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Here we go again.. (JUNK knucklehead build)

12K views 62 replies 35 participants last post by  Billy Whiz 
#1 ·
Took delivery of my new motor today - '47 FL. This will be my first build in a couple years and also my first Stateside since moving here to CA in December 2011. Yee ha!
 
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#15 ·
I know a cat named " Blue Bob" sells slushies with booze in em at bike meets,anyway his knuckle is always done in blue,and he has "knuckles" on both sides as well as a bunch of one off mods,It was featured in easyriders back in the late 70s early 80s.I hope enjoy you knuckle as much as I do mine.
 
#18 ·
I got into the "'shop" err.. living room (the missus is actually very supportive) for a few minutes today and pulled the top end off the motor ready for inspection. As I don't know the re-build history I'm gonna go through the motor thoroughly with the help of Mike Olsen and see what we can find out..
 
#19 ·
As spotted by Haynuzband the pistons were out of the motor - it has had a rebuild started but not quite finished - I think everything is present except the pushrods. I will need a generator and carb too. It's cool to find that the cases are matching in belly numbers & '47 year marked. I actually bought the motor on Ebay as a bit of a punt - I didn't have a lot to go on but fancied a gamble! As it happened the seller also had a CA pink slip to hand too - I wasn't expecting that.
We're gonna take the motor over to Mike Olsen's place tomorrow afternoon where we can appraise it fully. Fingers crossed!
I have a '57 OEM Harley wishbone frame (I think it's a '57..) too - another Ebay find, and I want to put together a compact, narrow bobber - I'm limited on fabrication facilities so it's gonna be more of an assembly job this time than a lot of welding and shaping metal. Just have the motor, frame (collecting that soon..) and an old solo seat that purports to be a Bates but looks like it might not be one (Ebay again!!)
Fun fun fun...
 
#22 ·
Zeeman - oops! Oh well, gonna go see the frame this arvo.. Wow glad you found a knuck too - ya know rockett I didn't pay BIG money as such - I was expecting less* too, but maybe it's those motorcycle Gods again stepping in.. Can't wait to get the bare bones of the bike together - got an appraisal of the motor today too - share the results of that later on this evening. ;-)

* I knew the cases had had a repair at the front mounts, seller described it as needing a rebuild, no title, not complete.. I was sooo pleasantly surprised when I opened the box!
 
#23 ·
OK - Easter out of the way and back to business.. Before I took the motor over to Mike's 'shop I had a play around to see how the timing side of the motor worked and see if I could find if anything obvious that was missing or worn badly: The camshaft seemed very loose in the bushings - front & back - I assembled the timing gears and found that the worm gear that drives the oil pump shaft was missing as well as the breather gear etc.. The oil pump is complete and looks in good nick. I want to run the original pump as it's such a cool-looking thing - and keep the speed of the bike down on the freeway to allow the old pump to provide enough oil pressure.
 
#25 ·
Mike and I tore down the bottom end and split the flywheels using Mike's jig and a big copper mallet.. Mike has seen and rebuilt a lot of early Harley motors and his opinion was that the motor had been run briefly after some kind of a lower end rebuild - then a problem arose.. The bottom end rod thrust washers were worn away and there were signs of lack of oil and excessive heat build - up not surprisingly! Mike reckoned that probably the motor had been rebuilt too tight laterally - plus there may have been an oiling issue too.. Who knows..?
It'll be done right this time..
Damage seems to be limited to the crankpin, conrod outer races and one of the main bearing outer races had loosened in the case..
We were pleased to find the cases were in good condition inside - no nasty surprises there. There was some wear in the pots - at +.030" presently, so we decided that a .010" cut would sort that out combined with new jugs/rings at + .050"
The top end of the motor looks OK - I might just test the seal in the chambers with carb cleaner - or I might take a look at the valve springs. There wasn't a lot of wetness in the exhaust ports (just a fraction on the front head) so the valveguides might be servicable still for a few thousand miles before she gets too smoky. No nasty cracks in the heads either - a relief!
We are going to get hold of a new camshaft and use a three hole crankpin & maybe use a slightly thicker oil in the rebuilt motor I gather..
 
#27 ·
I got stuck into my frame with the paint stripper and it looks nicer now - the frame is a little out of alignment - I think it looks like the frame has been raked out previously - then kind of "restored" back to stock - probably without using a frame jig when the neck was welded back on. I think I can straighten it all up though easily enough - with a bit of luck, some heat and a big hammer - I hope to get another experienced eye on the frame though before I start beating on it. Might need a cut someplace to let the tension out of the headstock area before re-welding it up.
 
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