torsdag 26. april 2012

Ai ai aiai!!!


Normally I dont do repost`s, this time I do. This youtube video gives such a authentic impression of the great thrill in the pits and at the track during an AMCA board track event shot at last year Davenport meet.

What a great bunch of bikes and guys, proud to be a member of AMCA.

Damned damned damned I need to get that Panhead done and get back to work on my J flattracker.





tirsdag 24. april 2012

American Motorcycles Norway




Bjarne Fosskaug, once a Norwegian motorcycle hero earned his reputation as a race ace during the late twenties and early thirties.

Bjarne truly favoured Harley Davidson motorcycles and this was not limited to race tracks. He was a keen motorcyclist who enjoyed touring cross country on his rock solid Harley Davidson JD with sidecar. Those travels gave him and his bike thousands of miles on Norwegian country roads, their quality in these days were worse than bad.
Imagination is needed to tell the amount of stress the mecanical parts on this bike have gone trough.




The photo below is taken during one of Bjarnes tours to the fjords, here resting whilst riding the countless s curves down the mountain side to the Geiranger fjord. This particular road is one of my personal favs. when riding in the western parts of Norway. The road is still single lane laid on the same track as where Bjarne once rode his JD, and there are still tall cliffs on the outside of most curves. Now though, there are continous auto gard rails along the road where Bjarne had just a number of curb stones every now and then.
I have personal experience with Harleys early coaster brakes, lack of braking force is evident, to say the least.
I bet the Raybestos brake bands had a hard time and a rest was needed to cool them.





Trygg (Safe)

So you think an engine is fun only when located in a frame that is rolling on wheels. Nope, nothing could be more wrong. Engines are fun even when stationary, stationary but by no means silent, like a Trygg (Norwegian for SAFE) 12-14Hp.

An engine once used to run a local saw mill, at a farm located to far from any community to be connected to electricity of such a capasity. There is nothing like relaxing with a beer in hand to thumps from a Trygg on idle, when the centrifugal regulator is closed and its combustion is taking place every 9`th cycle.

Years ago when I finally found one functional Trygg of this large volum I couldnt resist in buying, this even if my workshop have no room for this. Having had the motor in long time storage inside a railway carriage owned by a local group of steam train enthusiasts, I had almost forgotten it was mine.
All of a sudden I learned they sold the carriages, had to bring my engine home, no need to say I now have a lack of space in the hobby departement.


 



onsdag 18. april 2012

As time goes by,

Lately I've been a slacker in blog maintenance, I need to find an appologize, hmm, have spent the last week with a sore back, couldnt even ride my cicles for a while, then you understand what it was like, bad. Seems like my good ol 39 W have a hard time finding friends his own age to join for a ride, wonder why? Had a great ride shortly after my previous riding report, spent an entire day on backroads along with Rune and Britt W. on their Ultra, again a Milwaukee marvel after all. I should probably not say this, its a shame those Ultras dont work to well on gravel roads, moahaa! Had to ride the last part by my self! There is nothing like an light 45" on 18" wheels riding gravel roads, it`s so easy handling, life is then at it`s best (hopefully tractors are all still at the barn when I pass by). Riding those roads, there is still always something to find for anyone with the picker gene. Would you care for an early British Anzani Iron Horse with a JAP engine under its bonnet? Oh yes one from Prestwich that could just as well have ended in a motorcycle. I wish still I could ever stumble across an Anzani v-twin, as the one they used in their motorbike monsters back in the twenties. If you fancy old farmers stationary engines, hey there are still some engines waiting to be found, like this 12-14 Hp Trygg made by Øveråsen. The Øveråsen brothers spent thier youth in the US working with several motor manufacturers, they went back home to Norway in 1908 to start their own bussiness in making motors. The same Øveråsen that sold Harleys for years and years in the Gjøvik area, this is all history now. What about using the bathroom in a Norwegian version of the tower in Piza. I bet any of the readers of this blog know the tower I have in mind when looking at the lokal loo next to the Anzani. Its hard to keep your mind straight when resting in there, still it served its purpose:-) Sometimes I get a depressed feeling thinking of all work previous generations have put into their homes. A couple of generations later You see them rotten away. On the other hand I get lucky too, finding an old cool oilcan or some strange tool which purpose is since long forgotten. I rather do this than going to the mall, right!

mandag 9. april 2012

Trondhjemsridtet 2012

When I look back trough my previous posts in "pics from yesterdaze" I find photos of guys like Macke Nicolaysen, Herman Oppen, Johan Hellum and Bjarne Wist.

