Anybody ever heard of an 1934 RL?

[loch]

I'm looking in Steve Slocumbe's book for some reference to an RL, no luck so far. Still looking - thought I'd throw the question out there. Could this possibly be a Rikuo machine?

I think mystery solved, at least a mystery to me. RL might refer to the 45" of the '30s.

[Rubone]

Steve's book won't show RLs because it is about V series bikes. All D, DL, R, RL are 45s and are well documented.

[kitabel]

Similar to the VL except smaller with bore, stroke, rod length same as WL 45 (739cc, 45.12"). Roller left main bearing, bronze right bearing.
Pressure oil only, total loss system. "T" manifold (1936 uses "Y" manifold), 1-1/4" Linkert (R uses 1"), iron heads.

[Peter Cooke]

I think mystery solved, at least a mystery to me. RL might refer to the 45" of the '30s.

Correct you are. You can read all about them here.

manual (vintagemotorcycleworks.com)

[Rubone]

I'm looking in Steve Slocumbe's book for some reference to an RL, no luck so far. Still looking - thought I'd throw the question out there. Could this possibly be a Rikuo machine?

I think mystery solved, at least a mystery to me. RL might refer to the 45" of the '30s.

Are you by chance looking at the ad someone has up trying to sell a "complete" VL with an RL engine? Buyer beware on that pile...

[loch]

Hey Robbie, no I don't think it was that one. I stumble upon it on Facebook. Ad had it listed as a Flathead basket case basically, "I think the entire bike is there." the seller said. He had a picture of the serial number. 34RLXXXX. I have Johny Seller's book as soon as I realized it might be a 45 I cracked open the first chapter. I don't remember the first number in serial number. But it should be a 1 considering less than 1000 were made in '34.

I was just curious.

[Rubone]

Hey Robbie, no I don't think it was that one. I stumble upon it on Facebook. Ad had it listed as a Flathead basket case basically, "I think the entire bike is there." the seller said. He had a picture of the serial number. 34RLXXXX. I have Johny Seller's book as soon as I realized it might be a 45 I cracked open the first chapter. I don't remember the first number in serial number. But it should be a 1 considering less than 1000 were made in '34.

I was just curious.

The link to the ad was posted by JoJo a couple days ago. It is in the classifieds.

[Steve Slocombe]

The 1934 RL has the same oil pump, valve lifters, headlamp, tail lamp, saddle, hand brake lever and generator as the VL but otherwise the machines seem to have come from two different design teams. In particular the engine breather systems are quite different, and the small twins are using up the rear band brakes. I think the Harley small twin was rushed out as a 1929 model to compete with the Indian 101 Scout and the Excelsior Super-X, but putting the 45 engine in the single cylinder cycle parts was a big mistake, not remedied until the new 1932 frame with the generator laid across the front rather than vertical with a right angle bevel drive. By this time a lot of somewhat inferior 1929-31 small twins had been sold and, as the Depression bit, there were few people able to buy the improved model. That transmission was modified almost every year, and not finally fixed until 1941. The small twins, and the singles, also suffered from being priced close to the VL, with 1934 being the last year for the singles.

[JoJo357]

*M.A.D.*

http://www.dl45homepage.com/rl45contents.html


By the way, that Facebook ad i posted for the basket bastard
1934 RL has been sold.

[loch]

Yes, I guess sold pretty quickly, JoJo! Looked like an interesting project.

[loch]

Steve, yes according to Johnny's text the folks at Harley were eager to get it to compete with the likes of the small Indian. It was also plagued with design issues such as the initial frame, being the same frame as the single, didn't have room for the forward, horizontally mounted generator. Johnny thinks these issues and others, combined with low production numbers during the depression are responsible for the lack of survivors. I think that adds to the interest/uniqueness factor of these machines.

[Lippy]

Here's the RL ad portion from the 1934 sales flyer:


1934HD45.jpg

[Steve Slocombe]

I wouldn't say 15,000 Harley 1929-31 small twins is a low production number, but more a tribute to the dealer network pushing an inferior bike onto the market. If you look at the old photos, you'll see a lot of lady riders on 1929/30 small twins, and in Scandinavia the model was called the Sport when many of the Big Twins were sidecar luggers. Harley always achieved their best sales in the first year of a new model, for the 1918 W flat twin, the 1926 single, the 1929 small twin and the 1930 VL. But the first-year models were not always perfect, and Harley had learned their lesson for the 1936 knucklehead, which had a low profile launch while the bugs were worked out.