Comments Request...

[c.o.]

This bike followed me home last weekend and I felt so sorry for it I decided to let it stay.... It is another one of the BLACK bikes but I may change that down the line. There's some repop and wrong year parts but I'm curious to what the members on this forum thought. I'm going to make it a rider first and foremost and then try to make it correct over time. I'm currently building a list of needs and a to do list and hope to make it my rider for this summer. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this machine. Don't be afraid to speak your mind.... I want to eventually make this bike correct.......









Can anybody put a rough date on these BECK grips?

[Robert Luland]

Boy Cori you go all kinds of goodies. Do you take the quad out often?

[exeric]

Congratulations Cory! As I love to say to knucklehead owners; the '48 Panhead was the best Knucklehead. I notice you have an early '48 motor which uses the same engine cases as the last Knuckleheads. I learned that on this forum from either VPH-D or RUB. The AMCA forum is pure gold for that bike and we have some of the most knowledgable Panhead people in the world as regular contributors. Also, Chris Haynes' pictures and website are a great sources of info. I'm just finishing the motor for my '48 and hope to get a ride this spring.

I have a pair of those Beck grips on non-reinforced Hydra-Glide bars. I just assumed they were post war.

I also noticed you have all the sidecar fittings on your frame. Is there a sidecar near-by?

[exeric]

Boy Cori you go all kinds of goodies. Do you take the quad out often?

Bob, I've heard he goes up those mountains with it. By the way; that's quite a view you have in your backyard Cory.

[c.o.]

Boy Cori you go all kinds of goodies. Do you take the quad out often?

Bob..... I only use it on short trips......

[c.o.]

Congratulations Cory! As I love to say to knucklehead owners; the '48 Panhead was the best Knucklehead. I notice you have an early '48 motor which uses the same engine cases as the last Knuckleheads. I learned that on this forum from either VPH-D or RUB. The AMCA forum is pure gold for that bike and we have some of the most knowledgable Panhead people in the world as regular contributors. Also, Chris Haynes' pictures and website are a great sources of info. I'm just finishing the motor for my '48 and hope to get a ride this spring.

I have a pair of those Beck grips on non-reinforced Hydra-Glide bars. I just assumed they were post war.

I also noticed you have all the sidecar fittings on your frame. Is there a sidecar near-by?

Thanks for the congrats Eric..... I figured a posting would catch the eye of a few afforementioned experts and one might get a ruling on some of the right and wrong. When ya get your '48 done it would be nice to see a pic....

[Jerry Wieland]

Exeric & Cory

The early 48 cases are NOT the same as knucklehead - they merely carry some of the knucklehead distinction in their casting.

Nice bike and I would leave it alone and ride the wheels off of it and see how much patina you can give it in the remaining years (may it be many) of your life.

Jerry

[jurassic]

put a sidecar on it ,and drive it across the country ,twice

[Slojo]

Cory
What a view.... view............ view................view.......................... ......... view(echoooo). Nice project bike, looks like its a runner already. Good luck. Numbers look good from my prospective. If you have good cases, heads, frame and fork your are all set. Now get to work. Give close inspection of the frame. Most 48's I have worked on have had cracks in the electric welds holding the frame lugs to the tubing. WHILE YOU ARE AT IT PUT A 6 VOLT POGO STICK IN IT AND GET RID OF THE TWELVE VOLT UNIT.
Joe

[Slojo]

Exeric & Cory

The early 48 cases are NOT the same as knucklehead - they merely carry some of the knucklehead distinction in their casting.

Nice bike and I would leave it alone and ride the wheels off of it and see how much patina you can give it in the remaining years (may it be many) of your life.

Jerry

Jerry you are correct. the earliest 48 cases do carry some knuck characteristics that were changed soon after the introduction of the Pan.
Joe

[Jerry Wieland]

Slojo

Most 48 pans carry the early style cases. I have never seen a 1948 pan with a serial number less than 7500 that used the later cases and somewhere in the mid 8's you see a few that have factory matched mixed early/late cases. I have 3 1948 motors and 2 are the later and 1 early 72**

Jerry

[exeric]

I meant that as a reference. Obviously the panhead cases were milled and drilled to carry oil through the cylinders. The distinctive features of a late knuck case are evident on the early pan case and that is what makes them so unique.

[dommi7]

Can you guys detail what are the carryover features from 47 that are found on the 48 cases?
I'm particularly interested in the right side - are the lifter oil return holes plugged?

[Jerry Wieland]

Ralph Here is a picture of the tappet area where you can see the bosses on an early 48 case that are left over from the knucklehead - they were never drilled on any early 48 that I have seen. The casting date on the early case is I 7. I cannot get any close than that because the bottom is blown out of these and no case matching number exists and I do not have the number side. The back case is a later 48 pan and its' casting date is L 7 and the serial number is 48FL1236x.

The other difference that I am aware of is that the early cases still have the round "corners" on the bottom and the later ones are squared off.

Jerry

[exeric]

I remember now that it was Jerry who clarified the case differences between early and late '48 cases. That information saved me a lot of grief later on as I was offered a '48 bottom end that had low numbers stamped on a late case.