'27 JD Cut Down Project - SWAN

[Steve Swan]

are these dampers effective ?
Fork Dampers.JPG

[sswaney]

I've got to disagree with the assumption that a J fork and the 28-29 brake anchor gusset would be insufficient for a properly sized disc set up.
I know they look spindley compared to the later forks but if you've ever tried to straighten one you'd be surprised by their strength.
As for the brake pivot bracket. It's fully brazed to the fork leg. Extremely strong as well.
If you've got to go that route I think a smaller diameter disc would be sufficient, I mean whats the bike weigh? 375 lbs wet?

[Steve Swan]

I've got to disagree with the assumption that a J fork and the 28-29 brake anchor gusset would be insufficient for a properly sized disc set up.
I know they look spindley compared to the later forks but if you've ever tried to straighten one you'd be surprised by their strength.
As for the brake pivot bracket. It's fully brazed to the fork leg. Extremely strong as well.
If you've got to go that route I think a smaller diameter disc would be sufficient, I mean whats the bike weigh? 375 lbs wet?

sswaney, thank you for your reply. personally, i have been thinking the same thing that the stock fork is substantial enough to withstand the force a disc brake would put on the fork, but on the other hand, not having experience like that of other folks, i would rather err on the side of precautionary diligence and prudence by asking for opinions to questions i am asking. i can't imagine a custom J bike weighing more than 400 pounds wet and i was thinking a modern disc setup off a dirt bike would have less stopping power on a bike such as the JD would weigh in comparison to the stopping power on dirt bike such as a Honda CRF250 weighing 235 pounds or a CRF450 weighing 260 pounds. these "dirt" brakes if used on the JD would not have the stopping power that a disc brake off a superbike such as the Honda CBR1000RR has. deciding what disc set up off what bike will take a little more consideration, but i am still veering toward a brake setup off a modern dirt bike which would be minimalistic and relatively simple and straight forward and since i am going with a front brake i don't want something clunky, heavy and even ineffective such as brake setups from the 60's, 70's and 80's. i want the bike to stop but not rip the front end off if i have to fully clamp down on the thing. at this point i am more concerned with the front end lift and what that would be like...

[JoJo357]

I apologize for going off-topic, Folks..

But Mssrs. Cameron and Tidwell had a profound effect upon me...
Can't be sure which because it was pretty informal at Bean Blossom in the 80's.

At least I asked the right question, when the reply was "I made my flywheels."
Then the skies opened up and angels descended as he confirmed my motor balancing instincts.

Without his encouragement, I might have made better career choices.

....Cotten

Well Cotten, you started this. Here’s my story on Mssrs. Cameron & Tidwell. Met those guys on Main in Sturgus, somewhere in the 80’s. They had a crowd around them, and were having a good ole’ time. I managed to talk briefly to Cameron, and i expressed that i wished i had more time to... 'shoot the B.S.".
John said, ''get up here early and we’ll kick it around Main street''. So, instead of partying that evening--i hit the sack kinda early. I got up there around 9am--they were already there, and had breakfast too! John said, “I thought You was gonna’ get here early”?
Had a nice long leisurely talk with both of those characters, and politely drooled over their rigs in the process.
Talk about being humbled, those two rode those JD Flex’s from California, and we trailered from Michigan.
They got a jolt out of that 1925 JD i used to own back in the late 1970’s. The JD was 95% original when i scored it, including the decent-sized holes in the gas tank. One day, i was gassing up, and this old timer was walking around the M/C, scratching his head once in awhile, and looking puzzled. I could barely keep from laughing. Finally, he approached me and asked…”Sonny, how in the hell does that gas stay in that tank with those holes all over it”??*%*$#
I was going to pull his leg a bit, but i was kinda in a hurry, since that bastard took a long time to fill. I said, come here, look inside the tank. I coiled 10 to 12 feet of Marine 5/8’’x 7/8’’ fuel line inside, and made a nice bowed fitting to hold it steady out of sight at the tank funnel.
Worked good, i think i nursed 40-50 miles per...'hose-up'. 'Easy Rider' must have had more of an influence on me than i ever expected—haha.

