the first Harley's

[jurassic]

here's the "comet" cases for comparison.

[jurassic]

only 3 of the case studs were OEM. one had to be cut to split the cases.

[jurassic]

these flywheels on 2221 are very large for the era,nice shape too.after much consideration the owner wants to leave the engine "as found",which i agree is the best thing for it.

[c.o.]

It's going to be cool when Dick gets his article on Comets in print. I'm curious to know more about those machines!

[jurassic]

dick posted this comet pic a while back , i wish i had a clearer copy. great shot of two comets and an early harley. notice how both the comets look like different models too. the harley and comet engines do look pretty close. but the cylinder looks a little different to me.

[pem]

None that we know of Cory. Photos are extremely rare too!

Dick

[c.o.]

I managed to dig out and re-read Dick's article on Perry Mack. It does mention the Comet motorcycle and has a photo and article attached from the Wisconsin Motorist. Prior to reading it I could only recall a line drawing of a race machine. Do any of you fellows know if any complete machines still exist?

[HarleyCreation]

Nobody willing to hazard their opinion whether these two forks are the same or different in size and construction?

http://www.atthecreation.com/fork.co...K.COMPARE.html

That 1908 motor sure is impressive. I hope Lonnie's catching lots of fish and having a good time.

[HarleyCreation]

i'm not sure if we can really know if 1133A is a comet motor or not.if so then i think it would be that missing link between perry mack ,and the davidsons ,and harley.its a dead ringer for the harley 8 bolt ,yet it matchs not one comet picture i have yet to see.

If this early Harley "clone" doesn't match the Comet photos it might mean there were other early clones around. There were other motorcycles made in Milwaukee in this period of which we have no photos of but only names: Advance, S&S, Zupanisch (sic), and others.

S&S was Sauler & Sauler and he also worked at Harley-Davidson. Who knows what these other guys did, or attempted to do. In any case that 1133A is a very cool motor. Wonder what (if anything) the serial number means?

[silentgreyfello]

this should give you enough to ponder ,as for the next few weeks ,i'll be trading in my wrenchs for a fishing pole.and snow for a warm beach. enjoy.

Take it easy on the senioritas and margaritas!

[jurassic]

this should give you enough to ponder ,as for the next few weeks ,i'll be trading in my wrenchs for a fishing pole.and snow for a warm beach. enjoy.

[jurassic]

jerry ,here she is as after extensive renovation.which was done in sturgis.any chance at all you got some pics of when you found it? i'm a junkie for this stuff.we're slowly adding a little history to these things ,one bit at a time.

1835 picture

[jurassic]

i'm not sure if we can really know if 1133A is a comet motor or not.if so then i think it would be that missing link between perry mack ,and the davidsons ,and harley.its a dead ringer for the harley 8 bolt ,yet it matchs not one comet picture i have yet to see.

[c.o.]

I guess Shovel owners can pat their bikes and tell them about their great granddaddy...... A Comet motor for real? Man I thought that was just stuff of legends......

[jurassic]

well 2 of the srews came out ,and 2 were so rusted ,they just twisted off ,so actually it wasn't to hard to get the cam cover off.some screw extraction will be neccesary ,but looks pretty basic.low and behold ,the cam is nearly perfect too. the cam slid right out ,no numbers on it though.notice the crack on the case where the lifter block slides in. 1835 had this same crack. we didn't fix it ,as it was really thin in that area. must have been a problem with alot of them.

2221 picture