1919 OHC Excelsior project update...

[AdminGuy]

I knew Paul Brodie (I call him Paulie) would be getting the OHC Ex ready for the show in Half Moon Bay. I can't make it. So I figured it would be a good time to drop in and get a few pictures of the machine as it would be soon packed up for the road. I called ahead and told him I would just take a few pictures, stay out of his way and not bother him. That was my plan. In and out in ten minutes to show you all what he's been up to.

Well here I am tired, late at night, putting this little ditty together for you all. What a day!

I arrive at 11am. Pouring rain outside. Paul is obviously real tired but in good spirits. Adreniline is a pump'in in the shop. He went to bed at 6am and was rudely awoken at 8:30am. Who the *^&*%$! is calling me at 8:30am!!!! Paul exclaimed.

I didn't have such a great sleep either as I had laid down the first coat on my gas tanks and had opened up the tape plugs to air the interior sealant (POR15). The combined off-gas was so powerful in the work shop it woke me up at 3am and I had to put the stuff out side. My nose is all stuffed up with alergys so it didn't seem that bad when I brought them into the house. Big mistake.... think sleeping in a body shop.

So then Paul whacks his hand and curses something. I say what's with your hands? He shows me. His knuckles are swollen, dried out, cut and bloody. You know those cuts that just will not close. I tell him to clean them, bandaids and put some duct tape over the cuts. Always works for me. No time for that. Paul says-Work to do. Enough baby bitchin. I get the tour and the low down.

[AdminGuy]

So Paul has had a few nasty road blocks thrown in his path. The plan was to have a running engine for the show. A problem with the main bearing fit was a major set back last night. it a tapered main. He would have to shave the outer OD of it or something. I couldn't make out exactly what the problem was but it wa sa problem and he was ****** and really didn't want to get into it. Maybe it was the supplier or the product. Not sure. What ever.... still a major bummer.

So the plan was to now show the bevel drive gears for the OHCams. Which is pretty darn inpressive and anyone who knows what they are looking at will clearly understand and be able to see that this a motocycle that is very close to being completed. Not just to simply run. But to run well -and be competitive. I can see how this motor will give the 8-valve jobs a real run for there money on the race track. When that day comes - my butt but will be on a plane very quickly.

This engine has been calculated to put out 47 ft pounds of torque. Approx 50 horse. Modern materials. This engine should really haul ass. I think you can clearly see how it evolved from the Cyclone engine. Same guy involved in it's original design. Read Daniels Statnekovs web site for the low down. http://www.statnekov.com/motorcycles/lives15.html

It's really incredible to see how far Paul has come with this project. A major lifetime achivement. I'll get video for you all when it first gets fired up. And some more after issues have been worked out and the engine gets broken in and we can give it a few speed trials. I'm really looking forward to that! Should be great fun.

Paul is a man who has laid it all on the line. He will MAKE IT happen. Pretty obvious I hope from seeing these photos.

He needs to make a sale or two. Help him out if you've got the money. You can race this bike. Think about that.

More pictures for you.

Box of bevel gears. They came back to him without being de-burred? Nice eh! It got subed out, then rejected and had to be done again. So it goes. Nothing Paul does is sub-standard.

[AdminGuy]

Two stage oil pump. Designed by Paul. A bit of a brain twister. Not an original item. You can see it installed bottom of bev_drive case. Will do wonders for the running of the engine.

[AdminGuy]

ahhhh another shot of something........

OK- the bevel drive gears. I love looking at these. Major calculations required to figure this out. Pauls web site is great. A good read.

http://flashbackfab.com/pages/excel00.html

So we'll mock up the completed engine. Get some shots of that. Pauls plan is to machine the heads today. They were cast on Wed. He had them in hand on Sat. Prelim work done. So today he must build four fixtures to machine them on the mill. Plug holes. A late night again. I would think so. They leave tomorrow morning.

[AdminGuy]

Ahhhh.... the engine on the bench. Can you see how the shaft from the magneto fits into internal splines. The guy who cut the spines was complaining how hard the metal was. A very nice percision fit. I love the way that feels when parts fit together that well. Just an incredibly good feeling as parts slide/mate perfectly into place. Click, click, click, the tolarances are bang on. Beautiful!!!!

