Post #11 - CAFFINE!!

so I think I've entered into a zone of being where I've never been before - my brain is sleeping but my heart is racing. Generally I can strike a fine balance of awake & alert for both but today is not normal - this maybe due to me being a bit physically sick, working on the Pan until 12:30A last night & back @ job for a 7:00A meeting, maybe due to the 16.9oz bull I pounded on the job commute or riding the pedal bike to a late night class when it was ~45 degrees - don't really know but probably was the sum of all that's landed me here.

anyhow - I haven't updated this blog in a long time & I should because some good stuff has been happenin lately. The recent accomplishments....

1) bought new 18" rims & spokes, rebuilt the pans original rear hub (had some material recession and seals were very brittle) <- the new tires (Firestone Deluxe - true vintage look with modern rubber compound) & laced wheels were trued & tires installed + balanced @ the Boar Shop. Turned out that my attempt at lacing actually resulted in a fairly true & centered setup @ the onset - not too bad for my first attempt.

2) roughly assembled the bike & made it a roller:



































3) Total rebuild of the engine to loosen the lower end and fix other odds & ends. This was a great idea as there were many improvements I was able to work in during the rebuild:
> installed time sert threaded inserts where the cylinder bases are assembled (recall that threaded stud mistake I mentioned some time back - done fixed it) applied red loctite to the locking threads to make sure they stay. I then ended up making some 7/16"-20 studs to fit but whatever - I think this will work well.
> ground ~0.012" off the large crank thrust washers (0.010" on left side, 0.002" on right, the left was a bit thicker anyway) to obtain the thrust required thrust clearance. Now we rotate with ease!
> removed that additional washer I decided to add to take up some end slop in the left side crankshaft bearing - turns out that slop is needed
> removed the additional washers I had placed behind the circuit breaker & idler gears in the gearcase to take up that slop too.... I think if I would've left that 0.005" washer behind the circuit breaker gear, I would've had some nasty interference with the camshaft gear!
> verified the end play & gear lash all gearcase bits + installed a new oil seperator & screen & installed the crank oil slinger / seal that I couldn't find (although while recently rummaging through all of my mountain bike parts - I found the old one...) and finally a new spring & retainer to keep that crank gear in place
> learned of a new method to torquing the cylinder heads (install front cylinder, torque head, remove front cylinder, install rear, torque head, install front again) - which was a life saver as I think the click-type torque wrench I had been working with resulted in only ~ 45 lb-ft torque instead of the 65 required.
> install a new intake valve oiler on the front head (broke the original during the valve install).

4) Hacked the rear fender to better follow the contour of the new 18's

5) You may notice in the photo my inverted clubman riser handle-bar - this orientation makes the bike look a bit more streamlined but made me also locate the front brake lever & clutch lever too far out for me to get a good grip so I extended the bars ~ 1.25" to locate the grips further out & put the levers properly in front. I accomplished this with the help of about 2 " length of solid, .8125" steel bar stock to help dampen some bar vibrations & two pieces cut from an older pair of ape hangers that the pan use to rock until ma & pa tried to slide under a truck - dukes of hazard style.

6) Rebuilt the carb - such a bitch. Generally - there's a few well known carbs for Harley use - but this one kinda fit in between two models & I couldn't find the specs until releasing a barrage of google searches & after I found out that Jesus lives in Alabama - I found the make - a Keihin, pre-CV carb, generally used on sporty's between ~1976 & 1989. I took it apart & mechanically it appears to be really solid - a bit dirty but solid - so I continued with the rebuild. This is also my first attempt at a carb rebuild and, with exception for the new parts replacing the old parts - I didn't have any random pieces left over - neat! I am really impressed by this carb (38mm bore, accel pump & plastic float) and its simplicity - which may be an operational curse but I'm willing to give it a go.

7) Passed my motorcycle road test & knowledge test - officially certified by the state of Minnesota.

8) Built my exhaust system - which is one of the pieces I worked over that's got me most excited. I used some ol drag pipes from the pan's previous life, chopped the angle tips off so we've got straight exit, then tucked in some 8" baffles that were slightly modified to be not so restrictive & wrapped those baffles in fiberglass cloth to deaden some of the sharp notes & provide a bit more dynamics in the inertia supercharging & back pressure equations on the engine. This could sound sweet or like a wet fart... either way I'm pumped to find out.

9) Cleaned up the clutch & primary chains <- all of this looks good enough for re-use.

