Bringing the 65 FLH back to Life

[panz4ever]

Had my 65 since October of 1970. Bought it off a strawberry farmer a couple hours south of me. Used it as the long haul bike (everything east of the Rockies). Used a chopped 52 Pan and and a chopped 72 Sporty for everything west. Finally shut the bike down in 2000 because it was a very tired machine at almost 120K on the clock.



The 52



The 72



Before putting the 65 to bed I found an original 1-owner 84 FLH out of Flint, MI that became the primary long distance bike.



In 2019 I figured it was finally time to revive the 65. Almost completely apart.



Motor completely apart. Has matching belly numbers

[panz4ever]

Frame markings

[jorrow]

Very nice, thank you for sharing. Love my 65. They are great bikes.

[panz4ever]

Swing arm

[panz4ever]

Wheels









Spokes are Buchannan. No, not correct (should be cad finish), but at age 74 I am done messing with cad plated spokes. These are not the only parts that are not correct, but the build is not for the AMCA judges, it is for me and those who might enjoy a bit of history.

All chroming done by Sherms out of Sacramento (not cheap but they do really nice work). Have a gunsmith up near Redding, California that does my parkerizing services. Van Nuys Plating out of Van Nuys CA does my cad plating. (Shocks were temporary while I was rebuilding my originals.)

Paint is by Renteria Brothers out of Morgan Hill CA. These guys have been in the paint business a very very long time. They do old & new vehicles and they do motorcycles as well. Very meticulous about their work.

[panz4ever]

Heads and Cylinders

[JoJo357]

Thanks for the looks Panz4ever. Should be ready to Rock N' Roll for another 120K+.

*M.A.D.*

[joe fxs fxr]

nice! great job

[BigLakeBob]

Looking forward to the resurrection. Your detailed photos should really help others.

[panz4ever]

While taking everything apart, i took pics, lots of pice, so that onece assembled I would have a visual of where everything went. Made sure to mark it up as well.

Oil pump

[panz4ever]

Frame repainted with new bearings and cad plated cups and rechromed fender rails.

[panz4ever]

Putting on an adjustable front end











I sent my lowers back to Bill's Custom Cycles (PA) for a rebuild (new bushings, upper and lower). The original hadn't leaked but I figured why chance it since I had it torn down completely. They do great work and havce a very good turnaround time.



The gap closes up and the pieces are almost flush with one another. Pic is just before sliding onto place.



Forks and tubes reassembled with fluid added. Adding the fork oil is majorly slow and was lieterally drip-by-drip.

[KNUCK]

You will have a new bike when you are done. I love my 65 Pan

[ammorest]

Great detail pictures. Keep it up. Thank you.
Dave

[craig (DE)]

Great pictures and detail! Looking forward to more of the rebuild.