Tools .

Re-threading in a pinch!

If you are in a pinch to repair threaded hole and you do not have a tap. take a bolt of relative size and thread pitch (grade if it is available) and make three or four cuts lengthwise through the threads with a hacksaw or a metal file. these cuts will allow you to cut new threads just as you would with a tap. Also just like with a real tap always use some kind of oil for smooth operation of the tool.

Amanda Mckee

How to demagnetize your tools..

If you have some screwdrivers, pliers or other small tools that have become magnetized, don't worry.
Get a soldering gun (the kind with dual tips that connect into one) and pass the tools through the two tips a few times while the gun is on.
This will demagnetize tools and make them easier to use again.

John

To much oil? Use this tool.

I was changing my oil the other day and my kids distracted me for a minute.
Once I straightened out their little war, I went back to matters at hand, my scoot.
Well the kids did a good job-I forgot how much oil I had put in up until then so I tossed another quart in just to be sure. Oops, too much.
I needed to drain some out or I had a problem.
Then the kids came back into my mind; they had been fighting with water pistols.
Spray bottles work like water pistols, so I took the top off an empty spray bottle and put the hose into the oil tank.
A few minutes later, I had pumped the excess oil into a bottle and I was ready to ride. The kids got lucky this time.

Don

Piston ring compressor.

I was helping a friend with an overhaul one weekend.
Once we reached that special moment called getting the piston and rings into the cylinder, I remembered we were in his garage, not mine.
No ring compressor.
I looked around his garage and found one of those band/strap metal oil filter wrenches.
Using that worked-crudely, but it worked and we finished the mo-tor that day.
Sometimes you just gotta improvise, I guess.

Vene

Hold that nut!

A piece of plastic electrical tape in-side of a socket will hold a nut long enough for you to position it into a hard-to-reach area of your bike.

Putt.

Bolds and threads as new

Whenever I cut or grind a bolt, or run a die over it, I burnish the threads with a wire wheel.
It gets the dirt off the old bolts, and smooths out the rough edges on the new threads.
The metal surfaces become smooth allowing them to be fit in place and tightened much more easily.
Stainless steel fasteners seem to benefit greatly from the process, which almost completely eliminates galling the threads on new stainless bolts.
I've found that I get the best results by stacking two fine wire wheels together.
This gives me a wider surface to work with and the wheels don't seem to wear out as quickly.

Putt.

PICK AND SCRATCH

A machinist's combination pick and scribe is an indispensable member of my tool box.
Kind of like my third hand when the going gets tight. Its most common use in my shop is for aligning brackets and covers that cannot be assembled on the bench.
Also, I wouldn't think of doing any throttle-cable work without this handy pick.
The 90-degree side is great for guiding the cable end in and out of the carburetor bellcrank, and also for coaxing rubber parts like air-cleaner boots into position over the carb throat.
The straight end is great for scribing brackets and parts for holes, or other fabrication, or marking for later reassembly. It's easy to find at any Sears or other hardware store and costs about $5.

Robie Heilbron

RED AND BLUE,all glue.

Everybody should have tubes of blue and red Loctite in the tool chest and use it at every opportunity. Use red, or No. 721, for something more permanent. Blue is No. 242 and allows you to remove things with a lot more ease when you decide to change out.

Bumfuck.

pushrod tube tool.

If you have a solid-lifter Sporty and are having a problem with the pushrod tube-it keeps sliding down when you go to adjust the lifters-I suggest you slide the pushrod tube up and clip a clothespin onto the pushrod. That will keep the tube I from sliding down. That is a nifty way to do it and will save you time and headaches.

Flathead

PLUGGING IT UP,to keep things clean.

A good but often overlooked way to cover oil-return holes, pushrod openings and spark-plug holes when doing engine work is to use the threaded plastic pipe plugs available in commercial hose shops. They come in metric and standard sizes, and some even have pull tabs. Most shops throw them away, so you can get them for close to nothing.
Hoot

KEEPING YOUR BOLTS IN A ROW.

Next time you buy something packed in corrugated cardboard, save the box.

When you do your next overhaul, cut small Xs in it and put all the nuts, bolts and Alien screws you take out into the Xs.

This will keep your nuts, bolts and screws in order and prevent them from rolling all over the workbench.

Try it, it really works.

Pat

FOILED BOLTS

I was trying to reach a bolt under my fender that needed a nut in the socket.

