Knucklehead Theology

Politics and Old Letters

2012-01-28T14:58:00.004-06:00

For those who pay attention to such things, we are in the midst of the political season, if indeed that season can be said to have a beginning or end anymore. Nevertheless, it cannot help but to wear on the mind, and as often as not, leave one in despair over the future of our nation. The rhetoric only promises to increase in volume and pitch until at least November.

That is why I found myself somewhat chastised, yet at the same time encouraged, by my discovery of a letter written somewhere between 130 and 200 A.D. by one identifying himself as Mathetes to a person named Diognetus. Of course I did not stumble on it as though it were a root across my path as I explored the jungle that is the Internet, but rather I found it quoted on one of my regular stops which is a Christian blog that goes by the clever name of Pyromaniacs.

It has often been my thought that if one could go back to the very early Christian Church, it would be possible to see the right way to live. That those who were taught directly by the Apostles, or perhaps only a generation or two removed from them, would have had to have gotten everything right. Of course, in truth, that is to a large extent a fallacy. Even as the Apostles were still penning the letters of the New Testament, false prophets were making their way into the Church. (2 Cor. 11:13) Still, those early followers of Christ can certainly, by their example, point us toward scripture that we should remember to take heed of.

The following is a small section of the letter from Mathetes. You can find the rest of it here. I used the translation by J. B. Lightfoot.

"For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language, nor practise an extraordinary kind of life. Nor again do they possess any invention discovered by any intelligence or study of ingenious men, nor are they masters of any human dogma as some are. But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvellous,and confessedly contradicts expectation. They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring. They have their meals in common, but not their wives. They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all. They are ignored, and yet they are condemned. They are put to death, and yet they are endued with life. They are in beggary, and yet they make many rich. They are in want of all things, and yet they abound in all things. They are dishonoured, and yet they are glorified in their dishonour. They are evil spoken of, and yet they are vindicated. They are reviled, and they bless; they are insulted, and they respect. Doing good they are punished as evil-doers; being punished they rejoice, as if they were thereby quickened by life. War is waged against them as aliens by the Jews, and persecution is carried on against them by the Greeks, and yet those that hate them cannot tell the reason of their hostility."

That's right - as a Christian, our real citizenship is in heaven! And though we find ourselves in the flesh, we are not to live after the flesh! It seems that Mathetes' description of the lifestyle of the Christians of his time should make us ponder whether we fit that mold or not. And most of all, it reminds us that there is no "salvation" to be found in any government or secular leader, but that our only hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ!

I feel better now.

January Updates

2012-01-19T12:40:00.008-06:00

Long hours and late nights are the order of the day here at the speed shop this time of year. If you have noticed a "longer than normal" spacing between posts, that is the reason. Besides a couple of Panhead engines in for complete rebuilds, I have five sets of Knuckle heads here for valve jobs, with two of them getting big intake valves and porting. Oh, and don't forget the Big Twin Flathead top end. Then of course there are the normal dozen+ sets of modern heads in various stages of being ported. And then there is another biggie: an S&S 113 being turned into 126 cubic inch for drag race use only. All but the porting on the modern heads tends to be quite "time intensive." I had better stop there. I am beginning to scare myself.

The drag race motor, despite being based on a fairly modern design, is the kind of project that I can sink my teeth into. For one thing, its not the type of engine I build very often. Add to that, its somewhat challenging from a porting prospective. The standard S&S SuperStock heads, while providing more flow than a stock Evo head, have some serious limitations in their "as manufactured" state. Hopefully, with some heli-arc and grinding bench time, I will be able to remedy that somewhat.

Stock S&S intake port sports a very low floor along with an "interesting" vane protruding from it. My guess is that the design was influenced by the need to fit an air cleaner below wide fatbob tanks.

The first step in the process of attempting to make these into "racing" heads is to remove the guides and seats, followed by a generous build up of the floor in order to provide a good short side shape.

note: The welding in the picture above shows evidence of the approximately 15 years since I have had access to a tig welder. Now that one resides in my shop, I expect the welds to start looking more professional with a little more on the job training.

The chambers were also treated to some added material so that when done, 30 degree domed pistons will provide enough compression ratio for the motor to be run of E98 racing fuel (E98 is a commercially available mixture of 98% ethanol which is carefully controlled to maintain consistency). I will try to give updates on this project as it proceeds.

All Things New!

2012-01-05T16:41:00.004-06:00

This post would have been more timely at the begining of this week, but Happy New Year (better late than never)!

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Rev 21:1-7

As we begin a new year, one thing is sure ...we are another year closer to the fulfillment of this prophesy that we find in Revelation 21. And perhaps it is because of promises such as this one for a new heaven and a new earth, that we look forward with anticipation to each new year.

In the passage above, God said "Behold, I make all things new." Obviously we have good reason to believe this. The same one who sits upon the throne and promises this new heaven and new earth and a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, is the same one who created it all so long ago. If we go back to the book of Genesis, we see the story of how God spoke the world into existence. God said, let there be light: and there was light. By his word, God separated the dry land from the sea. He called trees and grass and animals into existence, and it was all NEW! And it was GOOD! ...that is until we messed it up. And when I say we, I am including all of us in along with Adam, because though he was technically the one to get thrown out of the paradise that was the garden of Eden, if he hadn't done it, you or I certainly would have.

Have you ever thought that? Adam only had one law given to him to keep - why couldn't he have just kept it? The ruin this world is in, is all Adam's fault, right? Yes, ...but my answer to that is, which one of God's laws have you never broken?

And that, in effect was the Old Covenant, or Testament as we most often call it. If Adam had obeyed God, he and his would have lived, but Adam ate of the forbidden tree and death entered into the world. All was not lost though! No sooner had we broken the old covenant, than God promised that a new covenant would replace it. We get the smallest glimpse of that promise in Genesis 3:15 when God tells the serpent that he "will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Further on in Genesis we see a little more of that picture of the New Covenant in the story of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice. In fact throughout the Old Testament, more and more of the picture that is the New Covenant, or New Testament are revealed. But when we get to the Gospels, finally all the pieces of that picture which is the New Covenant, are revealed. The picture becomes clear and vivid. The New Covenant is that Jesus Christ lived the sinless life that was required of us, and not only that, but he died paying the penalty for our sins that was required of us. And he sealed that New Covenant with his own blood.

Entry into this New Covenant begins with a New Birth. As the Bible tells us in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

When you are newly born, obviously everything is new to you. It is the same with this spiritual rebirth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Does that sound familiar? In the text we began with in Revelation, God said "Behold, I make all things new."

This new creature that God says we will become once we are born again, leads to something else new. How we act. Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Here Paul compares the way our conscious decision to be obedient to Christ causes us to conduct our lives differently with being raised from the dead! If we experience a New Birth, resulting in our being a New Creature, then walking in this newness of life should show up as some sort of recognizable change.

We all experience the New Year, every year. But not all experience the New Birth, or becoming a New Creature and walking in Newness of Life. And for those who never have, I must go back to our original text to the verse that follows it. The first seven verses of Revelation 21 are filled with all kinds of wonderful promises such as a new heaven and new earth, God dwelling with us and wiping away all tears from our eyes, and making all things new. But verse 8 says this: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

If you have never entered into the New Covenant by way of the New Birth, then you are one of those mentioned in that verse, and I would focus on one of those in particular: the unbelieving! But it is never to late this side of the grave. Won't you come to God in repentance, putting your faith in the fact that Jesus Christ died for your sins?

Vintage Drag Press Release

2011-12-30T14:52:00.002-06:00

Wayne, head honcho over at the NVMDRA recently sent this press release my way. Looks like a great venue and one to put on your schedule for next summer. As for "The Knuckledragger" and me, all I can say is "God willing, we'll be there!

Vintage Motorcycle Drag Bike Nationals to be held at Eddyville Raceway Park.

Eddyville Raceway Park an 1/8th mile drag strip at Eddyville, Iowa will have an all motorcycle event on Saturday, August 25, 2012. This event will be called Motorcycle Mania. This event will include a double header race for Eddyville`s Pro Bike class, a Street Bike class, and other classes TBD. The track was contacted by Wayne Skinner of the National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association about an event for vintage drag bikes. This race for vintage drag bikes has been added to the Motorcycle Mania event. There also will be a charity motorcycle ride from various places ending at the track. The charity ride will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
Gerald Kramer, co-owner and general manager of ERP was a motorcycle drag racer for 20 years and is super excited about having the vintage drag bike event. He started racing bikes in 1968 at Eddyville and in the 70`s & 80`s raced at IDBA and Dragbike all bike national events in sportsman classes including events at Bowling Green, KY.

Gerald feels that there is a potential for this to become a very big event but will take time to grow. Wayne has laid the ground work to promote the vintage bikes and hopefully together we can grow this type of event. We are going to need the support of guys out there with the old drag bikes looking for a place to play or just display if not race ready. This event is all about having fun not about racing for big money! The persons working on the charity ride also hope to make that an annual event and if we get some cool bikes for them to see it will also grow.

Eddyville Raceway Park is located about 60 miles S.E. of Des Moines, Iowa right off of Hwy 63/163 a four lane road and is easy to get to from all directions. It is a nice 1/8 mile facility with a state of the art Musco lighting system, clean restrooms, showers, good race track, plenty of parking, and a friendly staff.

We are still working on details of the event such as times, entry fees, classes, payouts, etc.There will be a test and tune on Friday night and Sunday will be a raindate. Gerald can be reached by email at manager@eddyvilleraceway.com or cell # 641-780-3534.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-23T17:04:00.002-06:00

As I sat down to write this, I realized that what I was about to put into words was probably quite similar to what I wrote last year at this time. I checked, and sure enough, the main point is the same, only some details were different.

Christmas is perhaps the one time of year when nearly everyone gets a little sentimental, gets a little "merrier" than usual, maybe even an little more religious. For some, it may even be the only time during the year that their shadow will darken the doorway of a Church.

But what's it all about? To the sentimental it may be a time to get warm fuzzy feelings as they recall or re-live Christmases past. To the "merry" it may be the one time of year when they can count on most others to be in a good mood, when everybody is a little more friendly. To the religious though, its more obvious. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I don't know about other cultures, but here in America we seem to be big on honoring important people by celebrating their birthday. A quick look at our calender shows George Washington's birthday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Martin Luther King's birthday ...and of course Christmas. No one would suggest that we honor George, Abe, or Martin just because they were born. We honor them because of what they did during their lifetime. The same is true with Jesus. The only reason to celebrate his birth is because of what he did during his life. And what he did was the most monumental, loving act of all time. He died as the acceptable sacrifice for our sins. The prophet Isaiah tells us the story better than I could:

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:2-12)

So have a wonderful Christmas; get sentimental, be merry, but don't forget the reason why we honor the one whose birth we celebrate!

At Long Last ...

2011-12-19T15:52:00.005-06:00

It certainly seems as though this has taken an awfully long time. More than once I have wondered if the rapture would arrive first ...but I finally have, in my possession, the production version of the oversize Knucklehead intake valves that have been in the works for well over a year. At a 2.060" diameter, these are a full 5/16" larger diameter than the stock valves they replace.

Bigger intake valves in Knucklehead motors has been a "speed trick" for nearly as long as Knuckleheads have been built. These valves are the proper diameter to "do it old school" by removing the existing seat insert and grinding the new seat directly on the head. By blending the material from the bowl into the I.D. where the old valve seat was, you will wind up with a "choke" of 90% which is just about right for good flow on a Knuckle head.

Back "in the day" automotive valves were typically shortened for use as oversize Knuckle intakes. While period correct, they have a few drawbacks. Shortening the valves require the use of a lash cap on the valve tip to prevent premature wear, which can throw off rocker geometry. Often automotive valves have a lot of "tulip" which requires the bottom of the already short Knuck guide to be further shortened. They also tend to be very heavy, which does nothing for performance. These 5/16 stem valves address all of those problems.

For some time now, savvy engine builders have been aware that a late model Iron Head Sportster valve was a good choice for an oversize intake valve for a Knuckle due to their similar length. Though the XL's 1.940" diameter valve was easy to come by, its thinner (5/16" vs 3/8") valve stem still left it a "not so easy" upgrade. No problem getting valves, but few engine builders are inclined to machine their own valve guides. That's why I took the initiative to have a production run of 5/16" bore valve guides manufactured for Lee's Speed Shop recently. Of course that still leaves an issue with the stock valve seat inserts. A 1.940 or a 2.0" intake valve does not fit onto the stock Knucklehead valve seat insert, and requires machining for an oversize valve seat insert.

Not so with the 2.060" valve. As mentioned above, once the old seat insert is removed, a seat for the new valve can be ground or cut directly on the cast iron of the head (just as Iron Head XLs have always been). This 60+ year old performance mod for Knuckleheads has never been so easy! They are now in stock, and ready to ship.

Now, chances are, if you are paying close attention you will have caught on to another logical use for these valves. If an Iron XL intake valve is a suitable upgrade for a Knuckle, then it follows that an oversize Knuckle intake valve may be a suitable upgrade for an Iron XL! That's right, a 2.060" intake valve may (I have not had a chance to try it out yet) be a good bet for a maximum effort Iron XL drag motor. In case anyone is interested in trying it, the overall length of the 2.060" valve is 3.675 as compared to the R series XL intake at 3.690.

If you are wondering why anyone would set out to produce and market performance parts for a motor that has been out of production for over 60 years, then you are in good company, for I often wonder that myself. Still, it does seem that I have a corner on the market ...at least for the moment.

History Book

2011-12-02T16:20:00.005-06:00

Way back in the dark ages, when I was a schoolboy, History was not one of those classes which I disliked. In fact, I believe that I could actually admit, if pressed, to enjoying History classes. That said, when a book comes along with a title like "Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History" it is not hard to see why it might grab my attention.

Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History, by John Stein is a 240+ page book jam packed with photos and a lively text which documents motorcycle drag racing from its 1950 birth at Santa Ana, right down to today's NHRA Pro Stocks. The size and quality put it in the category often referred to to as a "coffee table book" (yeah, I know; I don't have a coffee table either). If you are a fan of motorcycle drag racing, this is a "must have" item!

Chapter titles include: The Pioneers: 1950-1960, The Sixties: The Golden Age of Motorcycle Drag Racing, The Pioneers: 1960-1970, "Congratulations, You've Got Twins." (which of course deals with the rise of dual engine drag bikes), and many others. Legendary racers such as Lloyd Krant, Louie Castro, Chet Herbert, Bud Hare and Tommy Auger are some of those highlighted from the '50s. Clem Johnson, Leo Payne, Joe Smith, Boris Murray, and Sonny Routt are just a few of the other "shakers and movers" to earn a spot in this "who's who" of motorcycle drag racing lore.

My only complaint is that I wish Mr. Stein had expanded every chapter into a book of its own ...and I do understand what an unreasonable complaint that is given the large size and scope of the book as it is. But the book is sorta like motorcycle drag racing itself: its so good you just want more of it!

Seriously, the photos alone are worth the price of admission. Likewise the text could stand on its own and I doubt that anyone would complain about the price; add those together and its a bargain!

"Motorcycle Drag Racing: A History" can be purchased direct from Gearhead Publishing . Buy it; read it; you'll thank me for the heads up.

Thanksgiving: Psalm 147

2011-11-20T18:17:00.004-06:00

Psalm 147 serves as a wonderful list and reminder of things for which we can give thanks to our God.

147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

Verse 1 explains why we should give thanks to the Lord. For one thing, it is good. It is a good and right thing to do. Another reason for giving thanks to God is because it is pleasant to do so. When you join in singing a song of thanks to God, isn't it something that makes you feel good? Just as the Bible tells us here, it is pleasant. A third reason is that giving thanks is comely, or fitting as some translations render it.