10) Stripped the frame & tranny for a bit of smoothin before painting.

11) Finally identified a paint color I can obtain for the gas tank, rear fender & oil tank - chevy's silver green metallic:














Today - I'll visit our friendly DMV - inquiring about what's required to get me a title & plate for this Pan - which ought to be cool. Otherwise - can't think of anything else!

Post #10 - Scoot Layout

So it's been a little while since I last posted some about the bike - I think my writing bank was empty. But I recharged last weekend & am ready for some more...

Some people would probably say that motorcycles consist of more than the engine & "everything else" but those people aren't me. Maybe I have yet to experience those other things, but when I think of riding (it's winter here so I'm only dreaming. Even if I thought I was tough enough to ride in these temperatures, I'm not dumb enough to let my pile of iron and aluminum be exposed to the salt clouds on our highways..), the two bits that excite me the most are the exposed movements (wind in your face, highway inches below your heels, rocks and rain like needles on your cheeks, the blunt smell of a pig farm somewhere that you cannot escape by rollin up the windows..) and the engine churning away at the twist of my wrist dumping heat into my legs. The noise of a smooth running engine without the structural reinforcements to dampen the valve train or gearcase noises is some of the best music for an engine man's soul. I feel like I'm just out there, riding an engine - and that's cool. Sometimes I think about the tires, drive chains & front brakes because they make some noise - but that's not often. So then - with respect to where I'm at in my motorcyclin experiences - everything still falls into sub components of the scoot or the engine.

The Frame
The frame is an old wishbone style HD frame that had been chopped in the neck at some time. It wasn't stretched, just chopped a bit to squeeze a bit of a longer fork on. I have no idea how good the quality of the chop is or how strong it is - it's been hidden under a good-n-thick layer of bondo. So basically - the frame is stock & fits a +4 inch fork. Considering some of the pictures I've seen of chops w/ stretches - I'm pretty glad this frame didn't get stretched; I like the chopped look much more. I got a new gas tank so I ground down the mounts my dad had made for his fat bob tanks & welded on my own mount setup which I think turned out real clean & smooth. I also picked up a solo seat to mount on a hinge & springs - so I lathed some spring perches & bought a hinge kit & welded those on as well.

I don't weld well - my bud Erik does a damn fine job of that & I owe quite a lot to his help & shop for letting me a mess during the brainstorming & manufacturing of some of this custom stuff.

The Gas Tank
The Pan had some big fat bob's before I took over. Granted, they had a real nice copper / chrome illusion paint job & could probably hold enough fuel for me to go to Mexico w/o stopping - but the rest of this bike is a skinny rig. A look head-on @ the Pan w/ those tanks was like looking @ a top heavy 90 lb lady - nature never intended it. Functionally awesome, but I thought I could make a good compromise & found a king sporty tank w/ 3.3 gallon capacity. The tank is bare steel, so I'm free to paint as I want. I saved the gas cap from the bob's though..

The Seat
The Pan also had a 70's chopper seat with some good cushion, elevation for the passenger & a back rest. Frequently - on the longer rides - my dad would strap a sleeping bag onto the passenger bit & ride as if in a lay-z-boy. The seat was never really mounted to the bike - he just tarp-strapped the back rest to the sissy bar & that was pretty good. In my effort to make this machine smooth & cool, I found Birdman Customs would make a solid solo seat w/ some customer leather tooling for ~$120. Add some springs & I figure this would be a good ride. Birdman tooled a Viking scull & crossbones on the dark brown leather seat, laced it to a seat pan & within a week I had it. Mounted to the frame w/ the hinge kit & 3" springs atop my custom perches is actually perfect spring rate for my ass. Vicki swears there no give to the springs when she hops on - but I know there is, even if only metal.

I don't have a passenger seat yet. I never intended for a passenger. According to the book my bro Jesse gave me for x-mas, I need this solo time to reach my zen. If I have a passenger - I cannot reach that zen because I'm concerned about their comfort & boredom. Add that to the fact that Vicki's never really liked to ride motorcycle (she's tried once & wasn't a huge fan) - I haven't added that seat yet. I know I'm sounding selfish but as I stated in one of my earlier posts - it's for my sanity. I don't plan to ditch my solo seat & can't find a cool, dark brown pillion pad. Birdman Customs will make one for me - which I may still pursue, or I 'll just get one of those suction-cup pillion pads that I can take off when she's not with. I've got a bit to think about before this topic is completely closed...

