Okay, the South Dakota winter set in, my shop was complete and the Holidays were looking good in the Black Hills. I’ve got a batch of stuff to touch on. The other evening, I stumbled into the shop and started to dig for inspiration. I had five successes and one major failure. Let’s get started.
My first challenge was wheels and brakes. The second stumbling block was driveline alignment, rear wheel alignment, fender and seat. And finally, I tackled my notion for the handlebars.
Let’s start with the last, the handlebars. I wanted highbars, but nothing traditional. As you saw in the first chapter, I struggled and then discovered Nash, handmade bars. They make them to order. But they couldn’t add my additional bend, and I wanted evil 13-inch bars.
When they arrived, I couldn’t just build a gig and bend them. They were too short, but that worked in my favor. I machined slugs out of solid stock.
I bent the slugs using a press and a lot of heat. It sorta worked, and they slipped right into the bars. I’m going to buy a new TIG welder next week, so I asked Cabana Dan to weld the slugs into place.
The bars are quirky, to say the least, and I’m not sure if I’m going to weld the dimples or leave them alone
I have a partial patina notion for the ultimate finish on this bike and I’m looking forward to it.
Since I’m in the Black Hills I seem to be surrounded by more motorcycle aficionados with more resources and more talents. I had several late-night discussions about the wheels and brakes. The options are endless but restricted by my Irish Rich VL frame and the XA front end.
After several talks, I picked up the phone and called Elliot and Eric at Black Bike Wheels. Here are some of the wheel options, when you are planning a ground up with exotic frames and front ends. I considered disc brakes all around, but I wanted a vintage flair and I’m not afraid of stock mechanical brakes.
Ultimately, I went for a star hub with Timken bearings, which means the stock axle won’t work. It will for set up, but one machined aspect is extended for the Timken bearings.
Charlie was able to supply most of the stock front brake components, but I needed to tighten up the rivets on the shoes with a punch and a hammer. I didn’t choose to have them bonded this time.
I ordered all the little shit, springs, axle, cork seal and cable clamp from Colony through Randy Cramer at Dakota V-Twin in Spearfish. I cleaned up everything and started assembly with a few nuts and spacers from Paughco.
I removed the Paughco rockers and pins. I wanted to use the Paughco pins with the stock rockers, but there are differences. I also ordered a new set of Rocker bushings from Colony and pressed the old ones out and the new ones into place.
We were able to order the Timken bearing axle for stock brake application from Custom Chrome. Paughco makes axles for a number of applications including stock springers. They will offer the Timken model in the near future, because it’s only a slight machining change.
I considered making a sleeve, but it would be super thin and not worth the trouble if the axles are available. I’m still waiting on the front brake cable and handlebar lever, which I hope comes from Barnetts.
I wanted to run a star hub on the rear, but I couldn’t run a stock mechanical rear brake because of some of the modifications to the frame. Stock linkage was no longer possible.
Steve from Paughco suggested a hydraulic rear brake and I ran down the canyon to see if Charlie had a complete rear brake system. He did and I tried it, but everything was too tight. I shifted to disc but two partners suggested a sprotor and recommended the Hawg Halters unit, because it includes a true four piston caliper.
I committed and ordered a rear wheel with a one-sided hub for a sprotor, which is super clean. I also ordered black hubs and rims with stainless spokes.
I needed ground clearance, or I might have run with the wheels on the bike. I went with a standard 21 on the front and a 19 rear, which took some investigation to find an approved rear 19-inch tire.
Everything hinged on alignment, before I can finish installing the engine and make a top motormount. I’ve ordered a 4-speed case from JIMS, which will house a 5-speed gear set. I found out that JIMS bought the case patterns from S&S and are starting to set up manufacturing. Might take some time. Yesterday, I was told I would have it on the 15th of March, the day before my 75th birthday.
Fortunately, I’m still a young punk.
Next, I messed with the rear wheel Hawg Halter and fucked up. This is not a standard rigid frame, but a VL, which has less space between the frame rails and a cast brake anchor mount. The caliper would not fit.
With the help of a Paughco rear axle and frame spacers, I was able to center the caliper over the sprocket and discovered an easy way to mount, too easy. I knew something was way too simple about this application and I sent images to a couple of brothers. Dan wrote back, “What about the chain.”
I made some measurements and with a Plasma cutter, cut out the stock brake anchor bracket. The caliper fit.
This put me into the position to set up the seat, fender, fender brackets, chain guard, etc. But I really needed driveline aligned first. I can’t attempt that without the transmission.
I dug around for fender options. I wanted to do something different and found several front fenders including one from an FXWG from the ‘90s. I was intrigued, and the fender bracket was poorly welded into place. It seemed to have damaged rivets, so with Dremel bits, I started to cut at the welds and rivets.
I completely failed at every attempt to separate the fender brackets from the fender. I ordered a replacement fender from Paughco sans the bracket strap. It will fit perfectly once I have it in my evil hands.
So, next is the seat pan system and rear fender. Hang on.
–Bandit
Sources:
Barnett’s clutch and cable
Clausen’s Machine Shop
Spearfish, SD
Dakota V-Twin
Spearfish, SD
www.dakotavtwin.com
JIMS Machine
McMaster Carr
www.mcmastercarr.com
Paughco
Shamrocks Customs
Sturgis, SD
S&S
Terry Components
Check on J&P Cycles
Nash Motorcycles
Black Bike Wheels
www.blackbikewheels.com
Custom Chrome