147:2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

What does that have to do us, you might ask. Building up Jerusalem? Well, like many things in the Bible, even if there is not a direct application, there is still something we can take away from it. Just as God placed his temple in Jerusalem in Old Testament times, he has done much the same with believers under the New Testament. In that sense, we can be thankful that God builds up his Church, and gathers in his people.

147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Certainly it is the Lord who ultimately heals both body and soul. How can you not read this verse without thinking of the passage in Revelation that says he will finally wipe away all tears from our eyes? That is a great promise that we can be truly thankful for!

147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. 147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

Have you ever considered thanking God for his wisdom and power? I, for one, am very thankful that it is Jehovah who is in charge. I am thankful that God is all powerful so that we can trust that what he has foretold, will come to pass.

147:6 The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

When the Bible tells of the LORD blessing the meek, it speaks of those who understand their own sinfulness before God. Those who do not trust in their own righteousness, but rather put their trust in the righteousness of Christ.

147:7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: 147:8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

These verses show us more things about the LORD which are worthy of our thanks and praise; He controls all of nature. He provides for all of his creation, and makes the world a thing of beauty.

147:10-11 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Aren't you thankful that God takes pleasure in those who have placed their faith in him. Aren't you thankful that you are one of them.

147:12-14 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

In the past I have made the case that Zion, as the place where God dwelt in Old Testament times, is now the New Testament Church by way of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers. Certainly we can be thankful that God provides the strength which defends the Church from its enemies, and he blesses the children who are raised in the Church. As his Church he also gives us peace and provision to serve him with.

147:15-18 He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

We can be thankful that God is the one who controls all of nature. He sends the snow and the cold and ice. But it is also God who melts the snow and ice, and I know we are all thankful for that.

147:19-20 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

And finally, this psalm ends with one more thing we can be thankful for. God has given us his word. At the time this was written, only Israel had the great blessing of having been given God's word. And it is that word that shows us who the real creator God is. It is in his word that we find his law, which condemns us for our sins. But it is also his word that gives us the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to pay the penalty for those sins. And it is God's word that calls on us to repent of our sins and put our trust in Jesus. That is certainly the number one item we should be thankful for, not only on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year!

Fear and Forgiveness

2011-11-18T19:44:00.002-06:00

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:4

On first glance, that seems like an odd statement, doesn't it? But think about it...

Isn't there an old saying about there being no one more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose? The book of Romans tells us that we are all condemned sinners without excuse, and most of mankind, when caught in a moment of truthfulness, will admit to such. But where does that leave them? If there were no forgiveness from God, then they would be without hope and with nothing to loose. No point in fearing that which is inevitable. May as well go out defiantly!

Ah, but there is forgiveness with our LORD. Now there is hope! Now justice is not inevitable. Now there is the possibility of not receiving the wages of sin. And since this is the case, it does rightly lead to a holy fear of him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. As the book of Proverbs tells us, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

I Was Wrong

2011-11-03T12:51:00.006-05:00

Not exactly ground shattering news, huh? As they say: we all make mistakes. I certainly have to plead guilty, ...but sometimes being wrong about something is a little easier to take than others.

On the several occasions I have been asked about doing further porting work on Harley's Screamin' Eagle CNC ported heads, my answer has been "not enough material left to gain much." That was based on the annoying (to me at least) habit of the factory making the "choke" (the necked down area just below the valve seat) too large. The best and brightest porting minds in the world will tell you that in most cases 89 to 90% (choke diameter to valve diameter) is as big as you should go for best flow. They will add that in few rare cases you might go as large as 91% but absolutely no more! Harley seems to be fond of percentages somewhere north of that limit. The Screamin' Eagle 110 heads are a good example with a choke percentage of 91.7%. Their CNC ported MVA (Maximum Valve Area) remain true to form with a 1.950" choke working out to 92% of the 2.120" intake valve.

Recently though, I had a long time customer ask me to see if there was anything to be gained on the CNC MVA heads from his brand new Screamin' Eagle 120R engine. A careful perusal of the S.E. catalog revealed that the next step up from the 120R heads (aka the CNC MVA heads) is their "Pro Hurricane" head sporting a 2.175" intake valve. Hmmm ...that same 1.950 choke with a 2.175 valve would give an percentage of 89.7%. At least that would give me something to work with. On the chance that the overall length of the Hurricane valve would be usable in the MVA head, I ordered a pair. When the valves arrived, I was happy to see that they would work out well.

After some careful measurements and calculations for valve to valve clearance at the cams TDC lifts, the next stop was the Kwikway 044 seat and guide machine. Machining my usual multi angle high performance seat to the correct depth for the larger valve took only a matter of minutes, and then on to the flow bench. I intentionally skipped the one other modification I had planned in order to see what the larger valve by itself would do. The results were encouraging: a 19 CFM increase at .400" lift! However, at .550 and .600" lift it showed a 5 CFM loss compared to the original valve. Not to worry, though, I was pretty confident that it was turbulence that caused the loss in flow, and I would address that with the other change I had planned.

And this time I was right! Coupled with my second modification to the heads the result was a nice increase in flow at all lift points except .100 & .200". Not too shabby for a glorified valve job.

.100"----before 74.8 -----after 71.3 (-3.5)

.200"----before 145.0----after 144.2 (-0.8)

.300"----before 201.7----after 210.8 (+9.1)

.400"----before 251.7----after 270.9 (+19.2)

.500"----before 292.0---after 299.7 (+7.7)

.600"----before 311.1----after 315.5 (+4.4)

.650"----before 314.8----after 323.0 (+8.2)

So what was that second mod, you ask? Sorry, but if I am going to stay in business, I can't give away all my speed secrets. Suffice to say the picture below is an "after" picture, and you'll be hard pressed to see anything except the factory CNC machined surface

Which leads to the next question: is there more to be gained with more work to the rest of the port? Guess I'll have to change my answer to "probably."

The Heart of the Matter

2011-10-28T18:08:00.002-05:00

"I just know in my heart that its what I should do..."

"Yeah, I know I don't live like I should, but God knows my heart..."

"I know in my heart that God wouldn't send anyone to hell..."

"I know I'm saved because I invited Jesus into my heart..."

Consider each of the above statements in light of what God says on the matter:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

There is only one solution to this problem of your desperately wicked heart:

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

That's right; a heart transplant performed by the Lord God Almighty! This would be a good time to seek him for your preoperative evaluation. You'll find it in the Holy Bible.

Another Couple Pieces of the Puzzle

2011-10-23T12:18:00.002-05:00

Last month I had the opportunity to attend one of performance guru David Vizard's two day seminars. This series of seminars focuses on David's latest book "How to Build Horsepower." In fact the book is, in essence, a compilation of the lecture notes for the seminar. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Vizard, he has been modifying engines for performance for over 50 years. In that time David has proven his proficiency in nearly all facets of performance modification in a wide variety of engine designs with an impressive list of wins, records, and accomplishments.
The host for the particular seminar I attended was Myron Cottrell of TPIS Inc. and held at his facility located a convenient 10 minutes from my home. The local event was partially underwritten by Goodson, a top notch vendor of engine rebuilding supplies.

In deference to Mr. Vizard and the labor that he has invested in research for this seminar/book, I won't detail any of the specifics from the seminar, however I can heartily endorse it (both the seminar and the book). Truth be told, most of the specifics would be of little value to my regular readers who, like me, tend to be Harley oriented. Don't expect to buy this book and find which particular cam or carb is the correct one for your Harley, however you can expect to find valuable information that will point you in the right direction in a number of areas.

As one who has been building performance Harley engines for 30+ years, and porting heads for over 20, I must admit that much of the info in the book is quite basic, but it provided enough of those "Aha!" moments to make it quite worthwhile. In fact, the title I gave to this post reflects that fact. In many ways a high performance engine can be like a jigsaw puzzle. One can work on a single area and pretty much complete it, but it still has to fit into the whole picture in the proper place in order to get the "full effect." Any time you can add another piece of the puzzle, it gives you a better chance of connecting the individual sections properly into the overall picture.

Sometimes the new found piece of the puzzle may be as simple as info that explains why a relationship works the way it does. A good example of this from the book/seminar is the relationship between compression ratio and exhaust flow. Another piece might be the widely held belief about exhaust system back pressure which Vizard not only sets straight, but explains how the fallacy gained such wide acceptance. I believe I may have found at least one useful tidbit in every chapter of the book.

One of the main reasons for my attendance was to learn about Mr. Vizard's seemingly controversial method of cam selection. During his lecture David polled the audience as to what criteria were the most often used for camshaft selection by their customers. I believe the two most popular answers were duration and the timing of the intake closing. I am a little embarrassed to say that in the Harley industry, one might have to go a little further down the ladder and answer valve lift. Just to be clear, I am not saying those were the criteria that the engine builders present used to select cams, but rather what their customers came to them with. David's answer as to the most important factors in cam selection were quite different. Overlap and lobe centerline angle. For more details, I suggest you buy the book.

Perhaps the best reason to read this book lies in its ability to get your brain in gear. How can I apply the knowledge that David has gathered to the engines I work on? Is there a part that can be improved upon with those tidbits of new info I picked up? Suffice to say the wheels are turning (in my head) and more horsepower is within sight on the horizon. I can hardly wait to get back to work on the puzzle.

Daniel and the Lion's Den

2011-10-16T20:07:00.005-05:00

Everyone knows the story of Daniel and the lions den. It is another of those Bible stories that is a favorite of Sunday School teachers everywhere. But, of course, like every other story from the Bible, it is equally edifying for adults.

The background to this story is that Daniel was one of those who had been brought as a young captive from the tribe of Judah to Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. But soon Daniel and his friends found favor in the sight of the Babylonian rulers.

Daniel 6:1-5 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

You see, Daniel had come to his position of importance in the government without compromising or hiding his belief and trust in the God of Israel. How different that is from most politicians today. They will dodge questions and do their best to avoid giving straight answers about their beliefs about God, lest they should offend anyone who might otherwise vote for them. But not Daniel.

Knowing that Daniel would not hide his faith, those princes who were jealous of him, found it easy enough to set a trap for him. They went to king Darius and convinced him to make a decree that for the next 30 days no one was to make a petition to any man or any god except to Darius himself. I have to think that they were playing on Darius' pride, flattering him into going along with it. So without considering the consequences for his friend Daniel, Darius signed the decree ...and the penalty for not observing it was to be thrown into the lion's den.

Daniel 6:10-11 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

Daniel didn't just fall into the trap. He saw the trap as if it were set in broad daylight, and he walked willingly into it! Now, couldn't Daniel have just followed the decree and given up his prayers for 30 days? After all, it would not be a permanent thing - he just needed to take a month off from his prayers. Or he might have even continued to pray, but done it in secret.
But there is a phrase in that last passage that make a big difference: "as he did aforetime." Daniel was in the habit of praying 3 times a day, and he was in the habit of doing it with his windows open. Everyone knew he prayed in such a manner. If he had stopped, it would have been tantamount to his denying his God.

In Matthew 10:33 Jesus said "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

[In modern day America, facing the possibility of death for refusing to deny Christ is a little hard to relate to. Such is not the case everywhere however. Nearly every day, Christians in other parts of the world face the very real possibility of dying for their faith. If you think "that could never happen here," you are naive. The religious freedom we enjoy here has never been the norm throughout world history.]

By continuing in prayer, despite the decree, Daniel displayed two things. One was that he feared God more than he feared man. He would rather face death than deny his God. The other was his faith that God was able to deliver him, and when I say deliver him, I don't necessarily mean from the mouths of the lions. There is really nothing in the text to suggest that Daniel knew that God would stop the lions from eating him. But we do know that Daniel shared the same promise all Christians have: that no matter how difficult our fate here in this world, we have a glorious future awaiting us in heaven. As Paul said, "... the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Daniel 6:16-23 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

"No manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." There we have the gospel message from this story of Daniel and the lion's den. Daniel was saved because he believed in his God. The same is true for you and me. We find it over and over in the New Testament:

In Luke 7 we read of the woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume. That incident ends with these words from Jesus, "... Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."

In Luke chapter 18 we have Jesus healing a blind beggar, and in verse 42 Jesus said to him, "...Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee."

In Mark 16 Jesus tells us: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

In Romans 10 verse 9 Paul tells us that "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

God has told us, by means of the Bible, that he sent his Son to pay the penalty for our sins. He told us that his Son, who was without sin, died on the cross in our place. Do you believe him? Daniel was saved because he believed God. You too can be saved if you believe God.

More Thoughts on Vintage Drags

2011-10-05T19:33:00.006-05:00

Back in the old days (or old daze as some I know, put it) drag racing had heavy participation by car clubs. Most often it would take the form of club members "chipping in" in building a race car, which members would often take turns piloting. With the economy in as questionable shape as it has been, perhaps it is time to bring back that particular form of camaraderie.

As you know if you follow this blog, I am involved in the fledgling National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association (NVMDRA). At the moment, the largest hold up with the association seems to be a lack of numbers. Lots of enthusiastic talk, but ready to race drag bikes ...not so much. Perfectly understandable. Had I not started building my "Knuckledragger" project several years ago, I too would be in the same boat, i.e. lots of enthusiasm but not much progress, and it would be largely be due to not having much expendable income for such a project. That always makes the going slow, especially if you are doing your best to stay fiscally responsible.

That's where those interested in vintage motorcycle drags could take a cue from those gearheads of yesteryear! What if you and a couple buddies formed an informal drag racing club? Could you get something together to put on the track if it only cost you a third or a quarter as much money? And how about if you only had to devote one third the time to it. Even better yet, if you are an old codger (like me) this would be a good way to mentor a younger guy or two by bringing them in on it. On the other side of that coin, if you and your buddies were not born back in the "dark ages" why not hunt up an old time drag racer to bring on board to show you how it used to be done. I am pretty sure there are a lot of them out there who would jump at the chance to share their knowledge; as long as you are willing to politely listen to their "war stories" that is.

Along those lines, I had already contacted my friend Kevin "Teach" Bass, founder and instructor of the Bloomington Kennedy High School "Chopper Class", to see if they would be interested in building a vintage style drag bike as part of this year's curriculum. Teach was enthusiastic about the idea, as he is with almost anything to do with motorcycles.

Of course that meant we needed to find a bike to transform into a vintage style drag bike. As luck would have it (course I personally don't believe in luck; I know who is really in charge) a bike found me. A gentleman stopped at my shop last week with a motorcycle on a trailer. Would I be interested in buying it? Depends on the price, was my answer of course. Now, in reality he was looking for a specific shop that specialized in metric bikes. However that shop had recently closed its doors and left no forwarding address. That's right, its no Harley. But that's OK. The NVMDRA is not a strictly Harley association. Nor is it a strictly Harley/Triumph association, though one might jump to that conclusion when looking over the present membership.

The bike is an early '70s Honda 350 Four. Vintage for sure, and best of all was the initial investment: $50. The seller told me that he thought (rightly I believe) that it was worth about $200 parted out, but when he heard my plans for it, he accepted my $50 offer. That also saved him from hauling it around to other potential buyers since his parents were moving and the Honda was loosing the resting spot it had occupied since 1984.

Maybe I have a gift (or weakness, depending on how you look at it) for seeing the potential in an old piece of junk like this. I can already see the bike stripped of a whole bunch of excess baggage. The front fender, fairing, gas tank, seat, luggage rack, etc. will all go (and hopefully be sold on eBay to help finance the project). The swingarm can go and be replaced with a rigid section that will also serve to lower the bike down to a suitable drag race stance. The Chopper Class's new tubing bender should help facilitate that. The front fork can be lightened and shortened and set up with two inches of travel. The front disc brake will be a good item to keep. The speedo can go, but they will probably want to keep the tachometer. The rear wheel is an 18" which would look killer with one of the new run of M&H 4" drag slicks currently in production. Top it off with a vintage look aluminum tube gas tank, and it would be cool as could be. In fact, it'll be all I can do to keep my grubby hands off it and leave it for the high school kids to work on!

