!914 Twin HD Cannon ball request

[Chuck#1848]

Lookin good Joe......lookin good

Joe,

The 14 is really begining to look more like a cannon ball partisipant everyday ,heck at the pace you are going you may want to look for a sidecar for the Michigan months to come this way you can get a jump on shaking it down before spring.

Hey what happen to the no ghost busters stickers?

[Slojo]

Gray Ghost offer still stands.

Chuck
It would appear that the adage, “if you want anything done right (or in this case done at all) you must do it yourself”. There is no participation in the offer I made (other than Louie) so a different avenue will need to be taken to get the end results desired. Perhaps a larger purse for the winner, suggestion anyone? The thought of “NO Gray Ghost Buster” May change to a Gray Ghost ridding the 1914 being built perhaps on a wheelie, stickers and or T shirts anyone?
Joe

[Barry Brown]

Slojo, Now you have to tell us all about your incredible shop! I remember you explaining to me at Oley the way you designed the trusses etc. I am sure the rest of us would like to hear this story as well! Barry ( trying not to feel inadequate , just inspired!)

[William McClean]

Thanks, Joe !!

Slojo,

You are accomplishing some amazing things. Thank you for finding the time to share this.

[Chuck#1848]

Chuck
It would appear that the adage, “if you want anything done right (or in this case done at all) you must do it yourself”. There is no participation in the offer I made (other than Louie) so a different avenue will need to be taken to get the end results desired. Perhaps a larger purse for the winner, suggestion anyone? The thought of “NO Gray Ghost Buster” May change to a Gray Ghost ridding the 1914 being built perhaps on a wheelie, stickers and or T shirts anyone?
Joe

Joe,
I am a stainless steel welder by trade,I like to draw but I am no artist definatly NOT talented in that area....but.....A grey ghost doing a wheelie on a 14 ? I'll take a couple sticker's and a shirt preferably a grey one and XL please.
Any artist out there?

[Slojo]

Chuck
I Will Need To Get To Work On That Although The Bike Is Eating All My Time. This Weekend A Friend May Be Coming Over He Is An Artist With A Pencil In Hand.
Joe

[HarleyCreation]

Negative?

Joe,

Not much sun of late for solar-electric log cabin power system here but I'm also enjoying "the Build" when I can get online. But I wonder what the negative comments exactly were? Can you clue us in? We're on your side!

[Slojo]

Herb this ongoing article is for all motorcycle enthusiasts. I wish to keep it as clean as possible and not dwell on negativity. Thanks for rolling along with us your participation is always welcome and preferred.
Joe

[Slojo]

The Return of the Ugly Truth

Winter in my shop is never the most comfortable so today an attempt was made to correct the problem. The shop was rearranged to move the build process away from the large door and centrally located directly below the low intensity infrared heater. What a difference that made. I can now lower the thermostats in the shop be more comfortable and save on heat costs.
Thing were rolling along well until an attempt to install a mocked up motor was foiled. The frame did not accommodate my make shift motor.
The lower motor mounts were no problem all four bolts align perfectly. Problem resides in the upper mounts as they did not line up in the vertical axis and the mounts were a small amount forward of the cylinder center studs. The foundation triangular loop from the donor frame section was out of a later chassis it had remnants of a cast steering head which dates it in the early 1920s I guess. It is apparent that the upper motor mounts and their dimensions on the horizontal rail are dissimilar to earlier frames.
To correct the problem I had to remove the motor mount top rail and shift it back to achieve proper alignment. The real problem is fitting the upper rear motor-mount without interference of the bracket to the cylinder top cooling fins. There is minimal clearance here possibly due to the motor-mounts extending lower than usual from the horizontal frame rail.
Next is to prepare the frame rail to be reinstalled and TIG welded to the frame. This was prepared by making a thin wall 3/4” long sleeve to press fit into the back end of the frame rail and slip into the matting frame section. The front end was cut to allow a 3/8 “ long gap to allow linear movement for installation purposes. The front splice will use an internal slip fit sleeve that will allow me to position the sleeve central after installation and then weld it all back together.
Finally tapered shims will be fabricated to align the lower motor- mounts with the upper mounts in order not to stress the assembly upon installation. In the past I have found this to be required for a good motor fit to the frame.
Through all this I must maintain my focus complete this project and run cross country with several old and some soon to become new friends who are having similar issues as they prepare their machines for an event of a life time.
Joe 12-11-2009

[c.o.]

All I can say Joe is it's a good thing you know what your doing..... I say this partly because your still covering ground at a pretty good rate despite your obstacles....

