Get a 1945 Harley running again

[Mark44]

Can't wait for an update. Love this thread.

OK, you asked for it! Here's the engine bottom-end sitting in the frame, before I discovered that I couldn't get it bolted in. In the meantime, I've stripped the frame down completely, taking off the wheels, complete fork assembly, and any other pieces that were on the frame.
I took it down to the frame guy yesterday, and am hoping I'll be able to pick it up within a week or 10 days.

Quite a contrast between the two vehicles in the picture. The motorcycle engine is about as low-tech as you can get, flathead engine comparable to those in older lawn mowers, manual spark advance, kick-start only, with a very simple carburetor. Just behind it, double overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, variable valve timing, and fuel injection.

 

[dlgoff]

In the meantime, I've stripped the frame down completely, taking of the wheels, complete fork assembly, and any other pieces that were on the frame.

You're a trooper. Thanks for the photo. Could be a good photo in my thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/beauty-of-old-electrical-and-measuring-things-etc.755959/, as it's a beauty.

 

[berkeman]

Quite a contrast between the two vehicles in the picture

Wow, nice car!

 

[Mark44]

Wow, nice car!

It was a Halloween present to myself. It's a 2002 model, so it wasn't all that expensive -- less than the cost of many new cars.

 

[Mark44]

I got the frame back in a reasonable amount of time (9 days), and have started putting things back together. While the frame guy was working on the frame, I painted the forks where paint was needed. When I got the bare frame back, I spent some time tidying up the paint on it, sanding down places where there were chips, priming the bare spots, and rattle-canning most of the frame. My work came out pretty well, with no discernible runs.

The frame and forks are now back together, the wheels are back on, and the motor is bolted in. Next steps are to install the pistons, slip on the cylinders, and bolt on the heads.

Here are a couple pix of how the '45 looks at the moment.

x

 

[arydberg]

Back in 1959 or so i paid 35$ for an 1948 Indial chief. It was very sinilar with foot clutch and 3 speeds on a hand shift. I took apart the flywheels and had to get a machienist to re assemble them. They are 2 cast iron wheels with a tapered pin mounted way off center to profide trhe stroke. Needs to be put in a lathe and checked with a dial indicator until true. Keys here are usless. There are two other pins that mount in the center of each flywheel. It also had a manual twist grip that controlled the spark advance with the other being the throttle.

Later a friend rebuilt it and left out a shim for the oil pump. I showed up to collect it and it would not staert. We put it on a pickup truck, drove the local ferry across Long Island sound. Pushed the bike abord and fixed it on the trip. Was running fine when we landed.

 

[Mark44]

Back in 1959 or so i paid 35$ for an 1948 Indial chief. It was very sinilar with foot clutch and 3 speeds on a hand shift.

Yep, my '45 is very similar, with about the only differences being that my transmission is 4 speeds, and my hand shift and foot clutch are on the left side, rather than on the right side as on your Chief. Both engines are flatheads (or sidevalves) and both have a displacement of 74 cu. in.

I took apart the flywheels and had to get a machienist to re assemble them. They are 2 cast iron wheels with a tapered pin mounted way off center to profide trhe stroke. Needs to be put in a lathe and checked with a dial indicator until true. Keys here are usless. There are two other pins that mount in the center of each flywheel.

Yep, same with me. My original flywheels had been taken apart too many times, and couldn't be trued, so I wound up having to buy a set of new flywheels that are trued and balanced. Fortunately I have a friend who is a skilled machinist who did the work of lapping the races and checking the tolerances for me. I'd be dead in the water without his help.

The innards of my engine have two new flywheels, new sprocket shaft (drive side), new pinion shaft (cam chest side), and new crank pin, plus a set of new cams.

It also had a manual twist grip that controlled the spark advance with the other being the throttle.

Yep, same with this bike. There are two twist grips, one for the throttle, and one to advance or retard the spark timing.

I'm making good progress on the bike, and will include some pictures in a few days of the complete engine in place.

 

[Mark44]

It's a slow process, but I'm making some progress. In the last month I had the frame straightened, and have installed the pistons, cylinders, heads, circuit breaker (which some mistakenly call the distributor), intake manifold, plus the feed oil pump. The feed oil pump sends oil to the engine internals, and another pump, the scavenge or return pump, sends the oil back to the oil tank. Except for the carburetor and torqueing the head bolts, the engine is pretty much done.

Another view of the whole bike as it currently sits.

I should get the remaining parts I need for the transmission, and then I can install the oil tank, exhaust pipes, and start wiring the bike. I'm hoping to get this thing running sometime in July.

 

[arydberg]

There was one more funny thing about the Chief. It had only 2 cams. One for intake and exhaust on one cylinder and one for intake and exhaust on the second cylinder. As each cam rotated its first raised the intake then later it operated the exhaust.

How about the haley

 

[Mark44]

How about the haley

The '45 has four cams, one for each valve. I posted a picture of the cam chest in post #24, showing the cam gears (the cams are behind the cam gears).

My other three bikes have OHV engines. The '48 "panhead" has a single cam, as does my '91 with its Evo engine. My '07 Dyna has two cams, each with a lobe for exhaust and and intake.

