THE GOOD BUCK

I’ve had a hell of a day off. Happily, since I’m having to buy all my tools again but in imperial, and the Harley was £2,000 to start with, work has suddenly gone mad. 4 shifts, 6 shifts, 5 shifts for next week. I certainly can use the money but it’s making working on my bikes a lot harder. Anyway, I was off today so cracked on. My goal was to strip the heads, check the valves and the barrels, and check the cams for timing. I’d been doing 40 minutes or so before work to get all the peripheral bits off. I got stuck with one nut that just I couldn’t get the breaker bar on, and ended up rounding the head. That was on the front exhaust pipe. I was hoping I could remove the barrel with it attached, then work on it. I succeeded! Yay for small victories. I had to angle grind the nut then hammer it with a cold chisel to turn it. I stripped it down to the pistons without much further drama. But, as is the law, one allen bolt just would not turn on the cam side casing. I was wriggling it backward and forward, sprayed oil on it, it was seized solid. In the end I snapped the bolt. Balls. I had to drill it out. I think I’ve repaired it enough to accept another bolt, but I’ll have to wait until after the rebuild to find out for sure. I did an internet test on the valves. Poured petrol on them from the top, turned them over and looked for leakage. There was none. So valves are sealing OK. I checked the bore on the barrels. There are some marks, more like a shining of the cylinder than scratches. You can still see the original cross hatching under the shine so it can’t be deep. I don’t think it’s the barrels/ pistons/ rings. Hmmm, on a big screen they do look like proper scratches. Once I’d finally got the cam cover off I checked the cams. All the timing marks are perfectly lined up. I took them out and cleaned them, put them back and they are still perfectly lined up. Having a cam/ pushrod system is clunky but easy to work on. The bad news is I think this was a badly looked after bike, that went off the road for a reason. Someone had over-tightened an allen bolt to the point the allen key head snapped off in it. Then they’d left it there. Worrying. Then I dropped the oil and saw the sump plug. It’s a bit out of focus, but that was after I’d already given it a bit of a wipe. It’s covered in thick greasy/ oily sludge and, most worryingly, metal filings. I’m in a bit of a quandary. Metal shavings in the engine is really bad news. I’ve ordered some more tools and, when they arrive, I’m going to strip it right down […]

I’ve had some successes but a big problem. I’ve been working so I’ve not had the time to do too much, today was my day off and the engine start spray arrived yesterday so I did some work on it. I bought a cheap trolley jack with support cups to lift the bike up by the frame so I could take the forks off. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it was a full length platform to lift the whole bike. Nope. It fits across the bike and just raises one end or the other. Meh. I can make that work for most jobs. Then I went to slide it under the frame and because of the raised cups it wouldn’t fit! I had to angle grind half of the raised legs off before I could even start. Anyway, I got the forks off, finally got the seal covers off and the seals out. I think they were due for a change. That’s the good. The bad is that I still can’t get it to start. I’ve re-gapped the plugs, really healthy spark now, I tried the engine start spray, nothing. I’m thinking it’s probably the piston a rings now. I saw a video today saying the compression pressure should be at least 150psi. I tested at 120 and 125. Then I poured oil into the cylinders to form a temporary seal and I was at 150psi. I’ve emailed a query about how much it would cost for a rebore and rings, and how much it would be for a 1200cc big bore and rings. I’ve managed to get another shift tomorrow, so that’s 5 so far for next week. I’ll fit the bits I’ve got coming and if I still can’t get it going I’ll start stripping the engine on my next day off. The only other options I can think of are the timing has gone out or the valves are leaking. I think it’s electronic timing, I can’t see how it can have gone out. I just watched a really helpful tip for the valves: take your head off, pour petrol into the inlet and outlet valves, turn your head over, if none has seeped through you’ve got a tight seal. That’s what I like. Simple, binary, tests. If it’s not too much more than a rebore I might get it big bored anyway. I’ve got a feeling my obsession with owning a Harley is going to wane when I get it on the road, crack open the throttle and unleash 49bhp of puny pretension. 67bhp isn’t going to scare me, but it might make the bike a keeper. To be honest, once I’ve got it running all I actually need is indicators and to fix the horn for an MOT. I will have to de-rust, oil bath and grease the chain, the headlight is shabby, and the tyres are so past their 5 year lifespan, but they would probably pass an mot. It’s mostly […]

