1924 Big X

[gharper]

Thanks JoJo, for the comment and flipping the pictures!

[Rubone]

Fabulous Gene!
Robbie

[chuckthebeatertruck]

I love these stories. Thank you for sharing.

[gharper]

Progress on the 24 big X: . Life has thrown a lot of road blocks my way which has slowed my progress to a crawl but still inching forward....

New connecting rods and engine pins FINALLY arrived a few months ago so I was able to get the crank built and balanced. Rods and pins.jpg

In the end, I had to remove almost 300 grams total from the crank pin side to achieve static balance of the crank assembly with 1 piston attached. I use a passing wheel stand I inherited from Bill Bradley in Arizona. Not quite as accurate as a set of parallels but close enough for this pony! Rather than drill enough holes to turn the wheels into swiss cheese I opted to mill out material from the inside edge of the flywheel rim. I have a few sets of X wheels, half are solid rim all around and half are milled away on the inside edge of the rim. This begs the question of what the hell did Schwinn do for balancing????? An earlier post I made was to my efforts to reverse calculate the balance factor of a stock X bottom end. I concluded that using the solid wheels and all stock piston, rings and rods, the X crank had a balance factor of about 24% which is nuts! All I can figure is that since the wheels are so large in diameter (won't fit in a HD or Indian truing stand) and all X's were geared very high for the day, they planned on the engine turning quite slow. Interesting to note, it appears the wheels from X that had a relieved section at the pin area were earlier 3 speed models and the later models (late teens and up) were solid. The relieved wheels are close to balanced with 1 piston, however the solid wheels are balanced with NO piston attached! So, after static balancing I disassembled the crank and reverse calculated the balance using the S&S method. I came up with a 61.4% balance factor, which I can live with.
Flywheels.jpgMore cylinder repairs have been under way too. I picked up a very nice rear on ebay and decided to attempt to resurrect another front that I considered too far gone. The major problem was that my sanblasters decided to just strip the cylinders I brought in rather than take the time to blast them. Problem is they left them in the strip tank too long and the fine threads in the cast iron were partially eaten away, UGH!!!! Made junk out of 4 cylinders! Jim Wall helped with soome fin repairs and truing up the base flange, perpendicular to the bore.

Truing base flange.jpg
Next I made some hand dies of sorts and started chasing the threads on the intake and exhaust manifold nipples. I was able to catch the threads and cut a new deeper thread. They are not perfect but good enough to hold a new undersize nut. Also made a tap to clean up the 24 tpi thread in the intake cage hole and redefine that thread as well. Then I made an oversize nut to hold the cage in place. The bore is decent so as soon as set #3 returns from NikaSil bore coating, this set will go out for the same. In the end, I'll have 3 sets of Series 20 X cylinders all repaired and fitted with new valves, guides, springs, and pistons. Overall conditions vary, but will all be usable.

Cylinder set with new nuts.jpg
I've discovered a great piston option for any 61" X. A UL piston, +.020" will fit a standard X bore that has been honed out +.007". This will give the same compression ratio of 4.5/1. The wrist pin is considerably larger but the X bushing can easily be reworked to fit. I've decided to go with EL pistons, same bore size as UL but will raise compression to 5.45/1. The beauty here is these pistons are available in many sizes and are easy to source, so no custom pistons!


Finishing up a few details on the cases before buttoning up the bottom end. I did a dry assembly of the entire engine with no rings or valve springs. The crank turns over easily with no bind or drag anywhere, so it looks like my efforts at squaring things up and setting clearances has paid off!
Ready to assemble once the engine is buttoned up and cases painted!

[exeric]

I really appreciate the information on your piston research, and compression information, Gene. Fitting new pistons to 100 year old blind bore cylinders is a mysterious challenge. That is one of the benefits of the Cannionball, and seeing how motor builders get around the problems replacing dead parts, and making an old engine usable. . . . Just a suggestion; you need to fill those rust pits in your flywheels. Try Bondo

[gharper]

Thanks for noticing Eric! I prefer JB weld for filling pits on critical parts. Not that I would do it on the flywheels, but I have used it on the sealing flange of the cast iron intake ports, some of which were severely pitted!! Also used a lot of it to fill nasty pits in the aluminum case and timing cover.

