DVD Review: Pointers, tips and good advice
DVD 2-disc set, $42.95
www.fixmyhog.com
This is the third outing for the boys at FMH and it’s the best yet. Bob and Mark hustle through the stuff you need to know to take care of a Sporty without ever missing a trick and in fact offering up a new one or two, into the bargain!
Take things like Bob’s recommendation of alternative brake pads for the Brembo-equipped ’04 and the later models, which doesn’t go unappreciated by the likes of your humble reviewer. Since I’ve always been a big fan of the “X”-motored Harleys and their potential, it’s refreshing to see a kindred spirit recognize that fast bikes need good brakes. The pad upgrade is simply one subtle nod to insiders, that the useful and useable motorcycles, Sportsters need never take a back seat to Big Twins, and are ever so much easier to maintain as well. The payoff, which the impecunious among us should bear in mind, is that by simply buying and using a shop manual (stressed over and over in the video) and keeping these DVDs alongside it, one can expect far better results for far longer from a well-kept XL, than from a Big Twin – for far less money. I mean with this two-disc set and the book, plus some occasional investments in the proper tools, owners can spend a fraction of the time and money it takes to have these things done at the shop, in the first place. Secondly, most are quicker and easier than their counterparts on Twin Cams (like carbs vs. EFI?) and certainly no worse – no matter what! Since tradition has it that folks don’t like to spend big money on Sporty’s, the best way to save – without short-changing your ride – is to do it yourself – and this DVD set sure helps you do it right! Thirdly, that “tradition” is rapidly being revamped as a result of the recent rubber-mounting redesigns, endowing 2004 and newer Sportsters with the ability to romp cross-country painlessly – something that couldn’t always be said, and formerly the unspoken bedrock of the “Big Twins are better” mythology! Well, not anymore. Not better, just different!
While it’s a fact that the bulk of the information on the FMH’s Sporty DVD concentrates on these late models, the earlier EVO XLs are not left in the lurch. Indeed most of the second DVD covers solid-mount Sportster maintenance issues quite well. It might be better if it was a stand-alone deal rather than “watch the main disc-then check what’s different on older bikes on the other one,” but it’s doable. And the information makes it worth doing.
There are also the same old things, conspicuous in their absence, that I like to carp on regarding any maintenance “guide,” printed or otherwise. Namely, the lack of info about what you really need to look out for on ancient and / or neglected high-milers, bought secondhand. True, that goes beyond the strictest definition of maintenance, but ought to be part of the “service,” if you know what I mean. I think it better serves the target audience for a product like this, to clue in a neophyte on where trouble is most likely to crop up once the warranty’s way over with.
My other gripe is that this DVD basically ignores one other prime candidate for its purpose. Besides the precious little coverage slanted towards (thoroughly) used Sportsters in general, there’s none for four-speed models! Yup-maintenance mania galore for the five-speed bikes, but nada for the 1986-1990 stuff. That’s a pity, since a bunch of the still out there need more help than ever. (For instance, it’s one thing to show a clutch adjustment procedure on shiny new stuff, but another to explain why the magnets are likely to come loose in the clutch basket on a four-speed XL, let alone how to check for it. Come to it, DIY replacing of shift pawls in four-speed boxes is a service that would not go amiss here either.) Of course it just might be, there’s another DVD set coming from FMH for these neglected XLs, since they are soliciting feedback on their website as to future projects. Feel free to chime in if you have an opinion one way or the other. (See their website address above.)
Just so we don’t get it wrong, remember these DVDs from FMH are dead-on, solid gold basic maintenance techniques and tips, extremely useful for those who want to DIY and do it right.
But the word is “basic.” Show the viewer a few more ways to work around factory special tools, aim the info more towards- and cover some insights into – older models and they would get an A+ report card. For now, the report has to read more like good, even great work but incomplete. It’s up to you to decide if what is there makes the grade for your sled.
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