1940 Flathead Motorcycle
Harley-Davidson UL
My 84 cubic inch stroker, the Lunar Patrol Unit.
There is just something special about a flathead motorcycle. While they
are not
the fastest around, and not the most efficient, there just plain cool.
I went to a friends shop one day and saw this motor sitting on the
floor and fell in love.
It was dirty and the cylinderheads were missing and it obviously was in
dire need of attention
but I just had to have it! So after 15 minuets of negotiating it was
decided I had one day to come up
with the money. So I quickly went back to my own shop and stopped all
work and tore the Evo motor
I just finished rebuilding, out of my bike and stuck it on the front
counter for sale. It was about 3 pm when
the new owner of my motor walked in and just couldn't pass up the "one
day only deal". Bingo! the impossible
had just happened! I went back to my friends shop and told him of the
good news and the deal was done.
It took another 13 years before the bike was finished, but the wait was
more than worth it.
A lot of work has been done to the engine to make it an everyday
rider
that starts pretty much on the first kick and there isn't a puddle of
oil under it.
Most of the time there is no oil under it. I get sick and tired of
hearing how
the old ones leak all the time. Yea.... maybe if you don't know what
your doing
they do. Older bikes leaked oil out of the primary until
1965 when they started
returning the oil back to the engine. That's why I run a
belt drive primary.
Other engine modifications were made so the engine
actually gets more oil to it to keep from scuffing the pistons and let
it run cooler.
I added the finest oil filter there is to keep the oil clean, and I run
Amsoil synthtic.
I fabricated the exhaust out of nice .095 wall DOM, relieved the
cylinders, oiled
the engine to get the compresion ratio exact between the two cylinders,
put
some special cuts on the pistons since stock reproduction was the only
choice.