*M.A.D.*

[Steve Swan]

JoJo357, thanks for sharing that wonderful story! exactly what i want to see on this thread; make it fun and full of fond memories. and feel free to post any pics of these memories if you have them! i am trying to visualize hose inside rust-hole filled old tank!?!? how much gasoline could this Frankenstein hold? meanwhile, i am visualizing my front fork and wheel dizzily spinning through the air as the bike goes aflame the first time i put the clamp to the hydraulic binder i want to fit on my JD "custom."

[Tommo]

To help ID the early front brakes I took some photos of my 28 and 29 J's and a pair of I beam JDH model forks I have so it is easy to see how HD developed the front brake anchor.
HD 1 shows the 1928 front brake anchor and shows how it cups the fork rather than going right around the fork blade.
This style had a tendency of pulling off the fork blade under hard braking, especially with commercial sidecar use.
HD 2 shows the 1929 front brake anchor that was produced to try and fix the problem. Note how the top of the anchor has two legs that wrap around the fork to try and hold the anchor more securely.
During 1929 Dealers here in NZ were issued with as many of these 1929 style anchors as they wanted so they could be retro-fitted to any 1928 models that were having problems.
HD 3 shows the 1929 I beam front brake anchor and HD 4 is a picture of a set of these forks.
I beam forks here in NZ were generally associated with being fitted to JDH Harleys only but period pictures do exist showing them fitted to JD's but not J's.
HD 5 shows the difference between the 1928 and earlier bottom fork casting as against the 1929 only style.
All these mods were made to make the front brake more efficient and reliable so Steve if you are going to fit a better front brake try to use the 1929 bits.
The HD factory didn't make these mods for fun they had problems and this was how they solved those problems.
Finally for the train spotters out there my I beam fork have the wrong springer legs fitted and that's why I have searched for the correct set that is seen in the photographs.
Previewing this post I see that the 1929 style appears first, then the 1928 style, sorry about that but I can't figure out how to change them around.

[JoJo357]

Steve, if i remember correctly, i think Frankenhoser held close to a gallon, including air pockets--haha. Wish i would have kept her, that was a Great running M/C. And...i never rode anything with that much torque to this day--it pulled like a beast!!! I sold it for a deal on a Mint 1970-1/2 Z28. All original, 4 speed 'Rock Crusher' option, and a factory 4:10 rear end posi.. Went out west for a week, and my welcome home present from Detroit was yet another theft, this time the Z. Recovered 3 months later--minus the drivetrain. Insurance just payed out, with the 1st dibs option to buy it back. Found a wrecked 1970 Vette, with the LT-1 350c.i. 370hp, and put her back in shape, then sold it. That car was bad luck, but i wish i wouldn't have sold her-or the 25 JD. Oh Well.

*M.A.D.*

[Steve Swan]

Steve, if i remember correctly, i think Frankenhoser held close to a gallon, including air pockets--haha. Wish i would have kept her, that was a Great running M/C. And...i never rode anything with that much torque to this day--it pulled like a beast!!! I sold it for a deal on a 1970-1/2 Z28. All original, with a factory 4:10 rear end posi. Went out west for a week, and my welcome home present from Detroit was yet another theft, this time the Z. Recovered 3 months later--minus the drivetrain. Found a wrecked 1970 Vette, with the LT-1 350c.i. 370hp, and put her back in shape, then sold it. That car was bad luck, but i wish i wouldn't have sold her-or the 25 JD. Oh Well.

*M.A.D.*

good stuff!!!! i wish you still had old Frankenhoser too! any pics?

