'27 JD Cut Down Project - SWAN

[Steve Swan]

Eric, it is great to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words. Every issue i run into with Cranky Frank is a new learning curve that continually leaves me feeling like an amateur. i am pleased to say the linkage for the front brake is working very well. The stopping ability of the 6" front brake is not quite twice as much as the factory rear brake. Between the two, i have all the stopping ability i need to feel confident i can stop when i need to.

[Steve Swan]

Well, Frank took me for a flawless 60.6 mile ride today, which is the first ride where i wasn't all eyes and ears subsequent to his initial 30 mile test run followed by two 40 mile test runs, so i now have 170 miles on the engine.

Engine sprocket is a 18t and rear wheel sprocket is 41t, so i am just now getting used to engaging the clutch from a standing start. i can already feel the engine smoothing out compared to the first test ride. As things are now, 55 mph is super smooth, Speeds of 65 mph are with ease, no undesirable buzzing in the foot boards and lots of throttle to go. it will be interesting once i have at least 500 miles on the engine to not only see how it smooths out but also what a comfortable sustained speed will be for the engine. Would be nice if i could run 65 or maybe even 70, we shall see. My riding has been in the foothills, so if i get behind a car going too slow, i do have to shift into 2nd. Accelerates up to 25 mph in LOW, 40 mph in 2nd and then can shift into HIGH gear. i am not so sure i will stay with the 18t, I'll give things some more miles and then decide it i should consider dropping to a 17t. On the open road, the 18/41 combination will be perfect.

i had my good buddy Jerrold Entzi follow me on the last two 40 mile rides, once in my pickup and the other on his Guzzi. Both times the Johns-Manville speedometer read the same as when Jerrold followed me, so i believe the speedometer reading is close to accurate. The foothills have some pretty nice steep grades, so i was able to lug the rpm's a bit so i would imagine the rings are seated in by now. imagining those Carrillo rods going up and down gives me a nice sense of security regardless of whatever type of roadwork i do.

after this 60 mile ride, i drained 3 ounces from the crankcase which is what i started out with, so i think the one 0.012" shim will do the trick but will continue to keep an eye on the oiling until i am satisfied the oiler output is consistent. i am really glad i had Scott Swaney rebuild the rotating plunger and the two spring loaded pistons that rotate and go in and out with that plunger, rebuilding that oiler makes it work like the precision oil dripper that it is. At this point, i am starting to feel confident that Frank will take me any distance i desire, trouble free.

The headlight bracket cracked, so i am reworking it as well as i am building up a different headlight/horn setup that will allow me to use a factory toolbox, so at my whim, i can run the monster headlight/horn setup or go with the other one i am making up.

Last but not least, i am really pleased with the front brake, it exceeds my expectations, i have at least twice or more the braking power of the rear factory brake and between the two, stopping power is competent and reassuring to know i have what i need when i need it.

Frank is so much fun, that i think i will leave him in his 1st build through 2021 and then Autumn 2021, will do the 2nd build, shiny paint, etc.

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[exeric]

I'm happy for you, Steve. I know you have put a lot of thought and work into that bike so you deserve to enjoy the result. I really like the look of the early fenders with the streamlined tank. First class job !

[Steve Swan]

I'm happy for you, Steve. I know you have put a lot of thought and work into that bike so you deserve to enjoy the result. I really like the look of the early fenders with the streamlined tank. First class job !

Thank you Eric, for your kind words. i love that we can take old parts that were not thrown away, build up a "new" bike out of old parts and then have it roll down the road is so much fun and so rewarding. i'm putting together an optional headlight/horn/toolbox setup, i think it'll look pretty nice, maybe a bit racy. i'll be able to choose between that configuration and the air raid search light and siren (the model T headlight and horn). i've decided i must take a trip with Frank, so i am going to get a factory (repro) luggage rack which will come off and on as needed.

[Steve Swan]

i finally remembered (again) how to move a video from shutterfly to youtube. this was taken early June, the very first test ride, a 30 mile run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRB...nnel=steveswan

[Steve Swan]

i tried deleting this duplicate post but doesn't seem to want me to.

[ihrescue]

i finally remembered (again) how to move a video from shutterfly to youtube. this was taken early June, the very first test ride, a 30 mile run - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRB...nnel=steveswan

Very cool to see Frank on a nice ride. How was it? Also which duplicate comment did you need deleted?

Mike Love

[Steve Swan]

Very cool to see Frank on a nice ride. How was it? Also which duplicate comment did you need deleted?

Mike Love

Thanks Mike for your kind words. The ride was surprisingly smooth. Truett & Osborn balanced the flywheels at 60% so i do't have any buzzing anywhere and i do believe the motor will cruise very comfortably at 60 mph, maybe even 65. the 21" wheels give a nice stable ride and the 90/100x21 Kenda's make the bike feel more nimble than my restored '27. i suppose perhaps the aluminum rims help drop a few ounces over steel rims. And, of course one has to love the factory's seat post!

the post i tried to delete is right above your reply, where i wrote, "i tried deleting this post"

[Steve Swan]

The toolbox from Tom Feeser arrived in this evening's mail so i just had to see if what in my mind's eye of the pieces i collected would fit together and here is the result. i really like this a lot, how the toolbox, headlight and horn all are stacked, one on top of the other. The headlight is actually a nickle plated brass spotlight with nice patina and the horn is an Indian feather face repro from Starklite motorcycles.

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[RichO]

Now we're talking Steve. Much better in my humble opinion. Better balance. Nice hot rod and it runs well too! Much fun to be had down the road.

[Steve Swan]

Now we're talking Steve. Much better in my humble opinion. Better balance. Nice hot rod and it runs well too! Much fun to be had down the road.

Thanks Rich! i always wanted a toolbox, i've always liked how it mounts in the front. this old spotlight is made of pretty thin brass, i hope it can hold up.

[Steve Swan]

here is a daylight picture of Frank. with old farm boy blood still in my veins, i decided Frank needed a cover on the back side of his horn. I cut up a dented points cover from a Honda CB750, the diameter was same as the horn. I didn't want to have that screw there, but if i had cut the cover in the other direction, i would have had an "H" on one side and an "A" on the other, so i decided the screw look i what i could live with. In my earlier life, i was an Indian man, so the feather face horn commemorates the memories i have of that era of my life...

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[Steve Swan]

got the bracket i made up to hold the headlight and toolbox welded, so not Franks's finished. i decided to go with a luggage rack because i want to go on a small trip with Frank next spring and that luggage rack will come in mighty handy. i like how Frank turned out, now for winter to be over...

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[Steve Swan]

Took another flawless 60 mile joy ride on Frank this afternoon, have now clocked 250 miles. I am beginning to believe Frank will take me any distance i point him in. I also discovered a really nice feature of the luggage rack i had mixed feeling about because it clutters the looks. Really nice to have something to hang on to when putting the bike on rear stand....

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[Paps]

I love the bike just the way you completed it.