Yeah, its pretty easy to get one of us old gear heads going. So, isn't it about time you rounded up your buddies and brainstormed about what old relic one of them might know of that would look better and provide more fun if it were transformed into a vintage drag bike?

Shedding of Blood

2011-09-25T20:10:00.004-05:00

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

As our Pastor was preaching through the book of Hebrews in our Sunday morning services, the subject of animal sacrifices inevitably came up. He made a point that I think is well worth repeating (of course he made more than one point worth repeating, unfortunately I only have time to relate one of them here).

But first, a couple comments of my own. In modern day America, cruelty to animals has come to cause of more outrage than aborting babies. While I find that fact both shocking and disgusting, my attitude tends to swing too far the other direction. Because I see the hypocrisy of those who put animal life above human life, I tend to look at the abuse of animals a bit more cavalierly than is proper. As an example, I did not think Michael Vick should have gone to jail for the whole dog fighting scandal. That does not mean I condone what he did, I just did not see it as offensive enough to warrant jail time. It also does not mean that I lean toward disregard for animals in my own actions. Far from it; our dog is in the midst of allergy season with an accompanying disgusting odor, and yet I feel guilty about making her sleep in the garage. Yes, I can be pretty cruel!

I think a lot of Christians may be like me and wind up giving the impression that they have no regard for the welfare of animals, when in reality they are just overreacting to the perceived hypocrisy of groups such as PETA. Truth is, the Bible is clear that none of God's creation should be abused.

Which brings us to one of our Pastor's points from his sermon. The whole issue of animal sacrifices as instituted in the Old Testament law was NOT evidence of a lack of compassion for animals, but rather evidence of a huge amount of compassion for sinners. The shedding of the blood of those animals, far from placing a low value on their life, was to show just how utterly life and death serious the matter of sin was!

If you go to Hebrews chapter 9, you will read how Jesus' death on the cross was the fulfilment of the sacrifice for sins pictured in the Old Testament. That is how serious sin is!

BOB GRIMES AND THE MESSENGER

2011-09-13T19:54:00.004-05:00

I am reproducing the following here with the permission of Bob Grimes:

THE STORY OF THE MESSENGER TOP FUEL 757
Why would a 64 year old Grandfather build and ride a Blown NitroTop Fuel Bike? Some times I ask my self that same question. I have been drag racing for 30 + yrs, mostly Pro Gas. Top fuel I was afraid to try it was too dangerous, Ha Ha. Dec.20 2006 I was diagnosed with Met static renal cell carcinoma - kidney cancer! It had spread to the pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands, thyroid, lymph nodes and lungs. My wife Pam and I were stunned beyond belief. All we could do was hug each other and cry Pam being a critical care nurse new I was dealt a death sentence. After we hugged a long time she asked me is there any thing you would like to do or see before you die. I didn’t hesitate and said, I would like to go 200 miles per hour on a Top Fuel Bike. Then we cried together. Feb 23 I had a total nephrectomy of the right renal bed. A soft ball size cancer was removed, along with My right kidney and adrenal gland, because the mass was cutting off the blood supply to my heart. The doctors sent me home and told me I had 6 months to 1 year left on this earth. They told me there was no cure for stage 4 renal cancer, and it grows fast!. At that point I thought It was the end of the line. I wept and give myself to Jesus. I asked for forgiveness of all my sins against God and Man, I asked the Lord to use me to do His will until the day I would leave this world. That fall I was still here and my father in heaven sent me to a little Pentecostal church in Pen valley Ca. Then the Lord blessed me with musical talent I never new I had so I wound up on the worship team singing, playing harmonica, guitar, banjo and writing songs To the lord. Pam and I went to a Harley race in Sacramento. While there we purchased a used Top Fuel chasses built by of all things hell racing. We started building the Blown Fuel Bike I thanked the lord for every day and the strength to go on. The Lord blessed me with the time and the talent to build this awesome Blown Nitro Harley and we named the bike THE MESSENGER. We finished the Bike November 09, we worked hard trying to get it to go that 200 mph in the ¼ mile. Aug 28 2011 at Woodburn drag strip THE MESSENGER Amazed us all when I rode it to an 1/8 mile time of 4.2 sec at 191 mph and ¼ mile et time of 6.59 Sec. at 181 mph. looking at the data collecting computer showed I had clicked off the throttle at 5.2 sec. and The MESSENGER was going 217 mph. On the return road as the crowd cheered I looked up to heaven with tearing eyes held up my hand to the LORD and thanked Him for blessing me in so many ways. You know he loves us so much, He made us in his own image. He wants to hold you in his arms, He wants to give you strength to make it through what ever trial the world throws at you, He wants to forgive your trespasses, He wants you to be free, He wants you to do your best to sin no more, He wants you to love him with all your heart with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27. If this Testimony has touched your heart God is reaching out to you, now is the time to take his hand and Say this simple prayer.

Father in heaven the time has come I want to know you. I want you to hold me in your arms, show me the way father, I pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I ask for your forgiveness for my many trespasses against you and my neighbors. Help me to forgive those that have trespassed against me. Help me to walk in your Son’s footsteps in Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
Welcome to god’s family. Every race we run on in this world means nothing unless we honor the Father and the Son in everything we do. I know I’m going to heaven cuz this bike scared all the hell out of me. God bless you and keep you.

BOB GRIMES AND THE MESSENGER

I would like to just add a couple comments. For you gearheads, did you note that he closed the throttle only 1 second past the half track point and he was already at 217MPH? Any guesses as to how fast the full 1/4 mile would have been? Wow!

And for those of you who are not yet Christians, note that Bob's number one priority became proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. I can only speculate that it is part of God's plan to get someone's attention by means of the performance of "The Messenger". Someone who perhaps would have never heard of Bob Grimes or his testimony of salvation without this bike.

Knoxville Half-Mile 2011

2011-09-09T09:46:00.008-05:00

Tonight (Friday Sept 9th) vintage flat track bikes will take to the Knoxville half-mile for some exciting dirt track action bringing back memories of past glory. Josh Koch's win there last year resulted in this year's poster featuring him along with the Bill Hofmeister owned Iron XL which he rode to victory (with porting work by yours truly). On Saturday the AMA Pro Flat Trackers will follow suit and battle it out for current bragging rights.

And just in case you are having a problem seeing the "Lee's Speed Shop" on the side of the tank, below is a larger version of the bottom half of the poster:

If you are in the area, you won't regret taking time to attend!

New Kid on the Block

2011-08-30T18:31:00.002-05:00

The fledgling National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association has been in need of a sort of clearinghouse/communications center since its inception. Well, due to the wonders of the Internet, there is something now in place.

With the blessing of NVMDRA founder Wayne Skinner, I just finished setting up an online forum for the association. Initially, at least, it will be a place for updates, suggestions, clarifications and information. As such, I would urge any of my readers who have an interest in vintage motorcycle drag racing to follow this link: NVMDRA Forum

Please register, give us your thoughts, and bookmark the site. We need your feedback as to what you would like to see, what you think should be done to draw in more participants, and please let us know if you would be interested in participating in an event if one is held in your area.

And maybe, just maybe, we can finagle some of the old timers to let loose of their long guarded speed secrets!

Why the Rage?

2011-08-25T13:05:00.003-05:00

With this post I am instituting a new category on this blog (for those few who may notice such things). Not of sufficient length to be considered "Lessons from the Pulpit", I have decided to label the new category "Short Shots" - not to be confused with the Harley exhaust pipes known for looks and not performance - but rather something more along the lines of "Short Shots in the War Against our Sinful Nature.

Psalm 2:1-3 "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." ...

Certainly what is laid out here in this section of Psalm 2 is as true today as it was the day it was written. History shows us that with very, very few exceptions those in the positions of kings and rulers have always followed the example of the father of lies in rebelling against their Creator ....and it is not the leaders alone.

Submit to God and to his laws? NO! Truly God's word is as burdensome as a slave collar riveted around their necks; constantly bearing witness against their sin. They are far too proud to submit to Jehovah, and they love their sin far to much to admit it as sin. Better to rail against those who would follow the Lord and to rail against the fact there even is a God. Their hearts are set against truth as if made of stone. But plotting against the Lord is a vain thing. Nothing changes the fact that there is a Creator and there is a coming day of judgment.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way. The Psalm ends with this point of gospel light; "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Turn from your sins, put your trust in Christ's payment for those sins and you will no longer be counted among those who rage against God.

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

2011-08-19T10:00:00.001-05:00

Well, ...not really.

I did take a few days off recently to attend the NVMDRA vintage nationals in Harrisburg, Illinois though. We have to enter that story at a point about a week earlier though. A week ago Sunday afternoon, I decided it was high time that I started the Knuckledragger to check out a few things.

Number one was how it would react to dropping the clutch at RPM on dry pavement. Due to various minor setbacks since I did the initial start up on the Knuckledragger late last summer, the only running under power has been in the "burn out pit" here at the shop. Now, the Knuckledragger is set up to replicate a mid '50s drag bike as much as possible. As such, it has a vintage transmission which had been converted to a two speed (third and fourth gears only). Along with the lack of gear reduction in the transmission, it was also outfitted with a 28 tooth VL trans sprocket necessary to fit the early '30s VL frame. Add a new M&H 5" drag slick with traction capabilities exceeding '50s era tire technology by multiples of 10 and you can begin to see my concern.

The second item I wanted to get a better feel for was how good the brakes work. Stock springer front drum brakes are notoriously bad. Often, they will do little more than hold your bike from rolling backwards when stopped on a hill. I had done my best to make this one work to the best of its capability, but did it? The rear brake is of course also a stock '40s era drum. These rear brakes maintain a much better reputation than the fronts, but they are after all still just a rear drum brake. It would be nice to know in advance how well the brakes would (or would not) stop me.

The third item I wanted to check out was the shifting. The original (to this trans) set up was just not something I could make myself like. So, even though the bike only needed to be shifted once, I thought it important to know it would happen.

But, of course things did not go exactly according to plans. Somewhere along the way of making all these plans I neglected to put a fresh charge on the starter batteries. Strike one. Although the Knuckledragger did start, before I got it off the rollers, I managed to let the motor die. That is when the weak state of the batteries manifested itself. After a quick charge we managed to get the bike running again; only to do a repeat performance of stalling it. A few more repetitions of a three stooges type starting drill and I finally got the bike to the end of the parking lot and turned around. But now the engine was audibly running "sour." Now what? A valiant attempt to bring the RPMs up and drop the clutch resulted in stalling the engine ....again!

Well no sense in beating a dead horse, so to speak, so it was back up on the bench to sort things out ....much to the disappointment of a couple of the grandchildren who had been lured to the shop with promises of a daredevil riding exhibition. The excitement obviously over for the day, they went home with their parents. After only a few minutes of fruitless troubleshooting, by chance as much as anything, I felt one of the carb needles. Loose as could be. The idle mixture and the power mixture needles on both carbs were similarly loose and badly out of adjustment, having turned themselves out from engine vibration. Now, if only I remembered what the final adjustment I came up with on them last summer was ....

Which brings us up to the vintage race this past Saturday. Once we were set up in the pits, I would still need to start the Knuckledragger and adjust the low speed mixture. I had a pretty good idea of where I had adjusted the high speed, and so was less concerned with that. Most of the alcohol for the high speed circuit is supplied by fixed jets inside the float bowl, so I was using the "power" needles more like trimmers, even though with the M35 bodies it is capable of supplying a goodly amount of fuel.

Once the carbs were back in adjustment, I was ready for a pass down the track, still with the same three concerns that I had not addressed the previous weekend. Would the bike launch, would it shift, and if it did those two things, would it stop? They say with age comes wisdom ....yeah they say that, ...but "it ain't necessarily true."

The whole issue of shifting, while it would have been nice to test ahead of time, was not something that I was too worried about. Stopping on the other hand, is a fairly important part of drag racing, though to be honest it was not something that worried me too much. I have been off the end of the pavement enough times on a dragbike with good brakes that I was confident that the speeds involved would not make it an issue.

The "launch" however, was a whole 'nother matter. My biggest fear was standing the bike straight up. I had never been on a bike with a drag slick and no wheelie bars. Like I said, the tire on this bike provides way, way, way more traction than anything available back when drag bikes were built the way this one is. The chances of recovering from such a launch without major damage to the bike, not to mention myself, are pretty slim. Nearly as scary though was the flip side of that equation (no pun intended) where I bog the motor or even kill it. That would indicate a lack of power and reflect poorly on my engine building ability. Talk about embarrassing! Now that's something to worry about!

I wound up making two passes down the track on Saturday. I must say, I have mixed emotions about the results. First I'll describe how it felt from the pilots seat. On the first pass, I decided to throw caution to the wind and rev the motor pretty good before dropping the clutch. It felt like I was spinning the rear tire hard with just a hint of fish tailing. Somewhere between 100 and 200 feet it seemed that the tire finally found traction and the bike pulled like a freight train. When I shifted to high gear I had to let off the throttle (due to an unsolved issue with my shift mechanism) and when I got back on it the clutch broke loose badly, only starting to grab again just before the finish line. I fully expected to receive reports of at least a haze of tire smoke from the first part of the pass.

After wearing gloves to remove the now blue steel clutch plates and laying them out to cool, John Endrizzi (my volunteer pit crew for the day) and I found a fairly flat piece of concrete to "resurface" the fiber plates on. A little adjustment on the shifter and we were ready for one more pass, just in case our back yard clutch repair was successful.

This time my second to worst fear was realized. I stalled the engine at the starting line; no fault of the engine, I had forgotten to open the petcocks and ran the float bowls dry. Quickly back to the rollers and restart the Knuckledragger.

The second pass was much like the first, with the sensation of a lot of tire spin, though not quite as much as on the first pass. Then, again the feeling of the engine pulling like a freight train.
The shift into high gear worked essentially as designed this time, or at least a slow motion version of it. This time it took most of the shut down area to get the bike stopped, owing to the mediocre brakes.

So what's to have mixed emotions about, you ask? Well, there is this. My wife, after helping to start the bike each time, grabbed a video camera (one she had never used before, no less) and managed to record the passes. The video shows no tire smoke, in fact it is inconclusive as to whether the rear tire is spinning at all. Is it possible that what I perceived as tire spin was only clutch slippage? Don't know.

If you watch the video closely, on the second pass you can see what looks like a significant wobble in the rear wheel. It's not. After checking the bike over closely since seeing the video, I have come to the conclusion that the rear section of the frame was twisting from the combination of traction and horsepower. I hate to give up the look of the 5 inch slick, but I believe the best solution is to put a tire on the bike that more nearly mimics the traction capabilities of the era. After all, the frame is at least 75 years old.

Overall, the weekend could really only be counted a success for my wife and myself. We finally got the Knuckledragger down the track, and left with only minor issues to sort out. We had a great time and did a little sight seeing on the way home. The down side is that turn out for the race was what one participant called "a disaster." Taking place at the end of Sturgis week may have been a big factor, as well as glitches with the advertising. But, just as the Knuckledragger came away in need of some "fine tuning" to work better next time, so the NVMDRA came away with some fine tuning to be worked out. Plans are already in process towards both those goals.

Another Dual Carb Manifold

2011-08-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's not every day that somebody walks into my shop with a really cool piece of vintage speed equipment ....but it did happen recently. My friend Teach came in to finish assembling a set of Knuck heads that I had reworked for him, and with him he had a Seeley manifold that had recently found its way to him. To be perfectly honest I had never heard of a Seeley manifold, and at first glance I thought it was the same as a manifold that I had built 15 or 20 years ago. At the time, I assumed that I was the first one to come up with the idea. Of course the truth is, there is no new thing under the sun (a very wise man said that a very long time ago).

Judging by this vintage ad someone beat me to the punch by about a half a century!

