1926 JD Build

[Steve Swan]

i bought one of Bob L's standard brake hubs; very nice part. What finish do you plan to give your hub ? and, backing plate the brake bands attach to ?

[MassHarley]

Steve, My plan was to glass bead everything except for the actual braking surface then Parkerize it. The parkerizing doesn't seem to do much on a very smooth surface. The backing plate will also be parkerized. The brake bands themselves i'm not too sure. I would imagine from the factory they were parkerized before the brake lining was installed. The set I have the brake lining is nicely riveted on and I don't plan to remove it. I might just glass bead and use the wood stove polish. The polish should handle the heat produced from braking as well.

[Steve Swan]

Thanks ! i pretty much have a handle on finishes for most of the parts, except for drum, backing plate (and bands!) i've not found or been told that finish. based on all the pictures of orig.paint JD's i've been collecting, jd yahoo grp info and shared experience from others, seems those finishes for parts were still for some reason an unknown... my instinct was to Parkerize.... not familiar with stove black, but maybe sounds like i need to be... i too have been into some Japanese bikes, mostly over the past 15 years small displacement 60's Yamaha 2 cycles and CB750 sandcast. i'm 36 inverted years old.... 63 ! really great to see "youth" doing the fine work you are doing and with your Dad to boot ! don't mean to derail your thread..... !

[MassHarley]

I have a quick question for all the guys that have restored bikes in the past. I am running into an issue when it comes to assembling two parts that have a metal to metal fit. As an example, the rear axle as it passes through the frame. To adjust the chain tension the axle needs to slide here. So do I leave this area covered in paint or scrape all the paint off. If you scrap all the paint off then how to you finish that small section of exposed metal, or do you not worry about it? There are other areas of the bike this comes into play as well.

Thanks, Mike

[exeric]

Mike, in cases like that you have to say; "What would Harley-Davidson have done". H-D was a money making concern so they would have painted everything, and if some paint got rubbed off, so be it. On a frame, the only places they would have masked (or scraped) would be, the bottom motor mount lugs, and transmission mounting surface. This is just an observation, and not a criticism but your paint appears to be rather thick compared to H-D factory applications. Their paint was applied very thin, and possibly, with no primer in the JD era. I think they got away with this because their paint had a very high pigment content, and they baked it on. H-D factory paint jobs were of very high quality and hard to replicate with today's modern paints.

[MassHarley]

Eric, Yes I agree, the paint is a bit thick. The frame had some pitting and I was told that the best way to fill the pits would be with a high build primer instead of a plastic filler. I think the fear was since the plastic filler would be so small there would be a risk for it to come loose over time. With the paint being a single stage it had to be applied fairly wet to achieve the gloss. I'm sure this all lead to the thick look.

You mentioned the paint should be removed from the transmission mounting surface. Would you remove it from just the transmission or both the frame and transmission? Wouldn't happen to have a picture would ya? I have already removed the paint from the motor mounts. Is this for grounding, or just the fear that the paint will come loose and cause the motor to also become loose.

Mike

[exeric]

Mike, you will want to remove the paint from the trans where it contacts the frame. This is so the transmission will move easily when you have to adjust the primary chain. On the engine mounts; I guess that is for a good ground. I had a problem with that on an Indian which kept blowing fuses, and light bulbs.

[MassHarley]

Made a little more progress on the bike. I have been picking away at some smaller stuff over the past few months when I get some free time. One big accomplishment was finding what I believe to be an original headlight for the bike. I am very close to being able to lace up the wheels and mount the tires. For many different reasons gathering all the parts I needed for the wheels has been very difficult, but I have everything I need now. it will be great to see the bike as a roller.

[MMasa]

Looks like the correct 1926-1928 headlight bucket to me.
Good find.
Mark

[harleytoprock]

I believe that a '26 Jd headlight is one year only having the wiring connector on the back. The 1927-28 had a hole on back that the wires passed through. Correct me if I'm wrong. I can post a picture of a '26 headlight if need be.

[MMasa]

You are correct. The bucket pictured is 1927-28
Mark

[MassHarley]

That's what I was thinking regarding the headlight as well. However I believe I am still going to run the light. I have looked and looked for a real JD headlight for about 2 years now and this is the only one I have found for sale and have been able to afford. I figure down the road if I find a correct 26' light I can always trade or sell this one.

I have been picking away at the bike slowly. I finally gathered all the parts I needed to assemble the wheels. Boxed everything up and sent it out to Bucanan's for them to assemble. I expect to get the wheels back in a few weeks or so.

I do have one question for the masses. I have started to look at my fuel tanks and what it will take to repair them. I am working with the left side tank first. Currently I have unsoldered the back half of the tank and quickly glass beaded the surface. There are a number of pin holes and the metal seems very thin in areas. I have a copy of an write up that was posted in the AMCA magazine years ago that talks about how to solder up your tanks. In this it talks about using some brass mesh to repair any pin holes. My question is, is this still the best way to do this? I believe the write up was done in the 1990's and I know some chemical technologies have come a long way since then. Is there some type of epoxy out there that could be applied from the inside of the tank to seal up the holes and add some structure to the tank?

[harleytoprock]

pm sent from harleytoprock

[otis71]

Mike,
I too have a 26 JD. First buying it I thought it was complete. As I got more into it I realized everything had been changed. Parts were used off of cars and whatever else to keep it going. I am going to settle for a rider rather than a restoration. I rode it his summer but now have the motor out and am going to do the top end. It also has a later model front end with a brake. Not a bad thing if taken out on the highway. I believe the headlight for the 26 is one year only and Dan is an expert on them. Good luck!

[TechNoir]

I do have one question for the masses. I have started to look at my fuel tanks and what it will take to repair them. I am working with the left side tank first. Currently I have unsoldered the back half of the tank and quickly glass beaded the surface. There are a number of pin holes and the metal seems very thin in areas. I have a copy of an write up that was posted in the AMCA magazine years ago that talks about how to solder up your tanks. In this it talks about using some brass mesh to repair any pin holes. My question is, is this still the best way to do this? I believe the write up was done in the 1990's and I know some chemical technologies have come a long way since then. Is there some type of epoxy out there that could be applied from the inside of the tank to seal up the holes and add some structure to the tank?

I had similar problems with my tanks for my 20J. See my post #91 here for what I did.

http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bbo...Model-F/page10


John.