September 2015 Newsletter

Is your bike running “LEAN”?

Dear Valued SAC Raging Bull – Harley Customer,

Spring is now in full swing and I believe we are all anxious to get riding and enjoy the feel of the warm sunshine enveloping us as we take it in on our Pride and Joy – your Harley.

Due to the exceptionally dry period, we have experienced, there are massive amounts of free fine particles in the air around us and that may have accumulated on and in your motorcycle during the winter chill. These particles find their way into the bikes system, blocking effective airflow and eventually settling in the oil, creating an abrasive medium which results in excessive wear on the motors’ internal moving parts.

If your bike has been parked during the winter, we would recommend giving your motorcycle a 79-point check-up and oil service in order to minimize long term wear in the motor and ensure care free miles of summer riding. Please take care to know the mileage of your last oil service. Running your bike beyond the recommended service intervals is detrimental to your motorcycle as the oil tends to deteriorate beyond its lifespan.

If you are unsure, you are welcome to contact us as we keep a comprehensive record of all work done on your motorcycle. Remember the general 6000 – 8000km service intervals. We also recommend a yearly once over.

For those souls fortunate enough to be enjoying the greatly improved performance of an upgraded motor and are making the most of it by riding hard on a regular basis, we strongly recommend that you adopt a 4000km service interval discipline as the higher performance puts added pressure on oil lifespan.

We have seen a few almost catastrophic engine failures over the past few months as a direct result of oil that has deteriorated after forgotten about oil changes and prolonged mileage i.e. 17000 – 25000km without an oil change, you don’t need this! The oil becomes like thick grease and doesn’t flow around well or do its job in the engine.

Of course, an integral part of the 79-point check is the tyres. With the Highveld rain season approaching, you would like to be sure that you have sufficient tread on your tyre for the puddles, that the side walls have not perished and that your pressures are correct to handle the invisible potholes. Tyre wear varies greatly depending on riding conditions and how hard or easy you are on the throttle. If you are in doubt, you are welcome to visit us and we shall gladly advise you as to the condition of your tyres.

We have also seen some really bad tyres on bikes, it’s scary. Don’t push the mileage limit, it’s simply not worth it. Some tend to think that it’s only on some tyre brands but we have seen bad tyres in all shapes, sizes and makes including Harley Dunlop’s. Tyres should be changed as a matter of safety, not “let’s see who can do the most mileage on a tyre” its ok on a car or a bakkie to go for max mileage, but it’s not clever on your Harley.

It is vitally important to maintain correct tyre pressures at all times in order to ensure optimum Rider safety and tyre longevity. No-one wants to go through the hassle of laying on a dirty filling station floor and handling dirty equipment unnecessarily in order to check the tyre pressure. An easy, clean and convenient way to keep tabs on what is going on in your tyres is by means of Bluetooth linked tyre pressure monitor. It is fitted in minutes and keeps you in the loop via an App on your Cell phone. This warning you immediately if your tyre pressure deviates from acceptable parameters.

Then last but not least, you won’t believe how many bikes engines that run lean as a result of a pipe and or air filter combo that’s been fitted without the necessary adaptive tuning. This is detrimental to the life of the engine – blue or golden brown pipes means heat and it’s not good. Many of you would know about that excessive, unwanted, heat under the bum or on the legs.

Let us evaluate your bike’s tuning on our in-house dynamometer. We have all the necessary state of the art equipment for this evaluation on hand – this can prolong the life of your bike’s engine. A well-tuned Harley can do big mileage and is almost bullet proof. It’s difficult or near impossible to destroy a Harley if it has clean fresh oil in it and a well-tuned engine. View these links on our website for more information on tuning your Harley:

HD Engine tuning
Race Tuners

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are going on a long ride any time soon or going to a rally and you need work done on your bike, it’s not recommended to leave it for the last minute. Plan the work so that you have enough time. You never know what sticks it’s head out or what parts may be required for your bike and you need some testing time before the long trip. You don’t want to collect the bike and jump on – headed for a long trip.

We hope to see you soon. Till then, many safe miles and enjoy the rides.

P.S. In our next newsletter we will be giving feedback regarding short term insurance as well as performance suspension upgrades.

And why not go and check out our facelifted website www.sacragingbull.co.za

Between now and the end of the year we will be adding plenty of useful long distance riding tips that you may find interesting.

Kind Regards

The SAC Raging Bull Team