Ryan's A.M.C.A. Giveaway bike build!

[Matthew N. Olse]

I made a mistake in regards to the little torque amplifier in my previous post, and the edit feature did not seem to want to work. It should read the torque amplifier reads the same at a 90 degree angle, when the amplifier is in line with the wrench you have to plug the numbers into a formula which makes the final reading 70 or so percent of the actual reading because of the increased leverage! If you don't have a torque wrench, you can just tighten them up as tight as possible, that is what I do when I am out on the road, and it works just fine.

[Matthew N. Olse]

Tim,
Your 50 looks amazing! Give me a call next week, I need your address so I can send you out a long over due care package.

John,
The torque wrench has the same reading when the amplifier is straight, but when you have the amplifier installed 90 degrees to the torque wrench, you have to plug the numbers into a formula. I think it is 70 to 80 percent of the actual reading, I will check and get back with you.

Everybody else,
The updates will not come to a screeching hault next week, they will just slow down a little bit. Ryan will start on his body work and paint job with Larry Medwig when he gets home, and I have to send a lot of his stuff off for plating.

This morning I spot welded Ryan's skirts in place. Ryan made the skirts out of .060 thick metal, which is pretty heavy. The reason that we did this is because our shop doesn't have the capabilities to fold over a lip on the edge like stock fenders. The plus side of using a heavy guage metal is that it makes the fender really rigid.





Here is a pic of the other side! There were a couple spots where we burned through the metal, so it needs a little bit of finish work. Ryan and my dad are knocking out the braces right now.



Ryan on his bike! My dad and I tried to talk him into making motor noises, but he wouldn't do it. Ryan and I are getting interviewed by Tom Lowdermilk tonight on www.sidestandup.com. Check it out and have a good day!

[jwl]

Good job guys!! In one of your previous posts you are shown torqueing the cylinders. You are using an extention of some sort from the wrench to the nut, for clearance reasons I assume. I have often wondered how such a setup will affect the torque being applied. Is there some sort of formula you use depending on the length of the extention or doesn't it matter?

[TimR]

Ryan, I have enjoyed following along with your Bike Build. I have recent finished a 1950 WL done as a '50's era Bobber. My wife & daughters wanted a bike they could learn to ride. They think my big-twins are too heavy. I like your paint idea to include scallops on the tank. Mine are Azure Blue (1950 color) and the rest is Daytona Ivory (1954 color) Here are some othe bikes with scallop paint. Joe Weatherly

Booze Fighter's
and the '50 Bobber
Keep up the good work. Soak up all the knowledge you can. Tim

[cheifrider]

ryan, its been a pleasure checking out your adventure in here ......in my honest opinion find a carby .headlight and a hot chick , head for bike week and let the cards fall where they may!

[dommi7]

What about me? I'm not gonna have anything to read for months! C'mon summer!

[exeric]

The only thing that bothers me is, the poor guy has to wait until July to finish his bike. This project has been one of the most positive and enjoyable things the AMCA has done. Hang in there Ryan, and haunt this forum to get your old bike fix.

[Carl Olsen]

Motorhead,
We do the piston coating in house, Moly on the skirts and Ceramic on the tops. For all of you responding to Ryan's build I would like to say thank you for all of your interest, he is an amazing young man and has a bright future ahead of him. I taught machine shop for 6 years in a vocational high school and if all the students would have been like Ryan I would be still doing it, this young man is not afraid to try anything and picks up on running different equipment so easily that you would swear he has more experience than a person twice his age. Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people involved with this project and state that we chose the right winner.
Carl

[motorhead1]

Who did the coating on the piston skirts for you?

[Ohio-Rider]

Thanks a lot. We had talked about getting a repop battery box but like you said, anybody can do that. I learned way more doing what I did than just throwing a new part on. I know probably a lot of people won't even realize how much work went into just that one part when it is all finished, but I will and I guess thats all that really matters.

Ryan, When no one notices or realizes how much work something took you to do, that is when you know you have done it right. -Steve

P.S.....As much fun as your having building this bike remember school is way more important. I knew you already know that but I couldn't help from saying it out loud.

[Ryan Mackey]

Hey Ryan, Do you have any plans to bring your bike down to Eustis or Bike Week to show it off? It would give you a chance to log a few miles and get an early jump on the riding season. Trust me, I know what it's like to be stuck up north in the winter! Keep up the good work!

Unfortunately I am only here until next sunday. I have to get back to school. The plan is to come back in July and do the final assembly of the bike and then ride to Sturgis to show it off. I'm not quite sure yet how I am going to make it until July without even being able to see my bike but I'll have to find a way.

Ryan,
I have been following your progress since before you even started and everything you have done so far is impressive. Of all the things you have learned and accomplished I think that your work on the battery box sums up the entire experience and is a lesson for all of us. Here are my thoughts on the "lesson" of the battery box.

Anybody can buy and install a repop battery box, no brainer, easy fix. There are very few restorers, if any, that would take the time and exert the effort required to drill and chisel an ancient and swollen H-2 battery carcass out of a corroded and rusted battery box, drill the spot welds, cave the old sheet metal box out of the frame, make patterns for the mounting tabs and completely rebuild the box. Then, when it didn't fit the sectioned fender, cut it apart again and make new brackets. The work you have done on that one single part tells us everything we need to know about you, and its all good.