[AdminGuy]

ahhh....OK this should have preceeded. Note the oil pump at bottom.

[AdminGuy]

ummm.....

[AdminGuy]

internal skirt oilers. This explains alot. Glad you understand why and how. Pretty darn cool!

[AdminGuy]

uhmmmm....OK, it was at this point after I got a few shots of the engine on the bench that Paul asked me to hang around and help out. The frame and stuff had the clear coat dry now and need to be assembled. Sure I figured. So I helped unmask, scrape, chase threads, and get stuff up on the deck. Forks on, front tire and bars, etc.

Pete Gagan is coming over to help out. It's his bike. Serial #001. So Pete and I will do the small stuff and the master (Paul) will get on the mill. Cool.

I made the mistake of letting Paul know that I could operate a mill and lathe. A big smile crossed his face. I later found myself making some spacers for the rear wheel. All hands on deck!

Pete was busy measuring and putting the external oil lines on. Soldering things together etc. So we had to put the engine into the frame, then take it back out to put the heads on. Not a big deal but much easier with extra hands. Pete was still hobbling around after major ancle replacement surgury. Biker prone injury? He's getting better. A titanium and teflon job.

The photo. I just thought that this was a neat shot of the mag engagement.

[AdminGuy]

Paul and engine, fitting the engine plate I think. That olive green can look bad sometimes. I like this color. It's brighter and very close to original. Couple paint imperfections to fix on the tank. No time for that.

Five of these bikes were originally made to compete with the 8-valves. After the death of the son like racer. They were all destroyed. So the rebirth you see here is the accual running bike. Not the grey mock up that you prob saw last year. Paul is only making seven of the bikes. Yup - very rare stuff.

[AdminGuy]

ahhh....head castings. Paul had noted that some adjustments to the castings would need to be made. Nothing major. A little extra here. Shift this a little over there. These still need some major hours of work. An option is presented by Pete to Paul of just using the black mock up ones for the show. Paul really wants to show the heads as they will fit into the overhead brackets properly and the fins are wider on the castings. So the big push is to get this done.

So close to having a running engine!!!!!! It's a killer!!! I can't wait for this baby to fire up.

[AdminGuy]

Paul and Pete. The photo on the right door was the basis for this project. Yup! Pretty darn amazing.

[AdminGuy]

Pete _ Paul. Just a typical bunch of guys doing last minute assembly.

Paul has designed some custom seat for this bike. A very clean approach. So that's in transit. The lady had to drill and hand stitch. More extra work.

[AdminGuy]

The starter! I love this thing! and who wouldn't. 100K. You gotta have some extra toys. You lock this onto the left side main nut to spin/crank the engine. Love it! Great fun....

I guess the advantage is that instead of a rear wheel roller type starter. This one can be used if the engine is mounted in a stand. It's light, portable, small footprint also.

Ya, well -my 10min side trip turned into 5 hours. Does that sound familiar to you all.

That looks like all the photos I took. Hope you all enjoyed getting a look into the last minute prep of the bike for the half Moon Bay. Legend of the Motorcycle show. They will be featureing Excelsiors, Hendersons, and Vincents this year. Should be a great show! Life is short. Hop on a plane.

I noticed that I got a cameo in the "corbin ride on" video clip up on the Legends web site. It's right near the end. I'm wearing my Indian jersey. Black Crocker baseball cap. Walking with someone pushing a bike. Ya, big deal....

Makes me think. What are Mike and Markus at Crocker M/C up to these days? Do they have a runner yet?

Paulie is going to have the OHC Ex running in under a month. I figure by mid summer I should have some "balls to wall" video for you all of this very special historical recreation. A ghost from the past reborn to dominate once again.

Anyone care to guess what the top end of this bike would be? Do you think it could out run an 8-valve job? Do you feel it could be faster and stronger than a Cyclone engine? Looks like were going to have some serious racing at Davenport soon.

Take care all -
Paul Edwards

[Limey_Dave]

Thanks for posting this AdminGuy,that is some machine.I'm off to bed to dream about it.

Not time diff,shift work.