Dads Sport Scout

[FLFD7]

Hey everyone, I've decided to start a build post for my fathers 1941 Sport Scout. He bought this bike in the late 1960's with another 41 Sport Scout and a bunch of parts all for a whopping $640, times have certainly changed. He rode it for a couple of years and then moved on to other bikes and put this one in storage. One knock he had against the bike is he couldn't ride too far cause the battery would run out, it was total loss. There was no way to run a generator because the bike has a 648 Big Base bottom end and the case wasn't machined for the generator mount. The story goes that the bike was built by an ex racer named Mel Rhoads who was the Indian dealer in Paterson NJ after the war. So fast forward 50 years since the bike last ran in 1971 and I decided to surprise my father on Fathers Day by fixing the bike up and getting it running and riding. He is in his late 70's now and unfortunately has some early dementia, so his memory is shot, maybe it'll spark some good memories for him (I'm too young to remember him riding it).

The plan is to take it apart see whats broken and fix that then right back together, but this will not be a restoration. I plan on keeping all the sheet metal and paint as is, just clean it up. Chassis parts and such that need it will get a rattle can paint job. This will be the third Sport Scout I'll get back on the road, so it shouldn't be too much of a mystery. Hopefully the "it ran when I put it away" story holds up.

So the first job was sneaking it out of the shed where its been hiding for 30 something years, get it home and disassemble, get it in my basement where I can work on it. So the weekend before Christmas I dragged it home (without him knowing).

Here it is hiding (after I moved a couple other bikes off her):

1941 sscout 01.jpg

Then out into the light of day:

1941 sscout 02.jpg1941 sscout 03.jpg



1941 sscout 10.jpg1941 sscout 12.jpg

Next post we'll start with the disassembly and see what we find.

Joe

[slamiste]

I look forward to this build.

Steve Slaminko

[joe fxs fxr]

yes, so am I

[pisten-bully]

Great story, and a good son! See another Scout behind it, and it appears to have a better seat! Time to be "stealthy" again, maybe?

[FLFD7]

Pisten bully no, that other seat is as mouse eaten as the one on it, I got a solo saddle that'll go on.

Time to start stripping her down:

1941 sscout 16.jpg

(she must be blushing in front of an audience of her friends)

Sorry Cotten, the carb is a boring old M641, nothing special. Manifold looks like regular Sport Scout as well.

1941 sscout 13.jpg

I was curious how the paint would come out, so I pulled the left tank and gave it a little bath. A little dish soap and elbow grease and it looks good, maybe a little compound and liquid wax she'll be all pretty again. Judging from the inside of the fenders and tool box and the back side of the tanks this bike was originally Seafoam Blue, somebody added the red two-tone and white striping latter on.

1941 sscout 14.jpg1941 sscout 15.jpg

[FLFD7]

So the break down continued, pulling parts off the bike so I can bring it down and work in my basement and not in my unheated garage, not to mention the foot and a half of snow in my yard ( and getting another 6-10" today). Hoping not to find too many problems.


1941 sscout 19.jpg

Oh crap, guess I need a new header.......

1941 sscout 21.jpg

Yikes, looks like the braze let go on both sides of the rear frame casting that holds the center stand, side stand and brake crossover. It rested on the side stand, but I guess this casting was just wedged between the frame and the primary.

1941 sscout 23.jpg

This picture you can see the Big Base sump pickup, different then the regular Sport Scout. You can also see that apparently the rear motor mounting plates are different on a Big Base, the casting is different and the hole doesn't line up with the regular motor plate. Whomever built this figured heck, I'll just leave that bolt out (??!!??). Fortunately Enfield Racing makes Big Base motor plates, I'll have to get some.

1941 sscout 17.jpg

Man, that chrome chain guard is fugly. Also a pain to get out, gonna trim a 1/4" or so from the bottom so I don't have to wrestle with it putting it back on.