The Rear Fender
I'm reusing the Pan's fender. I think it was a chopped square one about 5" wide; it should fit the setup nice. It's not going to

Post #9 - Engine: Everything I haven't Covered Before

There only a couple of systems I haven't talked about on the engine - fuel supply, ignition & exhaust - that's it, and these bits are short because I haven't had to do much & don't know much.

Fuel Supply
So I'm not really sure what kind of carb my dad was running on the Pan - it doesn't seem to look like any of the other common Harley carbs but it's clearly stamped with an AMF logo. I know it's newer & more sophisticated than the ol' brass Linkert card - it's got an accelerator pump & some plastic parts on it - I don't care really, I'm going to give this guy a try until I find it's limiting my performance or just junk.

The intake T is a stock, o-ring setup. A chrome coupler has been added to adapt this carb to the intake. The intake filter is also off a non-Linkert Harley - it's a stock round bit that I'm gonna rock until I can no longer rock it.

Ignition
My dad was running the stock points distributor, an Accel coil & wires and some champion plugs. I'm going to reuse the Accel coil & wires because those were fairly new and good quality. The spark plugs I'm not sold on yet - I have to do some research to see what heat range is preferred - when the plug is installed, seems the electrode is at least 1/4" from even being directly exposed to the combustion chamber. In my ideal world - the plug should have the electrode completely exposed & closest to the fuel source intake for best results - so I'll look around some more.

The old distributor was starting to get quite sloppy around the shaft & leaking on the longer rides - add to that fact that it's using points to contact circuits - a super vintage technology that's inefficient as compared to moder ignition systems - I sought to upgrade to a modern digital system. Through VTwin - I found this electronic, auto advance ignition that I assume was hosting some cheaper electrons for managing ignition timing & whatnot; but this assumption landed me a new points distributor with some auto advancing springs. This was definitely not the direction I wanted to go - not only does it not look original or cool - it now functions only marginally better than the original setup. I was looking for something with a rev limiter & programmable advance curve - but am not willing to shell out $500 for a Mallory distributor with dual fire - so I've settled to accept this new, moderately better ignition.

Exhaust
The pan made noise through a pair of un-baffled drag pipes, & the noise was good but the pipes did nothing for the pan's daily driver purposes except direct that noise out the backside. The pipes are too short to take advantage of significant inertial supercharging, there's no baffling to provide back pressure & then no cross-over tubes for flow scavenging - thus I intended to make my own system - a dual exhaust w/ pipes that ran straight back from the jugs w/ some baffles & cross-tubes. Seeing that the bike revival has consumed this much time already - I've ditched that idea for a stab at modifying the pan's current exhaust w/ some short baffles & header wrap. I'll someday build that new system & that day will be sweet.

That's it for the engine as of right now... until the rebuild!

Post #8 - Picture Break

I know - this blog can get boring without something to view & speak for itself - so a picture of the engine in nearly its current state:

It's a low-res image - apologies - it's taken from by brother's phone camera bad at my dad's shop in Canby - but it's a pic @ least. I say it's a pic of the nearly current state because once I returned to I added the push rods & push rod tubes (which I'll also be rebuilding as the new gaskets from Adams were way too tight on the tubes & I couldn't get a good-n-tight fit) + the valve covers.

And another pic - one from Barnetts web features - the gas tank & fend color I'm shooting for:
It's kinda light gray / green & I think it'll look good.

Post #7 - Engine: Case Halves, Camshafts & Oil Pumps

Case Halves
The most important part of the Pan was the engine's case halves as they're the only pieces I can 100% claim as original from '48 - unless someone (the dude) did some # stamping voodoo - but for my mental reasoning - I'll assume he didn't. The #'s on the case halves match - both inside & out. They've been beat up, dropped (as an engine assembly), broken & repaired. Most of the screw threads are boogered or hogged out & tapped to larger diameters - but they're the bikes history & identity and I'm damn sensitive to their well being.

With all that's wrong - initially - they required relatively little work to prep for assembly. I took all of the jug & oil pump studs out, cleaned some threads & hand filed the gasket surfaces. I r&r'd the cam bushing & pinned that in place. The idler gear's shaft, just like the original pinion shaft, decided to wear the hardened steel instead of the gear's brass bushing. I'm not sure what type of oil was used or temperature extremes this brass was exposed to for the past 60 years - but it's somehow hardened the brass so the steel wears instead of the original intent of brass wearing, steel = good, and I'm not going to figure out why. With a bit of knowledge from the Boar House (neither the Harley factory manual nor goddamn Clymers tell you how to do this) - I was able to pop this shaft out (I didn't intend for that to sound sexual) & tap in a new one. I've also replaced the both the idler & circuit breaker gears' brass bushings.

