So who is riding on the Cannonball?

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Red Dog, I think the lack of lubrication on the front cylinder on pre-1936 Harleys is why the front cylinder runs hotter. Harley went to a lot of trouble to try to get oil mist sucked into the front cylinder, by putting baffles in the cases to increase the vacuum. The recirculating oil bikes run cooler overall and, I think, the rear cylinder runs a little hotter. A hot rear cylinder could be from the reasons you say, or a manifold leak, or it's just more awkward to get a wrench to all the rear head bolts. It really is important to pull the head bolts down again by hand the first time the engine gets hot. I've had a quarter turn on the rear head bolts and half a turn on the front with the metal/fiber gaskets.

I haven't seen copper 7-bolt head gaskets for a long time, although I cut some flat ones for racing. The ridged 9-bolt copper gaskets for 1936-48 VL/UL bikes are available aftermarket. I've heard bad things about the blue teflon 7-bolt head gaskets, have run out of the metal/fiber ones, and am now using an exhaust manifold material that has been good so far.

[fillibuster]

Dear Red Dog, I think the lack of lubrication on the front cylinder on pre-1936 Harleys is why the front cylinder runs hotter. Harley went to a lot of trouble to try to get oil mist sucked into the front cylinder, by putting baffles in the cases to increase the vacuum. The recirculating oil bikes run cooler overall and, I think, the rear cylinder runs a little hotter. A hot rear cylinder could be from the reasons you say, or a manifold leak, or it's just more awkward to get a wrench to all the rear head bolts. It really is important to pull the head bolts down again by hand the first time the engine gets hot. I've had a quarter turn on the rear head bolts and half a turn on the front with the metal/fiber gaskets.

I haven't seen copper 7-bolt head gaskets for a long time, although I cut some flat ones for racing. The ridged 9-bolt copper gaskets for 1936-48 VL/UL bikes are available aftermarket. I've heard bad things about the blue teflon 7-bolt head gaskets, have run out of the metal/fiber ones, and am now using an exhaust manifold material that has been good so far.

Thanks for the discussion, Steve. It all speaks to historical changes in tech thinking, co-incident with better roads and higher speed demands, I suppose.
I ran my 47 Chief out of oil (dumb, senior mistake leak) and the front cylinder seized bad, rear was okay. The lesson continues. That Chief ran a lot of hard miles over the years with original baffles (still), suggesting successful development on the vacuum, sans rider error. But the front's pistons and valves and seats were always in worse shape at top end rebuilds, in fact a few times I moved the rear piston to the front and used a buddy's spare rear for the rear! Cheap trick foolin', huh?
When you speak of the "re-circulating oil bikes" I presume you mean primarily the knuckles, which suffer much less valve and piston difficulty (presume). Chiefs suffer piston chewing at the valve areas, form carbon build-up above the top ring there. Are the Harley flatheads vulnerable here also?

[bill hakanson]

P1070920.JPG Can anyone tell me who is riding this HD in the Cannonball? I believe it was built by the Carsons. Tnx.

[Steve Slocombe]

Dear Red Dog, yup it's nearly always the front cylinder that nips up on a VL if you run out of oil. By recirculating oil bikes I was meaning ULs and WLs as I have no experience with those tricksy ohv bikes. The 1944 Fort Knox motorcycle mechanics book gives some cylinder temperatures but I can't find my copy. I think it tries to show the XA horizontally opposed engine runs cooler than the WLA/WLC V-twins. Herbert Wagner's book on 1930-41 Harleys is pretty scathing on sidevalves and blames the asymmetric layout for heating one side of the piston. But the VL was still the dominant US bike 1930-36, as it made up about 65% of Harley production at a time when the company was outselling Indian about 2:1 and imports were negligible. There were several changes in piston design over that period, but today we are nearly all using the 1938 style strutted repro pistons which seem to work well.

[bselph]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13943[/ATTACH] Can anyone tell me who is riding this HD in the Cannonball? I believe it was built by the Carsons. Tnx.

I believe that is Brent Mayfield #77.

[bill hakanson]

I believe that is Brent Mayfield #77.

I agree. Thanks.

What a beautiful bike. I saw it at Wauseon. I thought the Carsons made it, but if you look at Mr. Mayfield's profile on the Cannonball Run web site, it is pictured with him under construction. Buck Carson explained to me what it is at Wauseon. Mayfield calls it a Frankenstein bike.

[Steve Slocombe]

It looks like a bobber style late VL with UL cylinders. Wheels Through Time have built their last couple of VLs this way. It means you can use the 9-bolt aluminum heads which look good.

[wlwood]

Yesterday was the most challenging day of the Cannonball so far--through the Colorado Rockies and over 12,000-foot Loveland Pass.

And every one of the Class I (under 700cc) bikes that still has a perfect score made it without missing a mile!

Here's a link to our latest update.

Bill

[Spag]

Bill,
Who would have thought that one of the official chase vehicles would break down and have to be towed!! Let's hope the rental chase vehicle is up to the task:-) By the way, excellent daily reports on the Cannonball. I think I can say for the group that we like your style of reporting and appreciate your making the reports available to a large group of enthusiasts. Thanks for all your effort.
Richard

[Lonnie]

Bill,
By the way, excellent daily reports on the Cannonball. I think I can say for the group that we like your style of reporting and appreciate your making the reports available to a large group of enthusiasts. Thanks for all your effort.
Richard

Not to denigrate the very interesting videos and other reports on the official Cannonball website, but Bill's daily write-ups are top-notch. We in the AMCA are quite lucky to have him working with us. So, thanks Bill!

[sirhrmechanic]

Can't say enough good things about the coverage!

And Duda still has a perfect score!

I soooooo want to do the Cannonball at this point.

Cheers and good luck to ALL the brave souls on the road. I am with you in spirit!

Sirhr

[pisten-bully]

And Duda still has a perfect score!

Question about Duda Sirhr, thought you were looking for Henderson parts for him, but he's listed as on a '36 HD VLH. Couldn't get the Henderson ready?

[sirhrmechanic]

It was running a few weeks before, but had some issues with the trans and then the motor. I helped him get the valves sorted out, literally, a couple of days before the event. He was going to carry the motor South and fit it in Daytona...

Sanity prevailed, however. And he decided to take a proven bike he has had/ridden for years. Smart move. The Henderson will be ready to ride in 15 or 16 or similar. For this year, his first time, he decided at the 11th hour to run a bike he knows and was likely to make the trek.

As I may have mentioned here... (and based on my working on old cars for a living these days), the folks who restore things on artificial deadlines... and expect to take them to national concours or, worse still, on endurance runs or tours are playing with fire. You don't take delivery of a restored vehicle on July 30th and head on Paris-Peking on August 1st. You finish the car... then drive it for weeks or, better still, a year or more. THEN enter it in an endurance run. After it's proven.

Duda's performance is proving the point. IMHO, had he ridden the Henderson he wouldn't have made it 3 days. But he is currently giving us Vermonters a great name!

Cheers, Harry!

Sirhr

[Steve Slocombe]

Thanks Bill for your daily reports which I read each morning (here) not long after you've posted them. We still have two bikes judged at our May European Meet having covered all the miles so far, so good luck to them and to all our riders.

[wlwood]

Glad you're enjoying the coverage. As always, the Cannonball is a bigger story than anyone can possibly cover, but it's fun to share the little slice of it I get to see. Yesterday, we ran a gorgeous road along the Colorado River in Utah that I've never heard of, but is now on my top-10 list of roads in the whole country. Here's a link to the post.

Today, we're stopping for a group photo (well, perhaps not the sweep truck), at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Bill