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Guys - going to pull the engine/trans on my pan and I'm looking for a reputable builder that you would trust your engine to. Preferably someone within a 60 mile radius of Philadelphia.
Ray
Ray
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While looking for someone to rebuild my 1972 Shovel in June of 2002 I was refered to ABC Performance. By someone at JIMS ( the place that competes with S&S) They were around Philly. I called them up and did not use them But I was impressed by speaking with them. If you cannot find them I probably could dig up the number.
I went with Docs Cycle in Saugerties NY for the rebuild. He is an AMCA member and you can find his website under Docs Cycle Saugerties. I have done 800 miles since the total rebuild and the bike runs great. Only 800 miles since most of the riding was done on cool nights and it was a hot summer. I have found the break in is extremely important. So I kept it to many 10 to 30 mile rides when the temperature was 70 degrees or less.
It is very important to go with the right guy as I have been burned in the past. Let me know how you make out.
Doug Leone -
Thanks Doug - tried a search on ABC for the state of PA and nothing called ABC Performance came up. Wondering if you had any other information, etc. Do you know if they were actually in Philadelphia or what actual town, etc? The Jim's cycle you mention, is that a shop in Delaware? If so you might have meant
E&B Performance Cycle in Seaford, Delaware. Does this sound like it:
http://www.bd-performance.qpg.com/
They're about a 115 miles from me though.
Thanks
RayComment
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Ray,
I just realized you were the same guy with the hi fi blue paint!
They were in south jersey, I will try to find the number. There is a guy in Pennsylvania with a great website, Rask cycle but I know nothing further of him. How far is Saugerties NY from you?
It is tough finding the right people before you do the job. Many leads show up after you drop off your motor.
DougComment
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Hey Doug:
Saugerties is almost 4 hours away
, so that's not the best option for me. I'll check out Rask, for starters maybe. Yes I really want to find someone that is familiar with the older engines and has a good reputation before handing over the work. There's a small shop in Honeybrook (about an hour from me) that has done some restoration work (Mike's HD, I beleive) but I don't know if he ships the motors out or does them himself, going to check him out.
RayComment
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Ray,
I found the number for ABC Performance it is 856-228-7771 they are in south Jersey near Philly. They come recommended by someone who should know good work, and they sounded knowledgeable over the phone although they suggested electronic ignition and an S&S carb. Both would probably work great but HEY! my bike is not high performance it is ORIGINAL
I spoke with Lenny. Please let me know how you make out.
Terrible riding weather lately huh.
DougComment
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If the motor builder doesn't have a Sunnen to line hone the cases then you should wait and find someone that does. I had a Pan motor that wasn't Sunnen honed....ran swell for 5,000 miles..then I starting hearing knocking...took a year to get the motor re-built right by Stettley when he was with San Diego Harley. If you're a customer/builder regular working-joe, it's usually a year getting it back on the road, if you didn't destroy your cases. It takes a Sunnen hone for one man to hone the cases without the cases rocking. That's a fact. Harley-Davidson as a hobby (hobby... to the guy building his own. Business to everybody else), is as diverse as the Hindu religion. Many sects. The 4-5's, Knuckheads, Panheads, flat-side Shovel, Shovel/Pans, UL, VL, JD and Evo. None of these machines have anything in common, except the Knuckle & Pan. I think the Knuckle and Pan motors are in a class all by themselves. If you haven't read and studied about your motor and know something when you walk into a shop..."they'll" capture you. Once they have your motor, once you release it from your possession, you lose control. Be careful. Don't look for a deal. Look for a shop with a Sunnen.Comment
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I know I've been accused of taken time away from this planet, but aren't there any Harley-Davidson Dealers out there that actually work on older Bikes? Does the Factory have any programs in place to service the older model motors?... OK, I'm back now....Hrdly-DangrsComment