I cleaned the threads of the original jug studs & began the install. I applied a bit of blue Loctite & threaded the studs in until they bottomed out in the cases. When I came to thread the center studs in - I couldn't get their installed heights to match. Two of the studs installed at the height of the other four (I refer to this as the "proper height"), but two remained about .4" too tall & I had no idea why - maybe the threads were still crap or something was keeping the studs from going all the way in. I tried & tried again but no change. I then tried to pull the two center studs that were at the "proper height" until I found their extraction extremely tough. A bit of an investigation with a flashlight & I found the two studs bottom @ the same point in the case half so when you have one stud all the way in, the other bottoms on the installed stud's threads - so my try & try again method only further damaged the threads of the installed studs at the "proper height" - making removal without case thread damage impossible. I left the damaged studs installed & drove the other studs until they bottomed on the installed studs & proceeded to assemble. When I put on the cylinders, I only had about 4 threads of the "proper height" studs were available to grab with the cylinder nuts - meanwhile the tall studs afforded approx 10 more threads which was more ideal. With only 4 threads grabbing what I assume are grade 2 nuts - considering the cylinder pressures I'm expecting during running - I am way too exposed to failure here. So I revert to the fact that I'll be doing a complete dissassembly before running to obtain a few more threads to hold the cylinders in place. Because the damaged studs won't be removed without significant case thread damage - a new solution is required. I plan to remove the studs - even though there will be thread damage - and then drill, counter bore, tap & install some 7/16" Time-sert steel thread bosses. Then - as the jugs basically self align themselves during install with the exposed cylinder sleeve - I'll just use some grade 5 allen bolts & aluminum spacers (thermal expansion compensation). Then...these cases should be mint.

Camshaft & Lifters & Push rods & Oil Pump
The camshaft already received some mention in another post - basically - I ended up with an Andrews B grind. I'm psyched - this will be a good cam.

I believe my dad replaced the lifters, lifter blocks & push rods not too long ago. The blocks were in great shape - the lifters had some bad wall scuffing - well beyond buffing so I scrapped em in exchange for some new Sifton solids. These seem to fit well in the lifter block bores.

The wear on the original push rods is a bit concerning - appears as if a shortage of wall lube or excessive side loading was present. The new cam should help the side loading - the lift ramp is significantly less than the original. I still don't know why the wall lube wasn't there - hopefully the new Sifton oil pump will resolve (replaced the old because the gears were sloppy & running pressures were below 10 psi). The lifters will be something I keep a close eye on during maintenance - if I get this thing running.

Post #6 - Rotating Assy & Pistons

Recall that 60mph wicked vibration my Dad noticed - turns out the retaining nut of the sprocket shaft had loosened allowing about 0.25" play in loose the uninstalled state (I'm sure with the bearings support & such, the assembled movement wasn't that much). This looseness translated into a bit of con rod slop & abnormal pinion shaft wear - but that's about as far as I can see the damage went. I'm not totally certain - but fairly confident the 60mph vibration is directly related.

Pistons:
The original pistons (at least they appeared fairly original, cast iron bits) had some fairly good skirt scuffing, other than that - they were in good shape. Seeing that I bored 0.010" over, I needed new pistons anyway so I didn't do much investigation into piston health & just ordered some forged aluminum hardware from Wiseco.

Con Rods:
The Pan's con rods appeared to be square (no bends) & only had some abnormal wrist pin bushing wear due to the odd alignment (more sprocket shaft induced fun). The large end bearing races looked smooth (no pitting) - so I only replaced the wrist pin bushings. A bit of a knick in the middle of the front cylinder's rod didn't cause much concern for me, but both my dad & the Boar House weren't fans. Add that to the fact that the bore house pointed out my crappy bushing install (a bit crooked - can't always rely on the con rod to guide the busing properly will provide some side loading of the wrist pin & eventually drive past the pin keepers & into the cylinder bore...) & the con rods were junk. I got some new, replica rods from V-Twin w/ the bushings already installed & races hones to fit a matching crank-pin & bearing setup.

Pins & Shafts:
The Pan's crank pin had some surface pitting, likely below the hardened surface - so that was immediately junk. Replaced - as mentioned earlier - with a V-Twin replica.

