[ work 1 ]
First things first. Fix what needs to be fixed then move on to the mods
The bike came with homemade dragpies. These were removed and replaced with the original slip on pipes (furnished). Before installing I used a hole saw and removed plug from the mufflers. Good clean job.
While the pipes were off I decided to figure out the homemade lowering blocks.
They were well made - just shouldn't be necessary on a Hugger. What I learned was that they put a 1 1/2 inch lowering block along with a 13 inch shock - which is equal to the 11 1/2 inch shock that came with this bike. Why? I replaced their modification with factory 11 1/2 inch shocks (Progressives later on). Bolted all of this back up.
While I was at it I removed the sissy bar, two-up seat and engine guard. The two-up seat was replaced with a factory solo seat. The engine guard was replaced with highway pegs.
On to the bars and riser. What a mess. First of all I do not like Buckhorn bars - these have to go. But what to do about the riser/mount? This setup is UNSAFE! I won't ride it like this. My solution was new bushings/hardware and 4 inch risers with drag bars. I also added a tach to the mix so I acquired a dual gauge setup, rewired and modded the mount point of the gauges to be a little lower. That setup was much more to my liking and natural riding position. One problem though - the cables are too long. New cables on the way. Getting the right length was an adventure. It's a good thing that I decided to go ahead and get all new cables and hoses - the bike became very hard to shift - broken clutch cable ferrule.
Once all of this was in place it was time to put some miles on the bike to see where I would like to go from here. It's running great so now I need to look for other potential problems and mods. I knew I wouldn't have to look or ride far to find them. Front brakes are jumpy - looks like a warped rotor. It will get replaced along with the pitted and rusty front spoked rim.
My first ride in the rain showed me more problems - electrical. These are always fun to trace down. Turned out to be several. I had a rectifier going bad - replaced and fixed. A worn through wiring harness under the rear fender. When it was lowered the previous owner went too low at one point and rubbed through the harness to expose bare wires - replaced and fixed. Just for good measure I replaced the original plugs/wires since the were 10 years old - along with the battery. No more electrical gremlins.
Now back to putting some miles on the bike. OK. The tires are terrible - old and hard. These will be replaced along with the front rim/rotor. The clutch cable replacement hasn't solved all of my shifting issues. The bike shifts fine but the arthritis in my thumb needs less reach or a softer pull. A Clutchlite lever will fix this. The other thoughts after many miles are that I could really benefit from a fork brace and Progressive rear shocks. This was eventually done and man what a difference!
After many miles I have my plan to begin my fixes. I also have some ideas of some other changes I'd like to make to the bike. I'm an old soul at heart and love the looks of old bikes - that is the direction I'll be heading.