!914 Twin HD Cannon ball request

[jurassic]

i agree,more builds is what this site needs.the early bikes have a reputation of being too expensive ,and parts being to elusive for the average "joe".this thread just proves that the early parts can be found ,and assembled in a timely fashion.i'll wager that at the conclusion of this build less money will be spent than your average knucklehead project.thanks for doing this joe,can't wait to see you get into the engine.

[woodys garage]

I agree wholeheartedly, this has been one of the best threads on the AMCA forum. I have enjoyed reading the investigative type of threads here, but to see an actual project is fantastic! I have also found it enjoyable when you interact your cabin project and your line of work. You definately have opened my eyes. I see my friends struggle with what minor changes they will make with shovelhead frames and type of sissybar. Here you are building a bike for a cross country adventure. My torch is lit for you, Woody

[Tom Lovejoy]

I agree, keep at it Joe - very interesting to alot of us. Best reading of any of the forums I vissit, very cool and impressive. You will get alot more thumb's up than down, I bet. Very interested to see if Jurassic is correct, that would be very encouraging to many I think. Myself included.

[silentgreyfello]

Keep it up, Joe. You have inspired me to get off my rear end in this cold weather and get something done on my project! When you get a chance, post what parts you need again. I just ran across some parts, and I also was digging in some boxes in the shop.

[Earl]

I totally agree. Keep it up Joe.
You're inspiring me also to get going and start moving the parts around.

I very often get bogged down because a project needs three things:
1. Time
2. a Place
3. Money

I always seem to be missing one of those key ingredients, but you've inspired me to keep making progress in little steps with what I've got.

Your Father was a wise man !!!

[Chuck#1848]

Don't give up the ship!!!

Joe,
I don't mean to take up space with what I am about to write, but me at 54 years old and considering what i am learning from you and your bike taking shape before our eyes,with thanks to Cory also! the fact that you intend to take what you are building and travel across the country in the cannon ball rally on this bike I think Eric,Cory and others summed it up well post updates when you can and keep up the good work.
I plan to be at Oley again in 2010 I would like to meet any of you that will be there.

[D.Mac]

Thumbs-Up

Joe,
Just my two cents, keep these posts coming. Very interesting and informative to see your bike come together, excellent work. The pics of your house addition are just a little icing on the cake, nice (I'd like to see the pics of your shop too). Shame on someone that would send you a nasty e-mail about this, what are they doing here? they should be somewhere else trying to get a life.
Doug.

[Slojo]

TIme to move on.

First I would like to finish yesterday’s comments. Carl and Matt Olsen (The Olsen Twins) don’t just build big twins they build road worthy award winning big twins. They also build tough twins, take a trip over to Matt’s blog at http://oldbikesinsd.blogspot.com/ and see Matt wheelying a 48 pan and see a knuck they are building with a fighting pedigree, it already has two black eyes per head go figure.
Ladies and Gentlemen,(” I'll bet the critic is someone with no talent and lots of envy”) critics, talented, envious or not I have no interest in throwing darts on this forum. This is about bike building and socializing with those interested in bike building. Thank you all for your positive support.
Woody keep the torch burning. I will need the extra heat and light during the late hours of shop work.
Silentgreyfello. The most elusive parts are 1914 cylinders. The rest of the bike appears to be coming together. My primary interest is anything 1914 twin H.D.. Several of my parts for this project are second rate or reproduction and I would like to refine what is being used on this project. If you could please give me a call or e-mail me, my info is at the beginning of this article I would appreciate hearing from you.
Rick Morsher, Earl. Your following statement, “Your Father was a wise man !!!.“ Hearing you say that lets me know that you are listing and re-affirms my efforts in this project. I just wish he was still here to enjoy the project.

On to business, today was exciting for me as it was fender day. The front fender was easy to install. Mark, and drill the two mounting holes in line with the mounting tabs on the spring fork bolt it up and you are finished.
Not so easy, remember the spaghetti front fork? I do, after installing the four front fork rocker studs a check was made to assure they were in-line with each other in two axis.
An effective set up on a flat surface with the fork rocker studs setting on blocks allows an examination in both horizontal and vertical positions this will permit for a simple yet effective confirmation of alignment. The alignment was found unacceptable. To correct the alignment a simple way of leveraging the fork is to slide a very close fitting pipe over the studs and provide a slight amount of pressure in the appropriate direction, they move easy. After a few attempts all was well and the fork assembly without springs moves through its entire travel range without binding or resistance.
Fork reinstalled, fender mounted, travel-range smooth, all is well here time to move on.
The rear fender was built out of a latter fender and is now finished ready for the clips to be riveted on and the home made 5/16 fender brace rods (fashioned after 1914 rods made of the larger 1915 style stock) to be installed and cut to finish length.
The second set of fender clips arrived in the mail yesterday without any holes in them and the overall length a bit on the long side. First was to cut them to length and then lay out and drill the holes in preparation for riveting and final assembly.
Having built many bikes over the years a pneumatic rivet impact gun was purchased long ago from P&P Manufacturing in Lapeer Michigan.
J C rivet in Farmington Hills Michigan supplied the rivets for the fender clip mounting.
A simple bucking block with a concave divot to match the rivet head mounted in a vise along with a willing assistant (Pamela where are you?) to hold the fender in place allows me to operate the rivet gun and swedge the end of the rivet inside the fender. This produces a tight bond between the two items and is unlikely to ever fail.

