The Second Ever

                         rec.motorcycles.harley

                                 FAQ

                             Bill Burton

                           bburton@ccnet.com

                               4/29/95




Version: 2.0

Changes:

The following sections were dropped:
  Friendlies
  Your First Harley

New sections include:
  Sportster Camshaft
  Pack Riding
  Extracting a Broken Screw
  BT Evo Head
  QS Testimonial
  Bad Vibes - ABT Balancers
  Tranny Lube
  To Wave or Not to Wave
  Singles and Lightweights Sources
  Tire Specifics
  Buell
  CV Carb Hop-up
  Paint Suppliers
  Roadside troubleshooting
  The Ten Commandments of Harley-Davidson

Sections suffering major revision include:
  Motorcycle Laws
  Suggested Carburetors
  883 Hop-up Report
  Pipes
  Electrics added to tool list

------------------------------

Subject: 1. Purpose

This is the FAQ for the USENET newsgroup rec.motorcycles.harley. It will
attempt to lay a foundation for the understanding of Harleys, their riders
and their Internet watering hole, the R.M.H Virtual Bar & Grill.

Many of the sections are copies of posts made by the members of r.m.h. This
wealth of hands-on experience is not available via other media.

In the interest of readability, I have decided to use the masculine pronoun
"his" instead of the politically correct "his or hers" This should not be
interpreted to mean that Harleys are solely a male endeavor. Some of our
better mechanics/riders/attitude-adjusters are of the female persuasion.
Anyway, what do you expect in a Harley newsgroup? 

This FAQ spiritually belongs to the regulars at the VB&G. I will not allow
it to be reprinted or otherwise distributed without the general consensus
of the group rec.motorcycles.harley, nor will I do so. It belongs to them.
For purposes of control I retain all legal rights to this document.

This is written entirely in the minimal digest format. In many newsreaders,
such as rn, trn and strn, you can skip from one section to the next by 
pressing ^G.

------------------------------

Subject: 2. Table of Contents

General
                 1. Purpose
                 2. Table of Contents
                 3. Welcome to the R.M.H Bar & Grill
                 4. Introductions
                 5. How to get flamed
                 6. Assholes(tm)
                 7. Advertising Guidelines
                 8. Brief netiquette guide

Philosophical
                 9. Bikers
                10. To Wave or Not to Wave
                11. The Ten Commandments of Harley-Davidson
                12. Clubs

Technical
                13. Wrenching
                14. Dyna Frame
                15. Bad Vibes
                16. Rake and Trail
                17. Tire Specifics
                18. Shocks
                19. Cam Specifications -- Evolution BT
                                A Few Brief Descriptions
                                General
                                Cam Recommendations
                20. Cam Specifications -- Shovelhead
                21. Cam Specifications -- Evolution Sportster
                22. Ignition Basics
                23. Suggested Carburetors
                                CV Carburetor Hop-up
                24. Pipes
                                Cross-over Tube
                                Porker Pipes and Drags
                                Recommendations
                25. Heads -- Evolution BT
                                Mfgrs' Flow Ratings
                                Optimal Flow Rates
                26. Heads -- Shovel 
                27. Hop-up Suggestions -- BT
                                Wake Up Call
                                Breathed On
                                Head Job
                                Asphalt Ripper
                28. Hop-up Suggestions -- 883
                                Jeffery Stubbins Reports
                                One Rider's Report
                29. Tranny Lube
                30. Packin' (tools)
                31. Roadside Electrics Troubleshooting
                32. Extracting Broken Screws
                33. Paint Suppliers

Riding
                34. Safety
                35. Counter Steering and Eyeball Riding
                36. Pack Riding
                37. US and Canadian Motorcycle Laws
                38. Biking in Europe

Buying
                39. Buying New
                40. Used Bike Pricing
                41. Mail Order Houses
                42. Singles and Lightweights Sources
                43. Rentals
                44. Insurance

History
                45. Buell

Harley .net Resources
                46. Sample VB&G Post
                47. Harley Digest
                48. WWW Pages
                49. FTP sites

Et cetera
                50. Suggested Books and Magazines
                51. Glossary
                52. Attributions
                53. Planned Enhancements
                54. Disclaimer

------------------------------

Subject: 3. Welcome to the R.M.H Bar & Grill
                          
General

You have stumbled into the first biker bar in cyberspace. A place to do a
little bench racein, swap lies and bust ass. Grab a bar stool, pop open a
beer and meet some of the good people here.

