Frankenstein 2009 RG...new trike owner...im lost

[Dexter A Mae]

Hello y'all...new trike owner...a buddy of mine helped me acquire his fathers trike, his father passed away several years ago and this thing has been sitting for about 5 years, maybe 6. He used to take it around to shows, it has a 2009 Road Glide twin cam in it with about 800-900 miles on it. It's a Frankenstein.

I am not afraid to work on it, but I am not familiar with some of the things unique to this setup. They got rid of the EFI...pretty sure that is what I am looking at.

It has an external oil tank and that is the first hang up I have. I have no freaking clue and google searches are not helping me, and I know I am sounding like an idiot but I want to do this right so don't care how stupid I look at the moment. I want to honor my friends dad by getting this back on the road.

1. How much oil goes in that external tank? Assume I follow the normal specs for 2009 RG motor as far as oil fill in the motor?

2. Front fork bushings up by the handlebars are shot, its all loose. Reach out to Frankenstein or prior build shop?

3. Is there any other precautions, like putting some oil (Marvel or something else) down in the cylinders prior to starting it up the first time in so long?

4. Rear master cylinder leaked out, is it better to keep it the way it is since it is a custom build and get a rebuild kit for the master cylinder?

Again...I am used to working on motorcycles that have a manual and I can look stuff up easily...this...this is intimidating but I know I can do it. Just nervous...

Here are some pics...its a bit more dusty now though...

Thanks everybody...any pointers...I have pulled the gas tank off...way to much debris in it...so I will be getting a new/used one.

Also any advice on gauges? This one has none...was thinking of adding this tank that has gauges on it...not sure if that will work or is a good idea or not.

[Jack Klarich]

to Trike Talk

Use common sense and you should be OK

A shot of Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinders, an ounce or two in the oil, new battery, see if it runs and report back

[Dexter A Mae]

to Trike Talk

Use common sense and you should be OK

A shot of Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinders, an ounce or two in the oil, new battery, see if it runs and report back

So do i not need to put any additional oil in the external oil tank? Just fill the motor and it just circulates between the external tank and motor?

[Jack Klarich]

So do i not need to put any additional oil in the external oil tank? Just fill the motor and it just circulates between the external tank and motor?

If it has been sitting for a long time,

You may see the oil is pretty dark in color, you need to check the level, chances are it is low, but that can mean there is more oil sitting in the crankcase

Whatever you decide will be OK, get it running, check for noise ( knocking is not good) warm it up, shut id down and recheck the oil, if it has a dipstick pay attention to where it is on the stick and give it a smell test

[Gorilla]

welcome Dexter. I'm a bit confused. You state that the base of the trike was a 2009 Road Glide, then talk about an external oil tank. Road Glides are touring bikes and their engine and transmission share the same oil pan. It would not have an external tank. The Softail models had the external tanks along with the sportster.

I need to see more pictures of the whole trike to see if I can ID more of the base of the trike. Also if you run the Vin from the fork it will help you ID the bike that is the base for the trike.

Like mentioned get the motor to turn over first. By the way the one picture that appears to be the subject trike, those are the coils. Need to see the other side to see if the EFI was swapped out.

Should be a fun project.

[Dexter A Mae]

welcome Dexter. I'm a bit confused. You state that the base of the trike was a 2009 Road Glide, then talk about an external oil tank. Road Glides are touring bikes and their engine and transmission share the same oil pan. It would not have an external tank. The Softail models had the external tanks along with the sportster.

I need to see more pictures of the whole trike to see if I can ID more of the base of the trike. Also if you run the Vin from the fork it will help you ID the bike that is the base for the trike.

Like mentioned get the motor to turn over first. By the way the one picture that appears to be the subject trike, those are the coils. Need to see the other side to see if the EFI was swapped out.

Should be a fun project.

From what I understand with the information I got, most of the parts except for the engine will be for a 98 evo softail- the engine is from a 2009 ROADGLIDE- they separated it from the transmission with the billet bracket and used a 5 speed evo transmission- with external oil tank all to make it work in that frame.

[Old Road Dog]

Hello y'all...new trike owner...a buddy of mine helped me acquire his fathers trike, his father passed away several years ago and this thing has been sitting for about 5 years, maybe 6. He used to take it around to shows, it has a 2009 Road Glide twin cam in it with about 800-900 miles on it. It's a Frankenstein.

I am not afraid to work on it, but I am not familiar with some of the things unique to this setup. They got rid of the EFI...pretty sure that is what I am looking at.

