!914 Twin HD Cannon ball request

[Slojo]

Tom
The Ghost and I are riding, often 150 mile runs per outing. This bike just keeps getting better as the miles rack up. Now with the brakes working so well and the front forks exhibiting no dive or extension from brake loads it can be ridden with a higher degree of safety in traffic conditions (which I try to avoid).
Joe

[Tom Lovejoy]

Right on Joe, keep this stuff coming - we are not tired of hearing about that grand event. I wonderd what you and the Grey Ghost were doing?

[Slojo]

To much time has passed to offer any justice to this Motorcycle Cannonball report. Most everything that needs to be said or written has been, other than the prospective from my seat on the Ghost. I hope I can get the dates and locations right on the detailing of this journey.

Speaking of seats, the Ghost's hi bred half pan seat mounted to 1914 sprung base hardware has been perfect through out this entire run thank you very much Heathers Leather for the upholstery and Marc Massa for the half pan seat . The pogo stick and adjoining seat hardware are also performing flawlessly. I felt as if I was riding on a luxury cruiser.

Well on our way out of Clovis New Mexico with destination Albuquerque N. M. mother nature the sweet little old lady she is decided to throw a chunk of the Pacific Ocean at the Cannonball riders and their bikes. Dessert rain, hard rain the kind that floods roads and slows traffic no matter what you are commuting in or on.

Happily I can report that not only did the Ghost run through this inclement weather but it ran hard and fast. The fine running 66 inch motor (built for route 66???) ran perfectly the Pirelli tires channeled rain efficiently through the tread, my full face helmet kept my bean reasonably comfortable and the chassis tracked perfectly. I carried a rain suite in the rear trunk bag on the luggage rack the entire trip just in case. If only I would have put it on a little sooner.

During this rain run I over ran the newly altered course (front runner again). John Classin caught me at a fuel stop and turned me around due to the upcoming road wash out. While trying to pay for fuel I was unable to reach my charge card from my pants pocket with the rain suit on so.... a little help from photographer Felicia bless her heart for being a willing assistant. Ask and you shall receive and out came the card from deep in my pants pocket. My most enjoyable time of the day.

Turned around and back on course we were channeled on to some uncharted roads. While trying to make time I came across several slower rain riders. These guys were not going to hold up the Ghost even if they did have flat plate brakes magical starters and venturi less intake systems with gas guns. The Ghost prevailed and I was again out in front ahead of about eight late model bikes.

Next we were channeled onto the freeway who knows which one it was. It was high speed riding or look out for your ssa. The end of the day brought in a lot of drench tired riders all the bikes were "run hard and put away wet or broken"

The next morning it was off to Gallop N. M. The only significance I can recall of this day was the RED MUD this sticky stuff stuck to tires, inside fenders (for those who had fenders), bikes and everything else it came in contact with. Everyone on course rode through this stuff had proof of passage.

Arriving in Flagstaff was an un-welcoming committee. It was HOT when I arrived pit chief Chris was waiting for me, no shade was available so we performed our basic clean up and maintenance in the sun light. While focused on the bike a local spectator walked up, leaning on our folding chair he started firing questions at us. We tried to be social but our focus was the bike. Next thing we noticed this spectator disappeared, gone. A short moment later Chris reached for his communicator (black berry cell phone) only to find it missing from the chair pocket he left it in prior to our visitors arrival. The cell phone vanished just as our visitor, Damn.

This Flagstaff stop was the worst of all our stops as we were ejected from the hotel parking lot if we had a trailer. Relocating the truck and trailer a half mile away was just another inconvenience. We made the best of things.

Man do I miss the days of Cannonball. I can't walk past the Gray Ghost without stopping and studying its details. The Ghost now with near 5500 miles is still running great. I have been ridding it most every motorcycle ride I have gone on this year. Last trip out I picked up a nail in the rear tire. Fortunately the nail stuck into the tread parallel to the outside surface of the tire missing the inner tube.

