Author: ian

47 with SU

The 47 is finished now. She is part ‘shiny custom’ and part ‘old dirty’ style; the next owner can decide. She needs some parts chroming and a paint job or some ‘patina’ work. 1947 motor with non matching cases, standard spec FTW frame with casting numbers, early Sportster forks with MCM covers, ratchet panhead four speed, 19″ rear and 21″ front wheels. I will fit the 6″ HD air cleaner that came with the motor and change the seat to a ribbed version. Need to get her registered first. PS- Starts first kick. SOLD

Spoilt for choice.

Well can you believe it; there is a 1911 single, a 1912, a 1913 and a 1914 two speed twin for sale on eBay all at the same time. No excuses now for not buying one of these great old bikes now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1912-Harley-Davidson-X8a-silent-grey-fellow-/302277532011?hash=item466125196b:g:8kwAAOSw03lY6S5R&vxp=mtr

This little 1912 might even make $50k; I think it’s worth it.

$60.2k and reserve not met.

1914 10E build

This bike came in as a fairly complete ‘basket case’ or ‘project’ depending on your terminology. It is the very desirable two speed variant of the 1914 twin cylinder model.

It was a complete bike and the previous owner has done some work in terms of sourcing the small parts that were missing. The ‘big’ job is going to be the two speed hub. It is largely complete but there are parts missing, others in need of repair and then the issue of putting it all together so that it works because as always, these bikes get ridden. I will need some help in terms of identifying what IS missing and also making the parts needed.

 

The start point is to lay the parts out, loose assemble them either on the frame or on the bench and determine what parts are missing and or need repair. The frame is complete (!) and correct so next will be to inspect the forks, fit the rear stand and look at the seat post; they never want to come out!

The forks look good; there are the usual broken springs and the fork plunger studs are always broken on these forks. The rockers are complete but I haven’t checked the bushes yet. I have a spare set of front and rear fork legs for comparison.

1913 single on eBay.com

This great little project is currently up for grabs on eBay. Most of what you need is there and what isn’t is easily available. It’s listed as a belt drive but it’s clearly chain although it does have a belt drive tank (see pic 4). It will be interesting to see what the auction reaches, the parts alone are worth over $20k.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1913-Harley-Davidson-Belt-drive-single-/262887046289?hash=item3d3549fc91:g:bxEAAOSwWxNYwMA9&vxp=mtr

 

1914 two speed

Whilst waiting for some machine work help on the 8XE I have decided to start looking at the two speed but only as a fill-in. The real work won’t start until the 12 is finished (or approaching finish).

This is a nice original two speed hub but has several parts missing and will need some remedial work. It already has a replacement throw out plate and clamping ring and will need a new set of clutch discs.

The brake drum has had some wear over the years and the mounting tabs need attention. The drum itself is badly worn and the surface pitted. It could be skimmed but is already very thin. Metal spraying could be the solution but the tabs will still need work. Perhaps a replacement part would be better.

1/4″ x 24 tpi

I picked up a pack of 1/4″ x 24 tpi nuts so managed to mount the primary cover and the front fender stays. I need some more for the rears. The primary cover came from Dewey Rice and it fitted perfectly without any adjustment needed.

1910 6A photos.

The ’10 is a running, riding bike now. She won’t get a lot of miles but she will see the road. This is a very correct bike and I will apply for a Pioneer certificate and get her on the London to Brighton run.

1911 single for sale on eBay.

This lovely little 1911 single is for sale on eBay. Belt drive and correct open magneto.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-Harley-Davidson-8A-silent-grey-/272542881369?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3f74d25659:g:pI0AAOSwo4pYknvO&item=272542881369

It is listed as a 1911 and an 8A which is a ’12. It is clearly an ’11 rolling chassis but there is no VIN to confirm the year of the motor. It’s a bargain if the motor is ’11 but an expensive mis-match if the motor is a ’12. (I have asked him).

UPDATE.

He tells me that the VIN is 8432A so that IS a 1911. The 28″ wheels make it a 7C but it appears that the VIN has been polished off the cylinder base and the case. But it’s still a lovely bike.

8XE progress

I spent some time this afternoon tidying up some of the smaller jobs that I have been putting off. I made the spacers for the front wheel hub and did the threads for the carb and timing cable clamps. On the magneto side the threads were over-size and had been taken up to 5 mm. On the carb side two were standard size and the others were again 5 mm so I upped them all to 5 mm. Interestingly, on the carb side the frame was drilled in two places suggesting that the cable has been secured in different places during the bike’s 100+ year life. Original photos show both versions with the higher clamp position being on the earlier models. In that instance the cable is carried again under the tank on its way to the carb, in a similar way to the 10s and 11s. That is the route I will use.

I also went through all the parts in the handlebars and installed new cables. Again the old ones work well and look great on an original bike but rather than clean and re-nickle the old ones I’d rather save them for later and install new ones for this build.

I installed the seat post and put in a new seat post pinch bolt. I have originals of both but I think these will look and work better (the bike will be ridden). The recovering of original seat was done by Jethro Smith.

The new compensator sprocket came from Competition and the lock ring I had on the shelf.

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