It has an external oil tank and that is the first hang up I have. I have no freaking clue and google searches are not helping me, and I know I am sounding like an idiot but I want to do this right so don't care how stupid I look at the moment. I want to honor my friends dad by getting this back on the road.

1. How much oil goes in that external tank? Assume I follow the normal specs for 2009 RG motor as far as oil fill in the motor?

2. Front fork bushings up by the handlebars are shot, its all loose. Reach out to Frankenstein or prior build shop?

3. Is there any other precautions, like putting some oil (Marvel or something else) down in the cylinders prior to starting it up the first time in so long?

4. Rear master cylinder leaked out, is it better to keep it the way it is since it is a custom build and get a rebuild kit for the master cylinder?

Again...I am used to working on motorcycles that have a manual and I can look stuff up easily...this...this is intimidating but I know I can do it. Just nervous...

Here are some pics...its a bit more dusty now though...

Thanks everybody...any pointers...I have pulled the gas tank off...way to much debris in it...so I will be getting a new/used one.

Also any advice on gauges? This one has none...was thinking of adding this tank that has gauges on it...not sure if that will work or is a good idea or not.

You've got a Halloween abortion going on there. Even so I do like the look. Is there oil in the tank? Follow the oil lines from the tank to the motor. Probably holds about three qt. Is there a dipstick for the motor? That tank looks very Low Rider looking. Get the FSM for both models and the parts manuals also. Youll be able to sort it out that way. Unless you can find someone who helped with the build assume nothing and start from scratch.

[Jack Klarich]

Here is your oil pump, pay attention to #17, 16, and 7

This is what controls the oil flow from your oil tank to the oil pump

#7 needs to be inspected for pits, after sitting for long periods of time the ball bearing will start to pit, causing the bearing not to fully seat, this will allow oil to flood the crankcase

You will need to lap the bearing to the seat of the oil pump

[Dexter A Mae]

Here is your oil pump, pay attention to #17, 16, and 7

This is what controls the oil flow from your oil tank to the oil pump

#7 needs to be inspected for pits, after sitting for long periods of time the ball bearing will start to pit, causing the bearing not to fully seat, this will allow oil to flood the crankcase

You will need to lap the bearing to the seat of the oil pump

Thanks Jack...I will be checking this out for sure. In my research and video watching I did catch this along the way and it is in my notebook. Now that I got some information from the builder and with the suggestion above about finding service manuals for the years involved here, I think I will be ok. Still worried about how this has been transitioned to carb versus EFI, but I think with a good cleaning the S&S carb will be ok. Right now it appears to be a bit sticky, I imagine it will be fine once I take it apart and soak it. Gonna take my time and keep coming back asking for help along the way and hope I don't irritate too many people while doing so. I really appreciate y'alls input!

[ol' school]

Welcome to Trike Talk Dexter! Nice project. Keep us in the loop.

[ROAD DOG]

Here is your oil pump, pay attention to #17, 16, and 7

This is what controls the oil flow from your oil tank to the oil pump

#7 needs to be inspected for pits, after sitting for long periods of time the ball bearing will start to pit, causing the bearing not to fully seat, this will allow oil to flood the crankcase

You will need to lap the bearing to the seat of the oil pump

Jack that's a EVO oil pump? & The motor in that bike is a Twin Cam?

[Jack Klarich]

Jack that's a EVO oil pump? & The motor in that bike is a Twin Cam?

I thought it was an Evo?

Maybe I need new eyes

[ROAD DOG]

I thought it was an Evo?

Maybe I need new eyes

Sometimes A cleaning with brake clean, & see things differently.

[Dexter A Mae]

I thought it was an Evo?

Maybe I need new eyes

Most of the parts except for the engine came from a 98 evo softail- the engine/motor is from a 2009 Roadglide. The transmission is a 5 speed from that EVO...I believe the frame might be from that as well from what they were indicating. I am hoping the bushing where the handlebars are not hard to figure out, I asked if they were part of that 98 EVO as I have never ordered that part before and they are rotted out.

[Jack Klarich]

Most of the parts except for the engine came from a 98 evo softail- the engine/motor is from a 2009 Roadglide. The transmission is a 5 speed from that EVO...I believe the frame might be from that as well from what they were indicating. I am hoping the bushing where the handlebars are not hard to figure out, I asked if they were part of that 98 EVO as I have never ordered that part before and they are rotted out.

Here you can see the cam chest

and the moving parts of a TC engine, get familiar with how they work