[Steve Swan]

To help ID the early front brakes I took some photos of my 28 and 29 J's and a pair of I beam JDH model forks I have so it is easy to see how HD developed the front brake anchor.
HD 1 shows the 1928 front brake anchor and shows how it cups the fork rather than going right around the fork blade.
This style had a tendency of pulling off the fork blade under hard braking, especially with commercial sidecar use.
HD 2 shows the 1929 front brake anchor that was produced to try and fix the problem. Note how the top of the anchor has two legs that wrap around the fork to try and hold the anchor more securely.
During 1929 Dealers here in NZ were issued with as many of these 1929 style anchors as they wanted so they could be retro-fitted to any 1928 models that were having problems.
HD 3 shows the 1929 I beam front brake anchor and HD 4 is a picture of a set of these forks.
I beam forks here in NZ were generally associated with being fitted to JDH Harleys only but period pictures do exist showing them fitted to JD's but not J's.
HD 5 shows the difference between the 1928 and earlier bottom fork casting as against the 1929 only style.
All these mods were made to make the front brake more efficient and reliable so Steve if you are going to fit a better front brake try to use the 1929 bits.
The HD factory didn't make these mods for fun they had problems and this was how they solved those problems.
Finally for the train spotters out there my I beam fork have the wrong springer legs fitted and that's why I have searched for the correct set that is seen in the photographs.
Previewing this post I see that the 1929 style appears first, then the 1928 style, sorry about that but I can't figure out how to change them around.

Hey Tommo! Great to hear from you! Thank you for taking the time to take and post those pictures! whatever year fork i use, i want to do whatever is necessary to keep it original. since you have these forks that are assembled, can you tell me the distance between the inside of the rockers? That I beam fork has to be a sought out for item. if i go with an earlier fork, then i will have to make up something like this. Disc arrangement.jpg right b4 i saw your post, i was just on ebay to see what is out there for modern dirt bike hubs and i found this, 2003 CRF450 Honda front hub with caliper, $68 - s-l1600.jpg i asked the seller to tell me the distance from one side of hub to the other. first i need to take a look at that year CRF caliperto see what is involved with making a mounting system for the caliper, $79.... s-l1600 (1).jpg

[Tommo]

6 5/8 inches

[Steve Swan]

6 5/8 inches

Tommo, THANK YOU. that gives me plenty of room!

[sswaney]

Great stuff!
Not to wander off topic too far, but years ago I had a J model spring fork that was heavily reinforced.
I have searched my picture files to no avail. But it had a layer of material sweated on the outside edges of the tubes that was approximatle 2/3 of the total length of the tubes. It looked factory it was so nicely done. Anyone every see a fork with this modification or know what it was for? Tommo's mention of what a side car load can do makes me wonder if it wasn't for that purpose. I've never seen another and always regretted selling it.

[Steve Swan]

Great stuff!
Not to wander off topic too far, but years ago I had a J model spring fork that was heavily reinforced.
I have searched my picture files to no avail. But it had a layer of material sweated on the outside edges of the tubes that was approximatle 2/3 of the total length of the tubes. It looked factory it was so nicely done. Anyone every see a fork with this modification or know what it was for? Tommo's mention of what a side car load can do makes me wonder if it wasn't for that purpose. I've never seen another and always regretted selling it.

sswaney, not to worry; we're good! anything related to the JD is welcome here!

[JoJo357]

good stuff!!!! i wish you still had old Frankenhoser too! any pics?

Unfortunately, i had the JD for a short time, but I'll check the archives Steve. That was many moons ago!
Did You ever check out that 29 Partial JD lead Steve?

*M.A.D.*

*Dragnet: "Just the Facts Mam"--"Just the Facts".
*Walter Brennan: "No Brag, Just Fact".

[Steve Swan]

Unfortunately, i had the JD for a short time, but I'll check the archives Steve. That was many moons ago!

*M.A.D.*

*Dragnet: "Just the Facts Mam"--"Just the Facts".
*Walter Brennan: "No Brag, Just Fact".

Definitely worthy of seeing! Frankenhoser must have been back i am guessing in the days when we were poorer boys.