And so the adventure begins...

[Susanne]

I have what is kind of a dilemma... OK, a fun dilemma, but a dilemma, nonetheless.

What happened was, well, my dad left me his unfinished - make that unstarted - project bike. I looked at this with some trepidation (and absolutely positively no space whatsoever to start working on this - having my 3/4 car garage (seriously, my car would not fit in the thing!) and this buncha parts and an old bike. I've been doing a little research (darned little - hard to believe there's not much info on the IOE bikes...) and, well... Having a new shop (a real shop to work in!!) it's time. (No, make that about time!!)

What this consists of... a '21 FD. Pretty much all there, but in some places rough rough rough - not rusty rough, but a frame welded in 2 places (and a front end welded in one!), The motor looks pretty good, but won't turn over (at least with the kicker), missing some bits and pieces as of yet undetermined (including lights - bwahhh!!!)... wheels are there (and surprisingly good - even the rims aren't sharp, and one has a tire with air in it, tho I don't think it'd do 60 MPH for very long...)... Even has a set of tanks (dented and bondoed, with this sickly semi-olive green paint (-shudder-) brushed on... and rusty...)... So yeah, I can see about 80+ % of a bike...

Add to all of this... a sidecar tub in surprisingly great shape (tho I ask where's the frame??!!), a fairly complete '27 JD motor (with broken off front tab - um, maybe that's where the frame broke, tho I dunno why they had an early frame with a later motor... hmmm... maybe the *next* bike, tho maybe I should concentrate on one at a time, eh?) and a set of cases and matching number barrels that are, from what I have discrned 1915ish... A spare trans and clutch basket, and an old 5 ga oil can of miscellaneous parts...

So I guess what I'm saying is... um... HELLLLPPPP!!! --grins-- I spent last night opening up the "other" clutch (question 1 - the basket on the one on the bike has holes around the outside, the other one... doesn't... so what's the dif?), cleaning out solidified and/or coagulated dinosaur, dusting off the mushrooming on the teeth (tho none on the drum - yay!!!) and likely breathing tsome fine aged asbestos dust... (koff koff)... coming apart everythnig was stiff and sticking, back together it was much smoother... and for about an hour (at 10 last night - mind you, I get up before 4 for work... I think I'm bit!) was looking at the bike, and thinking... Darn, this seems possible...

The question is... where do I begin? While I've had bikes before (my latest was a 91 FL with some "goodies" (big bore, mikuni carb, cammed, new blackbox, alost-open pipes can you say "zoom zoom?) , Before that was a couple goldwings, an old Kawi cop bike, etc... (How do you say "etc." in Japanese?) but this is totally beyond anything I've done... Even when I was a kid with the folk's old car hobby, this is, um... pretty different. What kind of trouble am I (and my wallet?) in for? And, um... what kind of information is out there to help me figure out what is right, wrong, indifferent, or just ugly?

I'll try to put some pictures up later... until then...

Thanks!
Susanne

[Robert Luland]

Well I guess the best place to start is to start posting pictures. I mean a lot of them so we can help and understand what your asking. The second is to PM me with your e-mail address and I'll down load you a parts manuel that I scanned. It's a PDF so you can really blow the pictures up. Leaving for Oley Wednesday afternoon so hop on it. Bob L

[pisten-bully]

Go for it! I see in your profile your zip code puts you in California, why not plan on attending and poking around the AMCA meet in Dixon in June... that would be my first suggestion!

[jim d]

If you have the time and are close I would recommend that you attend the AMCA National meet the end of this week at Oley Pa. There are a lot of people there with a deep knowledge of the questions that you have. If you can not do Oley then look for a AMCA meet near you or a local chapter to join. If you are looking on the web try the caimag.com forum there are many people on there with a vast knowledge of old bikes that they are willing to share. If you do searches on this forum and the caimag forum you may find a lot of information that is already there on specific questions that you have about your model.
Jim D

[Susanne]

Cool... Dixon is only a few hours from up here... hopefully that will answer a plethora of questions I have.

My first thought is to figure out what I have and what I'm missing... then start the slow and arduous task of making a parts list, and start the disassembly and restoration process on what I have... In a way I'm lucky as there's not much rust... and I was told the engine turned over, and actually ran some 30 or so years ago when my dad got it... so I may not be in too bad a shape... (wish wish!)

I also remember there is a frame guy in Sacramento (in fact, I think his business is "the frame guy"!) so I'll need to talk to him about the welds, which are 2 on the frame (so far) and one on the left leg of the front fork... I'm a little hesitant to trust welded parts (esp. when you can see the weld bead!) but I figure that's toward the end of the disassemblage process... I just need to figure out where I begin!

Thanks again... -S-

[Chris Haynes]

DO NOT TAKE YOUR FRAME TO THE FRAME GUY!!!!!!. He is a butcher who doesn't stand behind his work.
Obviously the welds are some kind of repair as frames were brazed from the MoCo.
The Fort Sutter Chapter of the club is the greater Sacramento area. I am sure you can find some members there to help you find a reliable frame man.

[23JDCA 808]

J/JD specific resources and help. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/harleyjd/

[Rooster]

DO NOT TAKE YOUR FRAME TO THE FRAME GUY!!!!!!. He is a butcher who doesn't stand behind his work.

I can wholeheartedly agree with this statelent, from firsthand experience. The shop is "The Frame Man" in Sacramento, and there isn't enough space here to tell about all the issues I suffered at thier hands. A word of warning to all....
And also avoid a certain person in Bellevue, Iowa. A complete butcher...!

[camsaure]

Are you the same Susanne that was on the Model T websites? Well anyway, welcome, this is a great site with a lot of knowledge and helpful people. Posting does seem to be a little slow in recent weeks, but I suspect a lot of the members are getting the finishing touches on their winter projects. Good luck with your project.

[wyatt emp]

Take a look at my thread about the 28 build. Just got her running but sounds like you are where I started.