How I spent my July 2021

[Tin Man]

Because of my association with a friend in Chicago known as Chuck I became re-enamored with Stroker motors in the last couple of years. In particular those in ironhead Sportsters, Because of my membership in the AMCA a member of my local chapter posted this basket 1972 XLCH. A friend of his had bought it new, but was now wanting to divest himself of it. it was partly disassembled and was only about 3 hours from me. Had a title and was available for the mere pittance of one thousand dollars. As a lover of ironheads and a saver of derelict/orphaned ironheads (ok I have more then ten) I jumped at the chance. This was my starting point. It was exactly the starting point I wanted for a project I had in mind

[slamiste]

Looks like an excellent place to start.

[Tin Man]

Slamiste indeed it was a perfect place to commence this assemblage. It came with unneeded/unwanted extras that I like to refer to as, "rebates on purchase". I'll go over them in my next installment. As is often the case of bikes like this in life, It is all about connections. My membership led me to a bike I other wise would not have known of. It could be kismet but I like to think of it as making your own luck in life. That and availing ones self of the bike purchasing opportunities when they come up promptly. So many ironheads, so little time

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Did somebody say stroker ;-)

[Tin Man]

The 72 Saga continues. I rolled in on the lift to evaluate and commence the renovation. I went thru the bins accompanying the rolling chassis and plucked the extras that are always in basket cases. Coffee tins with wood screws, wiring nuts, nails and several good tools. Included with the bike but not needed were a set of Jardine two into one exhausts NOS. These I sold off to off set my initial bike cost for $400. A set of hard bags and mounts I will install on one of my other ironheads. And the lunch box oil tank and battery tray for an XLCH. I'm going to install an electric start which requires a change of the tank and battery tray. All this is a simple bolt in because HD went to a universal frame by 1972. Meaning no extra tabs or holes were required. The bikes odometer shows 4400 some miles. I think accurate by virtue of a less then half worn OEM Good Year rib front tire. A quick once over as it rested on the lift found that the wiring was intact. That is a time saver later on. The sheet metal was all OEM and so proceeding, I pulled the original motor. This allowed me to clean thing up a bit before I carried on. This isn't a restoration. Just a renovation. So it isn't getting more then a cleaning as I move along. I like a bike that looks like it has some experience and seen a bit of use. The new motor awaits its installed shrouded in mystery. Well at least covered in a large trash bag anyway. Next up the new motor install and some new lumpy cams

[Tin Man]

As I progress on this 1972 renovation, I’m going to do a 5000-mile service. Even though this bike has only 4044 miles showing on the odometer. It was parked in 1988. I suspect the grease in all those bearing is genuine OEM factory grease.
In my career of servicing Sportsters professionally I have noted this (my formative years 69-86 were spent working service in dealerships). Next to the steering stem bearings the swingarm bearings the most neglected component on ironheads. Lots of folks are intimidated by that swingarm pivot. It isn’t a piece of cake more of a slice of pie. It requires a couple tools. A fish scale and a pin wrench. All those are easily obtainable now a days. Also, it is covered in the factory service manual. Something you should possess if you like to play with ironheads.
Do it, record the mileage no matter the circumstance and you will know when it will need attention in the future. You’ll need a:
7/8 socket for the pivot axle
1 3/8 socket for the lock nut
A pin wrench for the bearing lock nut
A cheap fish scale. I have an old mechanical one that reads to 15 pounds
Use of the fish scale is required to do it right.

I shot a few pictures so you can see what a near 50 year old virgin assembly looks like

Next time, in goes the mystery motor. I feel like Dr. Frankenstein when I go mixing bits to make a bike up.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Thanks for sharing the swingarm. I pulled down an original on a pile of bits called a 60 xlh a couple of weeks ago and was surprised no one had beat me there. It was an unusual joy to work in parts that had not seen a chisel.

[Tin Man]

bottom end bolted in.jpg With the chassis service out of the way I continued the quest to achieve a complete running ironhead. Bottom end bolted in. Took a bin to the parts shed and collected pieces and parts from the shelves. Need everything under the primary cover. Clutch, chain, adjustor and motor sprocket. I also picked out the set of cams I’m installing. A set of NOS OEM factory performance PB cam shafts. I installed the primary drive first. The better to rotate the motor for what came next. Shiny happy cam shafts. This to work with the Truett and Osborne 4 5/8 stroker fly wheels. This will produce a mild 74 inch stroker. Plenty of power and lots of longevity. Next time things will heady. And I'll show some unusual bling I scored for the beast.

[Tin Man]

The 72 saga continues. Mechanically the motor is done. Top end assembled. The previously mentioned bling is installed. The orange rocker nuts to match the paint.
Generator is installed and wired up. Gear case cover installed and the end play on the four new shiny cams was checked and set. Pushrods installed as is the ignition parts. New Blue Streak points and condenser wired up. Statically timed and it will get checked with a light after I fire it up.

Chose my carb. Had a NOS Bendix set aside for a rainy day. Must be pouring because it is up next. The 72 has a fixed throttle and came with a Bendix OEM so it was an easy choice. If a Bendix can run a 74-inch big twin, then it won’t have any issue running a 74-inch Sportster. I’ve run lots of Bendix carbs over the years. I’d say most people suffering issues with them have a maladjusted or worn out carb.

Next on the agenda is to do a hub inspection and service on the rear wheel and install new rubber.
Won’t be long now until it barks to life.

[Tin Man]

Well somewhere over the rainbow 7 pictures of the rear hub servicing and install of the new regulator/battery tray and oil tank have gone missing. Sigh. Converting to an electric starter entailed use of the big three post Delco regulator. Also for the electric start the bike has an XLH battery tray installed. The regulator mounts off the rear side of that battery tray so moving wires around it all bolted up. Plus the associated kidney oil tank the battery tray mounts in part to that tray.. Rather nice of HD by the 1970's that Sportster models used the same frame be they an XLH or XLCH so everything just bolts up. In keeping with the performance upgrade I used a OEM 75 exhaust system. It consists of the -65A mufflers and the cross over pipe. Testing back in the day declared 5-7 HP gain with the cross over. The seat is the extra that came with my 1967 XLCH which is set up with a solo. And then it was done. Which leads me to best part at the end of July. I got to road test the new beast. Starts readily, idles nicely. functions like a nice old Sportster should. It took 29 days of part time labor to assemble but less then 2 blocks to make me grin. Oh, it has a bit more get up and go then when it left the factory. .

[joe fxs fxr]

Nice Job! And quick too