Apart from playing a major role in the Norwegian motorcycle race scene during the twenties, they all have in common to have participated in what was then considered as the major motorcycling event; "Trondhjemsridtet".
This was a race on ordinary roads from Norways capitol Oslo (then named Kristiania) across the mountains separating south and east from north, to Trondhjem and back.
A race covering more than 1000km`s, roads barely better than a mountain trecking route, and imagine this was all done in three days, what brave men (and women, we will eventually get back to that).

A dedicated group of NVMC members have decided to bring this great event back to life as a vintage motorcycle rally, for those daring to use their antique machinery like as they where intended to.

Check out the "Trondhjemsridtet" homepage and learn more on this promising event.



Below a photo from the 1922 event, showing Herman Oppen entering Trondhjem town center on his Henderson.

I hope to ever be able to join this rally whit my Henderson as Herman Oppen did.

torsdag 5. april 2012

Small things, always these small things (and what they take)

In one way restoring a old Harley engine is a small project, still many small problems part of such a job create a lot of thinking as well as some technical challenges.

Early big twins, Pans up to 1954 have them small threaded pipes screwed into the inlet of each cylinder head. They are to be fixed by a rivet to make sure they never rattle loose. Hmm, mine were very loose, still a problem to remove do to damage caused by the worn rivet (did a post on this a long time ago).

Having purchased new pipes problem rise, how to securely thighten those tiny pieces in the heads without disturbing the external threads??????

Scratching my head listening to some music in the machine shop gave me the idea to the tool shown in pic`s below.

This tool allow high torque to be added to the pipe without needing any torque added to the external threads to unscrew the tool after use. OK, as I am to apply Loctite to the threads in the head I could have waited and most likely used an ordinary pipe with the correct threads inside and when the Loctite was hardened removed the pipe, then again that would not have given the joy in inventing this tool.










Happy Eastern to all

As yesterday was first Wednesday in the month and weather was good, though very cold, close to zero degree C, I thought there would be motorcycles gathering at the biker Cafe up the valleys as they do trough the riding season.

Well I was wrong, came there, slightly cold but spirit high, NONE bikes seen, hmm. Whilst there talking to some camping guests 4 more bikes arrived, 4 modern Harleys.
Kind of cool, mine "not so dirty nine" and them, seventy years apart, still all Milwaukee Iron.

That is kind of cool, only Harleys seems to be ridden this early in the season, where are all them Beemer GS`s??




søndag 1. april 2012

To maintain balance in life

Things are falling together, even with my panhead engine.

It was due time to get the crank assembled, balanced and trued. As this is a task where skill and experience is highly required, I found time was right to get external help.

Vegard is one modest guy with great knowledge based on hands-on experience as well as theoretical know how. He builds engines of great performance combined with reliability, which is hard to combine for most. His 45"`s are both strong runners, I`ll never forget "the green one", sidecar equipped and with a monkey on board ascend the A-bomber hill climb at full throttle some years ago.
Knowing I have more Harley engines coming up for rebuild I managed to convince Vegard in a combined happening, "help with engine" and education in crank balancing and truing.
I convinced Vegard in the educational part by promising him it would save him a lot of future work, a win win situation for the both of us?

Long story short, my crank is now balanced to a 60% factor and my bearing races are true within 1/100 of a mill., need to get some rollers now for them bearings to complete the bottom end.

Thanks a lot Vegard for a long night of work and for your patience with both my crank and all my weird questions.

























Cases welded

Finally got all them chips broken off case bolt holes re-welded and machined.




Keep it all straight

Years ago I came across a rod straightening jig, that is one cool tool that every home should have.