Closer examination of the Seeley manifold, however revealed that it was indeed different than what I had built. You see, the Seeley has the clever addition of a diagonal plate which separates the manifold into two equal individual runners, whereas mine was simply open so that both carbs fed each cylinder.

It's little difficult to photograph the actual divider (as shown above), however in the photo below, a straight edge placed on the outside of the manifold shows the orientation of the internal wall that separates the two intake tracts.

So, how well does the Seeley manifold work? Well, the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak. The vintage advertisement claims a 20% increase in horsepower. Is that accurate or is it hype?

It is obvious examining the manifold that the cross section is visibly smaller at the divider wall. Not that there is anything that Mr. Seeley could have done about this; there's only so much room between the heads. So, while Teach was installing the rocker boxes on his heads, I took the opportunity to put the Seeley manifold on the flow bench. The bench confirmed that there was a restriction in the Seeley manifold. How much of a restriction? Well, comparing it directly to a stock Linkert manifold, (each checked with a velocity stack directly attached to the manifold - no carb) the Seeley is 22 cfm down. That's not the whole story though. Flow testing both manifolds with an M35 carb attached showed it was only down by 5 cfm (because the carb was more of a restriction than the manifold).

Now, 5 cfm at a 28 inch test pressure is not a huge amount. It could very well be that a better "tuned length" effect of the individual runners on the Seeley manifold could indeed lead to more power despite the slight loss of cfm. Or not. We'll just have to wait for a report back from Teach as to real world performance!

The Walls

2011-07-29T10:37:00.004-05:00

My guess is that anyone who grew up attending any kind of Church/Sunday School would recognize a children's song that goes like this: "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down."

Joshua 6:1-5 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

The children of Israel, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, had recently crossed the Jordan River into the land that God had promised to Abraham over 700 years earlier. Now it was time for them to occupy the country as God commanded them. But the first obstacle in their way was the city of Jericho and its walls. The inhabitants of Jericho had decided to trust in their walls to keep the Israelites and their God out, rather than to come out and fight or to negotiate.

What about these walls? Earlier Moses had sent scouts into the land and they had brought back word that "the cities are great and walled up to heaven". Now, obviously this was a bit of an exaggeration, however, the fact that they used such a description gives us a pretty good indication that these were very formidable walls. Certainly the inhabitants of Jericho felt that their walls were impregnable. With that in mind, what do you think the natural reaction of the Israelites to the method that was presented to them for overcoming the city of Jericho would have been? It just does not seem reasonable. Bringing the walls of a city down by marching around it, and then blowing horns and shouting just doesn't seem to make sense. No ladders, no ropes, no battering rams. Just horns and shouting.

Why would anyone believe that would work? Only because God said it would and they believed God

Joshua 6: 15-16, 20 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city....So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

The children of Israel were obedient in following God's instructions as to how they were to take the city of Jericho, and God fulfilled his promise to them. Despite how impossible it seemed, how miraculous, it all played out exactly as God had said.

Clear at the other end of the Bible it says this: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." (Hebrews 11:30)

The bringing down of the walls of Jericho was an act of God, but it was also an act of faith. Had the Israelites refused to follow the Lord's directions for overcoming the city, the walls would not have come down. That's what it teaches us in Hebrews 11: by faith the walls of Jericho fell down. It was required of them that they believed God would do what he said he would.

The same it also true of salvation. In fact, you might look at sin as a towering wall that separates you from God.

John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The question then is, do you have faith? Do you believe what God said in these verses? Do you believe that whosoever believes in Jesus will not perish, but will have eternal life? Do you believe that God sent his Son into the world that through him you can be saved?

If you have a biblical understanding of your own sin, then you will see salvation from that sin, and gaining eternal life, to be as monumental a task as bringing down those towering walls of Jericho. And God's plan for how to rid yourself of that sin may seem just as unlikely as the method he gave the Israelites to bring down those walls. Man's natural inclination is to try to make up for sin by doing right; to try to earn eternal life by doing good. But what does the Bible say?

Romans 4:2-5 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

In the Bible, God makes it clear we are not to follow our natural inclinations to try to earn our way to heaven, but rather that the only way is by faith in the fact that Jesus Christ paid for our sins.

A little further in the same chapter and still speaking of Abraham we read this:

Romans 4:20-25 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Faith is the simple answer to that towering mountain of sin that is on our shoulders. It doesn't seem to make any more sense than God's method of bringing down the walls of Jericho does it? But God has promised it, and if you believe, he will deliver forgiveness of sins and eternal life just as he delivered the city of Jericho to the Israelites.

2nd Vintage Nationals August 13

2011-07-19T05:30:00.002-05:00

2nd Vintage Nationals set for August 13

cars for kids accelaquarter raceway park Harrisburg Illinois)

Last month's inaugural running of a National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association event was a success on many fronts. Kosman Specialties was there with their new vintage style drag chassis on display. Also in attendance was Don Rothwell, fabricator of a reproduction of the legendary Yetman drag frame. M&H had a couple prototypes of the new run of 4" x 18" drag slicks which are in the works (these have been out of production for longer than most of us can remember, and having them available again should be a major milestone in vintage drag racing). It is my understanding that initially these will be available through Kosman. New billet crankcases for pre-unit Triumphs were on display courtesy of Donny Racing Engines in Australia.

All that said, despite pre-registered total of 72, the turn out of actual vintage drag bikes was lower than expected, though that did provide a silver lining of unlimited passes for those able to make the trip. Those of us who are interested in the success of a vintage motorcycle drag racing sanction can be thankful that Wayne Skinner, the mover and shaker behind the NVMDRA, is a man of vision. His plan is to run this and possible one more race this year, and hopefully a full schedule of six races next year. The plan is to have them in different sections of the country so that everyone will have easy access to one, and then one larger centrally located event as a grand finale. Sounds like a good approach to me!

With a little more preparation time to get those vintage racers out of mothballs, this event should be even bigger and better than the first one, and next year should be phenomenal!

Ten Lepers - Part Three

2011-07-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

.... the final installment of this three part series based on Luke 17:11-19

Verse 14 "And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed."

Jesus told the lepers to go and show themselves to the priest. The priesthood and the command for the leper to show himself to the priest was established by the law of Moses
Notice that Jesus did not tell them "I am here now, you have no use for the law, you're cured!"
Instead, it might be said that in a sense, he sent them to the law. Isn't it our duty likewise to send those who are seeking a cure for their sin problem to the law?

Romans 7: 12-13 "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."

Here we see another purpose of the law: the blackness of sin shows up best next to the holy light of the law.

It seems that much of modern Christianity wants to give a cure without a diagnosis. They want to give you the answer to your sin problem without ever telling you that you are a sinner!
You may say "only the doctor really needs to make the diagnosis, not the one with the disease." But verse 19 of our text says "thy faith hath made thee whole." If this was what we might call a real live "faith" healing in the purest sense of the term, then the one with the disease does need to agree with the physician's diagnosis in order for him to have faith!

also in Verse 14 "As they went, they were cleansed."

These ten lepers were cleansed of their leprosy. Does this mean they were saved, born again, cleansed of their sins? If the leprosy here is a symbol of sin, then perhaps the cleansing from it is also symbolic in nature, however that does negate the lessons we can learn from it.

Verse 15 "And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,"

One of these ten, when he saw that he was healed glorified God. This one leper recognized that only God could have performed this miracle of healing. Did he recognize that Jesus was God? I don't know. He certainly at least recognized that Jesus got his power from God.
Recognizing God's mercy in salvation will certainly cause a saved man to give God the glory!

Verse 16 "And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan."

This one leper fell down on his face and gave Jesus thanks. We can only assume that this leper saw how lowly he was in relation to Jesus. True salvation causes one to have a right view of where you are in relation to a holy God . This leper was truly thankful for the cleansing that he received. True salvation will cause one to be ever mindful and ever thankful for that salvation. True salvation will cause one to be ever mindful and ever thankful for being saved from sins. Not just the penalty for sins, but the bondage of living in sin.

Verse 17 & 18 "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."

The other nine were cleansed, and they did as the law commanded, in fact as Jesus commanded them, to go and show themselves to the priest. I find it interesting that they went to the Jewish priest, the one who was the administrator of the ceremonial law. Could this be a symbol of those who merely trust in the trappings of religion, but never stop to worship Jesus. How many are there out there today who find their comfort in the rituals and ceremonies of religion, in their baptism, in communion, but never stop to truly worship Jesus?

Verse 19 "And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."
Thy faith hath made thee whole. Jesus does not say this about the other nine. The other nine were cleansed, but I suspect that they were not made whole. How many today come to Jesus "asking him into their hearts" in what has become known as "easy believism". 1, 2, 3, pray after me. Do you think some of them may only receive an outward cleansing, but are not made whole?

I think we've all known at least someone who has made a change in their life; they have "cleaned up their act. Maybe they started attending church and to most outward appearances they have turned their life around, but then something happens and they return to their old ways, or you catch them off guard and find that maybe they haven't changed as much as it appeared. Perhaps those were just outward changes, a cleansing, but there is never any inward change, no new heart.

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

All things are become new; could that really be the cleansing that happened to the nine of these lepers? Could you really become a new creature in Christ without it causing you to return to Jesus to worship him? The one who was made whole turned back to worship Jesus.

In closing I would just like you to consider a few questions. How do your experiences compare with those of these 10 as touches leprosy being a symbol of sin? Have you ever experienced a cleansing?

If so, did you do as the one out of the ten and glorify God with a loud voice? And when I say with a loud voice, I mean that symbolically. Its not a matter of volume so much as sincerity and boldness. Have you ever testified to someone about the miracle of God making you whole?

Have you ever fallen at Jesus feet? And again, I mean that symbolically; have you seen your lowliness compared to a Holy God?

Or, instead have you gone on to find your comfort in the ceremonies of religion like these other nine lepers did?

Are you sure that you didn't just receive an outward cleansing, rather than being made whole?

Ten Lepers - Part two

2011-07-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

....continuing with part two on the story of ten lepers as found in Luke 17: 11-19. Part one is here.

As stated earlier, we cannot make the leap that every disease is a punishment by God, but I would also not take the stance that a disease is not ordained by God. We need to find a balance between these two passages:

2 Cor. 12: 7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Here we see some type of "thorn" in Paul's flesh, whether it was a disease or weakness or ailment, it seems to have been ordained by God to show God's strength through Paul's weakness. But that needs to be balanced against this:

Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?

Taken in context, this verse from Amos is just one small part of God's promise that he would punish the nation of Israel for their iniquities.

So when others suffer through some disease or tragedy, the only thing we can always be sure of is that God has his purposes in it.

Verse 12 "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:"

Note that they stood "far off" as they were commanded in the law of Moses. Leviticus 13: 45-46 "And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." A leper was to live away from the rest of the people, and to cry "unclean" to keep others away so the disease would not be spread

These lepers had some knowledge of the law, whether they understood its purpose or not.
Today all men have some knowledge of God and his law, whether they understand it's purpose or not. Romans 1: 18-20 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

Today many have some knowledge of the law of Moses, though they may not grasp much of it or understand it's purpose. Some gain this knowledge through "religion" where they are taught things such as the ten commandments. Some obtain this knowledge through our legal system which is largely based on the second table of the law.

For instance, laws that put a child under authority of parents are based on God's law which states honour thy father and mother. Laws against murder come from thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal gives us our laws against theft and robbery. Likewise slander and libel laws can be traced back to thou shalt not bear false witness.

But did these lepers from our text really understand why they were to keep their distance; why they were to cover their mouth? Probably not.

What about today? Do men understand why we were given the ten commandments? Certainly many of the Jews of Paul's day believed the law was a measuring stick that they could measure up to, and that they would be judged on a scale with their good deeds in one balance and their sins in the other, and if need be, their circumcision or keeping the feast days thrown in to tilt the scales. Not much has changed since. The same could be said of many Christian denominations today; they just substitute their baptism in place of circumcision, but they are still trusting in their own right acts of measuring up to the law.

They still can't hear Isaiah when he says all of our righteousness are as filthy rags, or they would see their true condition. Sin on one side of the scales and filthy rags on the other! But that is not how it works. Those filthy rags belong on the same side of the scale as the sin. The only thing that tilts the scale in favor of forgiveness and eternal life is the blood of Jesus, and that blood alone! So what is the purpose of the law for us? Galatians 3:24 tells us "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Verse 13 "And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."

All 10 of these lepers acknowledged Jesus and called him "Jesus, Master". Jesus means "Jehovah saves." Master means an appointee over, a commander or a teacher. When I put them together I get something like this: "the one appointed by Jehovah to be both commander and Saviour." Do you suppose these ten lepers understand all that was in the name Jesus? Did they recognize him as Lord and Savior?

How many today truly recognize all that is meant by Lord and Savior? Did these ten lepers all understand the title Master in the same way? Or, were they simply calling him teacher?
Do you realize that nearly every false religion in the world honors Jesus as a teacher?
Muslims call Jesus a prophet even though they deny his teachings. In order to call Jesus a prophet and not call him a liar, they have to edit the bible down to the point where only texts they agree with remain. But isn't that the same thing liberal "so called" Christian denominations do today?

I'll wrap this up with part three within the next couple of days.

Ten Lepers - Part One

2011-07-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

Luke 17: 11-19 tells of an incident during Jesus minstry wherein ten lepers came to him asking for mercy.

Leprosy is a disease which is mentioned throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. It is also quite universally known as a symbol of sin. Leprosy has terrified humanity since ancient times. For many centuries, leprosy was considered a curse of God, often associated with sin. It did not kill, but it lingered for years, causing the tissues to degenerate and deforming the body.

Leprosy is spread by multiple skin contacts, as well as by droplets from the upper respiratory tracts, such as coughing or sneezing. When you consider those facts, God's mercy can be seen in the commands given in Leviticus concerning the disease. Clearly, those steps would help to stop the spread of leprosy.

The symptoms start in the nervous system, then spread to other parts, such as the hands, feet, and face. Patients with leprosy experience disfigurement of the skin and bones, twisting of the limbs, and curling of the fingers. Tumor-like growths may form on the skin and in the respiratory tract, and the optic nerve may deteriorate. But the largest number of deformities develop from loss of pain sensation due to extensive nerve damage. Someone with leprosy is constantly in jeopardy of damaging their body because they don't have the warning sensation of pain. They might leave their hand or foot too close to a fire and burn it without ever feeling the heat.

With that in mind, it is easy to see why leprosy is such a good fit as a symbol of sin. Just as leprosy is a disease that attacks the skin, sin also attacks our flesh.

Galatians 5:16-21 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the flesh, or the earthly body, is not the problem. As my Pastor has pointed out, the Gnostic's belief that every thing to do with the flesh is sinful, is what led them to the heresy that Jesus never actually came into the world as a man. But Jesus Christ did come in the flesh and had an earthly body of flesh. So the flesh itself is not the problem, the problem is the disease of sin that attacks the body.

The passage from Galatians above describes the sin infested flesh. Remember that I said that biggest problem with leprosy was that you lost the pain sensation so that you would not realize that you were hurting your body. Sin works the same way. The deeper one falls into sin, the less warning you will get from your conscience. And finally when sin has run its course, you will receive the wages of sin, which is death, and you would no longer have even felt that you were doing anything wrong.

Yes, leprosy is a pretty powerful symbol of sin!

Leprosy was a disease which many Jews of that day understood to be inflicted by God as a punishment for some particular sin, and a mark of God's displeasure. While that view does not really affect the story of these ten lepers, it might be prudent to mention that this is not necessarily true. If leprosy was a punishment for sin, then we would all be afflicted with it, for all of us are sinners. Remember what Jesus said when asked by his disciples about a blind man: who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? His answer was that neither one. He was born blind so that the work of God could be shown through him. So we need to be careful that we don't make assumptions about someone based on what they may be going through.

