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I just want to snivel a bit about this 1917 Henderson I am trying to finish for the Eustis meet. From day one it has been a slave driving, whip weilding, taskmaster. I started on the engine first and quickly found out it had a bent crankshaft. Two trips to a crankshaft specialist got it straight. I put the bottom end together and discovered the countshaft saddles were out of wack, (not perpendicular) to the crankshaft. I know a good welder who cussed a blue streak about that case but he did a good job and built up the right areas. I tied up a Bridgeport mill for a whole day, (and got paid for it, but I don't work there anymore.) I used every angle plate and hold down clamp in the place and must have worn out a dial indicator getting it aligned. One light cut with a boring bar and it was done. Everything lined up and spun smooth as silk. Of coarse I had to make all new bearings, spring pockets for the clutch, tappet guides, tappets, valve guides, thrust washers, spacers, and thrust bearings. Also repace every ball bearing, bushing, spring, and fastener.
I am reluctant to mention the starter nightmare. I have a 1919 Hen as well, and both bikes have the most poorly designed starter I have ever seen on a motorcycle. It's small and fragile and you'll never find good NOS starter parts. I believe every dealership was cleaned out of starter parts many years ago. If you have a '17 - '19 Hen, treat your starter like newborn baby. After numerous experiments I was able to make a starter with the right tooth angle and hardness. ...... And I still don't trust it.
The frame looked good at first but after putting the thing together I discovered it was very badly bent. My theory is, it was hit by something fast and heavy in the right rear. The damage went from the rear to the front and even broke the left leg of the main fork. All of this had been half/arsed fixed by some nincompoop in the past. I spent countless hours cutting, welding and straightening that old tubing and eventually got it to measure out square.
Next came the body work. Whatever traumatic event wrecked the frame also warped the sheet metal. I've had a lot of experience with warped fenders and I can get them straight again but I hate sheet metal work more than anything. Of coarse that involved a lot of cutting, brazing, and grinding. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl, but the fenders came out beautifully.
Before getting everything ready for paint, I put it together for a dress rehearsal. This is where you find out what doesn't fit and why all of the stuff that should theoretically work, doesn't work. After tons of adjustments and redesigns the dog-gone thing started up and ran.
I tore it down and started with the paint. Everything was going great, perfect weather, and countless hours of surface preparation rewarded me with a flawless dark blue paint job. Next came the striping and the decal application. That's the big reward, to see it striped and with that beautiful winged wheel decal on the tank. . . . I was in heaven. A few coats of clear over everything would protect it and I'd be done. I was doing the tank in clear when my hand bumped into the decal area and pulled a big chunk of the decal off. I think I might have passed out because I can't account for a couple of hours that day.
Needless to say, I reworked the tank and thanks to Bob McClean, new decals were expedited and applied.
Yesterday, (Wednesday) I got the bike back together and finalized the assembly. I made sure everything was tight and locktighted, air in the tires, oil in the motor, gas in the tank, and the right firing order. The original gas cock is leaking like a kitchen faucett. I worked like an idiot to get the genuine petcock to work and now it's leaking. Off to the hardware store for O-rings and some late night machine work and now it's only leaking a little bit.
After a good nights sleep I felt confident it would start right up this morning. After 10 kicks it was obvious it wasn't going to start. My investigation revealed a stone dead magneto. That mag worked perfectly 3 weeks ago. The thing that really kills me is, that was the one component that was seemingly perfect. It was rebuilt by a well known California magneto guy (who I won't name) and it was the one thing that I didn't think I would have any problem with. I have an appointment with Ed Strain in St. Pete tomorrow morning and he's the guy I wish had rebuilt this magneto.
I joined the AMCA back in 1975 and I've been going to the Florida meet every year since then. Here we are on the eve of the Florida meet and I'm sitting on my hands with a stomach in knots waiting to find out if it's even going to be worth going this year. Well, I'm going to stay with this to the bitter end. I'll let you know what happens tomarrow.
I am reluctant to mention the starter nightmare. I have a 1919 Hen as well, and both bikes have the most poorly designed starter I have ever seen on a motorcycle. It's small and fragile and you'll never find good NOS starter parts. I believe every dealership was cleaned out of starter parts many years ago. If you have a '17 - '19 Hen, treat your starter like newborn baby. After numerous experiments I was able to make a starter with the right tooth angle and hardness. ...... And I still don't trust it.
The frame looked good at first but after putting the thing together I discovered it was very badly bent. My theory is, it was hit by something fast and heavy in the right rear. The damage went from the rear to the front and even broke the left leg of the main fork. All of this had been half/arsed fixed by some nincompoop in the past. I spent countless hours cutting, welding and straightening that old tubing and eventually got it to measure out square.
Next came the body work. Whatever traumatic event wrecked the frame also warped the sheet metal. I've had a lot of experience with warped fenders and I can get them straight again but I hate sheet metal work more than anything. Of coarse that involved a lot of cutting, brazing, and grinding. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl, but the fenders came out beautifully.
Before getting everything ready for paint, I put it together for a dress rehearsal. This is where you find out what doesn't fit and why all of the stuff that should theoretically work, doesn't work. After tons of adjustments and redesigns the dog-gone thing started up and ran.
I tore it down and started with the paint. Everything was going great, perfect weather, and countless hours of surface preparation rewarded me with a flawless dark blue paint job. Next came the striping and the decal application. That's the big reward, to see it striped and with that beautiful winged wheel decal on the tank. . . . I was in heaven. A few coats of clear over everything would protect it and I'd be done. I was doing the tank in clear when my hand bumped into the decal area and pulled a big chunk of the decal off. I think I might have passed out because I can't account for a couple of hours that day.
Needless to say, I reworked the tank and thanks to Bob McClean, new decals were expedited and applied.
Yesterday, (Wednesday) I got the bike back together and finalized the assembly. I made sure everything was tight and locktighted, air in the tires, oil in the motor, gas in the tank, and the right firing order. The original gas cock is leaking like a kitchen faucett. I worked like an idiot to get the genuine petcock to work and now it's leaking. Off to the hardware store for O-rings and some late night machine work and now it's only leaking a little bit.
After a good nights sleep I felt confident it would start right up this morning. After 10 kicks it was obvious it wasn't going to start. My investigation revealed a stone dead magneto. That mag worked perfectly 3 weeks ago. The thing that really kills me is, that was the one component that was seemingly perfect. It was rebuilt by a well known California magneto guy (who I won't name) and it was the one thing that I didn't think I would have any problem with. I have an appointment with Ed Strain in St. Pete tomorrow morning and he's the guy I wish had rebuilt this magneto.
I joined the AMCA back in 1975 and I've been going to the Florida meet every year since then. Here we are on the eve of the Florida meet and I'm sitting on my hands with a stomach in knots waiting to find out if it's even going to be worth going this year. Well, I'm going to stay with this to the bitter end. I'll let you know what happens tomarrow.
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