Today I cleaned and washed the carb after it’s overnight soak. I put it back together (missing a part, dumbarse) and tried it. Still not running, so I started on the other jobs. I pulled the front brake off, stripped and cleaned it, put it back on then bled it. I tried to do the same with the rear brake but it’s got Torx bolts. I don’t know if Torx come in imperial but mine were slightly loose and the bolts are set solid. I didn’t want to strip the head so I’ve ordered some Torx sockets. In the meantime I bled the brake. I pumped the tyres up. It rolls forward and back now without too much resistance (other than it’s native standing mass, obvs) and the brakes both work. I remembered to test and both my brake lights work. Brilliant. I need to fit indicators but so far the only thing electrical thing that isn’t working is the horn. I’m happy about that because I hate electrics. When I put the carb back on I noticed one of the throttle to carb cables was slack. I was worried I’d done something wrong. I’m having issues with fitting the choke cable back in position as well. It’s one 17mm nut. What can possibly go wrong? Yet it doesn’t seem to want to work. Odd. Anyway, when I noticed the part of the carb I’d omitted (left it drying in the sun) I popped the carb off and rebuilt it. The slack cable came away in my hand. It had snapped in it’s sleeve. I’d already ordered a new set, but it was good to see it wasn’t me. I’m working my way through the peripheral jobs (it all needs doing) as I’m trying to get the engine started. I’ve ordered a cheap trolley jack (with support cups to position under the frame) and a fork seal and dust cover set. I’ll pop the forks off, drain the fork oil, clean inside and then put fresh oil, seals and dust covers on. I charged the new battery back up, held the choke open and tried to start it again after I replaced the carb, correctly. It didn’t go, but as I was rolling the starter off it did a little cough. I got a whiff of blue smoke! I thought I was going to be testing it out with my engine start spray today, I ordered it off Amazon specifically for the next day delivery. It mustn’t have been on Prime. It’s saying delivery on Tuesday, it’s Thursday today. After that blue smoke I got a rush to the head and ordered a cheap carb rebuild kit and a (whole) cheap replacement carb. If I can get it running I can relax and plod on with the jobs. One thing that’s bothering me is the oil in the air filter and that was clarted all over the jets. There shouldn’t be oil there. Today as I was trying to start […]

Day One: I dropped the van off this morning then cracked on with the bike. I’ve fitted the new battery, hotwired it, and I got lights, (low and high beam and clock and rear light, forgot to test if the brake is working) but no horn yet. The engine turned over nicely, sounded like good compression. I didn’t have any spark at the plugs though. I gapped the plugs and traced the wiring, the leads to the distributor were loose so I tightened them, SPARK! It still wasn’t firing so I took the air filter off and gave it a wash, then took off and stripped the carb. Oh boy. It’s not a carb design I’m used to, but I pulled the one obvious jet out. The top half of it was literally black. It looked like some oil residue that had solidified. I took the diaphragm out of the top and I’ve soaked the rest of the carb in Pinesol and Mukoff overnight. It might work. I’ve never seen the like though. I was just looking, you can get a complete, aftermarket, carb for the price of a carb rebuild kit. While I was searching for “oil in carb problem” online (bit worrying, I can’t think how it can have got there) I saw a top tip. Spray some of that engine start spray into the engine and press the start button. If it runs for a second or so you know the intake valves and outlet valves are working, your rings and barrel are good enough to maintain a working pressure, your plugs and the electrical system is all working. The problem is your carb. I’ve ordered a can of start spray. If it doesn’t run then I know I have more problems. You can strip it down to heads and barrels off with the engine still in the frame so it’s not too much hassle to do further investigation. Now I’m wondering which way I’m going to go with the bike. I’ve given it a brush and a wash and been at it with rust eater and metal polish today and it looks a lot better, superficially. But there’s the thing. Once I’ve got it running I can either run it as a scruffy heap, sell it, or strip it down to bare frame, and get every part back to original condition. Powder coating the frame £150- £350 New wheels £550 Tank and mudguards sprayed, say, £250 New stanchions £300 Engine respray? I’ll have to think it through. I’m making problems now. I’ve got enough on my plate just getting it running. Then I have to fit indicators, fix the horn, swap the headlight, take the forks off, drain, clean, put in fresh oil and new fork seals and refit, strip and clean the brakes, flush the brake fluid and refill it, and fit new tyres. Those are just the bare minimum jobs I already know I’ve got to do. On the bright side, apart from the […]

I went to pick it up today. That took me all day. All, stressful, day. Brand new rental van, it only had 280 miles on the clock when I set off, and they were being very picky about how I’d get royally screwed for any damage. So, no pressure. The guy I bought it off was selling off a bunch of bike projects because he was so ill. He looked proper yellow, it looked like kidney failure, poor sod. In a way it made me think I was right to get a Harley now, you just never know how long you’ve got. The downside is the camera was very flattering. up close all the chrome is rusted, there are no indicators and no ignition key. It’s a proper project. I’m not going to change the battery, fill the tank and ride it to an MOT. And, obvious when I think about it, I’ve had to buy new tools because American’s still use imperial sizes. Of course they do. All my lovely tools. Grrrr. Here’s some pics that more accurately show the condition of the bike. I near bust my back getting off the van and into the shed. I’ve got the spark plugs out and sprayed penetrating oil in the barrels. Tomorrow I’ll put it in gear and rock it, see if the pistons move at all. I’ve ordered some imperial spanners and Allen keys, they are arriving tomorrow. I’ll give it a decent clean and a wash, when my tools arrive I’ll swap the battery for a new one and see what’s working on the electrical side. One good thing, the clock says it’s only done 10,388 miles. It’s been off the road for decades so I can believe that’s true.