In our text I would like to draw some parallels and hopefully seize on some truths, based on leprosy being a symbol of sin. Again, not a proof of sin, or a sign of sin, but a symbol of sin

Verse 12 "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:"

If its true that many Jews looked at leprosy as a judgment for sin, then these 10 men knew that they were viewed by others as being sinners and as under God's judgment, but we don't know that they all agreed with that diagnosis

Not everyone you will meet today agrees that they have a sin problem.

But these lepers DID know that they had a problem. The condition of their flesh showed them that.

Even today most men know that they have some kind of problem. their conscience tells them so, but as I mentioned before, if you ignore your conscience long enough, it will loose its voice. Deep down that conscience will keep up its rumblings though, which helps explain why we have so much "religion" in the world geared toward making man feel better about himself.

Some of these lepers probably saw themselves as victims of the disease; that they themselves were not responsible for their condition.. As far as the actual disease of leprosy goes, as we said before, they could very well be correct. However in regards to leprosy as a symbol of sin, they were not victims; we are each responsible for our own sin. This is a common reaction of men today. "It's not my fault... "

"Sure I treat my spouse badly, but you don't know what they're like...."
"....its just man's nature to lust after more than one woman "
or even "God made me with an attraction to the same sex, so how can it be sin?"

It's just never our fault!

But my guess is that at least one of these ten lepers saw himself as being guilty and deserving judgment.

....to be continued

These are Pretty Cool

2011-07-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here is something a little different for you today. I bought a batch of these "trading" cards on eBay a few years back. It is obvious why they caught my attention, though I no longer remember how I ran across them.

These cards are part of a larger set of 66 from "Street Chopper/Hot Bike" magazine, and are labeled so on the back. I do not know what year they came out, but also on the back is an offer for a trial subscription to either magazine for the princely sum of $4.75 for 10 months, which may give you a clue!

Each card gives a brief description of the photo from the front, and the ones I am reproducing here all have the credit "photos courtesy TRM Publications, Inc." I will highlight the descriptions from the back for each card.

"Drag Racer, owned by Dave Campos, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Harley Davidson Sportster. Engine: 900cc's. Carburetion: S&S. Exhausts: drag pipes. Frame: custom built. Front End: Ceriani. Rear Tire/Wheel: 18-inch M&H. Handlebars: clip-ons. Paint: blue lacquer"

***

"Barn Job, owned by Clem Johnson, of West Covina, California. Vincent dragster. Engine: 1000cc's. Carburetion: Injectors. Exhaust: drag pipes. Frame: custom built. Front End: Ceriani. Rear Tire/Wheel: 18-inch M&H. Handlebars: clip-ons. Paint: none"
***

"Dragster, owned by Sonny Routt, Routt's Cycle Center , of Hyattsville, Md. Triumph dragster. two Triumph 750 cc engines, Carburetion: Amals. Exhaust: drag pipes. Frame: custom built. Front End: Harley. Rear Tire/Wheel: 18-inch M&H. Handlebars: clip-ons. Paint: competition."

***

"Boris Murray's Twin Triumph, owned by Boris Murray of Pomona, California. Triumph, '71 dragster. Engines: two 45 cubic inchers. Carburetion: four Amals. Exhausts: custom single pipes. Frame: Boris Murray custom. Front End: Triumph cub. Rear Tire/Wheel: 18-inch M&H. Handlebars: drag style. Paint: frame-black, fairing-red and blue lacquer."
***

If only I had one featuring Granddaddy Joe Smith to add to the collection!

Born on the 4th of July

2011-07-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is a re-post of something I wrote last year in remembrance of July 4th. It is as relevant today as it was a year ago.

It is a popular bumper sticker. There is even a song with it as its title. The phrase is well worn, but retains its aura, despite having lost its standing among the purveyors of pop culture.
You hear it at the end of a lot of political speeches. Often, it makes one wonder whether the speaker is just a servant of custom, trying to appease his audience, or maybe even just possibly could mean it. The phrase, of course, is "God Bless America."

Once upon a time, near the founding of this nation, we had a legitimate standing to ask God to Bless America. Many of our forefathers came to the new world seeking the freedom to worship God according to their understanding of the dictates of the Bible, rather than those of the unholy alliances of churches and states. Later, when in the course of human events it became necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which had connected them with another, they were careful to seek the guidance of the God of Abraham; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Imperfect though that Union was, they purposefully laid the ground work so that slavery, that great shame on humanity, would shortly be removed from this land so that their words, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, could finally ring true for all men in this land. Surely at that point in time, it was proper for us to implore God to Bless America, for one of the blessings that Christian men prayed for was the abolition of slavery.

But just as it played out time and time again in the Old Testament, apostasy is ever the grandchild of true religion. Just as they were not all Israel, which were of Israel, America has never been all Christian, but there was a time when the vast majority of us claimed true religion and most, at the very least, lived that way. Today, there may still be a majority that claim the name of Christ, but it seems that God has only reserved a remnant who he will claim as his. Most will undoubtedly hear "I never knew you" on that day.

It is difficult to pinpoint a moment, or one event, that was the start of the great downward spiral of this once great nation. Some might say it was when we gave away our cultural values, acquiescing to sexual wantonness of every type after decades of Hollywood proselytizing. Surely this is not the case though. Being given over to a reprobate mind is but one of the symptoms of a much deeper, and older disease.

Maybe it was when our nation began to allow our children and grandchildren to be murdered on the alter of convenience, in the name of choice, by those who have declared their own deity. As dreadful to contemplate as such savagery is, it too is only symptomatic.

Could the decay have begun with the removal of prayer from schools in the 1960s, or could it perhaps be traced back even further, to the time when the Bible was removed as a textbook? Again, that is certainly just another symptom, which, though it does its damage to the body, is not fatal on its own.

But if not that, what was it that set us on the path towards destruction? We may be nearing the mark if we suspect it was the introduction of the theory of evolution, though that wicked system is merely the schoolmarm for Communism, and not its master. Or is that the other way around? The two are so intertwined that it may no longer be possible to to judge.

Communism and its cohorts, Marxism,Socialism, and Progressivism, as wielded by ungodly men, are some of the greatest threats ever to man's freedom. Worldwide communism boasts over 100 million murdered, and counting. But once again, they are the infection that attacks the already weakened body.

No. None of these horrific pestilences are the root cause of this nation's demise. In fact, I don't believe that we can pinpoint a time. But I do believe that we can name the cause. You see, as Psalm 33 says "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." We will be blessed as a nation if our God is Jehovah. But we continue to call on God to bless America, even while we reject him as our lord.

We need to take a cue from Ezra as found in Nehemiah 8:6 "And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground."

What we really need to do is refrain from calling on God to bless America and begin to call on America to bless God!

Couple O' Things

2011-06-24T15:51:00.009-05:00

Well, here it is the weekend that I was supposed to be at Steel Valley Dragway with the Knuckledragger for the inaugural running of a National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association event. My apologies to anyone who expected to see us there. As I hopefully made clear to anyone I talked to about it, I planned to be there, but I didn't promise to be there. Unfortunately our tow vehicle developed a nasty noise the morning before we were to leave on the nearly 2000 mile round trip journey, so between the loss of time and the projected cost of repairs ....well, we've all been there. Of course, the way I meant it, and the way I should have stated my plans were more like this:

James 4:15 "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."

So here is a little taste of what the Knuckledragger would have looked like had I gotten it to the track.

If you are in the Northeastern Ohio area, you can still make it to the race though!

In slightly related news, my friend Kevin Baas called and left a message on my shop phone the other day telling me that he had arrived in Colorado on his way to California from Minnesota. His '47 Knuckle (which he named Elvis) was running great and taking the constant 75 to 80 MPH cruising speed in stride. Kevin has proven to be a valuable asset by putting lots of hard miles on the Knuckle motors I have rebuilt for him; how else is a guy going to get solid feedback on what parts and modifications give good service life. I certainly don't seem to find the time to put those kind of miles on my own Knuckles. Kevin has been putting as many miles on Elvis each summer as many Knuckles see in a decade!

BTW: About a year ago I beat my head against the wall trying to get the "Blogger" program to upload videos. I finally gave up and uploaded to U-Tube and then put it on my blog from there. Now I can't get the U-Tube video to center in my Blogger text - the right side of the video is cut off no matter what I do ...and "Blogger" still won't upload a video! If you want to see the whole screen on the above video, click here to watch it on U-Tube. I have to quit banging my head on the wall now, its getting sore.

Harley Goes Wobbly on Twin Cam

2011-05-30T21:19:00.012-05:00

Since Harley came out with their Twin Cam in 1999, it has gained a reputation as a motor that is fairly easy to modify for significant horsepower gains. Unfortunately, the Twin Cam's reputation for reliability seems to have lagged far behind, and not without reason.

First there was the whole fiasco with the early cam chain tensioners. Seemed as though the life expectancy was anywhere between 20 and 30 thousand miles (though some did not make it that far). When they wore through the tensioner pad, things could get ugly in a hurry. Throw a little hearing loss on the owners part, and you get a cam chain wearing a hole through the cam cover (its true - I just rebuilt one with just that problem).

An early response to the whole cam chain tensioner problem was the S&S gear drive cam set up. Its a legitimate fix, but it comes with its own issues, the main one being gear lash. Of course the whole idea behind the cam chain set up from Harley was to quiet the motors down by eliminating gear lash issues. Only trouble with the gear drives is you now have two sets of gears to get the lash right in order to have a quiet motor; the outer pair which drive the rear cam off the crank, and the inner pair which drive the front cam off the rear one. Although S&S offers and oversize and and under size gear for each pair to aid in getting a good fit, every cam plate will give a different fitment. Too tight on the lash and the gears will whine; too loose and you get the old tappet type noise.

After only seven years in production, the factory came up with a new solution for the early cam chain tensioner failure syndrome. Beginning with the 2006 Dyna models, and 2007 for the balance of Big Twins, Harley fit the Twin Cams with a new type cam chain system known as variously as hydraulic tensioned, or silent cam chains. Apparently the key to this new system is not so much the hydraulic tensioner as it is the type of chain itself. A quick feel of the outside edge of the chains (the part that the tensioner pads ride on) tells the real story. The early chains which were controlled by spring loader tensioner pads are down right sharp compared to the later chains!

All that leads us to that venerable practice of upgrading old motors with later model part. Really, it is a custom that has flourished for many years, and involves everything from putting on an M74 carb in place of your M35, all the way up to the simple but ambitious practice of putting an entire Shovel top end on a Pan. The "late model parts on an earlier model bike trick" has been a staple of the Harley aftermarket as well as the Motor Company itself for years.

The first I became aware of the possibility of upgrading the cam tensioners on '99-'06 Twin Cams was via the Kuryakyn catalog. They even list all the parts you need to purchase from your local Harley dealership to complete the upgrade. Included in the upgrade is the late model cam plate and the new higher volume oil pump, and of course Kuryakyn will be happy to supply a variety of cam grinds manufactured especially for this upgrade.

Checking the Andrews catalog, I see they offer a whole kit with cam plate, oil pump, and everything else needed for the conversion as well as a full complement of cams specifically for this upgrade.

Not to be totally outdone, Harley Davidson, via their Screamin' Eagle division also offer a kit. Harley's kit, however, leaves you stuck using the original "chainsaw" style inside cam chain. The reason they did this was so that you do not have to use a special cam; you can keep the one you have if it is still usable. The down side is that you are forced to keep the chain that contributed to the problems in the first place, and is the one hardest to service to boot. Seems to me it is only a solution to half the problem.

Now, if you are thinking that you lean toward the Kuryakyn promoted solution, I have a couple of cautions for you. Since you are purchasing a cam plate that is not designated for use on the '99-'06 engines there won't be any warning label mentioning that on certain years of NON Softail models, one of the oil holes in the new cam plate will line up with ...NOTHING. That right, if you have a '99 (for instance) Dyna or FLT model, this hole which feeds the balance chain tensioners on "B" motors, will dump pressure oil directly into the cam chest. This will drastically lower your oil pressure, give you noisy lifters, and a flickering oil pressure light at hot idle. The solution is to simply plug the hole; in fact the procedure would have been outlined for you in the instructions if you had purchased a stock replacement cam plate for your early Twin Cam.

this is the offending oil hole

where the boss would be on B motors - note the pencil is pointing at open space

the solution

The next caution has to do with cam sprocket alignment. From what I have seen so far, I am led to believe that Harley has machined every pinion shaft from 1999 until now incorrectly. Every shaft is machined for the diameter of the cam chain drive sprocket just inboard from the portion that rides in the cam plate itself. This machining includes a "flat" on one side which positively locates the sprocket. This machined flat is the problem. Admittedly I have only checked a half dozen crank assemblies, but the range from 1999 to two brand new fresh out of the shipping crate 103" cranks. The specific problem is that the "flat" is machined deeper (further inboard) that the rest of the diameter for the sprocket by about .015". This causes the cam chain sprocket to pull in on that side when tightened. It gives said sprocket a similar amount of lateral runout, which in turn makes sprocket alignment between cam and pinion, shall we say ...interesting.

undercut deeper at the flat

There's not much you can do about the situation, as far as I can see, outside of being aware of the issue so that you can split the difference and minimise the misalignment between the two sprockets. If you were to simply follow the factory service manual and check the sprocket alignment, adjusting to within the Harley mandated .010, you may not think to turn the motor over 180 degrees and re-check. You may not think to, because the manual doesn't mention it. Whoever wrote the manual assumed (as most of us do) that the sprockets would install "square" on the shaft. Oops.

note gap between straight edge and top sprocket

rotate engine 180 degrees and note difference in gap

Now you "get" the title that I chose for this piece; "wobbly" indeed. If that were the only place the factory went wobbly on the Twin Cam, it would be one thing, but it seems to be only the "tip of the iceberg", so to speak. How about the flywheels? Why is it that the specification for flywheel runout on my 1946 Knucklehead is within .001", but on a new Twin Cam it has become four times as much at .004"? Is that progress? Were the machine tools that much more accurate back then?

A comparison of a 1999 Twin Cam service manual with its 2009 counterpart is revealing. In 1999 the spec for flywheel runout was .002 maximum. By 2009 that spec was doubled to .004". Not only that, but the service wear limit (deemed acceptable by the factory before repair) in 1999 was .003 for flywheel runout, but .005" ten years later. Note that the .003" runout which was the limit before replacement in 1999 would be within new setup spec for 2009. In 1999 the spec for pinion shaft runout was .003, and no service wear limit was given. In 2009 that spec, though renamed (to protect the guilty?) is .010" with a whopping (or should I say wobbly) service wear limit of .012!

My conclusion? Harley reached its zenith for quality and engineering with the Evo motor. Of course they reached their zenith in just plain "class" much earlier with the Knucklehead!

Camping's Judgement Day Prophesy Flops

2011-05-21T17:22:00.002-05:00

Well, right about now Harold Camping should be counting his blessings that he is not in ancient Israel where Deuteronomy 18: 20-22 was a law of the land:

" But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."

As I write this, it is early in the morning on May 22 in Jerusalem. So Camping's date setting for the world's end has failed to come to pass, just as scores of other's before him. All that remains to be seen is how much scorn will be heaped upon Christians and the Bible because of his misplaced zeal. All that remains to be seen? Well, not quite. There is still the issue of whether or not his followers will flee this false teacher or if they will regroup under the banner of a new cult, which would be the usual pattern for these things.

In the 19th century a preacher named William Miller predicted the second coming of Christ to happen between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. When that didn't pan out, the date was delayed to October 22, 1844. Eventually many left the movement and those that stayed explained away the failed dates by teaching that it had been a spiritual return and not the physical one that the Bible teaches. Today this group is known as The Seventh Day Adventists.

