My 1St HD

motormike

XS650 Guru
Top Contributor
XS650.com Supporter
Messages
1,269
Reaction score
4,067
Points
263
Location
Mpls
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> Harley wla.jpg Harley 42 garage.jpg 42 Harley mice.jpg I've never been a fan of HD's. But always had a soft spot for old flatheads. Like tri-five T Birds... always comtempary... classic. Finding one that has been subjected to a Neanderthal with a hammer and hacksaw was difficult. Found this one on eBay.. and I'm not get'n younger.. so... I sold 5 from the sable... (painful) ….
Now.. I have to think.. .. gas on...key off... 2 kicks prime.... no choke on warm days.... left bar.. advance quarter turn.. key on... kick.. usually fires straight away.. roll advance off fully...idles with the traditional potato potato chug... now.. the tricky part... " foot clutch "... tank hand " suicide " shift... I know now why " suicide ".... My first attempts.... not pretty.. but start'n to get the hang of it.... The old boy hum's along at 50-55 with some steam left in the kettle...
Everyone tells me.. they're very good bikes.. and reliable... Told the wifey what I paid for it.... (Eeeck)..but then I told her I sold five to buy it so my out of pocket expense was $1325.oo... she really liked the part about sell'n five.
 
An ol' trick to keep in mind, with hard starts and chuffing outta the carb.
With the single ignition and single carb, when the front sparks, the rear is on intake, sometimes ignites. The trick is to start on the rear. Kickin' thru, you'll feel the short vs long durations between compression. Do the ign-on/kick after feeling the short duration...
 
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>View attachment 146137 View attachment 146138 View attachment 146139 I've never been a fan of HD's. But always had a soft spot for old flatheads. Like tri-five T Birds... always comtempary... classic. Finding one that has been subjected to a Neanderthal with a hammer and hacksaw was difficult. Found this one on eBay.. and I'm not get'n younger.. so... I sold 5 from the sable... (painful) ….
Now.. I have to think.. .. gas on...key off... 2 kicks prime.... no choke on warm days.... left bar.. advance quarter turn.. key on... kick.. usually fires straight away.. roll advance off fully...idles with the traditional potato potato chug... now.. the tricky part... " foot clutch "... tank hand " suicide " shift... I know now why " suicide ".... My first attempts.... not pretty.. but start'n to get the hang of it.... The old boy hum's along at 50-55 with some steam left in the kettle...
Everyone tells me.. they're very good bikes.. and reliable... Told the wifey what I paid for it.... (Eeeck)..but then I told her I sold five to buy it so my out of pocket expense was $1325.oo... she really liked the part about sell'n five.

Very nice Mike! A vintage bike that actually appreciates in value! :) And you didn’t have to restore it!
I like the old ones!
 
Very nice Mike - good for you - plus you kept Mrs. Mike on-side!

With the single ignition and single carb, when the front sparks, the rear is on intake, sometimes ignites. The trick is to start on the rear. Kickin' thru, you'll feel the short vs long durations between compression. Do the ign-on/kick after feeling the short duration...

Geeeezzzz 2M - how DO you know all this stuff?
 
Indeed - I’ve ridden only one Harley, and the feel is totally unique.
 
Shouldn't be much of a chore to boot; 45 ci=750 ccs., and the W is a very low compression motor. Cycle mags in the mid '60s carried ads for war surplus WMs--$50 apiece, still in the crate. They're rare and expensive now because most of them got scrapped due to absense of demand. Back in the days when AMA rules allowed 45ci sidevalvers to run against 30.5ci (500cc) OHV bikes and the KR flat head was Harley's race machine, KR riders used the lowest octane fuel they could find for their race gas; they needed to speed up flame travel, not slow it down.
 
Still learn'n how to foot ..shift... rode it to the Saturday morn'n Star Buck rejects BS session. The older Harley dudes were stoked about it's originally …
I found that at above 55 mph the steering starts to shake... could be the nature of the beast.. or the front tire that could be found on my fathers 1960 Buck Invicta …. also. it doesn't like rain grooves....
Once I get better at the … foot.. spit out the gum.. shift.. add gas..lots of gas.. routine .. I'll toss the wifey on the back... I can tell ya now.. she's not going to like the seat.. or the passenger foot " extensions ".
 
Back
Top