Tips on Some Common Mods
Man314
Posted 2011-03-22 5:13 PM (#81961)
Subject: Tips on Some Common Mods


Tourer

Posts: 575
Spirit Lake IA "Birthplace of Victory Motorcycles"

Did some work this weekend on my bike and some folks asked me to jot down some thoughts/tips on each project while it was fresh in my mind.  Here's my 2 cents:

  • Invest in a good lift . . . I did quite a bit of research and bought the J&S Jacks.  Rock Solid lift! BTW, the lift paid for itself with one time change!
  • Get your hands on a Victory Manual as it is quite helpful
  • A pneumatic ratchet is invaluable!

HitchDoc Hitch

  • While you can leave the rear wheel on to install the hitch, its really no big deal to remove and replace.  I left wheel on and everything was quite tedious to do through the hole under the seat
  • Check the bolt packages that come with your hitch.  Mine had a few SAE bolts . . . had to run to hardware store and damned near stripped some threads
  • Have a patient second pair of hands . . . most of this you can do by yourself, but a second person can be quite helpful if she knows what she's doing (my wife wasn't to thrilled at getting a little dirty)
  • Mount your trunk bolts from bottom up . . . this will not only attach your hitch, but give you a set of studs to make removing trunk easier
  • I used a tap to clean out dirt and grime in the threads on the aluminum casting . . . be very careful here
Front Wheel
  • The front axle requires a 5/8" (16mm?). . . I found that these aren't so common in the stores . . . I borrowed one from the helpful guy at parts counter
  • Don't forget to remove the 2 pinch bolts on front RH fork
  • Manual says to remove from fender . . . I didn't find this necessary
  • I did remove brake rotors so they would not get damaged mounting the tire
  • I took the time to clean the rotors while off
  • Use locktite when reinstalling rotor bolts and torque to specs (I ran it down with pneumatic ratchet, then finished off with torque wrench) use a modified star pattern when bolting into place
  • WD 40 works great to remove road tar and residue from wheel weights
  • DONT FORGET to remember which spacer was on which side.  There is a tall and a short wheel spacer.  Don't know what would happen if they were swapped, but I'm sure it would not be good!
Rear Wheel
  • Not as intimidating as it looks.  It may have been easier for me since I was also removing mufflers
  • I did remove brake rotors and belt pulley so that they would not be damaged
  • Spacers are easy here as tall one goes with pulley
  • Upon reassembly, make sure brake unit bracket tab fits in the slot on swingarm
  • Biggest issue here was making sure everything (axle, swingarm hole, spacers, brake hole, etc) all line up upon reassembly . . . this part is easiest with two people
  • I did use Dyna Beads in both front and back.  2 oz in front and 3 oz in back . . . make sure you remove wheel weights!
  • Take advantage of having tires off to have them install metal valve stems . . . if you ever want to add Tire Pressure Monitoring System with external sensors, the rubber stems will tend over time to flex and eventually crack.  I wanted to mount my Doran sensors inside the wheel, but the inner stem was not long enough to allow sensor to fully seat . . . it was close, but last thing I want is for that to vibrate loose while driving at 70 mph!
Atom Bomb Exhausts and Custom TravelinMan Tips
  • Removing lower saddle bag body parts was easier than putting them back on due to curve and bolt holes under saddle bag doors
  • Tool a little persuasion and some liberal amounts of WD40 to get old mufflers off (ie wood block and hammer)
  • Trick is to remove heat shield straps without damaging old muffler . . . too tight to get tin snips in . . . I uses a Dremmel with a cutting disc . . . worked perfect
  • You will need (6) 5-6 inch hose clamps to reattach heat shields
  • When you get your Atom Bombs make sure you straighten out the back flange where tips mount . . . sometimes this gets bent and make sure mounting threads are not damaged . . . mine were in pretty good shape
  • Use lots of WD40 to lubricate for reinstall
  • When reassembling don't put rubber grommets in slots and then try to rotate muffler to try to align mounting bolts to holes . . . put rubber grommets on mounting studs first, then align exhaust . . . trust me, its easier this way!
  • The most frustrating thing was in spreading the exhaust clamp wide enough to get over the slightly spread muffler pipe.  Damned thing had some spring in it.  Finally used some needle nose pliers inside the clamp and spread outward while pushing over the pipe.   Sometimes it's the stupidest things that frustrate you the most!
  • Due to slight bend in rear flange of muffler, I had to ream some of the holes in order to get exhaust tip holes to line up.  Wasn't off much, but enough to hinder getting bolts started.
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KDKing
Posted 2011-03-26 11:54 AM (#82451 - in reply to #81961)
Subject: RE: Tips on Some Common Mods


Puddle Jumper

Posts: 38
Prince George, BC, Canada
Liked your post...just one thing that I would be cautious with and that is the use of air tools when working on the bike. Sometimes it can be hard to determine if everything is going in right or tightening right with air tools. I prefer to use hand tools...better feel for me.
Just my $.02
Cheers!
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lennyb
Posted 2011-03-26 12:06 PM (#82454 - in reply to #81961)
Subject: Re: Tips on Some Common Mods


Iron Butt

Posts: 804
Perry Hall, MD
Just the kind of write up that is nice to have in a 'handy notes' page.

Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
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Man314
Posted 2011-03-26 12:56 PM (#82459 - in reply to #81961)
Subject: Re: Tips on Some Common Mods


Tourer

Posts: 575
Spirit Lake IA "Birthplace of Victory Motorcycles"
Thanks! All of us contributing (even just a little) is what makes this site work! BTW, I too am very cautious with use of pneumatic tools . . . especially when going into cast aluminum. I always start bolts by hand, run a few turns with hand tools and take all the way down with with pneumatic. Where air tools really help is where clearance is tight and you can only get 1 click with ratchet. I'm too impatient to run event a 1 inch bolt down 1 click at a time.
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