Next was to mount the rear fender and take measurements from the axel to the top of the fender. 15 3/8 inches is the proper distance. Run the fender rod thread down to the appropriate dimension with a 5/16X24 die, reassemble and recheck your fender height. If the distance is proper, mark and cut the excess off the end of the vertical brace rods.
Finally the horizontal fender brace rod needs the same attention. This is accomplished by installing the rear stand and stand clip. The fender will then be adjusted by the length of the brace rod. This position is determined by where the stand clip works best to hold the stand in place. Following are pictures of tonight’s progress. Once again thank you all for the support.
Joe 12-09-09

[c.o.]

[Carl Olsen]

Joe,
Thank you for the kind words about Matt and I, your project is coming along well, I wish our Sears were that far. You have a talent with metal working that is very admirable and you have helped us and lots of other antique bike enthusiasts throughout the years. Keep up the great work and we are going to have a blast running these old bikes across the country in September, this will truely be a once in a lifetime experience.
Carl Olsen
#1270

[Slojo]

Carl
We ran cross country to the Black Hills of South Dakota by way of Milwaukee and the HD Museum Tour with Bill Rodencal as tour guide (Thanks Bill). Our expedition of 3500 miles on early Knuckleheads together last year was one of my favorite all times rides, very memorable. I look forward to the repeat offence. Once I can see daylight with this project perhaps I can assist Matt and you with your project.
Joe

[silentgreyfello]

Congrats on the progress!!! The hard stuff looks nearly done. Did you make the handlebars? Are they styled after the 1910 style with the rise? One of the things that I don't like on my '15 is that the bar ends always hit my legs.

[Slojo]

More Parts

Silentgreyfello
The handle bars were made years ago for a 1909 single. Since an original set of 09 bars were located the 09 received the original bars and this bike will get the 09 bend bars made by Steve Huntzinger. Steve left the bars un-welded at the posts for final fitment to my fork. That was great foresight as this fork is about an inch wider that the 09 fork these bars were intended for.
Honestly the hard stuff is never done until the bike is fired up for the first time. The frame work is still unfinished (see the broken and cut out bad area in previous photos) and will stay that way until most all the chassis work is completed.
Today Rick Wolfe accompanied by his lovely wife Mariam visited, coming over from the land of “A”. Rick brought a gift from the heavens, more parts. The 1914 motor in the following photos was a deal that Rick helped me with from locating to final delivery. Upon inspection I found the motor was seized. Having dealt with this before my determination was the oil inside the motor had solidified. Since there was no oxidation to speak of the cylinder was treated to a little parts cleaning fluid and heat from a rose bud torch. The motor rolled over without too much effort.
After disassembly of the motor it was determined that the cases were in good condition and the cylinder is near perfect in outward appearance. The cylinder is a .050 over bore this disappoints me. For the 3500 mile trip my preference is a low bore cylinder that offers added strength.
I have an excellent set of engine cases already, the reason for the purchase of this engine was to gain a cylinder and a gear chest.
Oil tank mounting hardware and accessories was on the list for today. The (“Mickey Mouse”) original top oil tank mounting bracket did not align properly so a new one was made about 3/16 shorter in the vertical axis. This worked out perfectly see the following photos.
Next was to mount the Antique Motorcycle Works, Smith reproduction exhaust cut out rod to the oil tank tool box combo. With just a couple measurements the holes were drilled using the Bridgeport. All fit perfectly once again, It certainly is a good thing getting it right the first time.
Winter really hit last night with high gusts of winds (60 mph) a few inches of snow and temperatures in the low teens F. You could feel the chill in the air inside the barn even with the heat on, see following photos again.
Joe 12-10-09

[c.o.]

Great pics Joe!!!

[c.o.]

hmmm... maxes out at ten pics.... here's the last one. Awesome shop by the way!!!