 

[Mark44]

Stay tuned -- I've been making some progress and will be posting some more pictures soon. At the moment I'm working on getting the wiring installed. I have the transmission mostly back together and will be installing it forthwith.

 

[Mark44]

Here you go, for the few people who are interested. Transmission is back together, after being completely rebuilt, and the wiring is about 80-90% done. Remaining tasks are:
install the oil tank and battery (battery sits inside the horseshoe-shaped oil tank)

• install the carb
• connect the left and right spirals to the spark timer and carburetor, respectively (both handgrips are controls on these old bikes)
• finish wiring the dash
• install the speedo
• hook up the oil lines
• bolt on the tanks and their fuel lines
• connect the gear shift and clutch rod
• install the exhaust system
• install the clutch pedal
• install the footboards
• mount the outer primary tin
• put the seat back on
• install the drive chain and adjust its tension
• fill the oil tank and transmission

Compared to all the work I've done, this is a pretty short list. Today is July 27; with any luck, the bike will be ready to fire up before the beginning of August!

Here's the left side, with the primary chain and clutch in place. Still need to install the drive chain and chain guard.

 

[dlgoff]

Here you go, for the few people who are interested. Transmission is back together, after being completely rebuilt, and the wiring is about 80-90% done. Remaining tasks are:
install the oil tank and battery (battery sits inside the horseshoe-shaped oil tank)

• install the carb
• connect the left and right spirals to the spark timer and carburetor, respectively (both handgrips are controls on these old bikes)
• finish wiring the dash
• install the speedo
• hook up the oil lines
• bolt on the tanks and their fuel lines
• connect the gear shift and clutch rod
• install the exhaust system
• install the clutch pedal
• install the footboards
• mount the outer primary tin
• put the seat back on
• install the drive chain and adjust its tension
• fill the oil tank and transmission

Compared to all the work I've done, this is a pretty short list. Today is July 27; with any luck, the bike will be ready to fire up before the beginning of August!
View attachment 286655
Here's the left side, with the primary chain and clutch in place. Still need to install the drive chain and chain guard.
View attachment 286656

It's looking really nice.

 

[Mark44]

Here's the bike as of today. Oil tank is installed and plumbed, primary chain and clutch are installed and adjusted, and the drive chain is installed but not yet adjusted. The tanks are on for fitment purposes only, and the seat is just sitting there, not bolted in. I'll take both off to finish up the wiring. After I get the pipes installed, most of the rest is just small stuff.

I'll be out of town on two separate trips for much of the rest of August, so I probably won't get this running until September some time.

 

[berkeman]

Beautiful. Nice work, Mark.

 

[Mark44]

I probably won't get this running until September some time.

Well, that didn't happen just yet, but I'm really close to starting it up, so I thought I'd post an update. When I take it off the lift table, I'll post a pic or two of the bike in its finished state.
The only things I still need to do are:
Connect one gas line
Fill the transmission and engine oil tank (both use the same weight of motor oil)
Install the spark plugs and plug wires
Time the ignition
When these are done, it should start right up! (Fingers crossed!)

 

[Mark44]

It's been about 15 months since I started working on the '45 Harley, but I finally have it running! I had some problems with a brand-new oil feed pump that wasn't making pressure, due to a defect in its manufacture and machining. I was able to refurbish an old one I had, and the engine is now putting out about 20 PSI, plenty for this old machine.
I'm still breaking in the engine, just starting it and letting it run until it gets warm, then shutting down. A few more heat cycles, and getting the timing (points ignition) and carb dialed in, and I'll take it for some short rides, like up and down my street.
I don't have any more recent pictures, but once I take it outside, I'll take a couple and post them here.

 

[Averagesupernova]

I'm still breaking in the engine, just starting it and letting it run until it gets warm, then shutting down.

Is there a reason you are doing it this way? Any break-in I've done, which is limited to liquid cooled, I let it run a little above idle for about 20 minutes to get the cam and lifters worn in. After that I drive it alternating between moderate acceleration and backing off the throttle to build intake manifold vacuum. This helps draw up oil into the rings and the acceleration helps get the rings worn in together with the cylinder walls. I use a break-in oil for this. A little oil consumption in the first 100 miles. Then drops off to basically nothing. Change the oil out and all is well.

 

[Mark44]

Any break-in I've done, which is limited to liquid cooled, I let it run a little above idle for about 20 minutes to get the cam and lifters worn in.

This engine is air-cooled, which you probably knew, so there's more of a danger in overheating unless the bike is moving or without a fan blowing air on it. Pretty much everything is new - new pistons and rings in freshly honed cylinders, new cams (four of them!) and their gears and cam bushings, pinion and sprocket bearings and races. In addition, I wasn't sure I was getting oil pressure at first, but that's now squared away. I have three other running bikes, so I can take my time breaking this one in. Plus, the weather hasn't really warmed up all that much here in the Pacific Northwet -- we had a very nice day a week or so ago, 74 deg., but it has been very cool to the point of snow/sleet/hail more recently.

I expect to take it out for a spin within a couple of days...

 

[berkeman]

I expect to take it out for a spin within a couple of days...

This is how Mark takes his restored bikes out on a "spin"...