new to haveing a harley

hey everyone i'm joseph, I got my first Harley about 5 months ago, it's a 97 sportster 1200 and I love it, and I was woundering if any of you guys might have any advice to give me as a new Harley owner, what should I look out for and such things.

1. Always keep the shiny side up!
2. Never play tag with cars!
3. Ride and and enjoy life as it is always way too short!

;-)

invest your 401k into HD stock...hehe

congrats

not to sure I want to invest in the company yet

one thing I've learned that even for a sportster I keep having to tighten my mirrors up,

I know to look out for cars and such I was referring to anyone having advice about the bikes themselves, casue I know there are a few differences in my Harley and the metric bikes I've ridden in the past

Rumor has it.......real men drive bikes with large sidecars attached!!
Just sayin........!

;-)

yea I wouldn't put a sidecar on anybike, I was giving the guy at work a hard time casue he put a trike kit on his Goldwing, I told him he basicly put training wheel on a motorcycle

and if that's a crack at me riden a sportster, I have no shame I what I ride, they have a big history, and they are fun as hell to ride, I met a guy the other day that had a fat boy and a sporter and he preferred the sportster

Mellow out! No crack at you. I miss the old days when bikers had a sense of humor...no matter how warped!

ok and I got the joke, I've just gotten a few cracks about the sportster earlier, and as far as the sidecar thing I wasn't even sure you could still get them but I still think it's pointless to put trike kits on bikes, and I got a sence of humor, i'm just new to all this.

honestly...

something that MIGHT help.

blue loctite... it is a basic tool for everything harley...
the vibrations that most of them produce will cause things to loosen up

remove the mirrors, HAND wire brush the threads clean. place a drop or two of the blue loctite on it sideways, then slowly turn it back into its base.

you will find that most things will stay in place afterward.

do not use RED or GREEN loctite unless you want to use a torch and 5lb sledge to remove the bolt/nut/item

I just put forward controls on the bike a few weeks back and I and I actually did use red on the peg mounts and such casue they attach to the motor mounts on the frame,

my sportster is a 97 so it's not a rubber mounted engine

Congrats on the Harley! Definitely take YZf6's advice on the blue loctite. I've just got in the habit of checking for loose nuts and bolts every couple rides. Buy yourself a tool kit to keep on the bike. Better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

Do any major bolts ever work loose such as head holds and such

I've never had any major bolts loosen up yet. Most times on my bike anyways its smaller nuts and bolts.

Ok that's one of the main things I've wondered, I've never had any bike the vibrates like my Harley

My Dyna is has that awesome Harley shake. Don't have much of anything come loose on the bike. Never had an issue with my mirrors tho...that's interesting. What I've seen, tho not on my bike...YET...is some friends have gotten 40-50K mi and needed their spokes tightened. I'm at 45K and ok so far.

Oh...and welcome to the darkside. Bwahahahaha!!!

Not the part of the mirrors that screws to the bars but the screws on the back of the mirrors keep loosening and the mirrors slowly fall as I ride

Welcome. And dont worry about these guys. They give everyone a hard time. Never had anything come loose on mine.

Well my mirrors and primary cover is all I've had to tighten so far

the counter rotating discombobalater can be an issue along with the piston return springs ..

the muffler bearings need repacking yearly

Funny lol.

Jack the Bagger wrote:the counter rotating discombobalater can be an issue along with the piston return springs ..

the muffler bearings need repacking yearly

It is really hard to get to the blinker fluid reservoir on the Sportster. You can usually find Harley tools here http://www.flutterby.com/images/2012/10/01/hf_tool_sale.pdf And this is where most people get blinker fluid, elbow grease, Muffler Bearings, piston return springs, and clutch belts here http://kalecoauto.com/