Please help ID what I bought

[Ed Lamb]

Hi all,
Had the most amazing day of my life yesterday. came upon and purchased two HD's that have been garaged for 45+ years. Got them for a very reasonable price. Any intell on points of intrest, value, pluses and minuses....etc is greatly appreciated. I know a little about the '46 , not much at all about the '26. I have a 30 VL and a 58 Fl which i have owned for quite some time, just never dabbled in singles or 45's.

#1 1946 WL original paint (Blue) 15K on speedo, appears all correct, just dirty. I put air in the tires and they are holding. Thinking of firing it up. All suggestions welcome to avoid a costly mistake.

#2 1926 BA, VIN# BA3014. Appears to be a homemade racer.Motor turns over , great compression. Tin doesnt appear to be true to the period, although it looks well done. Speedster bars and JD/VL floorboards. This has a magneto, Corbin 100MPH speedo /drive and incorrect exhaust.

I'll try to post a pic, if it doesn't work out. I'll e-mail some if you can help.

See next post for the picture!!

Thanks,

Ed Lamb
AMCA #9525
ktel@sbcglobal.net
414-732-5320

[Ed Lamb]

PIC of bikes

[c.o.]

Good score Ed! It's nice to see that guys are still uncovering such relics! I'm sure someone out there can offer you the proper advice.

[LouieMCman]

You lucky dog! Been waiting (looking) for a long while to have a day like that!

Louie

[INLINE4NUT]

Ed wanta double your money?? HA!HA! Just kidding nice find enjoy them both!

[ottoa]

Ed,

Looks like you really had your day. Regarding the WL, assuming that the paint is as you suspect orginal, it is a 2nd half of the model year 1946. Blue appeared as a available color at mid year. Also, the chrome tank badge returned at about the same time.

As you have a VL, a flathead is a flathead. I would replace gasoline, oil, battery, and check the compression, points, plugs and adjust the valves. These 45's are very sturdy and reliable which is why the military used them in WWII.

On my 46 WL, I set the choke to full, kick through 2 to 4 times, move the choke open one click, then turn the switch on and kick start it. Usually no more than 4 kicks, most of the time the first kick. If it doesn't start, check for fuel and spark.

If it starts, check the oil tank to make sure there is oil flowing. Open the oil tank cap and look slightly forward by the dip stick. You should see the oil squirting from the return. If no oil, stop engine. If oil, let it warm up and listen to the engine, 45's are a little noisy, so listen for sounds from the lower end indictating rod bearing looseness.

If all sounds well, try her out.

Otto

[T. Cotten]

Absolutely delightful.

As someone who has fired up many an un-restored (but concerved) barn derelict, I can suggest a tip or two.

Often machines that have sat for years will smoke profusely for miles when put back into service. Usually rings are blamed.
Last season I assisted the awakening of a '46 Chief after a generation of storage, with nothing but a few white puffs while trimming the lowspeed needle.
The owner would have better appreciated that fact if he hadn't been awestruck speechless, in that it started and ran like it never had stopped!
(An experienced AMCA member I must add.)

The secret!:
I removed the exhaust pipes and put a cheap heat gun on the header ends, and let it cook.
The alley filled with stink and smog for better than an hour.
I think 'creasote' is a slang name for it (the bush certainly doesn't grow around here.)

I have more critical tips, but they always end up as a sales pitch..

...Cotten

[AdminGuy]

WOW! It doesn't get much sweeter than that. Great job. Have fun!

I was dragged into a womens make-up store downtown the other day. A happy surprise was the the owner of the chain was an antique motorcycle collector and put a bike and a nice leather chair inside each of the stores. A marketing genious if I do say so myself. I spent a wonderful 45 minutes "entranced" stareing at the fully restored 26 HD peashooter (21ci, 350cc, OHV). Completely oblivious to my surroundings.

[Dave M.]

I've been in the same owner's store in Costa Mesa Ca. where he has a beautiful example of a '47 Knucklehead in fantastic "Flight Red".
The employees said that in his flagship store he has a basement where he showcases some of his fantastic collection and that's where the idea came from to offer eye candy for the husbands who normally sat outside and waited impatiently for the quick browsing wives. Occupied husbands mean more sales per wife.

The leather chair was pretty damn comfy there too!

[Ed Lamb]

Thanks for the help. While doing a pre-flight, found a hole in the
oil tank of the '46. I haven't had the time to start a repair. I did put a battery in it. Lights, horn, ignition and old HD plugs still work. While someone took time to drain fluids, they didn't flush the oil bag, moisture won!
Any suggestions on how to approach the repair? Was thinking of a welded patch, followed by a attempt to match the paint?

As for the BA, I need help! Appears to be a collection of parts. BA would indicare a battery/generator bike, wouldn't it. This has a mag. This bike also has a steering damper rigged to the speedster bars. Tin is from??? Tanks are skinnier and shorter than VL tanks. Was this a period mod?

Any thoughts on the best route with this bike is appreciated....
Is it a basis for a restoration to a BA or just a neat old home made racer to put around on??

Thanks for the help and replies... If anyone needs pics to help with either bike, let me know and I'll send them.
Thanks,
Ed