1941 sscout 20.jpg

The bike was too low to get my lift under, but then I thought maybe the fender will hold up, so I was able to jack the bike up and get my lift underneath. Gotta remember that for next time.

So a couple of small problems (header and motor plates) that just need new parts (I think I have a header in my stash), and one big problem the frame casting. I talked to my friend Pete and he's gonna weld it up for me. He needed to borrow a plunger frame rear section from me anyway to get dimensions off of for a project he's working on, so we'll help each other out.

To be continued....

[T. Cotten]

....Sorry Cotten, the carb is a boring old M641, nothing special.

But that is the correct, one-year-only model, Joe!
It will be interesting, however, to see if it has the 1 1/16" venturi, or if a 1 1/8" was hidden in it.

.... Manifold looks like regular Sport Scout as well.....

You can't tell 'til you take it off, Joe!

Many were ported, like on the left:

portedss.jpg

....Cotten

PS: If it passes a bubble-test as discussed at http://virtualindian.org/11techleaktest.html, don't remove it!

[kitabel]

Good practice to radius the manifold "V" from inside where the legs split off from the throat, Branch did this to the KR.
Does the frame's vertical member behind the engine have an offset for the larger barrel fins?

I owned FDB407, white plate #45, in 1977.

[FLFD7]

Cotten, I haven’t looked at the carb yet, I’ll let you know what I find. The manifold is coming off, going to go thru the engine and redo all the gaskets, there is so much oil all over the engine it’s like the Exxon Valdez.

Kitabel, the main frame is for the 1940 41 42 Scouts with the bent leg.

[T. Cotten]

Good practice to radius the manifold "V" from inside where the legs split off from the throat, Branch did this to the KR.
...

It looks like the Wigwam did that, Kitabel!

The '41 "Parts Price List" for Sport Scout and DIspatch Tow shows two manifolds: 'standard' and 'Bonneville', just as there are two carbs offered by the same designations.. (And two different carb bodies as well, indicating a difference in idle bleeds.)

The natural question is "When did they start stamping carbs as "Bonne"?

The '40 book with only Scheblers also listed 'standard' and 'Bonneville', however there are no reports of a Schebler stamped "Bonne" found, yet, in the fossil record. So it may be possible that a year later, they still weren't stamping Bonnes. So I look forward to what Joe finds for both a venturi and manifold.

And a pic of the stamp for my collection, Joe!

641 1 stamp.jpg
(Note the added "1'; M741s with the added 1 had larger venturies.)

Can anyone tell us the vintage of these?

bonstmps.jpg
Note that the 'dot' after the stamp often meant an "update" or variation.

...Cotten.

[FLFD7]

Cotten,

I’m finishing up the rear shocks right now, not up to the carb yet. But I did just take a look at it, markings are normal:


A75410D3-C92C-4259-8B85-EC21BF77E0A8.jpeg

I got 3 more M641 carbs, all markings the same:


1FAC1286-44A1-4560-BE2D-954C4FD1206C.jpeg
I’m not gonna take the carb apart yet, so the venturi measurement will have to wait, but by eye compared to the other 3 they all look the same so probably the standard 1 1/4?

Joe

[FLFD7]

Sorry, 1 1/16”, not 1 1/4”

[T. Cotten]

Hope you didn't rub off original silver paint under the grunge, Joe!

Now its doomed to "restoration".

Thanks for the pic,..

....Cotten

[FLFD7]

So just to complete the breakdown of the bike, once I got it on the bike lift I wanted everything off except for the engine and trans:

1941 sscout 22.jpg1941 sscout 24.jpg


1941 sscout 25.jpg1941 sscout 26.jpg
The last couple of pictures were from Christmas eve. So a week after I got the bike home I at least got everything inside to my basement. First order of business was getting the rear frame and the broken off casting to my friend Pete for repair.

1941 sscout 27.jpg

Nasty. I'll get everything off the casting and clean it up and let him have at it.

To be continued....

[clae]

very cool.