1920 Harley Model F

[kiwi tibbs]

Hi John,
not sure if you got the answer for the paint querry.
I found this on the forum, not sure if it's any help.
http://hdpaint.tk/colors/1927.html

Cheers
Tony

[TechNoir]

Hello Folks, I seem to have lots of questions so please forgive me for asking another one.

I have ordered most of my missing control parts and they are on their way. One item that is out of stock at the 2 suppliers that seem to have it on their website is the Bell Crank Bracket.

Its not a big deal because it seems like a simple part to make. I have used a photo that I found on the net to make a cad drawing of the bracket and I think I have got the size of it close enough. (time will tell when I have made it and fitted it).

The bit I don’t know is the dimension from the base of the bracket to the centre of the pivot pin that the bell crank fits on. I am pretty sure that its not a critical dimension so I am happy to wing it but if anyone knows what this measurement is then that would be much appreciated.

Thanks

John

[TechNoir]

I have another question that is related to one that has been asked loads of time on this board but I cant seem to find the answer to my query.

I know that the bike should be olive green and I have ordered a small amount of what I think is the right colour which I will try out on the new brake drum that I have.

However I also want to find out what colour the pinstripes on the bike should be. I am in the UK so dont want to order paint from the USA, I can get any colour mixed up locally but obviously I need to know what to mix before I can get some. This question has been asked a couple of times before but I cant see any answers.


Thanks,

John

[TechNoir]

Re: 1920 "F" Project

I looked at the clutch toe pedal and spring arrangement but I am a bit stumped. The shaft that I have highlighted in the picture spins freely so cant work out how the spring works. What is the hole in the shaft for also?

Forget that, I have worked it out.

John

[TechNoir]

I havent got much done on the bike today due to having to do various domestic chores so I decided to give my workshop a good tidy up which it was long overdue for and sort out the various parts that I have and make a list of stuff to order.

While sorting out parts I realised what the 8 small screws are for.

Most people seem to have Corbin speedometers which I assume have a slightly different arrangement for the sprocket.



Also this sprocket has 8 clips to fix it to the wheel not 6 as has previously been suggested.


I looked at the clutch toe pedal and spring arrangement but I am a bit stumped. The shaft that I have highlighted in the picture spins freely so cant work out how the spring works. What is the hole in the shaft for also?



Thanks again for all the help.

John

[TechNoir]

The spring looks like the one that tensions the front stand clip that mounts on the rear footboard bar

Tommo, thanks, I know the spring that you refer to. I have that spring and its in place and its a bit bigger than the one I was trying to identify. I am pretty sure the one I am looking for a home for is for the toe on the clutch pedal.

John

[Tommo]

The spring looks like the one that tensions the front stand clip that mounts on the rear footboard bar

[TechNoir]

Re: 1920 Harley Model F

Post deleted. My PC crashed and I thought I had lost the previous reply. but then it reappeared after I had posted a second time.

[TechNoir]

Many thanks to Bob and Mark. That makes things much clearer. Plus also thanks to Eric over on CAIMAG who has also helped.

I am now clear on how things fit together and what bits I am missing. Its obvious now that I know, isn’t hat always the case!

I will assume for now that the 8 small screws are strays and put them to one side so as not to confuse me.

John

[MMasa]

Part 3 fits into hole A on the rod. You are correct, it is part of the magneto advance/retard mechanism. Bob is correct about part 4 and also on the front fender mounting hardware. However, I too have no idea on the small screws. The spring looks to be the spring for the flip on the clutch pedal front side.
There are two separate brackets that fit on that rear cylinder stud. One points forward and is the frame mount bracket. The other faces rearward and the bell crank mounts to it.
Mark

[Robert Luland]

The picture of c and D on the rear cylinder. You are missing 2810-12 Upper rear cylinder mounting bracket. Bob L

[Robert Luland]

John, the carb E thing is the throttle shaft that belongs in that hole. #4 in your picture is 2206-16 Shifter lever stud. Holds your shifter lever to the gas tank. The two misc counter sunk bolts are 3749-16 front fender bolts. I have no idea what the little screws are for. The last picture appears to be an early broken kicker spring. Bob L

[TechNoir]

Re: 1920 Harley Model F

Some new parts arrived this week so I am hoping to make some progress. Unfortunately there are some problems with a couple of the items that came so they have to go back. This hasn’t stopped progress though and I was able to get a couple of hours done today.

