1926B Magneto Gearing

[Chaffa]

Hi Guys
Was planning on putting up some pics of the bikes and still will in my other post but need some answers regarding the timing gears below.
I sent my “Magneto” if that’s the correct term to Trevor Probert in NSW to be checked and overhauled, he found the Armature is in good condition but the windings on the casings had to be redone.
During the process Trevor found he was unable to remove the gear from the bottom of the Distributor so he sent it and the mating Drive back to me and I removed it – but we noticed significant wear in both gears and on checking the Armature Drive gear is also very worn along with the idler gear from the timing gear train.
After some searching with varying results – in that I found some gears listed, mostly on Ebay but with different number of teeth, also found that there was a couple of spare ‘Magneto’ in my box of bits one complete with armature and prior to the gears arriving back to me I remove the Distributor drive gear thinking I’d had a win only to find it was 4 teeth and not 6 as per the one I have considered original?
Anyway – a bit long winded but I am thinking I really need to know what the correct gears I should be using and if they are available anywhere?
Hoping someone here can help?

[Chaffa]

So have had more thought - the gear on the main shaft is 20T which drives a 40T gear for the cams which in turn drives the 20T Armature Gear, since 6T Drives 12T Distributor gear - End result Points\Cam do half Engine crankshaft speed.
Just need a source for replacement gears if possible

[Speeding Big Twin]

As I mentioned in your other thread, your photo there appears to show an elec-equipped SV single. The bike appears to have a generator and coil as opposed to a magneto?

But I have photos of some B-series (B and BA) and A-series (A and AA) where some components have been changed from original. Because you refer to the bike as a 1926 model, I figure the serial number (SN) is somewhere from 1000 through 8999? Can you post a partial photo of the SN please. For example B12++. Thanks.

I have a 1926–39 Harley parts catalog and I’ll check it for info about the generator, coil and timer.
Eric

[Chaffa]

Thanks Eric,
I used the term Magneto after referring to a parts book but you are correct it's Generator, points and coil.
While your looking can you look into and oil pump complete or the gear as per pics attached?

Engine Number.jpeg

Oil pump.jpeg Oil Pump Gear.jpeg

[Speeding Big Twin]

Thanks for posting a photo of the SN but because it’s so high it indicates a 1927 model not 1926 and I’ll come back to that.

I can’t see anything wrong with your SN characters and they all appear consistent with factory stamping.
B looks like it may have a serif at top and bottom? (I’d expect it to.)
The 1s have the usual type of serif at top left, being slightly curved and at about forty-five degrees. Serif across the base as expected.
The 9 and 6 appear to have the type of back that is sometimes referred to as curved (as opposed to straight or rounded).
The 3 appears to be the usual flat-top style with no serif.

Here’s a partial photo for comparison.







Casting number in my photo has seen better days but it is 2-26. Your left case may have the same.
I'm not sure what casting number was used for the R-H case.

Getting back to 1926 versus 1927 models, for 1926 the SNs for engines in that family (B, BA, A and AA) began at 1000 and the highest examples I’ve seen so far are 897+ and 898+. For a 1926 engine in that family the highest possible SN would be 8999 because as of 1927 models their SNs began at 9000 as per this partial motor spec sheet. As you can see this spec sheet is for certain OHVs but these production OHV singles were in the same engine family as production SV singles so the SNs were mixed in together.







Stamped at the back of each case you may find crankcase production numbers. Sometimes they are fairly close to the SN and sometimes they are a long way off but at least they may indicate whether or not the cases were machined as a matching pair at the factory. Photo?

From The Legend Begins here are pages 34-35 for 1927 models.









Regarding the oil pump and gear, and the other four gears, I’m still checking my 1926–39 catalog but I’ll get back to that tomorrow.
Eric

[Tommo]

I'm pretty sure I can supply all your needs.
e mail me p.j.thomson@actrix.co.nz

[Chaffa]

I am yet to completely disassemble the motor but did find these numbers stamped on the RH casing under the idler gear. 12-26 would most likely point to 27 model I guess
It's been some time, but I based the year on a table\post I found years ago that said 26 single numbers went B1 meaning side valve then started with 1000, BA OHV then 1000 - still looking for that - more than likely I misunderstood?