I made a slight adjustment to the linkage on the dual leading shoe front brake and it improved the braking to excellence.

Man do I miss the days of Cannonball.

Joe

[Slojo]

"slojo and the ghost do the iron butt" now,that, i could sell to the network.

Lonnie

Cross country Iron butt? 1000 mile iron butt? Define "slojo and the ghost do the iron butt"

Lonnie I would love to do such a ride but am unsure if I am cut out for that sort of endurance day after day. Food, shower, sleep deprivation and me don't mix. I do not think of myself as an Iron Man, perhaps more so a mad man under certain conditions. I might be capable of stringing some days together at 500 miles per day on an improved Ghost. Several times in the past I have rode greater than 1000 miles per day on a !965 Pan Head and a !966 Shovel Head dresser followed by sleep.

1000 miles a day on an improved Ghost? Just one day, not more than one day. 1000/24=41.7 average MPH. Small towns slow down the average speed more than you would think. During Cannonball my average speed was in the upper 40's a couple times low 50's while maintaining 55+mph on the open road. It's doable.

Joe

[jurassic]

"slojo and the ghost do the iron butt" now,that, i could sell to the network.

[Slojo]

Gray Ghost Rides Again

This morning I wrapped myself into an abundance of warm riding gear for another road trip on the well rested Ghost. Lets see, 25 degrees F. outside, modern long johns top and bottom, insulated leather britches, three shirts and a sweat shirt all under my armored Ducati leather riding jacket (tight fit), Don't forget a pair of thick Wooly socks.

Out to the barn, process the mental checklist, oil the intake valves, magneto bearings, rocker arm shafts check check check. Kick the tires inspect the chains, gas both tanks and oil the gas a little for the ti. valves.

Slip on the balaclava, full face helmet chin strap threaded and cinched down. Open the barn door, climb aboard the bike, gas on, oil on, spark delay and decompression set, throttle check. Adjust the flapper / choke valve for cold weather starting. All things ready pedal pedal pedal twist the left grip and listen to the sweet syncopated beat (or should it be psychopathic), combustion YES "that is what I'm a talkin about".

Am I nuts? That is a matter of opinion forget that lets ride. Down the drive onto the pavement and off we go. Cold finger tips, frigid air entering the helmet causing a draft on my face, all else is well. Back road twist and turns bring me to the open freeway pick up the speed and merge into traffic. An hour later with both back roads and freeway riding behind me I pull into the local BMW shop. A welcome greeting from my friend Chris and a small crowd gathers to inspect the ancient iron (to this crowd).

A hot cup of hand warmer (mud made from fresh ground beans???), Mmm lunch, pizza, nachos, grinders, bottled water . Transform into conversations and introduction to the AMCA web site for those who were interested in the !914 Ghost build (this article).

Next week the BM shop is having an open house the Ghost will be on display for all to see. My old friend and ex flat tracker racer George Bartle (national number 92 !960's) gave me a ride home.
First thing after the home tour is stoke the wood stove.

Again another Ghostly good day of riding, a short day ridding is better than no day ridding at all.

Joe

[c.o.]

I never get tired of hearing about the trip Joe. Thanks!

[Slojo]

Steady rolling on the Ghost

Cannonball II right around the corner I should finish Cannonball I documentation.

With Hot Springs Ar. and Magazine Mountain behind us the Cannonball Convoy enters fly over country.
Things started to flatten out here and it was time to put some serious miles on these old bikes. A couple more stops in Arkansas, Fort Smith Ar. 143 miles a short day and Lawton Ar. 276 miles things went smooth and quiet for the well manor Ghost now with its third magneto.

Next on the schedule was, Clovis New Mexico 293 miles. The past few days were hot in the mid 90's, with 293 miles too Clovis the weather forecast called for more of the same. This hot weather spells nothing but trouble for many of the magnetos. My pit crew chief Chris purchased and installed exhaust heat wrap insulation on the exhaust head pipes with the theory that the major heat damaging forces are coming from the rear exhaust head pipe not the cylinders. Keep the heat in the pipe and it will not dissipate into the magneto.

