Vern's 1946 FL knucklehead

I got a lot of stuff done on Vern's 46 since the last update. The rear fender is on for good as is the rear crash bar.

The front fender and lower horn mount went on very easily. I love final assembly. Pre fitting all of the parts makes this a breeze.

Vern wanted to go with 12 volt electrics because he plans on riding this bike a lot. That means that batteries are more common, the lights are brighter which makes the bike safer. This also solves the problem of finding coils, batteries and light bulbs out in the middle of nowhere if they happen to fail. Plus it only takes three or four hours to switch a bike from 6 volts to 12 volts and the conversion does not damage any original parts. I trimmed the coil cover down and will have it powder painted gloss black next week.

The wiring under the seat is almost done, I just have to make a ground wire and put an end on the positive wire.This is very nice and tidy. all of the wires are shellacked with model airplane dope and the correct 46 47 wiring flags are installed.

I took this picture to show the oil lines. They fit up very nicely, because they are all re cad plated originals that have been with the bike since it was new. Check out the parkerized fitting nuts on the overhead oil line. This is standard practice for 43, 44, 45 and 46 knuckleheads. 42 overhead oil lines were nickle plated and 47 overhead oil lines were cad plated.

46s

I spent the morning working on loose ends on Wayne's black 46. My dad went out for lunch and picked up the sheet metal for Vern's 46. The paint is so nice. Mike did a great job on it as always. The color is Skyway blue which was used in 41, 42, 46 and 47. These pictures make it look lighter than it actually is.

Check out how crisp and clean the rivet and hinge definition is. This is one of the first things that I look at on bikes.

Here is Vern's 46 up on the lift. The bars are just for pushing the bike around, The bars that will be on the bike for good are in getting painted.

Oil Tank and coil mounts installed. You always want to put the ubolts for the coil in before you tighten up the front oil tank mounting bolts.

And rear fender!!!! I still have to put the fender clamps and rear crash bar on, but you get the idea. 46s are so damn cool.

46 updates

I made some progress on Wayne's 46 last night and this morning.

Oil lines are installed. The feed line and vent line fit up fairly easily, the return line took a bit of massaging, but it is all good.

I finished up the wiring under the seat post. Those are correct 46 and 47 wiring flags that we make. Notice how the positive wire loops up through the clip on the left frame tube and then wraps around the two tail light wires.

Check out all the cool details and contrasts in plating going on in this picture.

I have another set of exhaust to fit up this weekend, then I can get a batch of pipes painted up. It is neat to be working on another batch of three bikes that are red, black and Blue, the last batch were the same colors. HD didn't really offer that many options in these years.

pressure testing pictures

My Dad made a pressure testing cap a long time ago out of a cheap car cap, it finally gave up, so it was time to make a new one. this is a nos army oil cap, it is important to use a non vented cap. The first step is to drill a hole through the cap.

Then weld a Milton fitting onto the end of the cap

Here is a picture of the tank with air in it. I like to have fifteen or twenty psi going into the tank, then I spray it with soapy water. If there are any leaks, they will bubble, and you will know where to weld. I tested four tanks and only had two leaks to fix.

Here is Wayne's 46 with the freshly tested tanks on it.

I dropped these tanks along with John's 48 tanks off at Mikes to get in Primer. Once they are primed, I will fit the dash on both bikes!!!!

We picked up our batch of exhaust paint this morning. Here is a cool picture of everything on Jim's 39.

Vern"s 46 update

This is apic of vern's motor hanging out with other knucklehead motors in our show room.


Here it is in his chassis. This bike is going to be sooo nice. We are waiting on the fenders and other misc pieces. Should be coming together soon.



I love the way these bikes look outside in the snow. The handlebars are original standard bars which are more comfortable that speedster bars. Somebody bent them up during the last 70 years, I will have to bend them down and repaint them. My dad has the factory tool that was sold to dealers in the thirties and forties for moving crashbars and handle bars. I will post pics when we do it, because it is so damn neat.





I will bolt the motor and transmission down for good when I come back from vacation.