New 1934 Harley Davidson VD owner

[Jim]

Good call, and remember that the VL side-vented gas caps don't take the leather washers like the earlier top vented ones.

Here are my reproduction VL Caps with the holes that I drilled in them. These are the ones I use on my 1936 VLH. I had original caps which I copied.


DSCN3518 Cap Vent size.jpg DSCN3520.JPG

[Peter Cooke]

Years ago, I had that non-vented gas cap issue as well, Peter. It will stop you dead after a few miles but easily restart in a few minutes. Aggravating, and embarrassing.

And always when there's a crowd around!

[34VDharley]

Here are my reproduction VL Caps with the holes that I drilled in them. These are the ones I use on my 1936 VLH. I had original caps which I copied.


DSCN3518 Cap Vent size.jpg DSCN3520.JPG

Jim those look similar to the caps I have but different? I have a vent hole in the bottom and top of my gas cap as well. I'd like to purchase these if they work better than what I have. That's the only thing I can figure that was causing my issue.

On another note, I noticed when I drained my oil it had a noticeable sheen to it. No big flakes or anything but a metallic sheen. I assume this is because the engine was just rebuilt this year and hasn't been broken in, or do I have other issues to worry about?

[Jim]

Jim those look similar to the caps I have but different? I have a vent hole in the bottom and top of my gas cap as well. I'd like to purchase these if they work better than what I have. That's the only thing I can figure that was causing my issue.

On another note, I noticed when I drained my oil it had a noticeable sheen to it. No big flakes or anything but a metallic sheen. I assume this is because the engine was just rebuilt this year and hasn't been broken in, or do I have other issues to worry about?

Those caps in the other photos are the "larger" gas caps off of my 1936 (I think also were for 1935). You have the smaller ones for the earlier VLs. I hadn't noticed that before. But, here is a picture of the one off my 1930 VL. Same type of holes. To be honest, I don't recall if I drilled these or bought them this way. Too long ago now.

As for the oil? You'll need an opinion from someone that really would know. I don't know.

20250624_105612.jpg

[exeric]

And always when there's a crowd around!

And when you're riding a Panhead, and your crowd is on Hondas !

[Peter Cooke]

And when you're riding a Panhead, and your crowd is on Hondas !

I hope they didn't laugh! You, supposedly, meet the nicest people.....

[34VDharley]

Good news. I think my coil is bad. I was playing with the bike today and noticed that when I turn the ignition key to "ON", I wasn't getting any power to the amp meter. I unscrewed and tugged up/down on one of the ignition wires, turned the ignition key back to "ON", and suddenly noticed I had 2 amps on the gauge. Bike fired right up, ran for a bit, but then died. Repeated the process once more with the same results, but then nothing.

Since this appears to be a faulty coil does anyone have a vendor they'd recommend for a replacement? I see them listed for 110 or so on Ebay but I'm unsure if those are quality coils. I want something that wont leave me stranded dozens of miles from my garage.

[otis71]

To get a decent coil you have to hollow out an existing coil and put a replacement in it. Somewhere on this forum there is step by step instructions and the information on the coil to use. I’ve done a couple with good results. There’s also information on a vendor that does this. I’ve also had good luck buying Panhead coils at the meets and putting the early U bolt mounts on them. Of course there’s no guarantee the coil is any good but that’s the gamble you take. From my experience they usually do work and I’ve gotten them for as little as $10. Stay away from any aftermarket coil. I don’t think any of them are any good and worse yet they sometimes work sporadically leaving you stranded at least until it cools down.

[34VDharley]

Just bought a coil from Jeff with new plug wires so hopefully that helps my issue. I hear nothing but good things about those coils.

[34VDharley]

The problem was 100% the coil. Example A here. Who the **** packs a coil with cardboard? The new one works great and got her up to 65 or so without issue. Thanks for everyones help!

[JoJo357]

*M.A.D.*


HARLEY VL police motorcycles in speed tests <---YouTube California Speed test VL.

[34VDharley]

Does anyone have a solution to the kickstand sagging and dragging while riding? Ive tightened the nut as far as it'll go. Still swings down and drags. Makes for an annoying ride.

[34VDharley]

Also is it normal with a rebuilt 74ci to see lots of metallix sheen in the oil? No big flakes but definitely a nice sheen. Also draining after 35 miles it comes out black. Normal?

[Steve Slocombe]

You could easily have the wrong sidestand spring. It needs the shorter early one rather than the longer later one.

[34VDharley]

New spring acquired so hopefully that fixes that. Anyone have any input on the oil? Seems to have quite the metallic sheen which concerns me.