We left Lawton in the early AM to get out in front of the heat. Brad and I started the day together but with my concern of the day's heat beating down on my bike I decided to put as many miles behind me as possible in the early hours, see you latter Brad off I went. Passing all the class one bikes and laying hard on the cam all day I rode into our check point for the day the local H. D. dealership.

Like all the other stops the local bike shops had cold beverages and hot barbecue waiting for our arrival. Arrival here is the key word. When I rode in, the dealership was like a ghost town with the doors open and nobody home just the wind blowing through. I walked inside and hollered Hello anybody home? No answerer. I sat down for a few minutes when I was finally greeted by a young lady who offered me a cold drink and a warm welcome including a package filled with assorted local information and stuff.

They informed me that I was several hours early and to sit back and relax. Sitting sitting sitting finally over two hours latter in rolls non other than Frank Jim and Kris. One, two, three, four cylinder bikes in a row arriving second, third and fourth for the day with the newly dubbed moniker" Wolf Pack", Mark Hill's proud day. Mark spent all his waking hours maintaining these three four cylinder machines to make sure they made it across the country. You have to hand it to this bunch against all odds they finally prevailed over the rest of the events riders. Two Hendersons and a Militaire (a what?) rolling in ahead of all the other bikes less the Ghost.

Later, Chris and I while in the dealership's service department performing minor maintenance on the Ghost a local photographer approached asking permission to shoot photos of the Ghost while I was working on it, sure go ahead I replied. He shot a few frames and was off. The next morning I was front page in the local Clovis newspaper, imagine. Next perhaps the cover of The Rolling Stone.

The evening was capped of in the parking lot of the hotel having interesting conversation with this wild curly toped blonde lady who rode in on a Sportster her first big motorcycle trip alone or otherwise. She wanted to see the Cannonball and meet some of the riders like so many others who were aware of the event.

Joe

[Slojo]

Hey Joe. I notice you do not discuss there were a number of different displacement 3-speed 1915s out there. Many were stock stroke and bore, but a lot of them were also strokers. And the strokers were faster than the chassis could properly handle. :-)

Buzz
My !914 Ghost has 65.7 cubic inch engine. I made that clear as soon as I knew how the lower end was to be developed with the 1.25 inch crank pin modification. I did not hear what displacement other guys and gal were running. It would be interesting to know.

My chassis handled the 66 inch power while running the Cannonball. If the Ghost comes out to play with the big dogs and I find more speed and power I think the chassis will handle the added stresses without difficulties.

By the way Buzz, nice Cannonball article in the December issue of American Iron Magazine.

Joe

[Buzz Kanter]

Herb

I like the registered mark.

I thought of modifying the magneto with battery points ignition but decided not to. Rules called for stock ignition and carburetion, I complied within the prescribed guidelines. Just a proper magneto rebuild would do fine as proven by all the west coast guys success. Also, I knew magnetos were failing prior to the run so I bench tested the three I had and they worked for several days. From my experience it appears exhaust pipe heat caused magneto failures not condensers. The Ghost was not finished in sufficient time to research, locate and replace the magnetos with proven units.

Passing advantages, the three speeders are heavier and the Ghost ran well. The only time a serious performance run took place is when Steve Barber on his !915 rocketed past me merging onto the highway. Steve was tucked in tight for speed and pulled several bikes away from me when I decided to put him to the test. I rolled on about 3/4 throttle (never opened it up on the entire run) while sitting in touring mode, caught and passed Steve without difficulties. Steve paid me a good compliment after I shut down and allowed him to catch up. His comment was "its about time". Apparently he hadn't had a serious challenger. Steve was truly a speed demon on his good running !915.

The three speeders would have the Ghost up to thirty five MPH by then all bets were off. Truly, performance runs were kept to a minimum durability was on everybody's mind except Steve Barber and Vince Martinico. Vince on his Pope big single wanted to run everybody. I demonstrated a little Ghost power and told him he didn't want any more, save the motor Vince.

