[Joe Shovel FXR]

The wiring in the headlight bucket went well, no problems once I figured out the orientation of the connectors in the wiring diagram again. The strain relief clip was a royal pita, but it succumbed to my efforts, lol.



I installed a temporary ground wire from the battery to the frame, and Success! I left that goofy ignition-lights jumper installed, until it goes thru judging, lol. I tested the neutral and oil pressure lights and the starter relay (with a test light). Turn signals and brake lights work too.



One thing I didn't take a good picture of was how the original harness ran under the tank. There was a hole in the frame so I put a clip in it. Does this look right?

 

[guido4198]

It's been a while since I had the tank off my '85, but iirc....that's what is there.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Thanks, someone else also confirmed that.

Today I learned a new skill, powder coating. I watched a lot of YouTube videos, read a few forum posts and experimented. The key to success is cleanliness! Besides the obvious differences with wet paint, you have to bake the part before coating to make it release contamination trapped in the pores. Otherwise it will come out under the powder when you bake it and that's not good. So the process went like this: 1. strip old coating, 2. soda blast to remove remnants and rough the surface, 3. wash with hot water to remove soda remnants, 4. clean with prep solvent to remove oils, 5. bake at 425 degrees for half an hour for off-gassing, 6. cool to less than 100 degrees so powder doesn't melt on surface when spraying, 7. spray powder, 8. heat in oven until part is at 375 or 400 degrees depending on the powder then cure for 10 or 15 min depending on powder, 9. remove from oven and let cool. 10, enjoy a cold beer!

Here is my $20 goodwill oven and the $80 Harbor Freight powder coating setup. I also got matte, satin and texture powders.



The first parts I did were the worn out clutch lever bracket and a damaged master cylinder cover. I didn't spray enough powder so they came out terrible. The problem was I thought it would be good to hang the parts from the oven rack and there wasn't enough room for the gun.



I found a way to hang each part individually, and had better results with a second coat, but still not very even. Some areas were too shiny, others too thin. This was supposed to be satin to match the OEM handlebar switches.



I tried the matte powder on a piece of scrap metal, and it came out nice but not shiny enough. I found an OEM bracket to compare, they do a real nice job at the factory. I need to work on my technique, but also find powder in between satin and matte. Here is the result of a few hours experimenting:



I was encouraged by how smooth the scrap metal came out, maybe I'm catching on.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Encouraged that I may have figured this out, I tried the texture powder on a pipe clamp and it came out great! So I got started on the brake calipers. After cleaning them, I taped the piston hole and the two pad support pins with high temperature tape, and assembled them loosely. I put high temperature plugs in the brake hose and bleeder holes too.



I had a few feet of #10 electric wire and stripped out the ground wire to hang them. The other parts were fine with thinner wire.



I use an infrared thermometer to check the part temperature. It took a very long time for them to get up to 400 degrees, but patience is a virtue, right? Taking them out 10 minutes later, I hung them up to cool. I think they came out great!





I have new pads and seals and new chrome and black round labels to complete them.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

The past week was busy, with my birthday and all, but I did finish the calipers. The new pads were this gaudy gold color, which would look great on a custom bike but not good for this job.



I took the calipers apart and painted the pads with VHT header paint, curing them in my new oven. Now they look much better.

The last thing to do was recreate the foam anti-rattle pads that are no longer available from harley and eBay vendors want $30 for! Three layers of Gorilla double stick tape and some foil duct tape cut to size and I have what I need.



Here is the finished job, with the hoses cleaned up too:

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Starting on the rear brake now. Here's the mess after its parts washer bath. The previous owner had replaced the pads just before selling, but I'll paint them black too.



The master cylinder rebuild kit looks different, but measures out the same. I suppose the o-ring is an improvement, and the spring has the same number of coils so it'll be OK if I can get it all assembled.



Everything is disassembled and cleaned. Next I'll soak them in paint stripper and blast the rust off the hoses. I'll be powder coating everything with the same texture material as the front calipers.




Meanwhile, while getting all that out of the box of parts, I found this. Anyone recognize it?

 

[FishinFather]

Unreal. Love reading through this.
Keep it up please.
And thank you.

 

[Alan S]

Meanwhile, while getting all that out of the box of parts, I found this. Anyone recognize it?

Hard to tell on my phone, but possibly a carb bowl overflow line.

