Where Are The Good Parts?

[Guest]

After years of trying several vendors of aftermarket parts many which have proved to be marginally usable, I'm still without a source of well crafted parts. Where do you guys running professional restoration services get parts for warrantied work? Where do the Cannonball participants get parts you can trust to get you all the way to the finish line? I don't mean reproduction external accessories and sheet metal, I'm talking about internal engine and transmission parts that need to be right and can't be finessed due to complex machining and hardening requirements. Is OEM NOS the only way?

[Sargehere]

With our antique motor vehicles it's never as simple as order a new replacement part and bolt it on. They're all... hand... crafted. They have to be hand made "to fit." And that's the difference between the professionals, or anyone who knows what they're doing, and the hammer-and-pliers parts-bolters. Knowledge, then time and the proper tools to make them work is the difference. And then, there is the unbending principle: "Time is money." $$$.

[exeric]

Gerry did an excellent job of summing up the challenges of mechanical restoration. The brand of bike also makes a lot of difference, with Harley-Davidson being the easiest, and best supported, and documented. When you get into bikes like the R-S, Pope, or Pierce the expense, and difficulty goes up exponentially. However, pistons, valves, guides, and bushings can be made to as good as new, and there are many machinists, and welding craftsmen that do those things. The fun part of this hobby is doing these things yourself, and learning new skills in the process.

[T. Cotten]

After years of trying several vendors of aftermarket parts many which have proved to be marginally usable, I'm still without a source of well crafted parts. Where do you guys running professional restoration services get parts for warrantied work? Where do the Cannonball participants get parts you can trust to get you all the way to the finish line? I don't mean reproduction external accessories and sheet metal, I'm talking about internal engine and transmission parts that need to be right and can't be finessed due to complex machining and hardening requirements. Is OEM NOS the only way?

If we can address hardware separately from services, Rex,...

You addressed the narrow "Cannonball" market (presumeably American marques?), but the rules that apply to the wider vintage industry still apply. One is: The larger the production, the poorer the quality. (Quality control is diluted, and "seconds" must be sold just to pay for tooling up.)

Often the best "exotic" hardware is only offered by a very small 'cottage' supplier, and you better get it quick, because they rarely last long, and second productions rarely happen.

So please connect with as many others in your 'niche' as you can, so that you may band together to commission your unique needs.
There will never be a 'quality' "one-stop" supplier.

....Cotten

[Guest]

This is the latest "2nd", a new clutch gear roller bearing surface which is .0006 oversize, lathe chatter marks no extra charge. The bushing in it was also .010 oversize (not a typo, actually .012 clearance to shaft), also a loose slip fit at the spline/clutch. This follows a new 2nd gear shipped with a bushing fit .015 to the shaft (spec .001). I spent the extra cash for the US produced main shaft which matches the dimensions indicated in The Book of Palmer.

Clutch Gear 600ppi.jpg

[Sargehere]

Yup, "Welcome to the club!"
That's what makes motorcycle restoration, or restoration of anything mechanical, so interesting. If we were just bolting pieces together from a catalog, it would definitely be boring. It's your advantage that you have machine tools and know what you're doing. That's the restorer and machinist. You qualify.
We don't buy "the good parts," we make and modify them.

[Guest]

Thanks for the welcome, Sarge.

The 1st time I went thorough this transmission I did the best I could with what was available at the time, mostly too loose but good enough to work. I installed it with a measure of regret vowing to get back into it and do better, and understood from the first round of this entire bike build that it isn't a bolt on and go proposition. I can make my own bronze bushings from bar stock if needed, but don't have grinding equipment to rescue this. I'll take it to an automotive machine shop that supports pro stock drag racers, and is hobbyist friendly enough to help me out with hit and miss engine restorations that require operations I can't do.

I'd need @ .0004 deep grind to get this where it needs to be. Too much?

How would you approach this?

(I like your UL, if I could do it over again that's the one I'd pick. Parts availability was the major factor in my decision to go with the WL platform 30 years ago.)

[Guest]

Anyone have any experience with W&W?

http://www.wwag.com/cgi-bin/WebObjec...page=%21116183

[Guest]

There's a Samwel clutch gear on its way to me, we'll see how that goes.

[Guest]

The Samwel unit is of exceptional quality as I had hoped, just needs the bushing ID increased by .002 for correct clearance.