Flatheadproject Blog

Roller

flatheadproject — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:26:44 +0000

Finally have a roller, next step is to tackle paint and electrics.

Seat

flatheadproject — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:09:46 +0000

Got a neat diamond pleat white solo seat from biltwell inc. It came with all the necessary hardware to get it mounted. All I had to do was weld on the bungs and add some 4 inch springs for some cushion.

Stick welding is not the prettiest, but it does the job. Bondo will smooth out all the imperfections. Have to save up for a TIG.

Nice looking rear end!

Gas Tank

flatheadproject — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:57:19 +0000

I bought a little 2.4 gallon bobber tank from justified defiance and had to make brackets to mount it.

I cut up a piece of 20mm tubing and notched it to snugly hug the frame top tube then welded it to the tank mount that came with tank.

All cleaned up and welded to frame.

Profile of tank.

I heated and bent some 2mm scrap sheet metal to make rear mount for the tank.

After some cutting, grinding, welding, more grinding, drilling then tapping we have a rear tank mount.

Clutch Cable and Oil Tank

flatheadproject — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:22:59 +0000

Today I start to sort out all the tinware, but first need to go and get some metal to make the necessary brackets to mount tank, oil bag, seat & to attach the clutch cable to seat post(old bracket was all messed up so I ground it off).

As you can see above I had to clean up and make a bracket to hold the clutch cable as the original bracket was removed for some reason. I assume he had a hydraulic clutch set up so didn’t need it.

Some cutting, grinding, more cutting, grinding, drilling & more grinding and then we have a makeshift bracket.

New bracket welded to seat post

Perfect!

I found this neat oil tank off eGay and decided not to use the aluminium beehive oil tank I bought earlier as I would have to cut it up to make it fit under the seat, whether I mount it vertical or horizontal I would have had to shorten it about an inch and a bit. Save it for my next project.

I made a bracket for the oil tank out of 5mm flat bar, drilled a couple of holes & used a couple of 5/16 hex head bolts to attach it. Next step, weld the brackets on.

Magneto

flatheadproject — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:28:33 +0000

I want to run a magneto to get rid of the battery. Morris Magneto make one specifically for Sportsters and Flatheads without having to change anything or buy any mounting hardware.

MM3

I could have sourced a magneto from an old Sportster and saved a big of dosh, but to find one and a reliable one at that, I would have been looking for ages. The directions supplied by MM to get the timing was fairly straight forward, but I’ll get it double checked anyways by a professional. Nothing worst than engine firing at the wrong time or the kick pedal coming back at you on start up!

Fender Support

flatheadproject — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:54:23 +0000

I need to make some new fender supports to replace the boring old ones. Again I use stainless steel, one inch flat bar, which will polish up nicely.

A little bit of heat from the gas bottles and some elbow grease we ended up with these simple supports.

Handle bars

flatheadproject — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:38:15 +0000

I decided to make some z-bars out of 1 inch stainless tubing. They would polish up nicely and save me from chroming or powder coating. I made a template out of cardboard to get the right look I was after and also to get the cutting angles right. My bandsaw only cuts to 45 degrees so I had to do the steeper cut with the good old hacksaw.

As you can see below stainless steel ain’t to kind on the saw blades. A quick line up on the risers shows that I got the angle I wanted right.

After half a day of cutting and re-cutting I was ready to get it welded up, when I got a bit of advice that the wall on these stainless tubes might be too damn thin! A second opinion confirm that the weld points would be too weak and also where the risers clamp the bars there would be too much stress there so eventually the bar would probably compress. FYI tube wall is 16gauge. I searched high and low but couldn’t find anyone who supplied SS thicker than 16gauge. I lied, I did find a supplier, but they didn’t carry any one inch tubes. After this stuff up and waste of a day I decided to go and get roll cage material, yep you guessed it Chrome Molly steel! Can’t see this bending anytime soon.

OK so after another day or measuring, cutting, welding and grinding we have something so show for it. A neat look and sits just right.

Front end pt II

flatheadproject — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:56:24 +0000

After deciding on getting new front end and putting aside the old Springer for next project (yes it never ends) we encountered the problem of getting the modern Springer to fit the old WLA neck. But thanks to Rusty Clark from Bayside Custom Cycles for machining a new stem so I can use the existing bearing cups and races.

It went on easily and fitted like a glove. Looks good with the dogbone risers as well!

On goes the 21″ rims shod with Avons, new brake rotors and springer brake calipers and we have a completed front end.

Oil Pump

flatheadproject — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:00:55 +0000

Time to freshen up the oil pump.

Old springs and screws replaced with new ones as tension on old springs has decreased a bit.

A lick of paint to prevent rusting and looks almost new.

Transmission

flatheadproject — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:15:45 +0000

Okay it’s time to give the transmision a once over. Need to remove sprocket and side cover to replace gasket and a bolt worn by chain being run too loose I suppose. Also cover missing one screw so ordered a whole new set .

As you can see above one of the transmission stud has been badly damaged by the chain. A new sprocket cover stud kit should do the trick.

Transmission side cover off and ready for a clean, new gasket and stud & screws. There are 21 mainshaft needle bearings in total, don’t leave them laying around for your kids to lose! Same goes for the two sprocket keys.

Soaking paper gaskets to add moisture and restore them to original size. Also an advert. for Permatex gasket sealant.

All clean, new side & top gaskets and new studs.

New top tranny cover screws.

Degreased and buffed side cover. No cracks or chips.

I removed the two top stud with a pair of pliers which kind of damaged them a bit. Lucky they were going to get replaced anyways. I did read up on a better way of installing the studs without damaging them. The picture below shows two nuts threaded together then using the outer nut to tighten the stud. So simple, yet I didn’t think of it.

I tried tightening the two bottom stud nuts behind tranny side cover, but exhaust was in the way. So had to remove footboard to get exhaust out. The idea was to do this build without having to remove too many items as I was going to ride it for a few months before I tear all down and do a proper job, but from the looks of things it’s almost down to engine and frame.

The original sprocket cover has a few cracks and is bent in certain places so I bought an aftermarket piece. When I went to install it I found the the chain was in the way so I couldn’t get it all the way to the side cover. On inspection I noticed that the repro sprocket cover was thicker in certain areas than the original. Also, the stud holes are slightly off alignment. A bad reproduction, so a little bit of grinding and drilling was needed. I got this piece cheaply off ebay, so I suppose I payed in other ways.

Some minor mods to line up the stud holes.

As you can see above a notch was needed to fit on the sprocket cover without affecting the crank kicker spring.

Transmission almost complete, just clutch cable and kicker pedal to install.