SINGLE SPEED HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES
This great 7D has just been listed on eBay. It has the same motor as my 8D, the only difference as far as I know being the B suffix after the letter A.
Letter A for 1911 with the smaller 50ci motor. Letter B for the first ‘big twin’ 61ci motor in 1912 and letters AB for the very early 1912 still with the smaller motor before the change to the larger 8E. This was presumably to utilise the remaining stocks of the 50ci motors already manufactured.
The plating has also taken far longer than I had hoped for but the quality is great. The delay is not so important as the painted parts are also not ready yet. Some parts of the motor need to be plated and then the motor re-assembled, the wheels need building and then the full assembly can begin. I am really pleased with the plating, it’s nickle but looks almost like chrome, but it will dull down.
The polishing and preparation are so important and the Eclipse front hub and Ful-Floteing seat bar engravings are clearly visible. These are great original parts which could have easily been spoiled with excessive plate.
Well the summer is near over now and I was hoping to have had all the painted and plated parts back by now so I could start the build on the 8XE.
The paint went off some six months ago but when the painter applied the lacquer to the decals everything blistered and they had to be removed. I ordered more decals from Rick Simpson, who is extremely knowledgeable and always offers great service, and they hit the UK within the week. I am now waiting for an update from the painter.
If you click on the image you can see the blistering. The two images below are before the lacquer was applied.
