Improve your Cruiser - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

**Trapper** · 05-18-2005, 10:21 AM

From : http://www.cruisernet.com

Improve your cruiser

New cruiser doesn't handle as well as you hoped?
Tire pressure: Inflate to 36 to 38 PSI. Screw the manual.

Replace all hydraulic fluid in the brakes and clutch with Valvoline synthetic DOT 4 brake fluid. This will eliminate headaches later and is well worth the trouble. Cheap too! You can make it easy on yourself by getting speed bleeders www.speedbleeder.com which are inexpensive and work well.

Don't use a keyring with other keys. Put only the ignition key in the ignition. Other stuff attached to the key will flop in the wind and beat up paint and chrome around the ignition.

Handlebars a bit of a reach? Got a pain between the shoulders?
Most people get taller risers with some pull-back to move the bars a little closer. Risers are rather expensive.... and you are stuck with the bend of the stock handlebars. Well, catalogs like Custom Chrome or Chrome Specialties have HUNDREDS of handlebars in various bends for around $35. Most cruisers have 1" bars, so any 1" handlebar will fit, and as long as you don't get too radical all the cables will reach. Look at replacements for the HD Heritage softail. Nice bend.

Gonna add aftermarket exhaust? Almost everyone does....
Use NEW gaskets at the header connections. Retorque those header connections every couple tanks of gas until they "seat" and stay put. You see lots of "Help, I have popping and backfiring out the pipes" on the internet forums. 95% of the time it's just leaking at the header connections because they reused the old gaskets or never retorqued the headers.

Need some saddlebags?
I know, the throwovers are nice looking and cheap. Don't be tempted. They will rub the paint off your rear fender. Spend the money and get some that attach RIGID MOUNT to the bike. Much better and less headaches later. There are lots of quick release mounts available too. Good saddlebags will be one of your favorite accessories, trust me.

Get a servive manual.
Find a good internet support forum.
Get a few basic tools.
Learn to do your own maintenance and tune-ups. It's easy, it will save you money, and you will get lots of satisfaction from it too.

Use a Motorcyccle specific oil that is wet clutch compatible. Motorcycles share the engine oil with the transmission. This causes "shear" on the oil. A motorcycle oil has more additives to deal with this "shear" that car oils don't need.

Enjoy!