'59 Harley-Davidson FLH - DuoGlide.........

[Jack_Hester]

As bad as my yard needs mowing, I'm thankful for a on-again, off-again, rainy day.  It's been a long, long time since I've done anything serious out in the shop.  I rolled the '59 out, and the Generac as well.  Cleared a path down the center of the shop and gave it a much needed sweeping.  Then, I rolled the '59 back in, and put it up on the small jackstands that are made for this machine.  Then, I rolled the Generac back in, behind it. 

Here's a few pictures of the bike:









The small jackstands slip in to a crossmember of the frame, allowing for a steady platform for work.  The ones that I have installed are actually very old replicas.  I have some NOS originals that I put away, for safe keeping.  I purchased a couple sets of these replicas for using. 

Anyway, the old bike hasn't been on the road for about 4 years.  It cranked good and ran excellent.  But, my knee would swell whenever I started it.  I've had a hankering to ride, and it's the only roadworthy machine that I have ready.  That is, almost ready.  I'll order a new 6-volt battery this week.  The OEM hydraulic tappets work very well, but when the oil is hot, and you shut the machine down, it takes a whole lot of kicking to pump them up enough to start the engine.  Making for a stiff knee for a couple of weeks. 

I purchased a set of solid adapters  to drop in.  A spring goes underneath to take up the slack and reduce rattle.  These will always open the valves completely, hot or cold oil.  I don't generally like using solid adapters, as they can cause a bit more wear on the valve train.  But, at this point in life, I don't believe I'll ever wear the valve train out. 

Sometime, late Summer or early Fall in '08, I completely rebuilt the whole bike.  Engine, transmission, electrical system, wheels (they have caged rollers bearings, just like the engine) have all been put back to better than new condition.  I began riding it so much that my knee gave out on me. 

So, it's time to see if the knee can hold up.  I'll just ride in moderation, this time.  I'll give it an oil change and put some fresh lube on the drive chain.  The primary chain is lubed automatically by the crankcase breather.  What people perceive as leaking, is not.  It's the residual oil from lubing the primary chain. 

I'll post more as I bring the old machine back into the light, and on the road.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[Platefire]

Well congratulations on getting you shop cleaned up. That is a very find 59 you got there. Sorry you are having a knee problem. Maybe it is recovered enough for some more riding. With the weather nice as it  has been lately it's kind of hard to resist I bet. When we were talking about the bike museum a while back I was wondering if you had a functioning bike, so now I know! So it sounds like you got it ready for the road with all the overhauling you've done on it. Platefire

[Jack_Hester]

Well congratulations on getting you shop cleaned up.

Not clean, like I want it.  Just down the middle.  I still need to purge the benches, and maybe put up some shelving to get a lot of stuff put away, that is piled on the floor.  But, today was a start. 

Jack

[MoparWade]

Love the old Panheads. Restored a '71 Shovelhead that had belonged to my father, took it for a ride with the paint barely dry and some ass ran a red light. Almost lost my foot to that one, never even got to snap a picture of the bike completed.

[Jack_Hester]

My totaled '76 Shovelhead is on a bench, in another part of the shop.  Don't know when I'll get around to rebuilding it.  I've got everything to do so, except fenders and tanks.  Found a good used set, same color as mine (black).  But, the price was out of reason.  When all else is back together, I'll probably pay an unreasonable price for a set, if they can be had.  Replica sheet metal works just fine, until then. 

Jack