harley's first O.H.V.

[silentgreyfello]

The bike looks great! Have you fired it up yet?

I like the patina paint. I know some folks think anyone that does that is trying to deceive somebody, but it is obviously not the case here with the "before" photos.

I did a similar patina job on my '14 racer for several reasons... 1st, the original tanks were solid, but the side panels were dented and stretched and I couldn't bring myself to filling them in with bondo. 2nd, someone had painted the tanks Indian red. 3rd, I like the sweaty look. Lastly, you don't have to worry about scratches!

[Eric @ B.O.S]

That's a beauty! Great job. How do you get patina / age like that on parts? I have an all original 1938 EL. It was missing the front fender when I got it so I will have to find one and match it to the rest when I get it. Any hints?

Again great looking bike send more pictures when you get a chance,
Eric

[silentgreyfello]

Eric, there is an article in the latest mag where Carl Olson aged the fenders on another '38 knuck to match his tank. The article goes into detail how to do it.

[Eric @ B.O.S]

Yes I read the article of course but Jurrassic seems to be a master in this area so I was hoping he would share one or two secrets.
Eric

[jurassic]

old paint

well there's no majic potion.trying to match an original paint job is alot harder than doing the whole paint job from scratch.you just have to match the paint job,if it has primer ,match the primer ,then try to match the paint.keep the coats thin by sanding.no body work or pitts in the metal help alot.sometimes if the the color doesn't match just right some leather dye or some heat can stain or dry out the paint.lacquer thinner works nice to get your thin spots.one thing that helps is using gun blue on the bare metal before you paint it.it preps the metal nice for the paint,and will rust when scratched.nice shiny metal is hard to cover up.its just like anything ,if you work at it long enough it will look like you want it to.

[jurassic]

8V

we put in some long days trying to get this bike ready for davenport.worked all day wednesday ,loaded it and headed to the meet.it had a problem with coil binding on the front exhaust springs,so the engine needs to come back down.i also want to redesign the entire rocker plate setup,so it looks more like the original.the mag also needs work.the pedal crank sprocket also needs installed as does the compression release lever. the "patina" still needs some attention.after davenport i just shoved it in the corner and haven't looked at it for 2 weeks.a few days more work and it'll be ready to pop off.

[23JDCA 808]

1911 single on ...eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...m=270166482806

[jurassic]

finished

i finally got some of the loose ends cleared up on the 8 valve. new rocker plates solved alot of problems.got the back pedal brake hooked up and the compression release.got it fired this morning.sounds alot like a shovelhead.

[c.o.]

Nice work jurassic.............. Super cool machine!!!.....

[23JDCA 808]

Where would the rider's feet go on this specific machine? ...bill

[c.o.]

Wouldn't it be the pedals???

[23JDCA 808]

Originally posted by c.o.
Wouldn't it be the pedals???

You're probably right. I figured being laid out on the tank that there would be some axle extensions to brace your feet against. ...bill

[jurassic]

pedals

when i first saw the clymer photo of the 15 8 valve i wondered why they had put a back pedal brake on the bike. because by 1915 they had drum brakes ,for 2 years. after looking at all my pics ,i realized that about half of the 1915 rivit tankers did have a back pedal brake.like the bike in this pic.if you were laid out on the tank it would be fairly cramped.what i dont understand is how these guys were able to control the machine with their feet spinning around in a circle.the best way to control a bike at higher speeds,and corners is by distributing your weight on the pegs.it just seems very dangerous to have these pedals freewheeling.but most earlier bikes have it this way. ??

[jurassic]

pedal crank

then i noticed that the 1916 8 valve also used the obsolete pedal crank sprocket setup.although it was used as a starting mechanism.not a brake.but looks to be freewheeling.

[HarleyCreation]

Wow! That's a mighty fine looking replica of the c1915 8-valve Harley in Clymer's 1944 book!

As to the pedals, I'm no racing expert, but lots of things they did back then seem bizarre to us now. I've talked to guys who refused to believe that many early bikes were direct drive. I'd guess they were just used to the pedals being there and adapted to them while racing as that's what they grew up using from the first primitive motor-bicycles of 1901, etc.

What is the future plan for the "1915" 8-valve?