they are geared lower
if the average buyer keeps getting older there is a problem brewing
i think the trike is intended to serve the "getting older" crowd. and nothing they have tried has served the young crowd well. if a black springer big twin was 5 grand, well that would bring in the 20 year olds like flies.
i prefer a sidecar and im old enough that even if they quit making them next week it really wont affect me much unless i get the bug to get a new bike and have to make the mounting kit.
no big deal - just a hassle
to
timo482 - 11/2/2009 9:09 AM
they are geared lower
if the average buyer keeps getting older there is a problem brewing
i think the trike is intended to serve the "getting older" crowd. and nothing they have tried has served the young crowd well. if a black springer big twin was 5 grand, well that would bring in the 20 year olds like flies.
i prefer a sidecar and im old enough that even if they quit making them next week it really wont affect me much unless i get the bug to get a new bike and have to make the mounting kit.
no big deal - just a hassle
to
Hopefeully, we will all keep getting older. The alternative is unpleasant, albeit inevitable. LOL.
I don't think that HD will ever quit having at least the capability to build sidecars to order. In essence, that's what they've been doing for a long time. Occasionally, you would see a dealer order one to put on the floor but that would be in good times. Nowadays, I doubt that will happen very often.
Liberty and other makers do pretty much the same thing. I had considered ordering a Liberty before I bought my present HD sidecar and I would have had to order it and wait for it to be built, color matched and delivered. That's pretty much standard procedure.
If you have a sidecar that's in good condition, it will last you many years. Just watch where you point it and you will be riding it for a long time.
Keep Smiling. 🙂
Anyone else had this happen to their white '07 HD bikes, looks as if the paint has a cancer under the clear coat- not happened to the sidecar-painted in a different factory?
sidecarbrit - 11/5/2009 7:00 PM
Anyone else had this happen to their white '07 HD bikes, looks as if the paint has a cancer under the clear coat- not happened to the sidecar-painted in a different factory?
Hi,
I just looked closely at your picture and saw the section you are talking about. I've seen that from time to time on Harleys. I'm guessing that you are in an area that gets a lot of moisture.
I think if could be fixed rather easily. You ave two choices: Remove the outer fairing shell (seven screws) and take it to a body shop and spend $200 to $300 to have it color sanded and reshot with standard clear coat or......you could do what I'd do. I'd do the color sanding, being careful not to go through the white base coat. Then I'd go to an autobody paint supplier and get a can or two of clear nitrocellulose lacquer. That makes an acceptable home workshop replacement for two-part urethane clearcoat.
When I got my TLE sidecar, for my Ultra, it didn't come with the ultra right side lower fairing. (I didn't want the radios that come with the TLE Ultra). I bought a new fairing on eBay and it came primered. I went to the Harley dealer and bought a spray can of Vivid Black nitrocellulose lacquer. It's a factory match for my bike.
I had enough for about five coats of lacquer working on a hot day. After it dried, I had my daughter put on the double silver stripe with my Beugler striping tool. (She's never drunk alcohol and is much younger than I so she was better able to make a staight line and some curves without a slip. LOL)
Once that dried, I gave it about five coats of clear lacquer and it came out perfect. It's every bit as glossy as the left lower fairing.
My point is, that you could easily fix that section, assuming as you say that the damage is limited to the top clearcoat. I paid $20 for the Vivid Black spray can from the HD dealer but you don't need the color so you could get by with one or two cans of clear lacquer. That would be $20 to $40 plus some 240, 400 and 600 grade wet or dry sandpaper. I use water and a small amount of kitchen dish soap for color sanding to keep the paper from caking up
Good luck.
I would suggest using Color rite Products clear urethane clear ($16.95 per spraycan) for the topcoat.
In 1955 we were using nitrocellulose lacquer paint systems. Joe Bailon's East Bay Customs (Hayward, CA) Candy Apple red was the most popular show finish being topped with clear nitrocellulose lacquer. Beautiful finish but we had to repaint Hotrods and Custom cars for each show if they were exposed to the sun as the clear would yellow out and the color would fade. In 1956 Acrylic lacquers were introduced. These were slower drying and harder to work with but held up a lot better under the sun.
The present system (used by Harley) is an acrylic lacquer base coat topped with urethane clear. Urethane clear coat can also be applied over Acrilic enamel finishes for a wet look protective coating.
The urethane products need a warm dry environment for the best results when applying. Moisture is their enemy until the paint has cured. After that the urethane is a very tough solar resistant protective coating. A superlative finish when applied correctly under proper conditions.
