Summer riding

Enjoying some superb weather 

 Te Poi ale on tap..

APA Panhead Beer on tap!!

Beer's called Panhead...

Te Poi Tavern. Started coming here after Okoroire tavern liquor license was suspended. Hoping they get license back, it's also a great place for bikers.

'61 and '60

The tale of 3 Pans

Sunday 22 May 2016 marked a special day where 3 Pans got together in Auckland, NZ. A cool, showery day in May but what a day to remember...

Murrays ,52 EL
My '61 FLH
Richards '55 FLH

The run started in Hamilton as the '61 and '52 left early and braved cool, rainy and blustery conditions. A stop at Bombay BP for fuel showed a minor problem with a broken cabbage cutter bracket on the '52 .

Early morning just after sun up

Waiting for Murray to arrive riding his '52

My '61 with a toolbox

Murray arrives..

Let's go...

Gas station, Bombay BP

Bombay BP

A broken bracket on the cabbage cutter..

 

  

'52, '61, '55

'55 FLH

 The '52 had a throttle cable problem so a temporary fix was implemented in light rain..

Back in Hamilton

Kick start shaft breakage

The kicker shaft broke today. I'd got the bike started and I noticed the lever was a bit limp looking. A bit of a wiggle and it came right off. The motor was happily idling but I decided to abandon the outing.

It looks like it's been cracked for a while. The question now is what will I replace it with? Certainly there are a number of offerings of aftermarket shafts but how good are they?

The thought occurred that it's broken where the shaft has been necked so the clamping bolt can clear. It doesn't need to be fully necked though, only enough so the bolt can pass would do. The benefit would be a stronger shaft.

I've created a page on this blog site that gives more details of the fix and repair process. See blog pages, top right..

Primary, clutch, chains

The primary had water contaminated oil giving it a milky appearance. The big clutch race had rust pitting. It was repacked with grease. Overall the clutch was in quite good condition.
The cush drive was worn a bit requiring a spacer to correct primary chain alignment. The primary outer has a chrome snap-fit plug to facilitate greasing the cush drive parts via a grease nipple. I used an o-ring on the chrome plug. I massaged out a number of dents from the cover.

All the primary cover screws received fresh zinc plating in the home shop plating bath.

I left the inner primary in situ when I removed the motor. It worked OK but did make the engine left rear bolt awkward to tighten.

The primary chain is Diamond brand and was in very good condition. Now that the primary oiler has a proper screw to regulate flow, I need to keep close watch to ensure it's adequately lubricated.