My 101 Scout Cannonball Build

[joe fxs fxr]

Have you figured out your gear noise problem? On my shovelhead harley, they used different pitch diameter gears to dial in lash. You measure them with .105" or .108" diameter pins in opposing gear roots, depending on the year. Is that something Indian specifies somewhere?

[TH47Indy]

Great to have you back Dana! I’ve really enjoyed following your build and posts, and looking forward to following the next steps to your Cannonball run.

[d_lasher]

Joe,

I know what the noise is not. I replaced the valve lift rollers. I checked the clearance of the valve gear bushings and they all checked out. I replaced the idler gears with no change. I swapped out the magneto with my spare and new mag bearings. And the gear noise is still there. So either I'm just to picky and that's the way it's supposed to sound like or it's the cam gears.

I haven't heard of different pitched gears for the Indian. Though if someone else has I'm all ears! At this point I'm just going to keep looking for cam gears that are in good shape and cheap enough. Till then I'm just going to live with the whine.

In other news I got to be in our local 4th July parade. I'm told we were a big hit with onlookers.

Dana

[tfburke3]

I believe the cam gears were all the same at least 34-53,with any differences just manufacturing tolerances.The cam chest gears should all have a little clearance.Hold on gear firm and its mate should be able to move a little,almost clicking.The only way to improve the fit is to try a number of different gears.THe magneto may be adjusted for best lash but its a compromise between centering in the hole/seal or moving off center to improve lash.
Indians gears are pretty noisy.
I picked up about 10mph cruising speed when I got a better insulated helmet.
Tom

[d_lasher]

I picked up about 10mph cruising speed when I got a better insulated helmet.

Lmao
Dana

[gharper]

Dana,

Good job finding the problem! To me it's very unnerving when things aren't working as they should and always satisfying to find and fix the problem!

You mentioned your concern about a possible air leak making the engine run rich. An air leak will make the engine run lean, which corresponds to a HOT engine, and that will lead to disaster, not good!! I was always concerned about that on my chief. I made PEEK manifold seals which sealed up beautifully, however they wanted to work loose. My solution was a bit of loctite which solved the problem. However, just to be sure....... I put a big black witness mark on the manifold and nut using a sharpie, that way at a glance I could tell if they were working loose. Eases the mind when you're motoring cross country and worrying about what might go wrong....

On your magneto picture I see the coil wire is coming in from above, which is ok but not ideal, and the wire you are using appears to be heavy gauge standard wire. I see a potential problem, one I had on a road run in 1990. The wire from the coil should be what is called brush wire. This has about 56 strands, woven into a cable. Being # 16 wire, it is very small but most importantly, VERY flexible. The reason here is that every time the spark is advanced or retarded, that wire will flex and at the terminal connection, a non flexible wire will eventually break. I originally used a standard wire with maybe 12 strands which is not very flexible. Within the first 500 miles that wire broke right at the ring terminal connection. The nice piece of shrink tubing I used held the wire in place for a very frustrating intermittent bad connection! Since then, every mag I do gets the flexible brush wire. Also, by routing the wire along the right side and looping under the points then up to the terminal, this keeps that connection from flexing and possibly breaking. This was the original routing by Splitdorf. See the attached picture of my cannonball mag for the correct routing. It is an S model, so slightly different inside than yours, but wire routing should be the same.

Note also the damaged fiber gear in my picture!!! This was my nemesis on the cannonball, causing us to miss our only miles on one day. I think we talked about it earlier, but I'll mention it again because it is a potential game ender. The fiber gear is driven by a steel gear so gear lash is critical, a tiny amount but not too much and no bind at all. The gear is mounted on a steel sleeve which rotates on a big bronze bushing. This sleeve / gear assembly MUST ROTATE ABSOLUTELY FREE! The bushing is oiled by a wicking system in a small reservoir around the bushing. In my case, the reservoir had never been properly cleaned out and decades of dried oil, carbon, dirt and dust plugged the wicking system. Even though I added oil every other day, it started to run dry. This caused one tiny spot where the steel and brass started to gall up. This created a slight drag at one point and caused the gear rotation to stall momentarily. wasn't long before the teeth started to break off and that was the end. So, bottom line, if you haven't done so yet, clean the reservoir on both of your mags and be absolutely sure the gear rotates freely and lash is et properly. You will need to remove the whole assembly and the wick to get the reservoir cleaned. I used solvent, pipe cleaners, wires and a water pick. I was amazed at how much crud came out! I also did all 6 of my Splitdorf mags, they were all very nasty inside! Carry a spare too, on the bike!

