rocker arm cover pads (OEM#17507-48)

[recycle54]

I'm wondering what type of adhesive is recomended to attach the pads to the underside of stainless steel covers .I'm assuming that that is where they go. correct me if i'm wrong.thanks.

[SkyHogg]

I dunno...all I did was lay them in place and let the pressure between the pan and the rockers hold them in place (which I assume is still happening). If you're supposed to glue 'em, somebody let me know!

[VintageTwin]

Use "3M weatherproof adhesive". In a big tube. NAPA? auto carries it. The adhesive is yellow and works like contact cement. Oil resistant, but actually oil proof as far as Panners are concerned. I have the stock number, but it's not next to me, i can get the number if you can't find it at the parts store.

[recycle54]

thanks skyhog & vintagetwin; i'm researching these pads{felts}. do they serve one purpose or more than one purpose? i would think that from vibration or degridation that pieces could possibly block the return oil flow. i'm wondering what the HD engineers had in mind. when i took the covers off for the first time 35 years ago, i think i remember some kind of pad stuck to the underside of the covers; but that was a long time ago. what was their intended purpose? i'm in no hurry. i wan't to ride - but i wan't to get it right. once their installed thats it ; can't see em after that. i like to use the thick cork / rubber cover gasket which raises the cover further away from the rockers. i'd like a quiet upper end if at all possible. any comments are welcome. thanks .

[Cotten]

Beware of poor quality felts of course!

They may be too thick, poorly bonded, etc. We are all at the mercy of our distributors, and they can vary widely. Tedd's might not even send the same thing twice.
James brand can certainly be trusted.

The function of felts traditionally was to supply a reserve of oil to the rockers. Indian Fours used them similarly, a decade earlier than Pans, and they were probably not the first.

H-D glued them in with a full brushfull of some knarly stuff, whatever it was!
In the mid-80's the Factory recommended another 3M product; Industrial sealant #800
It is a thick red compound that they used for the case sealer. It seems reasonable to assume the chemistry is probably the same as their weatherstrip adhesive. Certainly the weatherstrip adhesive is more authentic looking when used on outside applications!

[recycle54]

thanks cotten; i'm going after the JAMES felts . the ones that came with the gasket set look like something i scraped out of my shop vac. i've always been happy with 3-M products; i'll check it out. thanks. & thanks VT.

[VintageTwin]

Oh yeah....(reaches into his pocket for scribbled paper)...I had the name wrong....It's 3M...wait a minute...It's, "Super 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive" #08001.
I centered the dry felts in the pans and traced around them with a pencil, then painted a thin coat of 3M on the entire footprint, up to near the pencil line. The same on the felts, and stuck them on the pans so no glue oozed out beyond the felt. Even the old felts we've seen in covers, with yellow glue oozing out of the felts, the ooze was still intact, not like any part of the edges looked like they ever broke off and went through the motor, like......RTV can!...... Har!.... Wee-dawnwan-no stinkin' RTV...ever... brah!
I think naptha is the only thing that will cut the old residual 3M adhesive. Maybe lacquer thinner. I always liked gluing felts.

[VintageTwin]

If you want to silence the motor more, use Noise Killer Blue, painted on the inboard surfaces of the gas tanks. Hidden from view, this water based latex transfers noise into low-grade heat which is dispersed cubically across the surface. There's an AM rubber OE insert that fills the gap between the tank halves too. V-Twin.
Gardner-Wescott has Noise Killer Blue. Comes in a can with the shelf life of a fruit cake. I got mine in about '98. Still good today, as long as the can stays unopened.