This is a project that I started two years ago, but life got in the way of me working on it. I found this frame, springer, roller on Craig's List.
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Traded off the billet front wheel for a 2000 spoked wheel.
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Cut all the old steel of the raked neck, and welded in new plates.
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Shortened the 12" over springer to 6" over, using one of Bill's Cycle kits that copies the old Bucannan kit.
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Early mockup of sheetmetal. Tank has tunnel dropped, but still needs to be narrowed. Rear fender needs the sides cut off it.
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Cut the strap brackets off the sissy bar that came with the "roller" and welded on bungs
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Cut a 3/8" spacer to mount the Flathead motor in the Panhead frame.
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Welded on bracket for 84-99 rear brake. Used Fab Kevins spacers on the 3/4" axle,
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My 84" stroker Flathead motor mounted in frame. I'm ready to start working on it again.
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Love flatheads. Please keep us updated.
Oh HELL YEAH! That's looking great! I love big flatheads. Great looking sissybar you've fabbed up too. Can't wait to see this one when it's finished.
:teeth:
Lookin good. I like the stance and choice of parts. How much you cutting off the sides of that fender? Looks to nicely radius the tire just sitting there. What fender is that? I just bought a desperado fender but am using it as a blank to be cut to about where your's is now. Can't wait to see color.
ricochet
Thanks for everyone for the encouragement.
That rear fender is a "One Ton Ho" by J.J. I had thoughts of radiusing the fender at the edge of the tread, to show more meat in the rear. But I do like the look of it now. I may put a radius mark on the fender and paint that area with black primer to see how it looks.
I've got a set of original Mustang Motorcycle gas tanks. They have a little more narrow look than this Paughco tank, and are more pointed at the rear. I had taken off the backs of the original Mustang tanks and pounded out all the dents. I've got to make a decision on which tanks to use. What I'll probably do is mount each set on the bike, for a week, sometime during this mockup stage, and just look at them every day......I've got three different tailights that I have to make a decision on too.
Since this picture was taken, I've switched the rear brake to a 2000 Softail brake. It's first year of the new brake, and last year of the 3/4" rear axle. I had to weld on a different mount, but now the front and rear brakes will be the same type.
I'm starting to work on the other side of the bike now, installing a used Supermax Silent Drive w/new belt, Harley mousetrap, Linkert M51 carb, and fabbing an air cleaner. I'm just going to take my time, fitting it in between doctor visits, and physical therapy.
Looks good, Pzokes. And that fender gets my vote, too. I’ve never had a BT Flathead but two of my mates have them. I see a ribless gear cover so I'm guessing the engine may be 37-39? But with the later aluminium heads. Did it start life as a 74 or an 80?
And are you going to run forward-mounted pegs or mids? Just curious. Eric
That One Ton Ho was the other fender I looked at. It was real close but I figured I would be cutting it anyway. You can use black electrical tape to black out any sample cutting so you can move it around some.
Can't wait to see more.
ricochet
Eric,
The motor is a 1938. It started life as an 80". I had the blind races machined off, and have installed later Flathead bearings and races. The oiling has been changed too. I clearanced the rods, then the rods were rebuilt by T&O, and I had them balance and assemble their complete flywheel assembly. It's a Torquemonster 84". I didn't bother polishing anything on the motor, in case I want to use this motor in a restoration project someday. I also have the original set of the early cast iron heads with the primers, but I bought a set of new aluminum heads 'cause I like that look, and I wanted to add singh grooves. I am using the early intake manifold. I need to find some fuel resistant plastic to make a carb spacer from. The early return oil pump is off a Flathead called "Flat Cat", that was featured in Iron Horse Magazine many years ago. The early pump was removed from that bike, when it was sold. That pump was a little better than mine.
I'm kinda tall, so I don't feel comfortable on a bike with mid-controls.
Ricochet,
Your electrical tape idea sounds good. I'll give it a try.
Here's some pictures of the original Mustang Motorcycle gas tanks and a Paughco reproduction. It looks like the original tanks had a chain wrapped around them when the bike was picked up by a wrecker. This was a common thing, in Laconia, when cops would arrest someone and impound their bike. You can see how much narrower the profile is on the original tanks, than the Paughco. Since these pictures were taken, I've cut the backs off these tanks, pounded out the dents, but still need to do a lot of work them. I probably won't put these tanks on the bike during the early mock-up.