[gary.h]

just got to follow this thread.

my hats off to you slojoe for your endeavors on this project i spent my evening getting caught up from the start,im hooked.. what a captivating journey its been so far i wish all the best to you and look forward to the next installment sorry to hear you caught a bad vibe about this article from someone,how can an individual not take pleasure in this?? i had an idea for the team logo if i get a chance ill try to sketch it out.once again all the best eh!..gar

[Slojo]

Gary
Welcome aboard, It’s a pleasure to know you are enjoying the article. Daily efforts are made to keep this as interesting as possible.
The team logo needs all the help it can get. My penmanship is not as good as required for the art work involved and there hasn’t been much in the way of outside participation. Perhaps black outline pencil work on gray with minimal shading. Fine line art work is what might work best for the ghostly image I would like portrayed.
Joe

[Tommo]

Joe,
I'm no artist so don't ask me to draw this but I thought you could use a ghost figure similar to those that appear in the Casper series and instead of legs give the image a motorcycle rear wheel that is drawn so that it looks like it really going fast. Gravel or something spitting out behind it, whatever the artist can come up with to give the impression of speed.
If the ghost is drawn with a cape that could be arranged so it is billowing out behind the face of the cape could then be used as a billboard to write the team name on.
There is no reason why a likeness of your head/face couldn't be used inside a hood that is part of the cape and if you had room somewhere behind all of this the barrel of a cannon pointing at the image with a cannonball on its way towards the image.
If you like the idea use it and no I don't want anything for the idea.

[Slojo]

Tommo
Keep those gears turning we are on the same page. Today time was spent with my buddy Brad. “Badly” is an artist and stylist (I don’t think they call them designers anymore) and a Bonneville salt flat racer see his excellent Blog @ http://zen-of-neato.blogspot.com/200...fancy-pan.html or just the ” Zen of Neato”. Badly is responsible for the H.D. Ford pickup truck styling along with other Ford auto designs. Badly was give specific instructions on what my thoughts were and in minutes he had an ink sketch portraying my concept.
Tommo your thought of the cape with the logo is interesting perhaps it can be worked into our final design. No gravel spinning though, that is irresponsible for a Gray Ghost Rider besides they don’t ride directly on the pavement (Once I personally was given a citation from officer Obbey for spewing mud and grave on pedestrians, there was no mud and no pedestrians for1/4 mile). This Ghostly image will be on the 14 twin riding a stand up wheelie without much in the way of wheels. We are working on it now and the image is in good hands, input is good as we are in the design stage, now is time for amended concepts. Any and all ideas are appreciated.
Joe

[Slojo]

Off Course

The trip to Badly’s consumed a few hours followed by a stop at the local Harley Davidson Boutique to see what they had up their sleeves. What is missing on the 1914 twin is wheels, real world motorcycles require wheels. Since the Motorcycle Cannon Ball rally this bike is being built for is much longer than a usual ride through the park the original style button tread clincher tire rim combination is eliminated in this program. Safety and durability concerns for this rally are top order, modern tires and rims a must not to mention front brakes.
The Sportsters of a few years back used a smooth “profile” 21 inch rim. This rim best resembles the clincher rim from the period. Perhaps it is the best rim for the application, it would be wise to take a look and see for myself. Norm at the H.D. boutique pushed the T-shirts bras and panties off the parts counter and went straight for the PARTS manual, yes they do exist. Rims were found and priced wow they are proud of these items. Prior to placing an order I must determine if they will lace up to my hubs without a spoke alignment issue.
While leaving the boutique a call came from my buddy Bob. “Flash” as he now is known in the greasy biker world is building a 1956 Hydra Glide. His restoration is coming along well but he needed some assistance. Flash purchased the 56 from me, we go back 38 years. Stopping by offering a little assistance was the thing to do and a good reason to get together and break things up a little besides he was not keeping me up to date on his build, his big secret.
The lower end of the motor is still assembled and the chassis is his current focus. Upon inspection of the motor I determined it was 4 1/2 stroker motor and apparently a low mileage unit at that. We decided not to rebuild the lower end and just take a look at the cam side. Good thing because we removed the cam cover and all looked fresh until the cam was pulled out. The cam bushing on the engine side came out with the cam. No visual damage just a loose bushing. Next I will measure the hole and determine what to do. Most likely an oversize bushing will be installed and the motor reassembled. This will keep the cost down and should be an effective repair. Following are a few photos of Flashes 56.
By the way Flash earned his name for the “Flash” on the side of the 56 Hydra Glide gas tanks, it’s a long story. Hey Cory are you up to the task of sending a few more photos?
Joe 12-12-09