The Watchtower Society also has a history of setting dates for Judgment Day. 1914, 1915, 1918, and then 1925 as each date passed without God's response to their prophesies. The most recent Jehovah Witness prophesy of the end was for 1975; another bust.

Not to be completely left out, Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon dynasty, prophesied that Christ would return either on February 15, 1891 or after that date (his statement apparently just ambiguous enough to dodge the bullet of being a failed prophesy - not to worry, though, he had many less ambiguous prophecies to prove himself a liar)

Are you starting to see a pattern between Judgement Day prophecies and cults yet? Time will tell whether Harold Camping and his followers will repent of their (good intentioned) heresy or go down the path of becoming a full blown cult.

In the mean time, It seems to me that Camping has not done any favors to those who are committed to sharing the Gospel. Most non-Christians, with the failure of Camping's predictions, go back to their default position described in 2 Peter 3:3-4

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. "

So, the bottom line is this: despite May 21, 2011 not being Judgment Day, Judgment Day is still coming. We are all still sinners in need of a Savior. Don't let false teachers divert your focus from that either by their next prophesy or by the failure of their last one. Jesus is our only hope.

Judgement Day May 21, 2011

2011-05-17T17:09:00.003-05:00

Just in case you haven't heard, Judgment Day is coming, and coming very soon according to some. This Saturday as a matter of fact, at least according to Harold Camping and his followers. Massive earthquakes, death, despair, and the end of the world as we know it. So, does that concern you, or do you just laugh it off?

Well, as you might guess, I have a few things to say about the subject. First off, there is absolutely not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that Judgment Day is indeed coming ...I just have serious doubts that it will be this Saturday! I base that on this piece of scripture:

Mark 13:31-32 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

My natural instinct is to do some research on Harold Camping to see how he explains that verse and what seems to be his contradiction of it. Ah, but is that really the best use of my time? Now if I have not taken those verses out of context or misinterpreted them in some other way, then what's the harm in taking some time to delve into Mr. Camping's prophecy? Just this. By calling out this Saturday as Judgment Day, I believe all that Camping has done is pretty well insured that this Saturday will not be Judgment day! But that leaves the rest of this week and any day after as distinct possibilities.

You see, while Harold Camping may be dead wrong on the day and the hour, one thing I cannot fault him for is having a sense of urgency. None of us is promised the next breath. So, what would be a better use of my time than researching the whole May 21 Judgment Day thing? One thing. Proclaiming the Gospel!

1 Corinthians 15:1-6 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

In these verses, Paul gives us a kind of "in a nut shell" account of the Gospel, or good news. Notice where Paul starts out, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins ..." While that description of the Gospel does not leave sin out, it is only mentioned in passing. That, I believe is because Paul is writing to the Church at Corinth. A Church consists of born again believers; those who had already confronted the issue of their sin and found Christ to be their only hope. When presenting the Gospel to a lost and dying world, it is needful to go one step further back and talk about sin, for the lost either don't understand or don't care about their sinfulness.

Sin, reduced to its primary definition, simply means to fall short. You may be thinking, "that doesn't sound so serious, what's all the fuss about?" Well, in all honesty, it would not be so serious if were not for whose standards we were falling short of. But the standards are those of the one who merely spoke and brought all of creation into being! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending! The one of whom the seraphim say Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory! The one to whom one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess! Oh that every man might get just a small glimpse of the glory and the holiness of Jehovah, how could they help but understand just what a "big deal" it is to offend him.

It is only once a person begins to understand their sinfulness and begins to see the hopelessness of their case before the Righteous Judge that they can appreciate the grace and mercy extended by Christ Jesus in paying the penalty for their sins on the cross. And what a wonderful grace it is! It is the gift of God. Once armed with an understanding of the unfathomable holiness of God, there remain no silly thoughts that, in and of ourselves, we could in any way earn the forgiveness of our sins. The debt is just too large, too insurmountable. But the precious blood of Jesus was payment enough!

And that leads us to the rest of Paul's statement about the gospel as found here in 1 Corinthians 15. Christ was buried, but he rose again on the third day just as the Old Testament had said he would ("according to the scriptures"). This is our proof that Christ's payment was acceptable to God the Father! This is our proof that we are forgiven.

Now, you may notice that Paul's description here did not mention repentance. Does that mean that repentance is not involved in salvation? Certainly not, it merely means that Paul did not include it in his "nutshell" presentation of the gospel. Repentance, or turning from sin, is the natural result of coming to understand the enormity of sin and the overwhelming love shown by God in sending his son to die for that sin. If that doesn't lead a man to repent, then he certainly never received that glimpse of the holiness of God!

So, rather than researching the teachings of Harold Camping about Saturday being Judgment Day, I chose to spend the time trying to give a presentation of the gospel. If the world as we know it ends this Saturday, I feel this was time well spent. If the world as we know it does not end this Saturday, I feel this was time equally well spent. Either way, time is short. Have you ever gotten a glimpse of God's glory, of his holiness? I suggest you start by reading the book of John. You may still have time.

Shovel Heads Revisited

2011-05-14T13:00:00.004-05:00

(note: revised 5/16/11)

My first Harley was a Shovelhead, and way back when I started out in the motorcycle industry, Shovelheads were the "State of the Art" .... well, at least in the Harley world! In other words, I am no stranger to Shovelheads. In fact, I never did find myself calling them "Troubleheads" as some in the industry did after the Evolution motor de-throned the Shovel. Don't get me wrong, I am still a dyed in the wool knuckle guy when push comes to shove (or is that push comes to shovel?), but I do appreciate a strong running Shovelhead.

For that reason, I never did shy away from doing porting work on Shovels, though admittedly, those jobs came in pretty infrequently for a number of years. When I started building the Knuckledragger a while back, it got my friend Niel to thinking that it would be fun to build a hot Shovelhead for nostalgic reasons ...not a competition bike mind you, just something to make people shake their heads and wonder. To do that, of course, would take some fairly impressive head work.

Well, that got me to thinking, and thinking got me to doing a little R&D work on Shovelheads for the first time in quite a number of years. It had seemed that I had sort of "hit a wall" when it came to flow on the Shovelheads that I had been porting over the years. I had some ideas that I wanted to try, but never seemed to find the time, or the right set of heads to work with for that matter.

However, some time back a long time friend, Krazy Karl, brought in an engine that he had purchased as part of a basket case. Included with the engine were a brand new set of S&S Shovelheads. As it happened Karl wanted OEM heads on this build, and since he was short on money for the rebuild and I was short on Shovelheads for R&D work, we wound up doing some mutually beneficial horse(power) trading.

As per my oft repeated modus operandi, the project has dragged out for what seemed like forever, but the end is finally in sight ...well, perhaps only with a high power telescope, but in sight, none the less! The results are, I think, fairly impressive. Now here is something many of you might not realize, but the S&S Shovelheads only flow slightly better than a stock OEM Shovelhead casting. Here are some flow figures comparing a new, fresh out of the box S&S Shovel intake port to a stock unmolested OEM port:

.100"---69.0 (S&S)----66.8 (OEM)

.200"--138.4----------134.1

.300"--185.9----------181.5

.400"--207.0----------199.2

.500"--215.2----------201.7

.600"--221.4----------201.7

These figures are all at a 28" test pressure. Keep in mind that stock Shovelhead ports are notorious for their core shift, so those figures will not be consistent from one head to the next. But let's cut to the chase. Here are the figures for a set of my "best ported" OEM castings compared with my prototype intake port on the S&S head (both heads use a 2 inch valve):

.100"---65.1 (ported OEM)----66.7 (proto S&S)

.200"--133.1--------------------139.1

.300"--190.0--------------------204.5

.400"--226.2--------------------249.4

.500"--250.5--------------------271.4

.600"--265.5--------------------284.0

.700"-----------------------------292.5

Just to put this in perspective, somewhere around 25 years ago (give or take), I built a 114 cubic inch Shovelhead engine for my friend Neil Ryan's drag bike. (If you are paying close attention you may remember him from the beginning of this post.) In any case, this was just before I began porting heads, so he had the heads done by the legendary Dave Mackie. That motor, with those heads went on to run the world's first 5 second eighth mile pass for a Pro Stock Harley. The flow on those heads? Less than the "best ported" OEM heads shown above. Can you imagine the potential with an extra 30 cfm of air?

So, as I await the finished version of the prototype valve I made up for the prototype head, the big decision is this: do I have the ports digitized so that it is easily reproduced through CNC porting? Is there enough demand to justify the cost? Hard to say. Anybody out there up for building a fast Shovelhead?

Mother's Day

2011-05-05T12:12:00.003-05:00

May eighth is Mother's Day, and most of us have been blessed with a loving mother. Very many of us have also been blessed to have women in our lives who are loving mothers to our children and grandchildren. In honor of them, I would like to share a glimpse of a couple of mothers mentioned in the Bible.

In the book of 1 Samuel chapter 1 we read the story of Hannah. Hannah was married to a man by the name of Elkanah, but she had no children. In fact, it appeared that she was barren, and would never have children; a condition which is felt to be a tragedy to many women even today, but possibly even more so in ancient Israel. But Hannah cried out to God in her frustration, and promised that if he would allow her to bear a son, that she would dedicate the boy's life to serving him. God answered her prayer, and she and her husband had a child and named him Samuel. Her prayer of thanksgiving is recorded in 1 Samuel 2: 1-10

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Hannah fulfilled her promise to God. Her son Samuel's life was indeed dedicated to God's service. In fact, later in life, Samuel, as the last of the judges of Israel, would be the one chosen by God to anoint King David.

Hannah's story is a remarkable one, but in many ways it foreshadowed the story of another, even more well known mother mentioned in the Bible; Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Mary had an astounding faith. In the book of Luke we read how an angel came to her and related how that she would bear a son who would be the long awaited Messiah. Her response was reasonable enough: she asked how that could be since she was a virgin. The angel then gave an even bigger piece of news. Her son would not only be the Messiah, but he would be the Son of God! Her response? "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." In other words, I am God's servant, and I believe that whatever God says will happen.

When Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth, who incidentally would be the mother of John the Baptist, what she said is recorded in Luke 1: 46-55

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Now, if we compare Hannah's prayer with Mary's, we find many similarities. Both of them begin with rejoicing in the Lord and in his salvation. Both of them speak of the proud being brought low, and the humble lifted up. And is it any wonder that their prayers are so similar. Hannah showed her faith when she trusted that God would answer her prayer for a son. Mary showed her faith when she trusted God's word that she would bear the Messiah.

Both of them understood that the proud, those who think themselves good enough to please God on their own merit, would be brought down. Both of them understood that the humble, those who understood they could never be good enough to measure up to God's standards, would be raised up by the mercy of God their Saviour.

Hannah and Mary both had faith in the fact that God was their Saviour. Hannah had that faith long before her Saviour would come and die on the cross to pay the penalty for her sin. Mary had that same faith right at that point in time when Christ Jesus was about to enter into the world as the spotless Lamb of God. Both of them put their faith in the fact that God would show his mercy and provide a sacrifice for their sins.

Now it has been done. Jesus paid the penalty for your sin when he died on the cross. All that remains is for you to put your trust in his promise that he will forgive all those who will humble themselves and come to him, repenting of their sins.

Support Your Local NVMDRA

2011-04-26T12:35:00.005-05:00

Did someone say Nostalgia Drag Racing?

This looks to have all the markings of a really great event. According to Wayne Skinner, the gentleman putting this event together, it will take place at Steel Valley Dragway, Smithfield, Ohio on June 25&26 of this year. Put these dates on your calender if you are a fan of vintage motorcycle drags. Put them in big letters and red ink if you have a vintage drag bike!

The 1/8 mile drag strip is located on an old 4000 foot long airstrip. You know what that means. Plenty of shut down area for those of us running bikes with somewhat less than modern brakes ... always a good thing (the extra shut down - not the antique brakes).

The purpose of this event is to promote vintage drag racing, with vintage being defined as 1972 or earlier. All makes are welcome, in fact encouraged. That is one of the really cool aspects of this event; it will be a true return to what motorcycle drag racing was like in its infancy. Wayne himself is in the process of building a replica of the Triumph drag bike he campaigned in the early '70s. Yeah, guess you could say that we are both on the same page!

For this inaugural event, all years of motorcycles are invited to compete; street, gas and fuel, though the main focus will be on the vintage iron. That means that even if you are still working on your vintage drag bike, you really should come out and run your street bike just to be a part of the action. If your street bike is a Knuckle, Pan, Shovel, Iron Sportster or for that matter a '72 or earlier Jap or Brit, then it already fits the criteria to be one of the stars. After all, street ridden bikes have been a part of the drag racing scene since the very beginning!

Wayne is pretty serious about making the National Vintage Motorcycle Racing Association work. He has been actively pursuing vendors willing to provide some of the hard to come by pieces to make vintage drag racing a reality. He has several frame builders making reproductions of some of the famous drag frames of yesteryear, including Yetman style, Hagon, and of course the Truett & Osborn tanker style. He is also working with a tire company to reproduce an 18x4 slick such as those so popular on drag bikes of the past. And it doesn't stop there. Billet Triumph cases as well as jackshafts for hi gear bikes are also in the works.

Of course all this is really cool, and fun to daydream about, but in order for it to become a reality and not just a one shot event, you need to show up. Nothing puts a damper on an event like this more than a dismal turn out.

For more details such as times and entry forms take a look at their web site National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association

In It For the Long Haul

2011-04-17T19:47:00.001-05:00

In the late 1970s I found myself, a scumbag biker working a job I hated, with unused GI Bill benefits that were soon to expire. I had always been pretty much of a gear head, and once I heard about a vocational school program for motorcycle mechanics here in Minnesota, my future was pretty much sealed.

Once I graduated the two year program, the search was on for a job as a Harley mechanic, and let me tell you, the jobs were few and far between back then. After exhausting all the possibilities here in my home state, my soon-to-be wife and I took off cross country to visit her parents in the oil fields of New Mexico, with the objective of applying at every Harley dealership along the way. Of course before we left there was one thing which had become painfully obvious that I had to do in order for there to be a chance that it would be a successful trip; get a haircut! It seems that at that time the Motor Company was still fighting off the bad boy biker image that it so lovingly embraces all the way to the bank today. So it was adios to the five year growth of hair that I had accumulated since leaving Uncle Sam's service. An additional tight trim of the old beard made me look down right employable.

And it worked! We only had to get as far as Pueblo Colorado before I received a job offer. After a couple years in the dealership there, I found that there was not much problem getting hired at another. That old thing about having dealership experience on your resume was, of course, true. So after about eight years working in dealerships, and another eight or so in independent shops, I finally went on my own.

In all that time, I have seen a lot of shops come and go. Most of the Harley dealerships managed to hang on through the tough times. Many of the independent shops did not. A number of years ago, due to a convergence of circumstances, the Harley aftermarket really took off. It may have had a lot to do with the whole Orange County "American Chopper" phenomenon, or that may have been merely a symptom, but suddenly it seemed that everyone who had ever thrown his leg over a motorcycle was opening a chopper shop. Those were gravy days for most of those shops. They would appear one day out of the blue (as far as I could see) with fancy names, fancy (expensive) storefronts, and fancy bikes with fancy price tags. I always assumed that most of these shop owners had made their fortune in other lines of work, but could not resist the lure of how unbelievably cool it would be to mimic one of the Teutuls. Sort of like the classic mid life crisis, only with bike shops instead of Corvettes.

It didn't seem to much matter that many of these choppers started to literally fall apart after a few dozen trips to the local watering hole. It was painfully obvious to anyone paying attention that many of these shops had little regard for their reputation. Along about that time, most shops made it their policy not to work on anything older than an Evolution. Most dealerships wouldn't even work on them. I am proud to say that I never joined in on that fad. Oh, I admit I tried to talk a good number of potential customers out of rebuilding their Iron Head Sportsters, but my motivation was to keep them from spending more money on their engines than their whole bike was worth. The final word from me was always "if you plan on keeping the bike forever, and it doesn't matter to you that you are spending more on the motor than the resale value of the bike, then yes I will rebuild it."

