'07 Nomad 1600 - Maintenance/upgrades - results

[Caveman]

I had to find a reason to try out the new Idaho jack adapter today, so I lifted the bike, took off the side bags and started wiping things down. I decided to take off the seats for the first time to take a look under them. The first thing I noticed was one of the vent hoses from the back of the gas tank was not connected. The end was cracked, so I snipped it off to clean it up & reattached it. For those of you that know these bikes well, it's the hose with the blue stripe that goes down to a little vacuum canister. I'm hoping this will help with the tank pressure buildup and a gas smell when riding in hot weather... I'll report back.

[Caveman]

I also forgot to mention that I wanted to play with the new Progressive digital shock pump I bought yesterday... I've had the bike for almost two months now & haven't checked the shock pressure. I found out one side was at 56 pounds and the other was 53. I lowered them both to 40 for now and kept the tensioner set at 3. We'll see if it makes any difference.

[Caveman]

Originally Posted by Caveman

I had to find a reason to try out the new Idaho jack adapter today, so I lifted the bike, took off the side bags and started wiping things down. I decided to take off the seats for the first time to take a look under them. The first thing I noticed was one of the vent hoses from the back of the gas tank was not connected. The end was cracked, so I snipped it off to clean it up & reattached it. For those of you that know these bikes well, it's the hose with the blue stripe that goes down to a little vacuum canister. I'm hoping this will help with the tank pressure buildup and a gas smell when riding in hot weather... I'll report back.

It changed the idle slightly, not really the speed but it just sounds a little bit different. I just rode about 30 miles round trip in 100 degree weather and it didn't seem to make any other difference.

[tonik]

No, it won't help with the gas smell and tank build up when it is hot. You can do some cutting on the spring in the relief valve under the gas cap, that will help a tiny bit. Read gadjets page on it. Best bet is to just accept it.

[Caveman]

UPDATES:

Rear Air Shocks: On recommendation from several members here, I purchased the Progressive Zero Loss Shock Pump... lucked out & got the new digital one. Now I see why a pump like this is important. It takes very little air to make a pressure difference. The digital one is worth the extra money if you're extremely critical of the measurements. I've been playing around with different settings for the last couple of weeks. When I first checked the shocks, they were out of balance with each other and both over 50 pounds. That explained why the ride was stiff. I lowered to 40 pounds and found that to be great when riding solo, but with 2 up and luggage it was not enough. I settled on 45 pounds and setting 3 on the spring adjustor. It's fine whether I'm solo or 2 up. I wanted to pick a setting that would be acceptable for either scenario... that is until I get the chance to install the shock equalizer kit so I'll have one fill point for both shocks.

Engine performance and mileage: The engine has been running very well after performing all of the maintenance in the thread preceding this post. Great idle and improved power across the board. No more pinging when solo or 2 up under normal conditions. It will still ping at WOT while 2 up with luggage, so we avoid that.

Mileage has been averaging in the 35 mpg range for my daily mixed driving, city/highway. My wife and I just made a trip to Mt. Charleston for breakfast yesterday. It was approx 120 miles round trip, taking the scenic route there. I just filled up the tank & calculated 37.59 mpg. That's great considering 2 up with a cooler in the trunk, winding mountain roads uphill & downhill. BTW, no issues at all with having plenty of power for this type of ride especially considering the approx 450 pound load on the bike between rider, passenger and luggage. I'm very impressed with the way it performed on this short trip.... can't wait to try out the gel seat that's on the way.

[recumbentbob]

I thought max shock pressure was 43 psi.

[Caveman]

Originally Posted by recumbentbob

I thought max shock pressure was 43 psi.

43psi is what is recommended for a heavy load or bad road. The manual states pressures exceeding 71psi may damage seals... not that I interpret that to mean 71 psi is a safe riding pressure. It just indicates to me that 45 psi isn't an issue.

The manual also speaks of 408 pound max load, which I exceed with a passenger and luggage.

[Navigator]

Up until I read this thread, I had no idea these were air shocks. It appears I missed something important in the owner's manual. Now just where the heck did I put that thing.

I had air shocks on my Electra Glide and found the Harley manual pump to be useless because as I was removing it, it let the air out. The rears were set at about 20 pounds as I recall. I used my compressor to air up the shocks with the secondary valve set at 25 pounds max. I thought I was rid of that but it appears I'll have to buy one of those pumps. One thing about the Harley is that I didn't have to remove the bags to check the shocks.

[hammer]

My fave maintenance upgrade. The Harbour Freight Wheel Chock. I just got back from a trip and did an oil & filter change and a few other things. Ride the bike into the chock and it's secure. I usually use 2 tie downs but took the photo after I removed them. It sure makes everything a lot easier.


Now it needs a good cleaning.
This last trip I averaged 41 mpg.

[dogdoc]

Go to the Darkside Caveman. Now would be the time.

[mick56]

Originally Posted by Navigator

Up until I read this thread, I had no idea these were air shocks. It appears I missed something important in the owner's manual. Now just where the heck did I put that thing.

I had air shocks on my Electra Glide and found the Harley manual pump to be useless because as I was removing it, it let the air out. The rears were set at about 20 pounds as I recall. I used my compressor to air up the shocks with the secondary valve set at 25 pounds max. I thought I was rid of that but it appears I'll have to buy one of those pumps. One thing about the Harley is that I didn't have to remove the bags to check the shocks.

I thought i was the only one who's valve's pointed backward's and were imposible to get at,i swapped the shock's over so they are pointing forward,easy to get to now.

[hammer]

I don't need to take off anything to check the shocks!! I am using an HD 0-loss shock pump.

[Caveman]

Finished up a project this week. It started out as a steering stem bearing replacement and ended up with a fork oil change and new front tire as well. For anyone thinking about doing their stem bearings, it's pretty straightforward. I MacGyvered a new tool to boot!

I used the AllBalls 22-1031 kit. Bearings are great. Seals threw me off for a minute, as the ID of the lower seal doesn't fit like the OEM seal but everything works perfectly.

For the forks I used Bel-Ray 15W.

I bought Shinko 777's but only had the time to do the front so far.. I did buy the HD version for the rear. That will be next week. I was holding out for Commanders but necessity hit & these were in the price range.

I used a 1 foot piece of 1 1/2" PVC plus a male adapter to make a tool that works perfectly to seat the lower bearing on the stem and also to install the races into the neck. This along with a rubber mallet did the trick. Check this out:

[recumbentbob]

Nothing better than a good cheap homemade tool

[ctrider]

Very cool tool for almost no cost