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Got mine for a pre 02 from Hardracing, for my 02. They didn't know about the difference at the time, so they called Ohlins, who supposedly told them the difference was in how the preload adj' mounts, no fitment issue. I didn't have any issues putting it on, and it feels good. Francis

Welcome to the board. Till a couple years ago, I rode nothing but HD myself, got a beemer and then the bird just last year. Not looking back at all. One little thing that is different between tightening the chain vs. the belt or chain on an older HD is you spin the adjuster 'out' instead of 'in' to pull it back. Make sure to snug up the adjusters after you tighten up the axle nut. The adjuster marks aren't very reliable, either, so the first time you may want to keep an eye on how the chain tracks around the sprocket. No big deal. It takes a little bit to get used to a reliable bike, but it's worth it! Francis

I just did the springs and oil last w/e- don't know if I have the same type of sound you have, but the forks kind of squeak now. Doesn't sound like anything rubbing the springs, but who can tell- it's got to be pretty loud to hear it through the forks themselves. Just an aside, I'd rather not do some things myself, but when I think about some of the folks at the dealers, it doesn't take too long to just do it myself. Your wheel is a perfect example. Francis

Finlly had a chance to order the ext' war' from Blue Ridge- now my XX will never break! Thanks to azxr for all the legwork! Other Fl' residents may run into a glitch because we have a weird law in place about warranties falling under ins' guidelines and all kinds of other mess. The way around it seems to have an out of state address Honda can push through. Alan at Blue Ridege is checking out the specifics now. Francis

HI Tom, did you get a good price on the RT kit? If I remember, best available was around msrp. Just put the springs in mine today, huge difference, Bel-Ray 7w, haven't got the valve kits yet. Did you get your Ohlins on? How do you like it? Like others have mentioned, mine took a bit to break in, but noticed a big improvement right off. Francis

That's what I did- moved the res' around to the opposite side from the install drawing, just above the grab handle on the left. Earlier models could place them on the right no problem. The pre-load adj' can go on the right pipe hanger bracket or passenger footpeg. Francis

so do we have one more? If not, I'll be ready to do it tmorrow I guess. I appreciate all the time you put into it azxr. Good bunch here. Francis

I'm ready- still looking for one for the beemer, though. Francis

Hey Mith, did you get to the dyno? If so, how do you want to collect? Francis

Seems like I saw a thread recently about ext' warranties but can't find it. If I remember, there were others available from 3rd party that were more cost effective than Hondas. Close to running out on both my 'bird and my RT and wondering if anybody has experience and/or names of companies that provide them. thanks, Francis

I've got one, didn't like it at first, but used it some when i had the beetles off. the more i used it, the more i liked it. 1 click, outta the way for gas, holds more than it looks,waterproof, no scratching, right height to lean on, no sliding around. Francis

Appreciate all the help. Got looking at it and just moved it over to the left no problem above the grab rail. Not too much of a kink in the hose at the shock body end, and the line clears anything hitting it as the swingarm rises. Took a couple pic's while everything was apart if anybody wants to see the reg' placement that was screwing everything up. Just need a place to post 'em. thanks again, Francis

they work great, easy.

got a hair over 2k on the roads on the bird. love 'em, definitely a lot of road feel though. no sign of wear so far, can't believe it as I've been pretty foolish out there lately. great in the wet, too.

Joe, on the '02, and maybe '01 as well, sits the 'box', I think that's what it is anyway, haven't traced the bundle all the way yet, doesn't matter really because of the space, lots of wires and cooling fins on it, out of the way. It sits exactly where the diagram from Ohlin shows to mount the res'. Alpha, did you reposition the charge line on the shock body side? If so, did you have to recharge it, or maybe there was enough free play to mount it left side w/o moving the fitting? If w/o repositioning, did it put a strain on the line? Worried about kinking it over time. thanks, Francis

Anybody know or ever tried to mount their res' on the left side under the plastic? I don't have room on the right for mine, and with the Beetles back on have a really funky looking temp' bracket holding it on now. Looking at it, it seems that if I loosen the hose fitting a hair I can 'point' the hose to the pther side and mount it on the left out of the way. Can't get to the grab handle w/ the beetles anyway, and there's plenty of room. Worst case scenario looks like I might have to recharge the res' w/ N2, but think that fitting may not leak by. Does anyone know? Francis

I'll kick in for the map, too. Appreciate the offer, been too sorry to go get it done myself. Francis

Just started doing my own tires since the cheapest alocal dealer will do it is about 44/tire off the bike, if you buy from them at ridiculous prices, and I go through some tires. Let me say rightup front that it sucks, but is manageable. As far as protecting the rims goes, I got hold of a set of plastic sheathing about 6" long called rim savers that do well at protecting the rim from the iron. I did do a static balance and then carried it to a shop for them to check my work (10$) and they moved one of the weights about 1/4 inch from where I had it. it was a 1/4 ounce, so no big deal. I have a Metzeler balance rig, about 75$. I have done 3 so far, and am planning on buying a rig to help mount the damn things; until then, I'm using plenty of dish soap. I've heard you shouldn't use it, but don't know why and know people that have been doing it for a while. I can't the whole job in 20 minutes, although I did get the last one mounted in a little less than that. Also bought a bead breaker, and seeing how it works, can build a better one when I get time in the shop to do some measuring, cutting, and welding. If I didn't go through so many, and had a dealer I trusted, I wouldn't screw w/ it myself. One last thing- no, 2 last things. On first inflation, don't look at the wheel, since the dish soap used as a lube to get the damn thing on comes out with considerable force, and will always find an eye or nostril at high velocity. It burns. The other last thing is that using a sawzall to save a few minutes getting the old one off doesn't save any time. Even though the belted part of the tire doesn't go all the way around from side to side, there is another layer of steel radial that goes around the bead part and you can't get in there with a sawzall blade so I still ended up fighting the damn thing off. Francis

I've got a set, about 1500 mi, looking good. They 'feel' harder than the last set, notice more road feel, but grip is better. Don't know about wet traction yet. Francis