Progress

The heads and jugs are now safely in the hands of someone who knows what he is doing. Gary from IronHead Cycles has been working with these beasties for something like 30 years, and his shop is a testament to his experience. Check out his site for all of his builds, services, and the part where he built a full stock Ironhead from bits and pieces he had laying around the place. Currently he is going to be doing a valve job and taking care of the jugs for me.

Per Gary's instructions I tested the play on the rods and pulled the cam cover off to check for metal bits. The front rod had a bit of play, but the telltale rubbing on the back of the neck was non-existent. Both were in great shape and looked to be well within tolerance.

Taking of the cam cover I examined the oil collection grate and found it to be completely metal free. I ran a magnet over some of the oil just to see what I could find and was pleased to not have attracted any loose metal fragments.

The case itself looked solid and crack free.

All together, it looks like I can probably get away with not doing a bottom end re-build. Great news since that pretty much saves me a ton of money.

Top End Removal

Here is the beast without the rocker boxes and heads.

And here it is with the whole top end (plus electric starter) removed.

Its a little clearer here how dirty the pistons were. Entirely coated with carbon.

I'm trying to formulate a strategy for my next step now. I've found a really nice shop here in Dallas thats been helping me out with parts and advice, but I dont know if I can work on the bottom end of this thing on my own. There are lots of specialty tools and little tricks for dealing with the transmission + drive that I dont have / know. I think I'll need to keep reading the manuals to see what all needs to be done. If that doesnt work I'll need to get estimates for how much the shop will charge.

MVP in the shop: The rubber mallet.

New State, New Shop, Same Bike

As you can see, the bike has been torn down and I'm starting in on the engine. I actually have the rockerboxes and heads of the thing, but I don't have pictures yet. The cylynders are COVERED in carbon. The inside is rusty. Not good.

The engine is sitting on a stade. $45 from Ebay + shipping. Well worth it.

All the little bits. Its going to be like a jug-saw putting it all together again.

Pink Slip

I picked up the pink slip that was thought to be lost from the previous owner today. SO thats one less thing to worry about.

Short on Money

You may have noticed (if you were so inclined) the lack of posts.

This is a direct correlation to the lack of activity with the bike.

Which is itself a direct correlation to my financial condition.

Read: I am broke and so cannot (at the moment) afford to buy all the shiny new parts I need for the bike. So its a a standstill.

But do not fret gentle reader(s?)! For but soon I shall return!

Some ideas

Completely tearing the bike down, and rebuilding from scratch is a huge pain in the arse. I like tinkering and wrenching so the work is less a chore and more a hobby, and with this project, the level of de-constructions affords me a lot of freedom as far as how this bike will look when its complete.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what that look will be, and I'm getting to the stage where thats starting to be important. I've been looking at bikes for sale in hopes of getting some ideas.


A pretty normal looking Sportster. Its got minimal work to the front of the bike, as well as the frame.


A great blend of old school looks with modern technology (front and back breaks).



My favorite out of the bunch, but also the most fabricated. This is out of my range as far as technical expertise and tools are concerned, but I can still draw inspiration from the general design.



Classic looking chopper


Looks like a Harley Nightrain mated with an Ironhead Sportster.


Its important to note that all of these bikes have rigid frames. I'm not sure I want to go that route yet, but it seems likely. I've seen several products where I can weld the rigid back end to my existing frame, or even a bolt on.

So. Like I said, I'm a novice when it comes to this sort of thing. If any one has comments, ideas, or advice, please feel free to write them here or e-mail me.

End Game?

I talked to the Harley Davidson dealership people, and according to them I can get the rest of the parts I need (not withstanding any engine work) for about three hundred dollars.

This includes:

Mirrors
Turn signals
Rear brake light
Front brake cable
Misc wiring + fusses + regulator
Various bolts, nuts, screws (which makes my struggle with the rust solution unnecessary)

Basically, if I don't worry about the engine and transmission, and the starter, and the re-painting, and the powder coating, I could have this motorcycle on the road in no time.

But that would defeat the purpose, would it not?