What did you do with your ST1100/ST1300 today?

Final drive oil change, engine oil and filter change.
First time ever, did not even spill a drop! :D

One thing I did differently, I loosened both the engine oil drain bolt and the oil filter just a bit prior to starting up the bike and letting it idle in the garage for 4-5 minutes.
Made removing everything much easier once the bike was hot.
 
Final drive oil change, engine oil and filter change.
First time ever, did not even spill a drop
Bravo! Wish I could say the same. The filter was the bugger for me then I read in this forum that there is a side stand technique which I will try next time.
 
Rode to work.
After work I will ride to a Harley shop and teach a new rider course.
I thought I might install my quartet harness and wire up my GPS this weekend, but I'll be whupped (exhausted, knackered, wore plumb out) after the class. Saturday and Sunday will entail lots and lots of walking and setting up and moving cones.
Don't forget the Camelback, Mark...
 
Spent the morning trying to mount the tip over bars I purchased last year. I am using to mod proposed by @Andrew Shadow but unfortunately the holes do not line up. The bar mount holes are 2mm wider than the step mount holes. I tried a variety of hose clamps to get the holes lined up without success.

Back to the drawing board.
7927EB51-3645-448F-A0AF-97B33731B76E.jpeg
 
I tried a variety of hose clamps to get the holes lined up without success.
If you are using the hose clamp method, you need to squeeze them to the correct dimension first. A vice works well if you have one. If you have a lift table for working on your bike, you can use that much more easily if you saw how I suggested doing it.
 
I'm glad I found the adapter plates before @red dirt cowboy quit selling them.
My install could not have been more straightforward and simple - even for me!
Now, I won't discount nor disparage those who have successfully molded steel bars to their will (nothing spells success like success, right?), but the idea of "forcing" things has never worked well for me. I often joke about "get a bigger hammer", but it IS a joke. Mostly.
What would I ever want to "force" on my bike? Body panel screws? Brake caliper bolts? Fork / axle bolts? An oil filter?
Nah.
It just doesn't work out well for me, in mechanical endeavors, to apply force to make things fit.
And if you DO have to force something on, what do you think will be the results if you ever decide, or need, to remove that thing?
 
If you are using the hose clamp method, you need to squeeze them to the correct dimension first. A vice works well if you have one. If you have a lift table for working on your bike, you can use that much more easily if you saw how I suggested doing it.
Thank You for your response @Andrew Shadow. Unfortunately, I am working with limited equipment (no vice, no table…. Ugh!). However, I know a guy…and I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once so…;).
I just re-read your response and I am wondering if you are suggesting to put the whole bar in the vice (honestly, that had not occurred to me). That might be the amount of force necessary to slightly bend the bars 2mm closer together.
 
And if you DO have to force something on, what do you think will be the results if you ever decide, or need, to remove that thing?
In this case, absolutely nothing.
They remove very easily as the amount that the two halves are being forced towards each other is so minor that it does not induce much spring force.
 
I washed my ST1300.
Well, actually I only dried the rain off with some microfiber towels, but it looks like it was washed.
After broiling on the range all day, training new HD Riding Academy students, I was already pretty thoroughly soaked but it wasn't from any rain. When I left at the end of the day I saw some looming thunderclouds to the south -- and very close. As I would be heading north, I figured I wouldn't even need to put on any raingear, and the skies were much lighter that direction. Besides, it's only a 20-minute ride to my house on the superslab, so I could make it - right?
Wrong!
Once I turned off the northbound interstate for the westbound to get home, traffic nearly came to a stop, and the pale skies let loose. I just let it in, and got soaked in a few minutes with FRESH water instead of my own sweat, so I just relaxed and enjoyed the coolness and freshness. My mesh jacket and mesh hi-viz vest were growing noticeably heavier, but not oppressively so.
As I thought about it, I really could not remember the last time I rode through a soaking rain without any attempt at rain gear. Look what I've been missing! The tiredness and fatigue seemed to rinse away, the wetter I became.
Nice reminder.
 
I just re-read your response and I am wondering if you are suggesting to put the whole bar in the vice (honestly, that had not occurred to me). That might be the amount of force necessary to slightly bend the bars 2mm closer together.
In a perfect world you only need to squeeze the two ears of the open end of the bars in the vice as that is what you need to draw closer together. You need to put them in the vice in such a manner that you can do this while at the same time have enough room to tighten up the hose clamps while they are in the vice. The orientation of the bar in the vice will depend not only on the size of the vice being used but also the type and shape of it, so you will need to experiment to find the best position for what you are using.

I suggest that you bring them together in the vice to a dimension a little less than what you actually need. No matter how much you tighten the hose clamp, the two ears will push apart a little bit as they force any residual looseness out of the clamp. Don't forget to use something to protect the bars from being scratched.
 
Don't forget to use something to protect the bars from being scratched.
Yep, underlying theme of the day…

So basically vice squeeze and set with hose clamp. Will give it a try. I was using a 4” hose clamp which I believe was too large. I will get a 3” and along with your method, I feel confident this will work.
Thanks again for your feedback.

Question for you (hope I’m not breaking any thread rules), I noticed in your mod that you used M10 hex cap bolts. In the kit I received, M10 hex head screws were supplied ( see my pic). I verified the length and they would fit with your mod. Is there a reason you didn’t use these? Maybe they weren’t made available to you? Just curious.
 
Question for you (hope I’m not breaking any thread rules), I noticed in your mod that you used M10 hex cap bolts. In the kit I received, M10 hex head screws were supplied ( see my pic). I verified the length and they would fit with your mod. Is there a reason you didn’t use these? Maybe they weren’t made available to you? Just curious.
Not sure what kit you are referring to.
I did not buy a kit, I bought the bars with no hardware. I sourced out the hardware that I needed. The screws that I used were what I was able to easily find that were corrosion resistant.
 
OK. That makes sense.
The adapter plate kit that @red dirt cowboy was selling included the M10 x 50mm hex head screws.
If you have the kit with the adapter plates, why do you need to squeeze the bars? The point of the kit was to avoid doing so.
I guess you are installing the bars without using the adapter plates. Curious as to why.
 
Picked up a 2001 1-owner ABS with under 18k miles. Started moving my '99 upgrades over including the rear tail light/turn signal and license plate LED's and associated flasher from SuperBright and my Givi trunk. Swapped some of the dash LED's over before finding out the ABS models mix in a different size bulb for a lot of the dash lights. Reinstalled the backrest and bar ends on the '99 that it came with, getting it cleaned up for sale. More updates tomorrow.
 
Today STacy's rider did his annual ride to the Oso Slide Disaster (USGS calls it the Hazel Landslide) site. The high speed mud flow and debris (in excess of 40 mph +) site looks as it always does, an idyllic site to put a small residential community up. However, in 2014 the mountain ridge above the small community of Steel Head Haven (40 homes) came sliding down at speeds of up to 40 mph + sweeping the community, highway and river aside. 41 people died, some were in homes and some were just passing through on the highway. This disaster is the first disaster her rider did not participate in the National Guard response. He did not respond as he had retired 2 months prior after 30 years of service. It was the first time he realized that it was no longer "his" National Guard. The torch had passed and time had marched on...
 
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