just shorten and plug the return and the vent hoses with small bolts. They're basically hidden under the bike so it's not like it causes an eyesore. I'll do 'em up right when I do pull the primary (most likely this winter).

I did end up pulling the oil pump, though, to plug the stuff on that side proper. The tip on shovelhead.us to plug the primary-case return using a brass plumbing plug worked perfectly. I picked the plug up from Lowes for like 89 cents. I snapped off the supply nipple with a pair of pliers and tapped it for a small machine screw. It's leaking from there some while she's running so I may tap it again slightly larger and maybe use some teflon tape on the threads.

I ditched the oil cooler which came stock on the '79 Low Rider but from all accounts really isn't necessary. Between getting rid of the hoses for that and getting rid of the hoses for lubing the primary, the bike looks leaner and meaner already.

Once I had her all back together with the new oil lines run I did a 5-quart oil change. Added 4 quarts to the bike, pulled the return hose and let it pump into an oil pan. Ran her until most of the old crude pumped out, shut it down and refilled the oil to the proper level.