The Pan's pinion shaft developed some abnormal wear @ the very end (bit that's riding in a bushing within the gear case cover). Instead of actually wearing the brass bushing - the shaft wore quite significantly. So that was junk as well - replaced with a V-Twin replica. This new shaft fits well inside the original gear case cover busing - so I kept that bushing.

The sprocket shaft was worn & pitted on the taper mating surface due to the looseness.... junk as well - replaced with a V-Twin replica.

I thought that'd be the end of replacing this rotating parts - I mean - there's not much left...

Flywheels:
The flywheels appeared to be original hardware. Even though the sprocket shaft worked loose - abnormal wear didn't appear present in the taper joint - so I thought they'd be reusable. Turns out - they weren't. Knowing that I was going to be changing quite a bit of cranking assy stuff - I brought all the new stuff in for static balancing @ the Boar House. They educated me to look for the signs of an abused flywheel assy - & the weld build up & peening of the con rod thrust washers was a good sign that these flywheels had been apart a number of times. I'm not sure who did this work (likely the dude because I pretty sure my dad's chicken coop didn't have a welder..) but it was awesome. The Boar House gave reuse a go & ended up breaking chunks of flywheel off with every attempt to peen new washers in place; I trust they were honest with their attempts & not trying to take advantage of my naive ways. Eventually - I landed a set of Truett & Osborne flywheels (stock stroke) in a complete assy from V-Twin. They managed to balance the everything (they should've been able to - everything was spankin new..).

Pinion & Sprocket Shaft Bearings, Washers & Oil Seals:
The shaft bearings measures to stock diameter but fit a bit loose. The races measured round & true. Combining the two measurements - I found, with some light honing, that I could get a real good fit with +0.008 bearings for both the pinion & sprocket. My dad & I pin-honed these bores and, although not mirror finish, the fit is great. I reused the original bearing cages.

The crankshaft thrust washers were a bit pitted but cleaned up & are also being reused.

I installed a new sprocket shaft oil seal. The oil ring for the pinion shaft - although I recall seeing it sometime during the disassembly - has caught the Santa Anna winds & fled - so I've got to find one of those.

I noted there was a bit more side - to - side play in the sprocket shaft bearing - to - oil seal area, so I found a thin washer to take up some of that side play. The washer has a bit of a crap on it that I couldn't clean off (it's uber thin & I didn't want to distort is permanently). I'm trusting a bit of running will smooth that washer out...
____________

So I haven't touched on a few parts of the engine tear down yet (gear case, cases...) - I'm getting there - but I'll tell you something about the new parts in their installed state as of today. I thought I had all of the i's dotted & t's crossed when it came to the rotating assembly. Maybe after reading this posting you can already point out where I've fucked up.... think about it a bit...

I didn't check the thrust clearance of the crank assy with respect to the case races. I did some preliminary installs & threw a couple of case studs in to make sure things were ok & during pin honing of the case races - I thought it was going to be a snug but OK fit. During my final install of the rotating assy into the cases - with everything pre-lubed, that gunky washer installed, & the case studs torqued to spec - I found things real snug. I could still force rotation by hand (pushing on a con rod or something - not by grabbing the sprocket shaft though - that took a wrench)....

Understand that I try to do these technical tasks always in a time crunch for 1000's of reasons & my patience with the engine at this stage was thin so I charged on thinking - maybe that gunky washer or the prelube is causing that drag. It's been 1 month since I did that engine assembly. Before I try to start this beast - I'm gonna tear this whole engine down again & mill some race material away to free the rotation a bit. Maybe I'm being too sensitive to this, maybe there's a better solution - but the cases are the only identification the Pan retains & with respect to thermal expansion - I don't want to end up pushing races out or cracking the cases - so better safe than sorry.

Post #5 - Engine: Jugs

The Pan's cylinders - while already having been sleeved with something - were actually in pretty good shape. The std. bore walls had a bit of scuffing and a significant top-ring groove wear groove wasn't really there - so I thought a minor cleaning (honing = yes, boring = maybe) was required. My dad's collection of tools didn't host a setup for properly securing the cylinder if boring was required - so I found a place that could: Wagemon Brothers in Minneapolis. If they are trusted to build Tony Stewart's dirt late Model engines - they must be OK to check this cylinders out. So I dropped them off & waited to hear back,

& waited,
& waited,
& waited... but didn't hear back (I didn't actually wait, I worked on other stuff too...but still)

Eventually - I think a couple months had passed - so I dropped them a line. They claim that, because those cylinders were so small - they never got the attention they needed. Finally - they got to checking things out & found a 0.010" overbore would cure the scuffing & straighten as needed. They got to that real quick & I shelled out ~$100 for the whole deal - not too bad...