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Very nice
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wow Wee..... That is going to be one hot bike when complete. Its got a nice smooth, clean look. By the way i vote for leaving the rear fender as it is.
I ended up leaving the sides on the fender, arc'n the front part to match the tire, and putting a radius on the bottom of the fender. The sheet metal is at the painter's now.
(Note: '38-39 two piece clutch arm on left, modified '40-64 clutch arm on right). I never liked when I run a jockey shift, or a mousetrap, and the clutch arm always hits the top of the transmission when the clutch is "in", wearing a groove in the trans top cover. I found a '38-39 two piece clutch arm a few years ago. It has a couple of small bends in it and doesn't hit the transmission top cover when the clutch is "in". It looks like Harley found a way to save on production costs back then, by making the arm one piece, and eliminating the bends. I just modified a '40-'64 with a couple of bends, so it doesn't hit.
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I've been thinking about sticking this bike in an "old school" chopper show when it it done. I needed to use a bigger carb than the M51, for the stroker, but I like the look of Linkert carbs. I figured that I'd go with a M74B carb, though still kinda small for '84". I knew that the "young pups" that judge these shows wouldn't know the difference between a M51 and a M74B, so rather than weld a M74 four bolt flange on the 1938 three bolt flange manifold I decided to make an adapter so they could see that there was a carb change. I put the M51 carb bowl on the M74B to make the float work right, and added Love Cycles copy of the Jammer "bird deflector".
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That's lookin' great! I like the bird deflector too. Love Cycles eh? Is this the same Love Cycles here in Phoeonix? If so, cool shop! Jerimiah is a really nice guy to talk to. I've been in there to introduce myself. Figure there are so few shops around town that specialize in the old iron that I might as well get to know them and find out what services they provide in case I need them.
-Craig
Yes, it came from Love Cycles in Phoenix, AZ. I think all they have left is the aluminum ones.
This is one of the last solid state regulators that Frank made. It was purchased from his daughter after he died. You can see his later logo on the end. I'll be using this on the 12v generator.
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The restoration people are going to hate me for this, but they don't ride their bikes. I drilled the case for the larger 12v generator bolts, and shortened a set of Panhead bolts. It can be put back to stock by driving a piece of thinwall aluminum tubing in the hole.
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Dasia is the young woman that I have doing the metal prep, and paint. Here are some early pictures. She emails me updates on what she is doing. She hadn't trimmed the tape on the flame job in this picture. She has a couple of young kids, and does this as "at home" work. In the tank picture, you can see where I relocated the petcock too, to get all the gas out.
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I found the rear wheel that I really wanted, a Centerline riveted rear wheel. Tough to find, and tougher to find at a good price. I had just put new bearing and seals in the Fatboy rear wheel.
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Wow, that is going to be one sweet machine, can't wait to see the pic's when your done :up:
Lookin' good! I'm envious of the old Franks regulator. I love those old period pieces that really worked.
-Craig
I have some other period pieces that I'll be putting on it. I've also become interested in "Steampunk", so it will show a little of that influence too.
That is gonna be one NICE bike!! Earlier, you said you changed the oiling, I am curious about what you did? I know most guys that ride big flatties complained that as the motor got hot it would start to seize up from expansion and that some of that problem was due to lack of proper oiling.... Anyway, thats what I was told. Did your modifications address this?? Thanks again for the pics!
Robin
Yes, you are correct about the problems of running big Flatheads at highway speeds. Many of us are installing piston squirters and larger oil pumps to cure this. Some of the new piston coatings might work just as well. One other problem is the spark plug placement. It was designed to cure spark plug fouling with the 1930's piston rings, and not placed for optimum flame travel. That can be solved with Sighn groooves. You just have to realize that this motor was designed with 75 year old technology, and apply tech advances to cure any problems.
Nice to see someone who actually BUILDS a bike rather than the thousands who think they're doing the same thing with a catalog and a credit card.
Thanks for the encouragement.
After seven months of failed short sales and forclosure sales, I've finally bought another house. It's a "distressed property" but has an attached two car garage. It will be so nice to get my stuff out of the storage units. It seems that whatever I've needed lately has been in a box in the back of a storage unit, and requires hours of moving boxes.
Now I'll be able to do some serious work on this Flathead!