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None to my knowledge. Several years ago all dealers were ordered to clean out their inventory of anything older than Evo. If you go into a dealership and ask about parts for your Pan, they'll laugh at you and tell you to go look...on the Internet! No, we're outlaws now. Again. That's why you need to proceed carefully. Even Stett (three MMI-patch holder) can't return to MMI. MMI will not accept applicants for Evo-up schooling if they're not connected to a dealership. Stett learned Twin-Cam from current and past enrolled students.Comment
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Kirk, appreciate any opionions on the questions of parts/mfgrs I queried in the 'Make Suggestions' catagory. I haven't purchased them as of yet...Hrdly-DangrsComment
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I only know about Replica Knuckle and Pan parts from V-Twin. Their Replica frames are first class. I'm sure their other frames from other vendors are as good as you pay for. I'm not qualified to give you an opinion for anything other than the Replica parts that they sell. To quote an exchange between the coxswain and deck-hand of a (shallow-draft) up-river patrol boat, lolling near the river bank in "Apocalypse Now"...(when the deck-hand wanted to get out of the boat to go "find a bush")...the coxswain said, "No! There's V.C about...don't get out of the boat". The deck hand got out anyway and scrambled to find that "bush". Then what?... Then in the middle of a poop, he got chased by a Sumatran !! Tiger. Deck-hand runs screaming back to the boat, jumps in and lays down on the bottom deck, curled into a ball, chanting "Don't get out of the boat!!...stay in the boat!..don't get out of the boat!" This story illustrates what will happen if you strike out on your own, with a building project and no one to guide you across the stream (showing you where the submerged stones are for you to step on). Triple that possibility if you're trying to build something that no one has ever built before.Comment
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pan rebuild
There is a very interesting website by a guy called Dragonman. His place looks well equipped in the pix.
I heard he is quite knowledgable.
Any experience / comments?
Since I posted this, I found a bunch of emails at a site from "The Horse Back Street Chopper" web site describing problems with the Dragonman in Colorado.
DanComment
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pan rebuild
Ray,the only place to have your motor rebuilt to NOS is Bills Custom Cycle location Berwick Pa.I personally had my 41 ulh motor rebuilt 3 years ago and have loged over 14,000 miles on it.My mamimum mileage day was 464 miles.Numerous friends have had the same results with there pans.I am currently haveing my 53 FLE rebuilt.Dave is the man who does the work.btletro@aol.comComment
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pan rebuild
For some reason I was no longer getting any email notification of responses to this thread. Glad I finally got around to stopping by! Thanks Doug, Kirk, and PAM for your info. Also to Carl Olsen from another thread. Don't worry, my plan has always been to stay in the boat until I knew exactly where the "Pan Masters" were
I was primarily looking for someone in the Philadelphia area for obvious reasons, but would be perfectly willing to ship out the engine/trans to wherever a reputable rebuilder could be found if I couldn't find one relatively nearby (I'm nervous about trusting my power plant to UPS/FEDEX )
PAM - Thanks for the pointer to Bill's. I've actually talked with them on the phone at one point while I was looking for some NOS parts. I'll be giving them a call/visit (and talk to Dave). How's the '56 coming along? If you're willing to offer a couple of your friends who had pan builds done at Bill's and wouldn't mind being used as reference - send me an email?? Did you get a good look at their shop?
Other than that, the references to Stett's, Carl's Cycle Supply (from that other thread and the club rag), and Accurate Engineering are so noted!
Can't thank you guys enough for all the input!
If you folks or anyone else reading this thread has any other recommendations, etc to add please do. I'll probably get to pulling the engine/trans over the next 4-6 weeks.
Ray
ray.benash@verizon.netComment
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engine and tranny rebuild
Hope it's not to late. I have delt with Bill's custom cycles for the past 30 years and his shop and business is not what it use to be. All of the N.O.S. parts are gone. All after market parts now and the quaility is poor. I personaly would not let Dave rebuild a dog house for me. If you want quaility work done try the shop up the hill from Bill's. It's called American Cycle Fabrications owned by Paul and Barbara. The man will give you top work at a fare price and he stands behind it 100%. Old iron is the mans love and pride If you like e-mail me for more info
dpodsiadlo@cfl.rr.comComment
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