I didn't have a real good way to check for cylinder deck flatness, so I fixtured the units to a mill table with perpendicular cylinder alignment key and used an end mill to do a light pass. Turns out the decks were in really good shape as well.

I couldn't really tell if the cylinders were original 48's, but they did host both the oil feed & return passages through the base of the cylinder as compared to the later versions with combinations of cylinder bore oil returns & external feeds.

Post #4 - Engine: Heads

This is where - for some special readers - you'll likely glaze over & lose interest as I'm gonna dig into the engine details for the next few posts. Look for the first post after the next few where the words "Engine" or "Bike" aren't in the title - you're likely safe again to resume reading.
__________

The primary reason for a Pan revival was the engine. Since my dad's detuning work conducted in a chicken coop on his home-farm near Canby - the engine hadn't received any work besides basic maintenance and a lifter block & pushrod replacement. So I set off on the revival by digging into a part that I was fairly familiar with - the engine cylinder heads.

The heads were the first sign that this pan had been probed a few times as the heads weren't original 48's - but rather from a 55. Generally - after I popped off the heads, rockers, valve springs & valves - I took a closer look at the heads in search of cracks and anything that may warrant them unusable. I found a slight crack between the rear head's spark plug hole & the exhaust valve. According to my dad - he knew about that crack from back when he did the detuning & didn't find it to ever be a problem. Some of the fins had been broken off & the exhaust spigots were also really tapered & cracking away in spots. The gasket surface & head bolt bosses were all where they were supposed to be without any cracking or pulling out. The head bolt hole threads all felt and appeared to be fine along with all of the valve cover bolt hole threads - which my dad had Heli-coiled every one some time ago. The head gasket surfaces had some scratches but generally checked out without warpage. The only other negative finding was, for some reason, the rear cylinder's exhaust valve guide had been ground down at an angle... I think that was the work of the Dude. The heads still had the original, brass valve seats & the valves I pulled were relatively clean (not much carbon build-up indicative of oil burning because of loose valve stems or leaky stem seals).

I figured - based on the state of the heads and the cost for some new / reconditioned heads - I was better off working with what I had. Butch @ Wart Hog helped replace the exhaust spigots with some new aluminum. I worked with the original valve seats & ground them round again (I think only ~20% of each valve was touching at any one time before I ground - imagine the compression). I didn't replace the valve seats because I've heard of too many horror stories about the replaced seats falling out because a Dude didn't heat the head properly before setting the seat in - even if they actually knew what they were doing - it was risky business I wasn't about to partake in. Looks like I'll be carrying some lead additive for the gasoline instead. Some light hand reaming straightened the valve guides & some planing of the head gasket surface resulted in quite a solid set of heads to work with again. No port work was required - someone had already done a bit of light work in that area & I knew any more opening would only hurt port velocity & fuel atomization - so I left that alone (seriously - the head's ports aren't the problem - the obvious problem is the T-shaped intake manifold, 90 degree port bends = poor port utilization).

Now - back when I did some engine simulations - the result was telling me to work with a camshaft that had ~ 0.600" total valve lift & start that lift asap - so the best solution I found was S&S's 514. When I received this cam and compared it to the piece I pulled from the Pan - the S&S was huge. Significantly more lift w/ a bit more of a gradual slope leading to 100% open - as compared to the Pan's nearly square cam profile. I was a bit worried - but charged on anyway - which will later result in nothing but shit.

On the same order I got the S&S cam - I picked up some new valves (stock diameter Rowe's) & a stock replacement Crane Cams valve spring & retainer setup. First check was valve seat height on both the valve & valve seat - which resulted in me looking a whole lot closer at the original hardware. Apparently - the Pan's valves were HD's +5/32" exhaust valves on every port - obviously the original hardware wasn't gonna work. So I found some new Rowe black melonite (sp?) +5/32" valves & checked these against the seats & everything was good. Solid seating around the whole valve, mid seat on the valve seats & mid to lower on the valves. Valve stem fit was pretty good too - maybe just slightly loose - but better than the fit of the original valves.

