Skip to main content
Tag

rebuild

The UL File Is Now Open: Episode 1

By General Posts

Artistic rendering of my lovely-self from my first Bike Feature in Easyriders in 1971 – Bandit

Purchase, Pegs and Paint
By Bandit with photos from the Redhead

It all started in the center of an odd South Dakota winter, 2022 and a hunt for a running Knucklehead engine. I found myself talking to several knowledgeable brothers in the industry and the price for Knucklehead engines climbed spectacularly. Hell, shit, piss, way beyond spectacular.

Steve Massicot at Paughco mentioned an old employee who needed funds and had a UL for sale. A complete bobber, although the running aspect was in question.

I remembered George Christie’s classic flathead with fatbobs. We rode to the Yuma River run in the early ‘70s.

As you know, I’m nuts and believe I can fix anything. Most bikers can, so I cut a deal, but UL Steve wanted cash….

READ This Tech & Rebuild Adventure – Step by Step – with Photos on Bikernet.com – Click Here as the Newest Feature Article on Custom Build Series comes Alive!!!

CHECK OUT over 22 Motorcycle Building Projects in this Series at Bikernet.com BIKE BUILDS Section
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/bike_builds.aspx

Mike Egan Story 1943-2021

By General Posts

Mr. Big Candy Finds Motorcycle Nirvana

by Bandit

I worked with Mike and his wife Patty for about 40 years covering his restorations, working with him on project bikes such as the Dicey Knucklehead which I still have.

Hell, I made a deal to retrieve a Panhead from a brother partially because it held a Linkert Carb rebuilt by Mike Egan.

I owned a 1931 VL for 25 or so years, which was owned by Lou Kimzey, the original Publisher and Editor of Easyriders Magazine. It was restored by Mike Egan, and I was offered the matching sidecar, which I mistakenly turned down.

As Mike would say, “It’s worth Big Candy.”

CLICK HERE To Read this Feature on a Legendary Personality in Motorcycle Industry.

Join the Cantina – Click Here to Subscribe & Support Motorcycling Legacy of America

Five Tips for a Time-Sensitive DIY Job

By General Posts

Learn to tackle your next time-sensitive project with confidence
by Kyle Smith from Hagerty.com

The garage is a strange place.

Some projects you tackle with all the time in the world, and others are on a deadline tighter than ten-year-old denim. Anyone that has rushed to wrap up a project understands the stress and frustration that accompanies a time crunch.

Click Here to Read this Tech Tips on Bikernet.com

Join the Cantina for more – Subscribe Today.

https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

Using 3D printing to make a 1919 Harley-Davidson rideable

By General Posts

by Janaki Jitchotvisut from https://www.rideapart.com

This 1919 Harley-Davidson Is Now Rideable Thanks To 3D Printing. Vintage problems require modern solutions.

Let’s say you’ve decided to take on a vintage Harley as a project. Maybe you’re passionate about the early days of Harley-Davidson, for example, and you see an opportunity that’s just too good to pass up. The Motor Company has been around for over a century, though. While it has fans all over the world, as you might guess, some parts are easier to find than others.

That’s the problem faced by one Harley enthusiast in the Netherlands. He’d gotten his hands on a 1919 Harley-Davidson, and had been diligently doing hands-on restoration work for the better part of 50 years. Clearly, this guy was almost unbelievably patient. Eventually, though, even he got to a point where he had to think creatively to replace the one part that was holding him back from finally being able to go for a ride: a broken Bakelite distributor cap.

As the story goes, the man had searched high, low, and everywhere in between for a spare. Since there probably aren’t many out there to begin with, finding one on the used market seemed chancy. So, the restorer (who appears to want to remain nameless) reached out to Carl van de Rijzen from Visual First in the Netherlands, which is known for creating 3D scans of existing items.

1919 Harley-Davidson with 3D Printed Distributor Cap
Van de Rijzen, in turn, frequently collaborates with Edwin Rappard of 4C Creative CAD CAM Consultants to successfully 3D print the components he’s scanned. This was a unique challenge, for sure. They had the broken original distributor cap to scan, but a large chunk had broken off. How can you scan what isn’t there?

Luckily, the broken part was a mirror of what already existed, and not some other unique shape. Between the two technicians, they were able to successfully come up with a suitable 3D printed replica part. Since the original part was made out of Bakelite, crafting a 21st century polymer substitute so close to the bike’s 100th birthday seems kind of poetic.

It’s an incredibly modern solution to an age-old problem, and it will be interesting to continue seeing what motorcycle enthusiasts are able to accomplish using tools like this. For those who want to actually be able to go out and ride their vintage machines, it seems like a pretty great solution.