Good Luck!
Gene


Magneto failure cannonball 2018.jpg

[d_lasher]

The best laid plans....

I had wanted to spend July and Aug working on getting ready for the cannonball but a few days after my last post my Dad had a heart attack and quad bypass surgery. I flew out to North Carolina to take care of him and spent most of July in hospitals and doctor's offices. I'm glad to say he is doing fine and is expected to make a full recovery. My last week there he was giving orders like I was still a teenager!

So now, four weeks later it's time to start getting ready. I still have a bunch of little things to do on the bike and I need to get the truck ready for a around the country haul. Stay tuned it's going to get crazy over the next three weeks.

Dana

[joe fxs fxr]

Glad your father's doing well. Hope you can get everything done OK.

[PaulCDF]

Good to hear your Dad is doing okay. Good that you two are close and you chose the higher priority of taking care of him.

"Love them while you got them"

[pisten-bully]

Go Dana!

[d_lasher]

Did a bunch of little things this weekend.

I fabricated a bracket for a fire extinguisher, it can hold a traditional extinguisher as well as one of the new Element extinguishers. I saw a bunch of riders in the chase using them. They look pretty cool, weigh less and take less room. A couple of youtube videos gave them high marks for putting out fires.

I got a simple bicycle GPS speedometer and odometer mounted on the handle bars. I hoping I'm allowed to use it. I have a spare traditional one with the magnet and sensors, but I don't like all the wires and the mounting hardware seems liked a pain.

And, I put the numbers on the bike and got the map box mounted.

One last thing, found a place for 'Oscar' to go along on the ride with me.

Jason wanted some pics from everyone and their bikes for their profile pages, so I posted a couple of them here.

IMG_2653.jpgIMG_2622.jpgIMG_2627.jpg

Dana

[d_lasher]

A few years ago, pre-pandemic, I stumbled across gharper at a swap meet in Colorado and he had a few words of wisdom for me running the cannonball. One of his suggestions was to have a checklist of things to do on the bike every night after the day's run. That way you don't forget anything. Seems custom made for me because my memory is so bad I have a hard time remembering my phone number. So with that in mind here's my checklist...

Morning Check engine oil level Check gearbox oil level Fill fuel tank
Every gas stop Check oil level - Adjust oil meter Change engine Oil Add 2 stroke-oil to fuel
Mon-Wed-Fri-Sunday Check and adjust rear wheel bearings Check rear brake pads Check and adjust rear brake linkage Check read brake bolts Clean and lube chain	Tues-Thru-Fri-Sat Check and adjust front wheel bearings Check front brake pads Check and adjust front brake linkage Check and adjust Points gap Clean Mag's rotor and distributer Oil Mag's bearings Check head bearings Check sparkplugs - adjust mixture
Nightly Check oil level - adjust oil meter Change engine oil Check gearbox oil Check and adjust chain Check brake light and headlight Check critical nuts Check and adjust valve clearances Check tire pressures
Rest Day Change gearbox oil Lube all zirks Repack wheel bearings

What do you guys think? Have I missed anything? Just for reference each day is about 250 - 300 miles.

Thanks for all the help,
Dana

[PaulCDF]

Thanks for sharing this Dana. Great list so nothing is missed.
I like the idea of a bicycle GPS speedometer and odometer might try that on my 741 when I get that far.

[pisten-bully]

Dana, great list and I would only add 1) snugging up manifold nuts, 2) check lights and bulbs, 3) check spokes

[C.Flint]

Dana- the bike is looking good, very purpose-built and ready for some real mileage! I would add to your check list…nightly charge odometer (I use a Garmin) and emergency bicycle headlamp if you use one. Consider a sheepskin seat cover or pad, it does make a difference. 1DE38F71-FF72-4A03-AA25-0595B4E1B38F.jpeg See you in Michigan soon. Chris #82