Lonnie
Hack'n - 11/6/2009 10:12 AM
I would suggest using Color rite Products clear urethane clear ($16.95 per spraycan) for the topcoat.
In 1955 we were using nitrocellulose lacquer paint systems. Joe Bailon's East Bay Customs (Hayward, CA) Candy Apple red was the most popular show finish being topped with clear nitrocellulose lacquer. Beautiful finish but we had to repaint Hotrods and Custom cars for each show if they were exposed to the sun as the clear would yellow out and the color would fade. In 1956 Acrylic lacquers were introduced. These were slower drying and harder to work with but held up a lot better under the sun.
The present system (used by Harley) is an acrylic lacquer base coat topped with urethane clear. Urethane clear coat can also be applied over Acrilic enamel finishes for a wet look protective coating.
The urethane products need a warm dry environment for the best results when applying. Moisture is their enemy until the paint has cured. After that the urethane is a very tough solar resistant protective coating. A superlative finish when applied correctly under proper conditions.Lonnie
I've done a lot of refinishing of Harley tanks, fenders and the like. I also do a guitar now and then. I use a water clear nitrocellulose lacquer that doesn't yellow out. Just the materials alone for enough clear uretahne two-part to do that fairing will cost over $100, If I really wanted that sort of finish, I'd take it to a body shop and let them fiddle with it.
The other thing I really dislike about urethane two-part clear coats is that you can toss the remainder if you don't use it all. It'also got a very poor shelf life once it's been opened. But as you say, it doesn't yellow.
Looks as if I bought the wrong rig for Florida I have the same problem on the top box, so I need to move to another part of America to avoid further problems 🙂
Thanks for the info on how to get it fixed- I have done a lot of Cellulose spraying in the past and the most important thing is a clean warm moisture free enviroment to spray in, and now with all these new materials- not what I have here, probably better to get someone to do it for me.
About a year ago I met someone local who had the same rig and colour but about an '03 model- the paintwork on that was a real mess, I wish I had a camera with me.
Paul
The wheels on the Bike are standard HD Cast Aly wheels and painted black -there is a certain amount of polished Aly that has become pitted and I have decided I would rather spray them Black.
Any advice please on easy spray process- prefefably a process that uses standard Aerosol spray cans-I presume a self etching primer followed by a black primer and a top coat of Satin Black?
Is this the right process and if so, does anyone know where I can get them.
Thanks
Paul
sidecarbrit - 1/19/2010 2:13 PM
The wheels on the Bike are standard HD Cast Aly wheels and painted black -there is a certain amount of polished Aly that has become pitted and I have decided I would rather spray them Black.
Any advice please on easy spray process- prefefably a process that uses standard Aerosol spray cans-I presume a self etching primer followed by a black primer and a top coat of Satin Black?
Is this the right process and if so, does anyone know where I can get them.
Thanks
Paul
I vote for having the wheels completely black powdercoated. Nowadays, OEM HD wheels are powdercoated with some aluminum showing on the rims. You could do both wheels completely and that would solve your corrosion problem. You have to remove them anyway so it's only another step to remove the bearings.
Powdercoating at a shop shouldn't cost much more than a professional paint job. Paint isn't going to last. JMO.
Powder coating would be real cheap if u find a local company that could bake it with a larger order. The prep would be the labor, but my local guy sometimes doesn't even charge me! Just an idea.
HOG - 1/19/2010 7:42 PM
Powder coating would be real cheap if u find a local company that could bake it with a larger order. The prep would be the labor, but my local guy sometimes doesn't even charge me! Just an idea.
That's a good suggestion. There's not too much preparation. It would amount to closing off the axle openings and doing a light bead blast before powdercoating. If you go gloss black, lot of places will run them as part of a larger batch as you say.
Great pics. Could you take a pic of the rear mount. It may help with my install. thanks.
Hope the 2 pics enclosed are of help- lots of bits in the way-if not let me know what else I can take
Got the one pic. Thanks gives me a god idea of how it show look when connected. Is the part that is on the bike a 2 or 3 bolt mount? thanks.
collazd - 4/13/2010 1:37 PM
Got the one pic. Thanks gives me a god idea of how it show look when connected. Is the part that is on the bike a 2 or 3 bolt mount? thanks.
That is the two bolt version with wider lubs, a spacer and a bolt that threads into the mount instead of using a nut. The stanchion also has the standoff that permits adjustment without removal that began at 2002-on. The mount is P/N 87114-93A.