RH Casing stamping.jpeg

[Chaffa]

Just wondering if it's possible to check motor and frame number to see if they are a matching set?
Was able to find out with the Ariel that I have matching frame, Engine and Gearbox
I found a Number stamped into the frame between the Seat font mount and tank mount or is it possible to check the year of the frame?

[Speeding Big Twin]

Tommo, thanks for posting. Regarding the first gear (idler/idling/intermediate?) posted by Chaffa, in my 26–39 H-D catalog I don’t see a listing for it. Do you have a listing for it and a part number?

For the next three, are they generator gear #631-26, pinion gear #603-26 and timer shaft gear #1545-26?

For an oil pump assembly I found #586-26 but in my catalog I don’t see a picture of the other piece. Thanks.











Four pages to follow.
Eric

[Speeding Big Twin]

[Speeding Big Twin]

I am yet to completely disassemble the motor but did find these numbers stamped on the RH casing under the idler gear. 12-26 would most likely point to 27 model I guess
It's been some time, but I based the year on a table\post I found years ago that said 26 single numbers went B1 meaning side valve then started with 1000, BA OHV then 1000 - still looking for that - more than likely I misunderstood?

RH Casing stamping.jpeg

I’m not sure about those markings on the case but I would have imagined the R-H case would have been the same for 1926 and 1927?

As for the SNs, because the B, BA, A and AA were all in the same engine family their SNs were mixed in together. SN 1000 for 1926 could have originally been assigned to any of those four models and the same goes for SNs 1001-8999.

For 1927 models in that engine family SN 9000 was the first and it could have originally been assigned to any of those four models and the same goes for SN 9001. Etc.

Frame numbers were applied to some Harleys from about 1916 or 17 through at least 1927. And 1928? And 1929?
We know it happened with Big Twins but I’m not sure about other models. But even though Big Twins had frame numbers back then, apparently they didn’t match the engine number unless by chance or coincidence.
Eric

[Chaffa]

Thanks Eric
the 12-26 numbers look stamped to me so thinking maybe production date?
As for matched I think you would need the purchase details to see if the frame no. and engine no. correspond to a particular motorcycle,
Ariel recorded such details

[Chaffa]

Thanks for posting your parts book pages much better to see the parts than a printed version I have (Spare Parts for HD 1922 to 1928 Models) - I completely missed the generator pages

Looks to me like I need
#622-26 - Oiler Drive Gear (55T Gear with Oiler drive worm)
#631-26 - Generator Gear (20T)
#1648-26 - Worm Gear (6T)
#1545-26 - Timing Shaft Gear (12T)
#586-26 - Oil Pump Assembly

[Speeding Big Twin]

You're welcome. Because the left case in my photo had a raised casting number I would have expected any corresponding R-H case to have a raised casting number. But sometimes we see an indented casting number on things such as gear covers (cam covers) for Knuckleheads and Panheads so maybe your indented 12-26 is a casting number? If so the 26 may indicate the first model year that number was used. The 12 is intriguing because some later crankcases for one model or another have a variation on that: 112. And 112 was the first section of a raised casting number. For example some 45ci Flathead cases had raised casting numbers 112-29 (R-H case) and 112-29B (left case).

The other marking inside your case looks like WIS but I don’t know what it indicates? I’m tempted to guess Wisconsin but that would seem odd? Maybe someone else will know?

I agree regarding #586-26, #631-26 and #1545-26.

Oiler drive gear #622-26 was something I was wondering about because it looked like the largest gear in your photos but in the catalog it wasn’t listed as an idler/idling/intermediate gear. The page below is from Mechanics’ Bulletin No. 102 and it mentions an intermediate gear.






Worm gear #1648-26 is listed on page 48 but I don’t see a picture of it on page 47.
Eric

[Chaffa]

Page 24 from my parts book, shows it third row from the bottom

Page 24.jpg