Well, congrats are in order! You'll have plenty of time to get the house in order but by all means spead out in that garage space. That's all you need right?
ricochet
Yeah, I've got all the pieces to get it running. Just gotta find the right boxes. Good thing I labeled everything
lookin good :agree:
Here's this weeks update.
I also added a 1938 kicker cover and a 1938-40 two piece clutch arm.
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Very, very nice :up:
Brought the finished bike to Tropical Tattoo Bike Show in Daytona, today and lost. But I expected to. It needs a lot more detail work.
Right now going to put it in the back of the garage of the house I just bought, while I set up benches and shelves.
This has been a great goal to keep me going, while I'm recovering.
Started working on the bike again yesterday. I've got to fix all the details. I stripped the front wheel off, got it stripped down to the star hub, and this morning dropped it off at the powdercoater's. He was running a load of black items, so my hub got blasted and put in with them. Got the hub back at 4pm, still cooling from the oven. It's being put back together now. I was never good at truing wheels, so I drop it off.
Next I've got to cut the pipes apart, add a piece, and change the brackets. These pipes weren't designed to put a Flathead in a Panhead frame. It's gonna be a lot of work for something that won't be visable to anybody. Too bad I don't have access to a bender.
Details...details...details.... Cut out a piece of pipe where Paughco put a relief in the pipe, in case anyone wanted to run footboards, I made a patch and had it tig'ed in. People were asking me why I had the chrome plater plate over a dent in the pipes. Hmmm. There is a couple of tie wraps holding the back part of that pipe, because I'm changing that bracket too. The second picture is where Paughco put on spring clips to keep the pipes in the heads. They do this on their Knucklehead and Flathead pipes, and it works great. I've made some brackets for these pipes and will remove the spring clips. It should look a little cleaner.
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Found a brand new Barnett Clutch Lever on Ebay. I don't know if Barnett is remaking them. They are definitely "old school". These levers have a slightly longer pull, and a slightly different ratio.
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I bought a pair of those levers for my '61. The look and feel is just right.
The bike is coming along great!
I use these same levers from Barnett on my panhead. I really like them. I got them new from Barnett about 5 years ago.
-Craig
I like the feel of them too, I also like that they have some extra travel. It's not a lot, but it's usually enough to make a difference in a bike that needs a touch more travel.
What did you find the clutch levers under in EBay, I looked and couldnt find any??. All there was was Barnett clutch kits and about 156 pages worth. Thanks!
Robin
Sorry, it was only a set that he was selling. They do have a small tag with a Midwest Cycle, part number #400277.
I want to caution anyone that is buying the new Anderson reproduction footpegs. The ones I have seeen are a rough sand casting, and the points on the pad are not pointed. But, there may be some good ones that I haven't seen.
I also like Love Cycle's "bird catcher". That's a limited run of 25 apiece. The brass ones are sold out, and this week only the aluminum ones are left.
Looks like Love Cycles "Birdcatcher is all sold out. It was an exact copy of Jammer's early 70's smooth "birdcatcher" and appeared to be more a labor of love than a profit item. I have a small backyard aluminum foundry, so I know the work involved to cast it, polish it, and machine it
Don,
Those Birdcatchers that Love Cycles makes are awesome. It's cool being located so close to an old style chopper shop like Love Cycles. I've been in there a few times. Jerimiah is a really cool guy.
-Craig
I'd like to go to their aniversary party. Are you going? I was pissed when I found out that the brass birdcatchers were sold out. The refactory cement in my foundry will hold up to casting brass, and I might be able to use the Love Cycle birdcatcher as a mold, but I don't have an area set up for casting and left some items when I moved...I don't even have the garage set up in this house yet. I should probably put a Handy Hannah on it instead, for somethine "old school".
My apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but you have mad skills, my friend. Reminds me of the old iron my dad & friends built & rode when I was a kid.
I've always wanted a Flatty & hate I didn't get one before prices went crazy. I passed on a super clean, TüV-legal UL chop when I was stationed in Germany in the mid '90's for $6500 & still kick myself for it.
Don (Pzokes) had a great eye for old chops and strong building skills. Unfortunately he passed away in April 2012. He was a real genuine guy and a friend. He'd be thrilled that people are still appreciating his work.
-Craig
Dang. Did not know this. RIP, friend.