If you are a person of delicate sensibilities you should probably find
another bar. There will be plenty of cussin, some fights, allusions to drug
abuse (or use depending on your perspective) and other criminal activities.
This is a Biker Bar.

You do not have to be a Harley enthusiast or Biker to enter. An
*appreciation* of the machines and life-styles is recommended.

R.M.H. is just like your average biker bar. Those of us who have been 
sitting here for a while have gotten into it with each other on different 
topics. We all argue back and forth and call each other names.

------------------------------

Subject: 4. Introductions                                       General

"We don't hate you, we just don't like you yet." -- Davey D 

If you are new to the group you might post an introduction describing 
yourself, your motorcycle, how you sold your mother-in-law's car to get
your first bike, that sort of thing. 

"Remember. It's only a cartoon." -- Davey D

------------------------------

Subject: 5. How to get flamed                                  General

Rather than state the obvious, I will just advise you to lurk for a month 
or two until you understand the flavor of the r.m.h. Bar & Grill. 

As we are all good bikers, an attack on a member of r.m.h will cause you to
be stomped by all. Don't storm in tryin to show off your 'tude right away, 
as you'll only get laughed at and harassed until you split.

"If you are gonna hang out here you will respect _everyone_ that hangs out 
here (even if you don't agree with them or like them). Its OK to disagree 
or dislike but not OK to disrespect, you got that? ...

If ya possess enough brains to count yer balls and get the same number 
twice then you'll do just fine. Its not that difficult.

But you'd be surprised how many come in here that don't possess that amount
of brain power.

Hope this helped....and again welcome." -- Matt
------------------------------

Subject: 6. Assholes(tm)                                       General

"If you had been around long enuff you woulda known that the ASSHOLES as 
you know em were people just like anybody else, the main difference was at
the time this group was created we were constantly being bombarded with 
people from wreck.moto whose sole desire was to demoralize this 
newly started group some years ago. There was much animosity towards 
this groups creation at the time, and if you attempted to ask 
questions regarding a HD you received a ton of flames for every 
sincere response given. That followed into this group when it was born. 
At that time there were regulars many of which are still here today-in 
fact most are still here who supported this group for discussion solely 
on Harleys, they were attacked at various times for their posting to 
this group and were at numerous times called assholes, this occurred 
on a normal day to day basis. After being called an ASSHOLE by these 
geeks and pukes from wreck.moto so many times we ended up saying 
that we were indeed ASSHOLES and thus the ASSHOLE(tm). Not everyone 
is an ASSHOLE, and every ASSHOLE is in fact not really an asshole, 
there is a difference that only by reading does one really understand 
what it truly implies-if you are inferring that ASSHOLES' are young 
and or naive, or not knowledgeable then you have a wrong opinion of 
what they truly are...

Most here who are ASSHOLES have been riding for a great number of years 
most of which have been on Harleys, they give sincere help to honest 
asked questions, and they also are willing to trimm with the best. They 
do not as a rule post remarks to demean anyone unless they or the 
group has been slammed 1st! There's a world of honest and sincere help 
that an ASSHOLE can offer, as well as any of them being as cynic or as 
crude as need be. They are not newbees or yups or rubs or computer 
geeks, they are all sincere about the sport of motorcycling..." 
-- John Makel

------------------------------

Subject: 7. Advertising Guidelines                               General

R.M.H welcomes part swapping and other sales by individuals of individual 
items. This is not a place to set up shop. IOW, if you represent a company 
you are not allowed to post general advertisements here.

Overpriced, zero mile, speculator bike sales will be torched.

------------------------------

Subject: 8. Brief Netiquette Guide                             General

Writing in all CAPS is considered shouting and will get you flamed. 
*Asterisks* before and after a word represents boldface, and is the
preferred way to stress words. Likewise, _underscores_ can be used to
represent underlining or italics. 

