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After years of inactivity, I have started the resurrection process of my 1946 Big Twin Flathead. Most of the job will be done by AntiqueBike in Sweden.
I purchased the bike in 1970 and rode it regularly for five years. Started with a Steib sidecar.
Had it during my internship in the Netherlands in 1970 and later during my vacation in Morocco in 1972.
On my way back, in Madrid, I exchanged my Steib for a modified Harley sidecar.
Started restoration in 1980 but career, kids and family took all my time. So now I am finally acting to get it back into a shape as similar as possible as it was when leaving the factory in May 1946.
The post-war transition was, most likely, not straightforward at the factory. Chrome and rubber were scarce and much material from the war was used. I have only found reliable information in the Bruce Palmer book "How to restore your Harley-Davidson". But some information in this is not complete. So my first restoration problem has to do with the frame.
According to Bruce's book, changes were made to the steering-head early 1946 (from 28 to 30 degrees), and after April 1946 the springer fork was off-set. From the book I can conclude that my 46U2774 was manufactured in May, just before chrome and rubber became available again. Bruce also states that the steering heads of 1946 either had die numbers 9, 11 or none. Some steering heads also had an upside-down ND. Strange thing then that my steering head (likely from Kropp Forge Co) has a die number 10 and a not up-side down ND. My frame is obviously a bit special, and this is why I wonder if the front-stay lumps emanate from the factory. So what does this mean that my steering head does have a die number 10 and a vertically aligned ND?
The lumps could, of course, also come from a frame repair, or a modification needed to attach the Steib sidecar.
My frame will soon be sandblasted, so I will soon send more detailed pictures of these possible production anomalies. But until then, I would welcome any input from anyone who might have more information, and perhaps pictures from untouched 1946 survivors.
I purchased the bike in 1970 and rode it regularly for five years. Started with a Steib sidecar.
Had it during my internship in the Netherlands in 1970 and later during my vacation in Morocco in 1972.
On my way back, in Madrid, I exchanged my Steib for a modified Harley sidecar.
Started restoration in 1980 but career, kids and family took all my time. So now I am finally acting to get it back into a shape as similar as possible as it was when leaving the factory in May 1946.
The post-war transition was, most likely, not straightforward at the factory. Chrome and rubber were scarce and much material from the war was used. I have only found reliable information in the Bruce Palmer book "How to restore your Harley-Davidson". But some information in this is not complete. So my first restoration problem has to do with the frame.
According to Bruce's book, changes were made to the steering-head early 1946 (from 28 to 30 degrees), and after April 1946 the springer fork was off-set. From the book I can conclude that my 46U2774 was manufactured in May, just before chrome and rubber became available again. Bruce also states that the steering heads of 1946 either had die numbers 9, 11 or none. Some steering heads also had an upside-down ND. Strange thing then that my steering head (likely from Kropp Forge Co) has a die number 10 and a not up-side down ND. My frame is obviously a bit special, and this is why I wonder if the front-stay lumps emanate from the factory. So what does this mean that my steering head does have a die number 10 and a vertically aligned ND?
The lumps could, of course, also come from a frame repair, or a modification needed to attach the Steib sidecar.
My frame will soon be sandblasted, so I will soon send more detailed pictures of these possible production anomalies. But until then, I would welcome any input from anyone who might have more information, and perhaps pictures from untouched 1946 survivors.
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