Every time I turned the socket over to reach the bolt, the nut fell out.

I was getting extremely mad when an idea flashed into my head.

I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the aluminum foil and wrapped the nut with it.

Then it stayed in the socket when I turned it over.

The best part was that the foil stayed in the sock-et, so I didn't have to reach up there to get it out.

Bill

Easy Hub removal.

Prior to 1991, big-twin clutch-hub centers used a tapered inner diameter and woodruff key.
This made them difficult to remove from the mainshaft, which is also cut on a taper.
The factory removal procedure specifies a puller that probably isn't in the average do-it-yourselfer's toolbox.
I built the tool be-low and have used it literally dozens of times without any negative incidents.
Simply purchase a new mainshaft nut (PN37496-84 or 37496-90), cut a piece of steel tubing about 5 inches long, and weld one end to the hex end of the nut.
To use this clutch-hub removal tool, screw it by hand (left-hand thread) onto the mainshaft until it bottoms out.
Then back it off a half turn.
Now, using a fairly large mallet, give the end of the tube a healthy smack. The hub will pop easily off the main-shaft taper; end of story!

Mike .

Protect your chrome.

I don't know about you, but I've spent a ton of cash on chromed nuts and bolts.
If you get a new chromed primary cover, you don't want to see it all scratched up, so why scratch up your new nuts and bolts?
Put a piece of masking or electrical tape on the inside of your sockets or open-end wrenches.
It will protect your new nuts and bolts and cost you less than the price of a cold beer.
Bill

Compensator sprocket nut removal tip.

Recently I helped a friend work on his big-twin and we needed to remove the compensator sprocket nut.
We were having a problem keeping the drivetrain from turning and didn't want to use an impact wrench on the nut.
We made a quick call to the lo cal H-D dealer who told us to jam some object between the sprocket and the chain to lock up the drive train.
We didn't or much care for ' that idea so we came up with our own.
We cut a piece of 1 '/2-inch x 1\4 inch flat steel bar stock 8'/2 inches long.
The bar fit nicely between the two chain sprockets and prevented their movement so we could loosen the nut with a wrench.
Tightening the nut only required flipping our new tool over to the opposite spots on the sprockets.
Jay

Bike mover

Sometimes when working on my bike it becomes necessary to remove both wheels.
This is sometimes a pain when a job isn't able to be finished in a day or two since the bike will have to sit on my tube framestand until I can finish it, taking up valuable garage space.
Since I couldn't afford one of those neat hydraulic lifts with wheels, I got the next best thing.
A furniture dolly.
You can buy or make one yourself for less than $75.
The one I bought has heavy-duty wheels and is covered with thick carpet that protects my frame.
Now I can move the bike out of the way until I can finish it and still get the ol' lady's car in the garage.
I can't tell you how much grief that takes out of my life.
Jimmy Porter

Chain Tool.

This tool I made a couple of years ago for pressing drivechain master links together.
I forget what type of chain it was at the time, but the master link plate wouldn't slip over the pins for love or money.
So I got out my trusty Vise Grips (don't leave home without them), and squeezed the master link plate into place.
After I was finished I noticed that the link plates were really scratched up and didn't look cool.
I figured a couple of link plates from an old chain I had lying around would protect the new link plates
when I squeezed the master link together.
It sounded like a great idea but it didn't work. The loose links slipped all over the place.
That's when the light went on and I thought to braze the old link plates to the Vise Grip jaws in order keep them in place. It worked bitchin',but needed a little further refinement.
After brazing the old link plates on the Vise Grip jaws, I drilled out the pinholes in the link plates a couple of
sizes so they would fit over the new master link pins.
Jim English

Tools

When doing routine repairs to you scoot. Always use the tools from you
bikes tools kit. If you don't have the tool you need in your kit then
you know to add it. That way when you're on the road and you have an
emergency you know you have the tools to fix it. If you don't have the
tools to do routine maintenance and repairs how can you tackle that
along the road emergence.
Bluesrider

FREE FUNNEL
Adding oil is a simple task, right? Sure, but sometimes you still drip some all over the tank or engine case anyway. I have found two ways to avoid the spillage. First one: Cut oft the bottom half of a plastic oil bottle and insert the spout in your oil tank, instant funnel. The second one is good when you are on the road: Most gas stations have water coolers that have those white pointy cups to drink out of-cut the tip off and you have a quick easy funnel.
Pat