I bought some nuts for the missing ones for gearbox mounts but realised that the hex on new nuts is smaller than the hex on the original nuts of the same size. I am guessing that this is a WWII thing. I do know that whitworth fasteners went down a hex size in WWII in an effort to use less steel. I am guessing that American fasteners had the same change for the same reason? So first job was to make a few nuts with the correct hex size.



Then I have been trying to work out how the controls go together.

I know that this rod fits roughly here because I can see the ends of it in some of my 1988 pictures. It is not clear what the rod does though. Is it carb or mag? Logic says to me that its mag?





Also where does the control cable fit. I am assuming that I am missing a fitting that goes where I have labelled it "A"?





Looking at the parts book and also some parts vendor websites I know that I am also missing the "Bell Crank Bracket"
I guess that it goes on the stud marked "C" and the bell crank "B" goes on it. Is this correct? If so then what’s the bracket that I have labelled "D" for?





How does the carb get operated? I am assuming that something goes into the hole that I have marked "E"?




I have these parts.



Number 1. This fits on the magneto, I am assuming that the top end fits on the "Bell Crank"?

Number 2. I believe that this is a Compression Relief Rod. Mine is broken so needs fixing or replacing.

Number 3. I think that this is called a "Carburettor Control Sleeve" However the round pin at the end is bigger than the hole marked "E" on the carb so how does this fit?

I have trawled lots of pictures on the net as well as my own and I am still not exactly clear how everything fits. Does anyone have a couple of pictures of a complete bike with the tank off?

Finally I have a couple of what’s this questions.

Item "4" in the above pictures doesn’t seem to have an obvious home. Is it a J part or a stray?

Also in the next pic there are 2 screws with partly countersunk heads that I am not sure about plus the 8 small screws.



Finally in the next picture I have this small spring that I am not sure about either.




Because the bike came as a basket case I am aware that I have some fasteners missing plus I expect I have a few that dont belong.

Any help is appreciated because I don’t know where there is a similar bike that I could go and look at myself to clear up these small details.

Thanks,

John

[TechNoir]

Re: 1920 Harley Model F

I have another question about spokes.

The manual says that both wheels for 1920 have the same length spokes. See here



The rear hub is bigger than the front hub so am I right in thinking that they are laced in different patterns? At the moment I have laced the front wheel as per the rear wheel but it is wrong and I know it will need to come apart because the nipples are not screwed on far enough No big deal, just a couple of hours of my time.

The rear wheel (which was still together when I got the bike unlike the front wheel) has a 4 crossover pattern. The only way to get the same length spokes to fit on the front is to use a 3 crossover pattern. The alternative is to buy longer spokes if I were to use the same pattern on both wheels.

John

[TechNoir]

Re: 1920 Harley Model F

I have been loosely bolting parts together and trying to work out where the various bits go and also check to see what’s missing. So far very little is missing, just the odd nut or washer or broken screw or bolt.

I have been looking at the footboards and the right hand one has got me wondering. I seem to have an extra bracket that lifts the rear of the footboard up to make it more level. One of the pictures from 1988 shows how the footboard was mounted.



I have looked at pictures on this forum and online of other Harley J's and the right footboard is mounted much like the left and does not have the extra bracket at the rear to lift it up.

Has anyone seen this before or is it a one off modification? I am thinking it is a one off modification but it could be some sort of sidecar related part.

What do you think?