SINGLE SPEED HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES
This great little project is currently up for grabs on eBay. Most of what you need is there and what isn’t is easily available. It’s listed as a belt drive but it’s clearly chain although it does have a belt drive tank (see pic 4). It will be interesting to see what the auction reaches, the parts alone are worth over $20k.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1913-Harley-Davidson-Belt-drive-single-/262887046289?hash=item3d3549fc91:g:bxEAAOSwWxNYwMA9&vxp=mtr
Whilst waiting for some machine work help on the 8XE I have decided to start looking at the two speed but only as a fill-in. The real work won’t start until the 12 is finished (or approaching finish).
This is a nice original two speed hub but has several parts missing and will need some remedial work. It already has a replacement throw out plate and clamping ring and will need a new set of clutch discs.
The brake drum has had some wear over the years and the mounting tabs need attention. The drum itself is badly worn and the surface pitted. It could be skimmed but is already very thin. Metal spraying could be the solution but the tabs will still need work. Perhaps a replacement part would be better.
I picked up a pack of 1/4″ x 24 tpi nuts so managed to mount the primary cover and the front fender stays. I need some more for the rears. The primary cover came from Dewey Rice and it fitted perfectly without any adjustment needed.
The ’10 is a running, riding bike now. She won’t get a lot of miles but she will see the road. This is a very correct bike and I will apply for a Pioneer certificate and get her on the London to Brighton run.
I thought it about time I put up a video of the 1910. She starts easy and runs great.
This lovely little 1911 single is for sale on eBay. Belt drive and correct open magneto.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-Harley-Davidson-8A-silent-grey-/272542881369?forcerrptr=true&hash=item3f74d25659:g:pI0AAOSwo4pYknvO&item=272542881369
It is listed as a 1911 and an 8A which is a ’12. It is clearly an ’11 rolling chassis but there is no VIN to confirm the year of the motor. It’s a bargain if the motor is ’11 but an expensive mis-match if the motor is a ’12. (I have asked him).
UPDATE.
He tells me that the VIN is 8432A so that IS a 1911. The 28″ wheels make it a 7C but it appears that the VIN has been polished off the cylinder base and the case. But it’s still a lovely bike.
I spent some time this afternoon tidying up some of the smaller jobs that I have been putting off. I made the spacers for the front wheel hub and did the threads for the carb and timing cable clamps. On the magneto side the threads were over-size and had been taken up to 5 mm. On the carb side two were standard size and the others were again 5 mm so I upped them all to 5 mm. Interestingly, on the carb side the frame was drilled in two places suggesting that the cable has been secured in different places during the bike’s 100+ year life. Original photos show both versions with the higher clamp position being on the earlier models. In that instance the cable is carried again under the tank on its way to the carb, in a similar way to the 10s and 11s. That is the route I will use.
I also went through all the parts in the handlebars and installed new cables. Again the old ones work well and look great on an original bike but rather than clean and re-nickle the old ones I’d rather save them for later and install new ones for this build.
I installed the seat post and put in a new seat post pinch bolt. I have originals of both but I think these will look and work better (the bike will be ridden). The recovering of original seat was done by Jethro Smith.
The new compensator sprocket came from Competition and the lock ring I had on the shelf.
UPDATE.
Well none of the best bikes sold; what does that tell us? Were the estimates well below the reserve prices? Did no one turn up? Is it the market, or fashion? Maybe the current buyers are only looking at prices with regard to ‘investment value’. But the only way to get real value out of motorcycles is to ride them, regardless of what they cost.
A Vincent sold for $150k but neither the Merkel, the Crocker, the 36 Knuckle, nor the Harley 8XE or 6A sold.
BONHAMS LAS VEGAS AUCTION.
This years Bonhams Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction is this week and as usual there are some great bikes up for grabs. Dale Walkslers 1936 Crocker will be of particular interest with the estimate of more than $500k and there are some rather nice Vincents as well.
On the F-Head side there is a lovely restored 1912 twin, a 1912 single and a 1910 single, all with rather low estimates. Maybe that is an indication of the market or maybe they just post low estimates to get the bidders interested. Either way there are some very nice bikes and it will be interesting to see the prices they reach.
The photos are courtesy of the Bonhams auction site. Have a look on their site and see the photos in better detail. You might even want to bid on one!
1910 6A.
There are only two pictures of this bike on the site; they are not very good and they don’t expand. The estimate is $45-55k which seems bizarrely low. Any 1910, of course depending on the quality of the work, should be worth well more than that and with buyers’ premium included I would expect to pay double that for such a cool bike.
1912 8XA.
This is a nice little bike with a clutch and magneto. I’m not sure about the colour but it is apparently an older restoration.
1912 8XE.
There are loads of great pictures of this bike on the site; great for referencing if you are doing a restoration. I think this is the bike that Bator International had up for sale last year at $169k. It won’t fetch that at auction.
Kevin went to the Rufforth Auto-jumble yesterday and came back with this Persons leather tool kit box. It’s a nice part that will clean up well. He certainly has some luck up there; last month he found a Bosch magneto for a 10-11 Harley and other early singles. If you can use then let me know.
And below is the one that Jethro Smith makes; very nice for a restoration bike.
I’m now back to the original idea of using the newer parts for the E and the older parts for the D. That will give me more time to search out parts for the older bike and enable the build of the newer bike to get started. The parts for the E will still in the main be correct original parts but with the addition of replacement parts where needed.
The rear hub is part original and part new. The clutch is original including all the actuation parts; it came from a 12 single and had already been plated. The cover bears the pitting of age but this could be polished out if need be, and then re-plated. The front hub is original NOS from Mark Masa. I have seen replacement copies of this hub but the logo on them is really poor (and they are €400). The spokes will be replaced on the final build.