My decision, a !914 twin single speed was a perfect selection for my taste. Having to repeat the run I would make the same choice. Other than the magneto everything worked excellent. I did use the incorrect !915 and later engine sprocket. This caused a slight misalignment on the primary chain. I learned during the run that the !914 and earlier engine sprockets are offset further than !915 and latter. I am sure with the proper offset my primary chains would have lasted longer.

Joe

Hey Joe. I notice you do not discuss there were a number of different displacement 3-speed 1915s out there. Many were stock stroke and bore, but a lot of them were also strokers. And the strokers were faster than the chassis could properly handle. :-)

[HarleyCreation]

Herb
I don't pretend to believe the underdeveloped !914 mechanics can compete with the far superior two cam mechanics. With luck I can coax enough power to run with two camers and the Wolf Pack at a comfortable pace, not in anger.
Joe

I don't know. If you refine that thing a little more there's no telling what it might do. No anger. But like you said: Enough to run with the big dogs. Gray & green!

[Slojo]

Man, an even more improved Gray Ghost single-speed twin running head-to-head with "Two Cam" 3-speeds would be too cool for words. The Gray Ghost would become the Gray Menace! There is something haunting about that gray fellow paint job in a single-speed twin that is very seductive and powerful. Of course, I don't need to tell you that, only that I feel it too.

Herb
I don't pretend to believe the underdeveloped !914 mechanics can compete with the far superior two cam mechanics. With luck I can coax enough power to run with two camers and the Wolf Pack at a comfortable pace, not in anger.
Joe

[HarleyCreation]

Herb
After an enjoyable conversation with Lonnie today, (we both are suffering from post cannonball distress disorder) he informed me that I am not the only one who wants to run a pre !915 bike in Cannonball II. Lonnie's comment "as long as the early bike could hold 50 miles per hour and be reliable it would be a welcome machine".

This decision will bring more color to the Cannonball II event. Think of it, an improved Ghost side by side with two cam machines running from the RABID "Wolf Pack" Howling OUWW OUWW OUWOOWWW...... Here comes the bigger badder Wolf Pack. Perhaps I can get the mighty two cams to run protection for the elderly Ghost.
Joe

That's good news! It seems right that if an earlier bike can go over the hurdles it should not be disqualified due to age alone. And like junkyarddog said, the more the merrier!

Man, an even more improved Gray Ghost single-speed twin running head-to-head with "Two Cam" 3-speeds would be too cool for words. The Gray Ghost would become the Gray Menace! There is something haunting about that gray fellow paint job in a single-speed twin that is very seductive and powerful. Of course, I don't need to tell you that, only that I feel it too.

I talked to an old guy (Hap's son), who was at Dale's place to watch the Cannonball and he mentioned the Gray Ghost without any prompting. He was saying how some bikes had been updated and remarked: "One even had a Honda front brake on it!" Had to be the Gray Ghost. He later had worked for Honda, so he knew what he was looking at.

[junkyarddog]

My thought from the beginning of a possible #2 were that anything 29 down should be allowed if they think they can keep the pace.
If pre 16 bikes are allowed I think a time limit needs to be put back in the rules.
Joe, you and some others have proved that you can keep the pace. I think go for it.
Lonnie, the more entries the better chance it can come out in the black.
Jim

[Slojo]

Herb
After an enjoyable conversation with Lonnie today, (we both are suffering from post cannonball distress disorder) he informed me that I am not the only one who wants to run a pre !915 bike in Cannonball II. Lonnie's comment "as long as the early bike could hold 50 miles per hour and be reliable it would be a welcome machine".

This decision will bring more color to the Cannonball II event. Think of it, an improved Ghost side by side with two cam machines running from the RABID "Wolf Pack" Howling OUWW OUWW OUWOOWWW...... Here comes the bigger badder Wolf Pack. Perhaps I can get the mighty two cams to run protection for the elderly Ghost.
Joe