I'm not saying all this to give you a big head, in fact I've avoided posting anything until now to try to prevent that. Everthing we have seen so far indicates that you are learning how to do things for yourself, and do them right. This also speaks highly of the guys that are guiding you through this. But, here again, I don't want anyone to get a big head. (Carl's is big enough already)

Us old guys are getting older and its comforting to know that there is another generation getting ready to step in and carry on, and, most importantly, do it right.

So, thanks Ryan for giving us all some hope for the future of our hobby, thanks Matt for getting this program off the ground, and thanks Carl for nurturing these skills and passing them on.

I guess all you guys will need bigger hats now......sorry

Mike

Thanks a lot. We had talked about getting a repop battery box but like you said, anybody can do that. I learned way more doing what I did than just throwing a new part on. I know probably a lot of people won't even realize how much work went into just that one part when it is all finished, but I will and I guess thats all that really matters.

Speaking of the battery box...first thing this morning Matt welded the brackets on for me. All it need now is some sanding and it will be all set.


Carl and I worked on the motor all day today. The first thing we did was drill out the old breather valve.


And then installed the new one.


We had a lot of trouble with the oil pump. Everytime we installed it, it would cause a sticky spot when the motor was turned over. After a while messing with it and process of elimination, it was caused by the pump being a bit off center due to one of the studs. Someone at some point must of drilled and tapped the stud hole a little off which caused the pump to mount poorly which caused the rubbing. The best way to fix it was to eggshape the hole on the pump on the mill.


Here is what the hole now looks like. It wasn't much but worked like a charm!


After that was all worked out, we installed the pistons.


Then we had to make sure that the rods were aligned with the cases. The front rod needed a little adjustment but the rear was good!


Here I am torquing down the cylinders after we installed the rings.


And here are the tappets after I adjusted them.


There is still a little bit to do on the motor before it is good to go but it is really close!

[schmittm]

Work Ethic

Ryan,
I have been following your progress since before you even started and everything you have done so far is impressive. Of all the things you have learned and accomplished I think that your work on the battery box sums up the entire experience and is a lesson for all of us. Here are my thoughts on the "lesson" of the battery box.

Anybody can buy and install a repop battery box, no brainer, easy fix. There are very few restorers, if any, that would take the time and exert the effort required to drill and chisel an ancient and swollen H-2 battery carcass out of a corroded and rusted battery box, drill the spot welds, cave the old sheet metal box out of the frame, make patterns for the mounting tabs and completely rebuild the box. Then, when it didn't fit the sectioned fender, cut it apart again and make new brackets. The work you have done on that one single part tells us everything we need to know about you, and its all good.

I'm not saying all this to give you a big head, in fact I've avoided posting anything until now to try to prevent that. Everthing we have seen so far indicates that you are learning how to do things for yourself, and do them right. This also speaks highly of the guys that are guiding you through this. But, here again, I don't want anyone to get a big head. (Carl's is big enough already)

Us old guys are getting older and its comforting to know that there is another generation getting ready to step in and carry on, and, most importantly, do it right.

So, thanks Ryan for giving us all some hope for the future of our hobby, thanks Matt for getting this program off the ground, and thanks Carl for nurturing these skills and passing them on.

I guess all you guys will need bigger hats now......sorry

Mike

[Uhairball]

That is one sweet ride!

Hey Ryan, Do you have any plans to bring your bike down to Eustis or Bike Week to show it off? It would give you a chance to log a few miles and get an early jump on the riding season. Trust me, I know what it's like to be stuck up north in the winter! Keep up the good work!

[Ryan Mackey]

Ryan
I love the apron, good work Carl. Ryan your enthusiasm is spreading with this project. Look to all the positive input from the guys to identify with this fact. You appear to be having the time of your life go for it, it only gets better from here if you continue to put forth the effort.
If this activity is any indication of future bike giveaways the club gets for this program we should offer one once a year. Instead of charging for spot rental at meets vendors should be allowed an option of paying in parts for another program like this one. Select a bike and then let the club collect the parts.
Joe

I really hope that another contest like this happens again so that someone else can get the experience that I am getting. I am sure there are plenty of other young people like me that would love to have this opportunity.

I made up some brackets for the battery box to replace the one that attaches to the fender. Since the fender is narrower, I did not like how the bracket stuck out. Here is what the stock bracket looks like.


Here is where I decided to cut it off.


All gone!


I had to put a flat piece back on to leave room to mount the brackets. Here it is all welded up.


While I had the welder set up, I decided to fill in the gap that is stock on a battery box. It will make it stronger and I think it looks better. It also gave me some more practice! Here is the gap.


And here it is after I did some sanding and filing.


Here are the brackets that I bent up. The middle one goes on the underside of the fender to give some extra support.


Here they are on the fender after I welded on some nuts. I ended up having to cut the bolts down to make some room so they mount flush.


And here they are mounted on the bike. They still need welded but that will get done tomorrow. These should be as strong if not stronger than the original bracket and fit much better with the sectioned fender.


There is still a list of things to do and only 1 week left to get them done so we are going to have to buckle down and get to work!

[Bills37]

Nice looking ride you got going there Ryan. Looks like you're have some first class experience and help. I can't wait to see the final product.