 

[RichardS]

Hard to tell by the photo.....could be overflow-tube for carb. ....or old-battery overflow-tube. Looks a little short to have been used for a Fuel-Tank overflow tube.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Those are good guesses, thanks, but this is only 3/16" OD, those are 1/4" OD. Here is another picture with a piece of overflow hose off a Keihin carb, and a piece of 1/4″ OD tubing that is similar to battery vent tube. My bike had the tank vent barb sealed off, would that have been a California thing? This one is still a mystery.

 

[wbecker]

These little metal strips are used as jumpers and come out easily. I left one side in place so they don't get lost.



One of the reasons there are so many wires and connectors is Harley uses this mess to connect the orange Aux power wires together:



I was able to buy NOS replacement switches fairly inexpensively. The only problem is the wire sleeve is black, so I have to change it to the original grey.



Now I just have to figure out how to remove this mess. I guess if you don't have the right part, glue in whatever you have? I just ordered a rectangular flasher for under $10...




[edit: I'm soaking it in gasoline overnight. I'll let you know how that works out]

So I found NOS switches for the right side, (my FXTS 1985 appear the same?), like to know where you got the switches for the left side, I would like to buy them.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

So I found NOS switches for the right side, (my FXTS 1985 appear the same?), like to know where you got the switches for the left side, I would like to buy them.

I got them off Facebook Marketplace, he had a bunch of rights, only a few lefts. Mike Perez is his name.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

I’m going to spend more time on the rear brake today, but the parts are looking good. Powder coated them with the same texture black as the front. That stuff is very forgiving for beginners. First strip the old paint and soda blast the parts.

The powder is dull grey when sprayed. Had to plug up all the holes.

Out of the oven on the cooling rack.

I filed the tops of the caliper’s decorative cooling fins. The chrome circle will go on last. Interesting tidbit that the caliper is made by Girling, known for British cars and bikes. I also painted the new pads with black header paint.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Lots of progress today. Rebuilt and installed the rear caliper and master cylinder.

I also cleaned up the fluid reservoir but the brass insert for one of the cap screws came out. I am soaking it in Kroil and will install it later. I can’t install the pads until the wheel and disk are there. I cleaned and zinc plated the plunger and adjustment screw. Notice the plunger doesn’t have a clip on it to support the spring, a cupped washer goes there. Late ’82 got the updated part. I still have to polish the brake pedal and will wait to install all this after the motor goes in.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

My motor is off the shelf and on the shop mechanic's workbench now! Shouldn't be long before he gets seriously into it. Woo hoo!

Meanwhile I started on the wheels. It took me an hour and a half to disassemble the front by carefully unscrewing the spoke nipples. Even then half a dozen broke off. I had considered cleaning and re-plating them, but that option is out.

The rear wheel wasn't going any easier, so I brought out the cutoff wheel and was done in five minutes, haha.

First cleaning, will disassemble and get them ready for paint or polish:

I measured the rear wheel end play, it is 0.012", which is pretty good, within the 0.004-0.018" specified. Shouldn't need a new spacer even with new bearings.

The front was tight, barely 0.001", but maybe the old grease is throwing off the reading, it hardly moved. I will do both again after I disassemble them.

 

[compressor#v]

You are the most passionate restorer I've encountered in my lifetime. My utmost respect to you Joe.

 

[guido4198]

Hey Joe, Help me out here, please. I've never dug into it at your level but I thought to measure wheel bearing end play it's necessary to have the axle with washers, nut, spacers, etc in place and torqued. I don't see that in your photos.

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

Thanks @compressor#v I am a retired engineer so I have plenty of time and a little OCD to spend on this project.

Yes, @guido4198 what I did is a quick and dirty way to see what is there, but should be pretty close. I will do it with an axle when I reassemble them with new bearings.

 

[guido4198]

I see. Thanks, Pal. I check in on your project daily. Absolutely incredible dedication to every detail..!
When do you want to start on mine..??

 

[Joe Shovel FXR]

LOL you'll have to wait a long time, I work slow, and have three other bikes that need my attention.

Took time today to clean and sand the front hub. Went from 320 to 1500 grit. I don't think it was originally polished, but cleared over fine sanding, like the fork lowers. Can anyone confirm this is right?

This is the first time I couldn't remove the bearing races with my drifts. I'll bring it to the local shop tomorrow so they can use a race puller. After that I'll either polish it or spray with clear as-is.