[exeric]

I was just messing with you about the Bondo, Gene. I think JB Weld, and Devcon are fantastic 2 part fillers and under the right conditions are incredibly durable.

[tmckinch]

Amazing bike, thank you for sharing.

[gharper]

Haven't posted for a long time! Started the 24 Big X for the first time in November, then it sat for a few months during a home remodel project to keep the Mrs happy!

Finally got going again this spring. I've had lots of little teething issues, mostly carburetor but it's finally dialed in after 400 miles! Yesterday was a 42 mile loop up the canyon, actually the first leg of the 1984, 85 and 87 DJ Road Runs! Everything was perfect! I feel like I've got things dialed in well. Now for more riding upgrades, better mirrors, a cargo box and reassembly of the horn after an armature rewind!

The 24 X is a JOY to ride! It handles quite well, very stable and predictable on the road. The Henderson brake actually works quite well! The best feature is the hand operated clutch release and the dual clutch / internal brake setup. Makes riding in traffic almost tolerable! 45-50 mph is super comfortable and easy, 55 is fine too but after that the crappy Coker diamond treads kick in and it develops an odd sashay which turns into a front end wobble over about 57 mph. I'll be happy at 50-55 all day long! With this said, my buddy (Carl Vandre's grandson) can blow me away on his KJ Henderson!
24 X left ready to start.jpg24 X right ready to start.jpg24 X in Clear Creek.jpg24X and 29 KJ.jpg

[RichO]

Gene, What a beauty. What years the one hanging from the ceiling? I remember that road from 1987 on my Super X before it stuck a piston. I think of Carl often. A true gentleman. Rich

[pisten-bully]

Great pictures Gene, thanks for sharing! The Big X is awesome to look at, and it sounds like it's equally awesome to ride!

[JoJo357]

'Munster Coach' Beautiful Gene. Hendersons will never go out of style & beauty~Great Job! What's the story behind the plaque mounted pickhead axe?

*M.A.D.*

[gharper]

Rich, The X hanging from the ceiling is a 1916 short coupled, Big Valve roadster. This is the big valve racing engine and short coupled frame as used for board track racing, but fitted with all pre 15 single speed road gear. Believe it or not, the factory offered these in 16 and 17, pretty rare bird. I believe it was an attempt to use up some of the mountain of pre 15 single speed parts remaining after the 3 speed came out in 15. In fact, all 1914 models, twins, singles, belt or chain drive were still available through 17 at least.

JoJo, the wooden plaque and axe were given to me when I retired from the fire department after 30 years. I was fortunate to have a great career, did and saw a lot of things, good and bad I and got out without getting sick or injured, I was luckier than many of my brothers..... However upon presentation of said plaque at my retirement party the axe fell out of the hooks and hit my foot, I was wearing sandals. This became the worst injury of my career, but of course not covered! When I brought it home my wife took one look at the bloody axe head and said "...you're not putting that damn thing in the house"! So, it hangs above the lathe in my shop.

[exeric]

A true sword of Damocles story, Gene

Your 20 Series X adventure is proof that you succeeded where many of us ran out of money, interest, parts, and fortitude for our Series 20's. I got my Series 20 from Charlie Carter, but my interest in that Excelsior Series began before that when I got a reproduction pamphlet that was in fact, a 1924 Excelsior just like Gene's. I thought it was the most beautiful motorcycle from the end of the true antique age and still think it was the most unique, and beautiful bike of any of the 20-24 manufactured V-Twins. . . . There were better built bikes, but none as pretty as the Series 20 Big X.

I've known Gene for many years, including when he got into his Series 20 project. Gene has uncovered, and done the hard research to accurately define the previously amorphous history of the 5 years of Series 20 production . . . Not a simple task.

I wish I could get my Series 20 back because Gene's effort would make it's correct restoration a lot easier.

[gharper]

Very gracious words Eric, Thank You!