After I had a good valve & seat - I checked installed height & valve stem to valve keeper clearances @ 100% lift & found about 0.100" interference (including valve stem seal height). I ground a bit of the valve stem & checked again - and as I continued to work the stems down - I got to a point where I wasn't comfortable removing more materials as nearly nothing was left for a good valve stem seal to grip to. Another measurement & I found the valve spring kit I was working with would result in coil binding before complete valve opening anyway - so fuck it - reality check complete - I call complete bullshit on S&S's book claiming good to mild midrange performance without affecting idle and only needing some valve stem clearancing to fit. I chucked the S&S cam back in the box & purchased an Andrew's B grind, some Sifton +0.060" valve retainers & modified some neoprene with spring retainer valve spring seals. A double check of the measurements & everything looked good.

The rocker & rocker blocks diametrically were ok. No significant grooving or wear to note of. The end play registered a bit much @ ~0.015" max, 0.013" min - so I did nothing but clean these up & install. Note that even the rocker blocks weren't original hardware. Three of the blocks appear to be the latest Harley rev for blocks with the oil hole drilled on the top-front; the fourth appeared to be a middle rev without that hole. The rocker block nuts felt ok - so I reused them too.

The intake valve oilers all cleaned up ok & had the check balls inside - so I reused these as well, until I effed up & let up on a valve spring installer without realizing the oiler was to be hit. As the steel on these oilers wer pretty brittle - that one broke. So now I am in the process of finding another.

The tins are a bit rough - but I'm not looking for visual perfection - so they'll get reused as well. I'm using Adam's head gaskets with impregnated silicone sealing stuff & Adam's cork valve cover gaskets.

One thing I haven't verified is if the valves will hit during rev's - once I have the engine installed in the bike and have a better way to rotate the whole assy - I'll let you know what I find.

Can't think of any other head related business - so that's it for the heads. They're assembled and already on the refreshed engine.

Post #3 - Gettin focused

Now that I had the authority to revive the Pan - told enough people I was gonna do it & spread the word of my ideas - I eventually got to work. My efforts were sporadic - searching high & low for parts I thought were cool, making some lists & cleaning some stuff but never really got my head into the rebuild. I haven't finalized the project yet - but am hoping this sporadic effort won't bite me in the ass when I try to ride.

A bit of info for those reading the dusty pan without previous Harley service knowledge - apologies if this sounds weak - but if you don't have access to a goddamn good pool of tribal knowledge about Harley's before you dive into one of these projects, by far the most frustrating bit about this rebuild as I had none, go find someone who has got that knowledge. If you go to a Harley parts catalog in search of something with specific dimensions or mass or even general properties - you'll never end you search because THEY JUST DON'T POST THAT SHIT... Don't ask me why - maybe the lack thereof is Harley's means of keeping idiots like me from working on these bikes - who knows...

And then when you go looking for that tribal knowledge in Clymer's service catalog & they cut the service detail & generally refer you to a Harley dealer whenever the task is harder than an oil change - FUCK OFF - I know my skill limitations, don't assume that shit. I bought your book to tell me how to do these complex things so I don't have to bring my bike to the dealer - if I'm not comfortable with it - I'll find someone to help dammit...man (rant over).

thanks: www.hydra-glide.com

Back to it - the focus booster I needed came in four forms:
1) Vicki's looking to have some babies sometime soon & I knew the only way I was to get this bike done was before any storks land (this bit also plays a factor in booster #3).
2) My dad brought the frame up to Minneapolis & dropped it in my garage. There's nothing like looking @ that for motivation every time I come home.
3) Trip revival - Minnesota to California, circa 1975 - except this time w/ the Pan & my buddies.
4) Sturgis 2008 - My dad's working on a business venture Liberator Trikes (www.liberatortrikes.com), building trike motorcycles w/ an old Chevy V8 out back & a seat & controls setup up front fit for anyone from paraplegic folks to rippin youngsters. His venture led him out on a solo trip to Sturgis last year & I was off on vacation with Vicki's family. Needless for further elaboration - I'll never let him visit Sturgis solo again.

Booster #4 hit like a bag of bricks - this bike needs to be finished so the Pan, the Shovel (for my older brother) & Liberator Trikes can trip cross the plains of SD, destination - Sturgis 09'. I kicked up my focus & efforts significantly - done were the engine simulations & modelling for maximum area under the torque curve between 2000 & 4000 rpm (although - this will come to bite me later as I took some advice from the simulation that resulted in a shit-ton of head work to clearance for the S&S 514 cam... I'll explain later) - onto the serious purchase of required parts & rolling gear to revive the Pan into a road-worthy machine.

