Parts parts parts

I seem to be keeping the postman busy these days :-)

Competition Distr. make some great parts for your IOE!

Haahhh!

Hah, so you thought I was just busy to relax since there was no action on the blog. You couldnt be more wrong.
Since I came home from the rig, there have been to few hours, far too few.

I have now officially started a new project. New, that is not all truth. It is a older project, namely the "Cutdown" project that started a few years ago. Now its serious business!

Have spent hours digging in my stash to finde the best cylinders, crank case, rods, gearbox etc etc.
To my surprise, (negative), many of my parts in the stash boxes are crap. Why on earth did I years ago spend money on all them rotten Harley J parts???

The engine will be a 61" (1000cc), based mostly on parts from 26 & 27.
I want an engine with light flywheels, high compression and it will be hopped up, a lot.
Wait and see!

Will try to post frequently along the project as I did with Bessie. I promise to!

As I have spent a lot of time in the workshop, I found it was due time to get my old Sunnen hone restored.
I have been collecting a couple of Sunnen LB Rod hones and a bunch of gear for those. Allso had a AMCO hone that I was given for free, a really neat machine, far better looking than the Sunnen, what a pity there are no tools for those to find on e-bay.
Having collected the lot of honing gear in the workshop I realized the AMCO bottom part with an intgrated cooling tank would be great if matched with a Sunnen.

Got one of my contacts to burn out a steel plate that could be machined to make this possible.

I personally find the result is very good (modest eh?).

In the community where I live there is a population of roughly 12000 people. In a short time I have found two Panhead engines here, in deep dark cellars, forgotten and molested.
Now they both have come to my home, where they will be appreciated.
The funny thing though is, if there is an average of two Panhead engines among every 12000 people in Norway, there should be roughly 800 Panhead engines throughout the country that is waiting for me, ha ha!!!
Watch out!

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

Old AMCO

AMCO bottom & Sunnen LB Rod hone

Making a wooden template for cross over plate

Sunnen LB machine before restoration

SL mandrels in various dimensions

Truing sleeves

All in parts

Coming apart to be cleaned and inspected

Its red again

Sunnen lamp, classic US industrial lamp

Steel plate ready to be machined

AMCO cooling pump and transformer

Done deal!!

Next project is now on the workbench.

Ready to start

Engine

Clutch sprocket and bearing from Mark at Linkcycles

Offset inlet rocker arms

New flywheels from Truett & Osborne and a jiffy stand from Michael Breeding

Out for a ride.

Its 

It is going towards winter, a few days from now we will set our clocks to winter time. Its time to start longing for spring, a ride out with good friends, feel the sun heat your face while your best friend is humming a four stroke song.

Oh, I am already dreaming.

Enjoy one picture from way back in time when a group of NMK friends takes a halt. There is obviously no fear of passing vehicles, bikes are just left in the road.

Trondhjemsridtet 1919

Be damned,
I have voluntarily put my name on the list of participants for next years Trondhjemsridtet. A 1170 km`s ride on mostly back roads and gravel, as back in 1919 when this rally was first held.

In 1919 a ride from our capitol Kristiania to Trondhjem and back was a unheard of challenge. I will start planning with the purpose in mind to complete this trip on my Henderson De-luxe, alternatively I have a Harley or two to use, but to ride a bike  from the twenties would bring back the spirit of my hero, Herman Oppen who rode his Hendersons in this event at several occasions.

Check out the official home page of the Trondhjemsridtet 1919!

Trondhjems rittet 1919 will ascend into Rondane, a national park, on a road that today is a national heritage. This road is one of 18 roads that have this title. They are all close to perfect motorcycle roads, narrow and with lots of winding curves.

Below is a picture taken by Herman Oppen from the saddle on his Henderson when touring Rondane back in 1922.

Halvor Lofthus & The great mountain rally in 1923

This is Halvor Lofthus crossing a snowdrift with his Henderson during practice for the great Norwegian mountain rally back in 1923. Those guys were brave men when crossing the Norwegian mountains, on roads still frequented mostly by horses.

On this trip Halvor Lofthus rode with his team mate and best friend Herman Oppen. When resting on a mountain meadow they were approached  by an old lady out to herd her sheeps. She had never seen a motorcycle before, in 1923!
Imagine that.

Halvor Lofthus and Herman Oppen both rode Husquarnas in various events and rallies, still their favorite bikes were the Henderson 4`s.

Crisp autumn air

Uffe have for a couple of years been a contributor to this blog.
Thanks mate!!
This pic is from one recent autumn trip where Uffe rode his VL along with two friends.

Check out the colors and the look of crisp autumn air. OK you cant see the air, still I would say I almost feel the presence of it in the picture.

A journey to the happy land!

A while back I came across in a Norwegian newspaper, dated 1923 - this very poetic Harley Davidson advert.
This is an early example of the factory`s need to change the Harley Davidson`s image from only being a work horse, to a tool for both work and joyful pleasure rides.

Below the actual clipping I have tried to translate the rather old fashioned language to modern english, hard but I`m quite pleased myself.

A travel to the happy land.

"The horse that is not afraid of long distances"

A fishing trip, a mountain hike - or forest hike, in our childhood this meant an entire vacation. Should a trip be something to brag about, it had to go to the wilderness. A long trip by train, a travel by steam ship, a never-ending travel by buggy and horse or a hike separated us from the happy land.

It is of course the Americans who have solved the problem for us with the long distances between ourselves and the happy land.

And the solution to the problem?, its name is: Harley Davidson.

Hunting grounds, fishing lakes, woodland`s, the mountains or the beaches of the coast have all come close.

A modern man cannot longer be impressed by distances. A day trip is now only to be considered as "just a little trip".

The Norwegian author Stein Riverton wrote in a novel; "A steam train eats its tracks". That is one good expression.

But the term fits better for a Harley Davidson.

It devours the road!

The largest and most modern factory in the world, produce the bikes that in the entire world have received first place in people's reputation. Everywhere you can and will travel, you can come on a Harley Davidson.

In the mountains, across rivers and on the rugged road - you can run with a Harley anywhere. Its powerful engine and its operational safety, which is brought up to technical perfection, makes sure you always and everywhere will feel safe.

The doctor in a hurry to reach a patient far off (perhaps with the midwife in the sidecar), a business man who travel from village to village, the hunter, a fisherman or a tourist who only travels to enjoy nature itself. They all enjoy the pleasure of a Harley Davidson.

This year`s Harley Davidson models as presented by the factory, with all the improvements their experience have given, Harley Davidson has further consolidated its position as the leading motorcycle manufacturer.

Your first trip with a Harley Davidson motorcycle, will explain to you why a Harley deserves such great popularity, and will make you understand why it sells in such great numbers.

An important issue with the 1923 models that everyone should note:

They are cheaper than their predecessors!

Harley Davidson is sold all across the country. Main sales representative for Norway:

Sørensen & Balchen, Kristiania