Now with the economy back down in the dumps, most of those high dollar chopper shops are a thing of the past, so it hardly matters whether or not they built a quality product and stood behind their work or not.

So, why did I spend time working on older motors when there was plenty of low hanging fruit that would have been much more profitable? Well, I guess the reason was the same one that has led me to jealously protect my professional reputation over the years: because I was in it for the long haul. Whether by instinct or conscious decision, I knew that eventually those old Harleys would be desirable again, and I am beginning to see it happen. The young guns who bring in old Shovel or Iron Head parts today no longer have a fit when you give them a labor quote. In fact they seem genuinely pleased to deal with someone with experience on the old motors. I owe that in part to being in it for the long haul.

But the whole idea of "being in it for the long haul" also applies to another area of my life, and your life too, if you are a Christian. Phillipians 1:6 tells us "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" You see, this is why I am in it for the long haul as touches Christianity. It comes with the territory. It is God, not I, which started this work of salvation in me back in the spring of 1999, and the Bible assures me that he will continue working on me until either I depart to be with him in spirit, or he returns to be with us in the flesh.

Either way, it is a blessing that, as Christians, we are not left to our own devices to "maintain" our salvation, because as Paul said in Romans 7:18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." But praise the Lord, we do not have to depend on our own weak flesh; we are able to depend on him. 2 Tim. 4:18 tells us, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Of course there are two sides to every coin. And the flip side to God's deliverance from hell is NOT to live as you like because you are heaven bound. As the apostle Paul would say "God Forbid!" The Lord leads us down a narrow path between the ditch of the fear of tripping up and losing our salvation on the one side, and sinning willfully on the other. That path on which he guides us so carefully has this marker on it from Phillipians 2:13" For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Roughly paraphrased, that means that God will make his children to do what he wants them to, but he accomplishes it not through fear, but by changing them in such a way that they want to please him. And that means that if you really are a Christian, you are in it for the long haul!

The Passing of a Legend

2011-04-08T14:41:00.005-05:00

We recently lost one of the true legends of the motor sports industry. On Wednesday, April 6th, Joe Mondello succumbed to complications from surgery. He was 74 years old.

If you set out to name someone who had a bigger influence on the entire spectrum of racing and high performance, you would have a tough time coming up with anyone to rival Joe Mondello, and yet for the most part the level of name recognition does not match his achievements. Throw out the name Joe Mondello in front of a group of ten racing enthusiasts and my guess is that one person would know about Joe, and maybe one more would say the name is familiar. Ah, but start tossing out the name of racers the Joe ported heads for over the years, and each and every one of the group would recognize multiple names.

Just a few of the more well known names in motor sports who have used Joe's porting include A.J. Foyt, Andy Granatelli, Walt Austin, Mickey Thompson, Ak Miller, Carrol Shelby, Tony Nancy, Chris Karamesines, Roland Leong, Shirley Muldowny, Don Garlits, Stone Woods & Cook, Connie Kalleta, Don Prudhomme, Ed Pink, Grumpy Jenkins, Tommy Ivo, John Force, Eddie Hill, Hollman & Moody, Gary Ormsby, Jungle Jim Liberman, Smokey Yunick, Tom McEwen, Junior Johnson, Keith Black, John Mazmanian, Joe Hunt, ....and the list goes on and on.

Not only did Joe Mondello port heads for winning racers, he ported record setting heads for them. The first 7, 6, and 5-second Top Fuel runs and the first 200 mph runs in Top Gas, Top Fuel, Injected Fuel and Fuel Altered were all accomplished using Mondello cylinder heads.

When I first met Joe Mondello, it was via a lecture that he was giving at a Performance and Racing Industry trade show years ago. At the time he was promoting his cylinder head porting school. I looked into attending, but just wasn't sure I should spend the time and money, because after all, he was a car guy and I port Harley heads. Boy did I miss the boat there.

More years passed and I heard him speak at another trade show. By then it seemed that Joe was doing a lot more with Harley heads; a little late to the game, I thought, but this time I decided that I really needed to take the time to attend his school. So, in November of 2007 I made the trip to Joe's new facility in Tennessee for a 3 day, one on one, advanced cylinder head porting course. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but despite having ported over 750 sets of Harley heads before studying under Joe, I came away with better cylinder head porting skills.

I also finally came to the realization that Joe was not just a "car guy." Not only have major automobile OEMs like Ford sent their people through Joe's porting school, so have Harley Davidson and S&S. But here is another not so well known fact, Joe Mondello was porting Harley heads since way back when. And when Joe Mondello ported a head, it was likely to be a winner. His Harley head porting was no different. Another legendary racer to add to the above list of winners using Mondello heads is Joe Smith. Granddaddy Joe Smith was the Harley racer who accomplished most of the "firsts" in motorcycle drag racing throughout the '60s and ''70s. First 8 second motorcycle, first 7 second Harley Davidson, first 180mph motorcycle: and of course Joe Mondello's porting expertise played its part in all of that history.

One of the things that sticks out in my mind is that, as he stood by my side in the porting room at the Mondello Tech Center teaching me the fine points of proper shaping , Joe told me that even after 50 years of it, he still loved to port heads! That is a testimony as to how blessed we are when we are able to make a living doing the work we enjoy. Of course now Joe Mondello's legacy will continue on because of his foresight in opening a school to teach his techniques. Each of Joe's former students will in effect, extend that legacy.

There can be no doubt that the motor sports industry has lost one of the great ones with the passing of Joe Mondello. My condolences go out to his wife Mary, the rest of Joe's family, and the crew down at Mondello Technical Center. Joe will be sorely missed.

The Day of Salvation

2011-04-01T12:09:00.004-05:00

Many of us recall the story of Zacchaeus. When he heard that Jesus was going to pass through town, Zacchaeus wanted to see him. But he had a couple of problems. The first was that there was a whole crowd of people who also wanted to see Jesus, and the second was that he was short. He couldn't see over the crowd. But he didn't let those things stop him; he climbed up into a tree so that he would be able to see the one who it seemed that everyone was talking about. These few short verses give us the story of Zacchaeus from the Bible.

Luke 19:1-10 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

I would like to point out a few things from this story, and then draw some parallels. These verses tell us that Zacchaeus was a rich man. Just one chapter back in the Bible Jesus had been asked by a rich man how to inherit eternal life. Jesus, to test him, told him to keep the commandments, ...but the man claimed that he had always kept them. Then Jesus told him to sell his possessions, and this was too much for the man, so he went away sorrowful. At this point Jesus stated, "For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." And yet, here Jesus tells us that salvation had come to Zacchaeus! You may be wondering how that is possible, and you'd be in good company. Jesus own disciples wondered the same thing when he first made the statement about a rich man entering into the kingdom of God. They asked Jesus, "Who then can be saved?" The answer which Jesus gave to that question is borne out in the story of Zacchaeus. He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

This story also points out that Zacchaeus was a sinner. In fact, it was so well known to the townspeople that Zacchaeus was a sinner, that they were aghast that Jesus would actually be a guest in his house. It is pretty obvious that Zacchaeus himself understood that he was a sinner, because his reaction to this encounter with Jesus was to offer restitution for his wrongdoing. Compare that with the rich man from the previous chapter who seemed to believe that he had never broken God's commandments!

The last thing I would like to point out is that Zacchaeus repented. Repentance means to change your direction. Evidently Zacchaeus had previously hoarded his riches, because now he said he would give half his money to the poor. Obviously he had also gotten some of his riches by false accusation, probably in his role as a tax collector. Now he wanted to repay that ill gotten gain, and not only repay it, but repay it fourfold! But the rich man from the previous chapter? He had nothing to repent of because he didn't see himself as a sinner.

So, we have the stories of two rich men who each had an encounter with Jesus. The one, Zacchaeus, is in heaven today with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The other, so far as we know, never saw the kingdom of God, but only inherited eternal death.

There are at least three key things we can take away from this story to be true of Zacchaeus. Consider with me now whether these things are true of you.

Zacchaeus understood that he was a sinner; have you ever considered your sinfulness?

Zacchaeus met Jesus Christ, and as this passage tells us he "received him joyfully." Can you say the same?

Zacchaeus repented of his sins.

If these things, which are true of Zacchaeus, are not true of you, then it is not too late. It is possible that this day salvation could come to your house. As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 "now is the day of salvation"

Lieske Wins Pro Gas at Bowling Green

2011-03-30T19:45:00.006-05:00

I didn't want to let this slide until it was old news, so I don't have a lot of details yet, but.... The Pro Gas winner at the AMRA season opener in Bowling Green Kentucky last weekend was my friend Joe Lieske on his big inch V-Rod nick named "The Disruptor."

Joe and "The Disruptor" in fine form - two years ago!

Despite rain on Friday and unseasonably cold the remainder of the weekend, Joe managed to qualify in the #3 position. Not too shabby since Joe spent the entire last season chasing gremlins and didn't have a single opportunity to take the bike down the track with the big motor in it (though he did make a few passes with a stock Destroyer engine installed just to see if he could stand to go that slow).

Of course after qualifying was over, Joe remembered something he had noticed two years ago, switched his gearing , and ran quicker in eliminations than the #1 qualifying time. From there it was smooth sailing to the win in the finals. Cool.

Congratulations Joe, and here's wishing you a successful 2011 season!

Perspective

2011-03-23T12:54:00.005-05:00

As is so often the case this time of year, it seems there is no free time for writing. I have been porting heads like a madman ....well, let me clarify; like a madman in respect to volume - not in respect to quality! On top of that the Donnie Smith Bike Show is this weekend. The show is a pretty big event, to put it mildly. It consists of 160,000 square feet on three levels containing 200 world class show bikes plus nearly 1000 vendors either selling or promoting their wares.

It also happens to be the one venue outside of the Internet where I promote my business each year. Though the show doesn't open to the public until Saturday at 9am, for me it begins on Thursday, because Neil, the show's promoter, is a long time friend. For that reason I help both Thursday and Friday with load in, usually directing bike show participants and vendors to their assigned spaces. Late Friday evening, I will finally get a chance to set up my own display, consisting primarily of examples of heads which I have ported. This year I added a display for a new service that I offer: machining for Automatic Compression Release valves in Twin Cam heads.

Lee's Speed Shop display at the 2010 Donnie Smith Show

So, if it happens that you will be in the St. Paul area this weekend, be sure to stop by the Lee's Speed Shop booth and say hello.

But all of that was just a lead in to what I really wanted to share. I came upon this statement made by a fellow who goes by the screen name of "Sir Brass" in the comment section of one of the blogs that I follow:

"The beauty of the cross is that in offering Himself as a propitiation, Christ satisfies the holiness of God, the justice of God, the love of God, the mercy of God, and the wrath of God. ALL of it, there."

I say, well put Sir Brass! That kind of puts bike shows and such in proper perspective.

The Great Screamin' Eagle 110 Velocity Myth

2011-03-13T16:45:00.002-05:00

I am not normally one to call out others for their misstatements unless I feel I am on pretty firm ground. In fact, I much prefer to confine myself to presenting something as absolutely true only when I can back it up from the Bible. Well, I am well enough acquainted with the Bible to state with assurance that scripture does NOT address velocity in a Screamin' Eagle 110 head. In fact, contrary to some contemporary thought, Harleys are not mentioned at all!

But, with that in mind, I have received a couple inquiries lately having to do with the velocity (or more accurately the lack of velocity) in the Screamin' Eagle 110 heads. Doing a quick Internet search turns up a lot of statements on various forums stating unequivocally that the ports in a SE 110 head are too large, resulting in a lack of velocity which kills power. I believe this to be incorrect.

Here is something you hear a lot in the performance world. "CFM sells heads, but velocity is what makes power." "We port heads for maximum velocity, not flow numbers."

So, what is the basis for that statement? The effect which is often referred to as inertia tuning is based on this; a moving column of air (such as in your intake port) has inertia which will continue to fill the cylinder after the piston has reached Bottom Dead Center on the intake stroke. In case you are a little fuzzy on your 4 stroke theory, as the pistons goes down in the cylinder on the intake stroke, it creates a lower than atmospheric pressure area which "draws" the fuel air mixture in past the open intake valve.

One might think that once the piston reaches BDC there would be as much "charge" in the cylinder as there is going to be, however the column of air in the intake system has inertia which causes it to keep adding the fuel air mixture even though the piston has now started to rise in the cylinder. For this reason, performance camshafts do not close the intake valve entirely until well past BDC. For instance, a cam that I have used in SE 110 engines in the past is the Wild Things TC4 which does not close the intake valve until 54 degrees after BDC.

Now, thinking back to your high school physics class (or in my case thinking back to when I could remember that far back), inertia is a function of mass and velocity. The more mass and the more velocity something has, the higher the inertia. For instance, if someone tosses a baseball to you at a speed of 20 mph, it is unlikely to cause you any discomfort to catch it, but have a professional pitcher throw you the same weight ball to you at 98 mph, and ....ouch!

The same holds true in the intake system. There is a certain amount of mass to the fuel air mixture and if you can add velocity to that mass, it will have more inertia, thus filling the cylinder more in those last few moments before the valve closes. Likewise, velocity in a port is a function of two factors; flow (measured in Cubic Feet per Minute) and Cross Sectional Area. If the CFM goes up and the CSA stays the same, then velocity has increased. But, of course if the CSA goes up, and the CFM does not, then velocity decreases.

This, of course, is what the critics of the SE 110 heads are saying: the velocity is too low because the port is too big. But is it? Most good flow bench programs (I use and recommend Port Flow Analyzer from Performance Trends) will have provision to give a port velocity readout based on the port's average Cross Sectional Area. In order for this to be accurate one needs to have measurements of both the length of the port and the volume of the port, both of which are reasonably easy to perform.

At a test pressure of 28", a stock '06 and later Twin Cam intake port has a velocity of 264.2 Feet Per Second at a valve lift of .550". My best porting job on that casting yields 280.7 FPS at the same lift. As with 99.8% of ported heads, that head has a larger port volume than stock. The reason the velocity is higher in the ported head, is because the CFM increase was much greater than the CSA increase. Now, comparing these two heads to one of my ported SE 110 heads, we see that the velocity in the SE head is 278.4 FPS at that same test pressure and lift. Very close to the ported stock head.

It seems that I have managed to show that at least my ported Screamin' Eagle 110 heads do NOT have a velocity problem as some suggest, at least based on actual flow figures and port size measurements. So, if you are really concerned about low velocity in your SE 110 heads, then maybe the solution is to send them to me for porting work. If you are wondering why I don't have velocity measurements listed for unported SE 110 heads, I would answer that I wonder why you would run unported heads if you are concerned with performance?

Even at that, though, how important is velocity in a Harley head? Remember what we discussed about the relationship between mass and inertia? Velocity by itself does nothing if there is not enough mass involved to give you some inertia (a ping pong ball at 98 mph might sting a little, but nothing like that baseball!). The problem with striving for high velocity ports in a Harley, is that the ports are so short, the mass contained therein will never be enough to provide much inertia, and without inertia ....well you may as well be throwing a ping pong ball. I would suggest that many of those promoting high velocity Harley ports are mis-applying knowledge gained from small block Chevys with their loooong ports. That is not to say that inertia plays no part, just that it is not as significant as when dealing with a longer port.

But, now for the coup de grace, Darin Morgan (one of, if not the, premiere cylinder head guru in the world) said this recently in a Speedtalk forum discussion:
"An engines induction system is almost un-tunable until it hits 6500rpm and until it hits 6500 you have to make allowances.. At 6500-6800 rpm you can build wave propagation and inertia in the system to attain higher VEs. Below that, forget it. The entire scope and design of the induction system changes when your building engines below 6500rpm." ...... "Low RPM engines don't obey the same rules. If you try and build them the same way you do a high rpm application you will be leaving a lot of power on the table."