When replying to a post you should quote the relevant portion so that
everyone knows what the hell you're talking about. AOLers may have to type
the contextual remarks, as the AOL newsreader is particularly stupid.
Please be careful to attribute words to their correct author.

Remember to respond as if you were sitting face-to-face with the person
and not as an anonymous propeller head a thousand miles away.

"USENET is not AOL. It is truly The Savage Jungle - the Freudian Id 
personified. A place where the benefits of semi-anonymity serve as a brutal 
millstone that democratically grinds the bloated egos of all participants 
to the lowest common denominator of civility.

It should come as no surprise that the common grease of the millstone is 
understanding and respect for your fellow men (women, whatever).

And here, as in face-to-face life, humility garners the greatest respect."
-- Kerry


------------------------------

Subject: 9. Bikers                                           Philosophical

For those who understand, 
NO explanation is needed, 
for those who DON'T understand 
NO explanation will be given.

...ripped off from Davey D.'s .sig


------------------------------

Subject: 10. To Wave or Not to Wave                          Philosophical

This seems to be the most innocuous and frequent thread in all the
motorcycle newsgroups.

"Some people wave and some people don't. What they ride is not the issue. 
[...] Just wave if you want or don't wave if that's what you want. If 
you've got time to be fascinated by somebody else's waving habits you need
to get a hobby. Why not take up motorcycling?" -- Mark Cronenweth

------------------------------

Subject: 11. The Ten Commandments of Harley-Davidson          Philosophical

Jim Henry provided this section:

1) The one true American-made motorcycle is the Harley-Davidson, and thou 
   shalt put no other motorcycles before it.

2) Thou shalt not bow down and worship nor serve the God of Chrome; for, 
   lo, he is a false god and will not get thy butt home.

3) Honor thy authorized dealer and thy HOG Chapter officers, that thy days
   may be long and fruitful in the land of Harley.

4) Remember the weekend, and keep it open. For it is written, five days 
   shalt thou labor, and for two days shalt thou ride thy Harley, drink
   beer, and fuck off.

5) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Harley, nor her manservant, nor her 
   maidservant, nor her ox, nor her cute little ass.

6) From the throne of thine Harley, thou shalt not stoop to wave at sinners 
   who ride Jap-crap, for Jap-crap is known to be the handiwork of the
   devil.

7) Thou shalt not pass by nor turn away from thy brother Harley rider who 
   is in mechanical distress.

8) Thou shalt not pose. Verily, I say unto you, it is easier for a poser to 
   pass his gold Visa card through the eye of a needle than to enter into
   the true fellowship of Harley-Davidson heaven.

9) When riding thy Harley on the Road of Life, thou shalt not whine nor 
   snivel, and thou shalt not suffer to ride alongside those who do.

10) Park not thy Harley in the darkness of thine garage, that it may 
    collect dust for want of being oft ridden. Ride thy Harley with thy
    brethren, and rejoice in the spirit of the road.

------------------------------

Subject: 12. Clubs                                          Philosophical

On outlaw clubs Putt wrote:

"1%ers don't give, they take. Our sport is only now regaining some of the 
respect it had before the 60's. Hell, Harley riders used to ride dressers 
wearing white shirts and ties. The 1%er mentality ruined the goodwill the 
public had for us. Too many of them based their attitudes on what they saw 
in the B-movies. I used to be a 1%er, I know what the life is like. I've 
seen too many clubs that lived to show everyone just how nasty, mean and 
perverse they could be. More than one rider has been run off the road by a
cager who didn't like the 1%er look of the rider. Didn't matter if the 
rider was a cluber or not, he looked the part. The 1%ers gave us fear
instead of respect. Respect breeds goodwill, fear breeds contempt. None of
us should ever be happy with the legacy that 1%ers have left our sport.

I have buried too many of my brothers who died in pursuit of the 1% life 
style. Some of my remaining brothers have "in memory of" lists that cover
both arms. I was lucky, I lived through the wars in New York, New Jersey, 
Connecticut, Massachusetts, DC, Michigan and Canada. What do I have to show
for it? A 24 year old Harley, a dusty retired patch and memories. I wish 
the 1% life style the speedy death it deserves."