Post #2 - Commence...Pan Dissassembly

Paint the Setting:
I live in Minneapolis.
My parents live in Canby, MN, approximately 3hr's west of Minneapolis. The Pan has always been at my parents place.

In Minneapolis - I had a basic set of tools.
My dad hosts a rare arsenal of tools only time can accumulate.

At the time - I drove a Mini Cooper & lived in an apartment (no room for a motorcycle).
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While in Canby one weekend (almost immediately after receiving approval for working on the Pan) I figured to take advantage of my dad's tool set & shop... I took the bike completely apart. I tend to have a problem with not trusting something I haven't worked on or completely understand. If I could get to the microscopic level on something - I probably tried. I think I was able to take everything apart in a weekend - & kept things generally organized in 2 boxes & a couple of coffee cans for bolts.
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The booter:
Even though I kick-ass at taking things apart - I'm not so good at putting them back together or finishing the project (my dad can vouch for everything from my 71 Chevelle I left half-restored to the 1991 Mitsu 3000GT VR4 I totally gutted...). It was probably the moment I left with some Pan stuff in a box that my dad shed a tear or regretted giving me the authority to revive the Pan. He knew I didn't have the facilities, time, money, tools or attention to properly rebuild this bike. In addition to the general life of a Cummins Service Engineer - somewhere in there I married Vicki - my awesome wife who lets me venture on these damn projects that will likely steal more of "our" time than help (if you're reading this - seriously - it's for my sanity) - bought a house, got a dog, picked up the need to barrel through the Forrest on a fat bicycle & dropped the Mini for a new truck. Come to think of it - I really have no idea why my dad ever let me do this project...

Post #1 - Why do I have a '48 Harley?

My father, Mark Kallhoff M.D. (Motor Doctor), has had this bike forever. From what he's told me - his cousin, Andy Kallhoff, got this bike from a "dude" in Sioux Falls, SD. In exactly what shape Andy bought the bike - I'm not totally sure. And the title - yea it burned up in the dude's shop shortly after purchase...

According to my dad - the bike's engine was wild, overheating & blowing head gaskets all the time because of the high compression, nearly un-streetable because of the aggressive bump-stick. The "dude" did some decent work to the engine - but always operated with the "I'll get you by cheaply" mentality - so he stuffed some VW valve guides in the heads, sleeved the cylinders with something out of a John Deere - and God knows what else.

Meanwhile - my dad was scootin on an old Knucklehead. Somewhere - the time passed & my dad rode w/ a brother & some buddies out to California. Upon return to Minnesota - he sold the Knuckle & bought this Pan in 1976 from Andy (Andy was ready to rid himself of the Pan because it was in the shop more than on the road). My dad gathered some parts & commenced a detuning of the Pan - making it steetable. Where & when the cradle frame was chopped to allow for a +4" fork or when the bulk of the stock h/w was ditched - again - I'm not sure.

Between 1976 & ~2005, my dad rode the Pan, changed its look a couple of times, took care of basic maintenance & rode some more. Seems to me I can recall several younger days of my dad rolling about town or coming home from work on the Pan & me thinking - Jesus that bike looks goofy. My dad had attempted to make the Pan a comfortable ride with bars that curved vertically back to his seat, a big 70's chopper seat & sissy bar out back for him to setup the sleeping bag on for a backrest, a narrow windscreen & even narrower front springer fork & ginormous fat-bob gas tanks. Being naive about the heritage & age of the bike - frankly - I wanted nothing to do with that bike.

The "dudes" true craftsmanship & my dad's infrequent riding of the Pan were starting to show by 2005 with a severe backfire on deceleration, nasty vibration from the engine @ ~60mph, a good bit of oil leaking from the clutch push rod & the rear drum brake about as good at slowing the bike as putting your feet down to stop. These nuances were starting to make the Pan less of a fun ride & more of a pain in the ass or worry (fearing breaking apart). Instead of conducting a Pan revival - my dad surfed across a basket Shovel soft tail (the Pan's rigid frame was sending the wrong vibes to the ol' man's spine) in Iowa via EBay.

Gradually - he built the shovel & made it his own & it turned out to be a pretty sweet scoot w/ a S&S Shovel engine & decent rear suspension setup. The Shovel was consistently working well for him - I asked about a potential Pan revival & he approved with one stipulation - don't change it much!