Folks, if you have a Harley, when Darin says low RPM engines, he is talking about yours! So to sum up: Would the ports on a Screamin' Eagle 110 head be better if they were smaller? Sure, if you didn't loose any flow. Is it worth the time and expense to weld them up and rework them? I certainly wouldn't spend my money there. The improvement would, I think, prove to be so small as to be negligible (we are talking about a street motor here, aren't we?). Besides, if you wanted to improve something on the SE110 heads (besides through normal porting work), it would be the goofy way the spark plug protrudes into the chamber which causes issues with the wet flow, .... but that would be a subject for a another post.

A Timely Story

2011-02-25T15:38:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but when I look at all what is going on in the world, it is tough not to get angry. There are rulers killing their citizens without remorse. There are those who plot the genocide of whole nations. And still other governments keep their citizens on the verge of starvation while they live in luxury. On the home front things are not much better. It seems we have a nation that is intent on committing financial suicide, not to mention the forces who are outraged with the mere suggestion that, as a budget consideration, taxpayer money should no longer be used to pay for the murder of babies. Yep, keeping your temper in check seems to be getting increasingly more difficult to do, and yet we have Jesus command to love your enemies!

One place we can read about this kind of love is in Luke 10

Luke 10:25-29 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

Here we have two great commands. Love God, and love your neighbor, In fact, elsewhere in the New Testament, Jesus calls these two the greatest commandments. In the parable that follows, we not only learn how to answer that question of who is my neighbor, but a little more about what love consists of.

Luke 10:30-37 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

To better understand the depth of this story, one needs to know a little about the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. You see, the Samaritans were descendants of those tribes of Israel who were on the wrong side of the divided kingdom. And not only did they side with the wicked kings of Israel, they intermarried with the local population who God had specifically commanded them NOT to marry. By the time of the New Testament, Samaritans were despised and looked down upon by the Jews to such an extent that the Samaritan woman at the well was shocked that Jesus would even speak to her.

With that in mind, the story of the Samaritan who acted out of love, and acted as a neighbor to someone who probably hated him just for who his ancestors were, should provide an example for us as to who we should love as our neighbor. In other words we should even love someone who hates us.

So what else can we learn from this? Real love, as shown in this parable, is revealed in actions more so than words. Love, as it is shown to us here, is very closely related to what we commonly call charity because those actions are for the benefit of someone who cannot repay us. In that respect it is the same type of love shown to us by Jesus Christ. He died paying the penalty for our sins, and he showed that love to us, who have no possibility of repaying him.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ showed what the Bible calls the greatest possible love when he laid down his life for us. And he did that when we were repulsive sinners. Jesus Christ is the one we are to look to as an example of how to love others. He is the standard, and it seems a standard that is impossible to live up to. And of course it is impossible, at least if a man relies on himself. But with God, all things are possible. So how is it that we can show others the kind of love that God has shown us? It begins when you repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ.

Setting Pinion to Cam Gear Lash

2011-02-13T17:30:00.004-06:00

This is one of those tech tips that I have considered writing several times, but each time I considered it, I decided to put it off until I could provide some pictures to go along with it. But, it seems that I never have an engine at that point when I think of doing this post, and never remember to take pictures when I do. So, we're all going to have to tough it out without pictures, as though we were adults.

Noisy motors are something that are a source of annoyance, and sometimes even embarrassment. The following is directly applicable to Big Twin from 1940 to 1999 as well as most S&S motors, and also can be applied to some extent to Flatheads and Sportsters. With the abundance of cams on the market, and the frequency with which they are changed, whether due to wear or for performance, this is always a timely subject.

First things first. Let's debunk an old wives tale having to do with "a matched gear set." While old wives are the best kind to have, particularly if you are an old husband, it has been my experience that they are an unreliable source for Harley technical advise. The "myth" of the matched gear set stems from the fact that the Factory did (maybe still does) sell a cam and pinion gear set. Trouble is, all that means is that the set comes with both gears in the middle of the size range. There are absolutely no guarantees that size combination will be correct for your engine. After all, if the factory could make a gear set that would fit all of their motors correctly, there would be no reason for them to make more than one size pinion gear and one size cam gear.

But they do, and they have since sometime back in the 1970's. The reason is to compensate for manufacturing tolerances in the center to center distance between the pinion shaft and the cam bearing in the crankcase as well as the pinion bushing and cam bushing in the cam cover. What did they do before different gear sizes were available you ask? Well, I guess you just had to live with a little extra noise.

Now, it is important to note that there are two separate types of bad fitment that will lead to noise: too tight and too loose. Too tight is actually a much bigger problem than its opposite. Too tight a fit between the pinion gear and the cam gear will result in a pronounced whine, and whining is never a good thing whether it emanates from your friends or your engine. In the latter case, it can lead to localized overheating and destruction of the gears. In the former cases it can lead to localized overheating of your temper. Neither is a good situation but the situation with your engine is easier to remedy.

Too much lash between the cam and pinion gear, on the other hand is generally harmless. Annoying but harmless. In fact, often times, a set of perfectly innocent lifters will be blamed for the "ticking" noise caused by pinion gear fitment. But lets get to the point of this post. Setting up proper cam to pinion gear fitment.

When installing a cam and pinion gear combination of unknown fitment, I have found that the best way is to test fit the combo, and be prepared to spend some time getting it right. If dealing with a rebuild where bushings have been replaced, it is worth installing the cam gear in the case without a pinion gear. This is particularly important on an early engine which uses a bushing in the crankcase rather than the late style Torrington. Install the cam with some lube on each end, and without a spacer or thrust washer. Once the cover (with gasket) is tightened, the cam should rotate freely with only light finger pressure. If the cam is binding in the two bushings you need to address that first so that you will be able to "feel" the fitment after you add the pinion gear.

Now that you know the cam is not binding, you can install the pinion gear, cam (again without thrust washer or spacer) and cover. Reaching in through the lifter block hole you should be able to slide the cam in and out easily. That is why you left the spacers out; so there would be plenty of end play to give a good feel. If you cannot slide the cam back and forth easily with just finger pressure, then it is too tight and it will whine.

So, what if by some stroke of luck the cam slides easily back and forth at this point? Are you done? Fat chance. This party is just getting started! If the cam does slide easily without bind, you need to check this at different points in its rotation. That means turning the engine over by hand. If the engine is in the chassis, jack the rear wheel up and with the plugs out and the trans in high gear, turn the wheel to rotate the engine. You will want to check the fitment at at least four places in the cam's rotation. If you find a place where the cam does not slide easily, it is too tight. If the cam will slide easily throughout its rotation, you have established that the fitment is not too tight.

The next step is to check to see if it too loose. Again, reach in through the lifter block hole but this time try to move the cam back and forth in its rotation. If you can feel, or hear a slight click as you move the cam back and forth, it is looser than you would like. Proceed as before and check this fitment in multiple locations in the cams rotation. Perfect fitment is when the cam can be easily slid in and out at any point in its rotation and likewise no lash can be felt or heard when attempting to move it back and forth.

Trouble is, you will rarely find a combination that is perfect. The culprit again is manufacturing tolerances. If the the cam gear and the pinion gear were each perfectly concentric and the crankshaft had zero runout, then there would be no need to check the fitment at more than one place in its rotation. But they aren't and so you do.

The next step, as you have likely already guessed, is to try another size pinion gear, but before you do, it might be helpful to make some notes of what you just found with the present combination. Personally, I always check the fitment every 90 degrees (4 places) in the cams rotation. My note might look like this: blue gear very loose 3 of 4/ slightly loose 1 of 4. The logical next step would be to try the next size larger pinion gear.

Conveniently both S&S and Jim's Machining offer a full range of color coded pinion gears. Though there are pins available which enable you to measure the gears, I find that they are really only of much use when dealing with a gear whose color code is no longer legible. Other than that, simply consult the color code chart from the appropriate catalog to guide you in selecting the next gear to try.

From there the process is repeated with your next selection of pinion gear. Use some common sense here. If the fitment was either extremely loose or tight, you might want to skip one color size to speed the process up. Remember, you will seldom get a "perfect" fitment between the gears, but you will always be able to get a "best possible" fitment - even if you wind up trying every pinion gear available. That is where those notes can come in very handy. Don't be surprised if you wind up going back to a size you already checked as the best possible combo.

One thing you want avoid is a situation where the the fitment is tight at any point in its rotation. Say for instance the fitment feels good 3 of 4 spots in the cams rotation, but is tight enough in one spot that you cannot slide it back and forth with just finger pressure; that combination will whine! I once had a cam that felt good in every place in its rotation with the exception of a short span of one or two teeth, where it took a screwdriver to pry the cam back and forth. I decided to try it, and surprisingly, it was a real whiner! The best coarse of action in such a (rare) case is to replace either the cam or cam gear. Hint: If a combination is tight in two spots in the cams rotation,180 degrees apart, the discrepancy is in the pinion gear or crank runout (since the pinion gear rotates twice for each rotation of the cam). Conversely, if there is only one tight spot, the out of round issue lies with the cam gear.

The best possible fit will be the largest pinion gear that has no bind. Don't be surprised if it checks something like this: good 1 of 4/slight lash 2 of 4/lash 1 of 4.

I guess by now it has become clear that it is beyond the reach of most guys installing their own cam to obtain the "best possible" cam to pinion gear fitment, what with 8 different sizes of pinion gear available, and each of them retailing for over $80. If you then multiply that by the four different styles of pinion gear (splined for Knuckles and early Pans, full length tapered for late Pans and early Shovels, stepped tapered for late Shovels and early Evos, and then of coarse late Evos) at least you can see why your local shop doesn't work for free.

So what are you to do? Well, the cam manufacturers know the danger of fitment that is too tight. That means that they provide cam gears that are on the small side of medium so you are much less likely to have a tight fitment than a loose one. A little ticking caused by gear lash won't hurt anyone, but the whining.... that's got to be fixed, unless of course it is coming from your friends, in which case there may be no cure.

The Measure of Faith

2011-02-05T12:05:00.002-06:00

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The measure of faith. Interesting term. If I read this correctly, God deals out, or measures out a specific amount of faith to each person. And by that I mean that each person may not receive the same amount of faith.

That faith is a gift of God is shown several places is scripture. For instance:

1 Corinthians 12:8-9 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

We tend to look at faith as something that is ours in that it comes from within us. Sometimes this has the potential of being a source of false pride. In fact, if we add Ephesians 2: 9 to verse 8 it reads "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." It is true. If your faith came from somewhere inside yourself, then you would have something to boast of.

But that God gives this gift of faith in differing amounts is a thought that may be even more foreign to many of us but is made quite clear in the Bible. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus used the phrase "Oh ye of little faith"? Often he was speaking to his apostles and he said it many times.

Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

We read that verse and see great faith, though Jesus calls it as small as a mustard seed. Then there is the story of the centurion:

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Have you ever looked upon another Christian (perhaps a pastor or a missionary) in awe, thinking they have such great faith? That may explain why we tend to assume that faith is something we generate; seeing someone with more faith shows us our own lack. But maybe the truth is we were not dealt the the same measure of faith.

So if God deals out the faith to us and he gives each person a differing amount does that mean we are "off the hook" so to speak? After all, if God only gave us so much faith, then isn't it natural for us to only act in accordance with that faith. Maybe.... But on the other hand we also see from scripture that the amount of faith we have is not a constant, unchanging amount.

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

The apostles obviously knew where the faith came from, and who to ask for more. And that it is possible to get more is also shown in scriptures.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;

"Faith that groweth exceedingly". Wow, I want some of that!

It is pretty clear that faith is extremely important.

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Yes, that makes faith extremely important. Scary important in fact. But there is one more verse that gives me a lot of comfort when I contemplate these things.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

That means God will not change his mind or take his gifts back. Some Bible versions use the word irrevocable in place of "without repentance". That means that this faith that Romans 12: 3 tells us is a gift, this faith which 1 Peter 1: 5 says God will use to keep you unto salvation, is something he will not change his mind about. Whatever the measure he has dealt you.

However, with that said, shouldn't we all, as the apostles did, ask the LORD to increase our faith?

45 WR: Cams & Flow

2011-01-25T20:11:00.006-06:00

Here are a few interesting tidbits about the 45 WR motor which I have been working on, that seemed worth sharing. Recently I put the cylinders on the flow bench; not because I intended to port them, but just to have a record of their flow. The results were surprising, at least to me.

The cylinders were brought to me with the customer's understanding that they were 1948 WR. At first I assumed that to be correct, but upon a lot of online research, I managed to convince myself that they were actually 1940 WLDR Specials. But finally, thanks to Eric, one of regulars on the FlatheadPower Bulletin Board, and his Beauty of Speed web site, I have returned to my original (less informed, but correct) assumption. The cylinders are '48 WR. Clearly a case of confusion brought on by information overload.

In any case, here is a side by side flow bench comparison of a WR cylinder and a stock WL cylinder. I tried to keep the tests as much "apples to apples" as possible, but here comes the disclaimer. After 62 years and very likely a hard life, an exact comparison between how the parts compared when new is well nigh impossible. But that doesn't mean the results should be discounted, just that they should not be taken as absolutes.

Intake Flow @
.100 - WL 48cfm / WR 52cfm
.200 - WL 84cfm / WR 90cfm
.300 - WL 99cfm / WR 105cfm
.350 - WL 103cfm / WR 108cfm
.400 - WL 104cfm / WR 108cfm

Exhaust Flow @
.100 - 42cfm / WR 52cfm
.200 - 82cfm / WR 77cfm
.300 - 104cfm / WR 89cfm
.350 - 111cfm / WR 92cfm
.400 - 116cfm / WR 94cfm

I don't know about you, but that sure wasn't what I was expecting. The WR has a larger valve and a much larger port opening. I tested both with a clay radius inlet guide directly on the plumber fitting so that manifolds would not be a factor. I tested the WR with a K model intake valve which is 1.810" diameter, verses the WL's 1.625. Now I have seen conflicting specs as to the WR intake valve size. One source lists 1.750, another 1.810, and the worn out valves that were in the cylinders when they came to me were 1.710. Perhaps the chamber wall shrouding of the 1.810 valve is affecting the results. The chamber wall definitely shrouds the exhaust valve more on the WR than the WL, which I believe helps explain the poor flow on that side of the equation. Also, both of the valves run out of space between valve and the roof of the chamber at the higher lifts, limiting flow. I expected much more from the WR.

And if that is not depressing enough for the WR aficionado, consider that a WL with a bigger intake valve and good porting will flow 124 cfm on the intake and 133 on the exhaust at .400" lift and one might begin to wonder what in the world is going on. But of course there are many other factors involved in performance, and I will only attempt to address one more of them here today.

Bottom line (in my opinion), is that the superior performance of the WR motors did not rely on the valves and ports as much as one might think. Degreeing the WR cams, on the other hand was quite revealing also, but in a much more positive direction. The cams are the WR flat tappet variety, which I had reground by Leineweber to stock WR specs. Here is what I found:

Intake Opens:
seat - 57 BTDC
.020" lift - 38 BTDC
.050" lift - 26.5 BTDC
.053" lift - 25.5 BTDC

Intake Closes:
seat - 70 ABDC
.020" lift 47 ABDC
.050" lift 36 ABDC
.053" lift 35 ABDC

Exhaust Opens:
seat - 83 BBDC
.020" - 62.5 BBDC
.050" - 51.5 BBDC
.053" - 50 BBDC

Exhaust Closes:
seat - 46 ATDC
.020" - 21 ATDC
.050" - 11 ATDC
.053" - 10 ATDC

This gives a duration (measured at .053) of 240 degrees, intake and exhaust. By way of comparison, a set of stock WL cams which I had reground by Jim to his .360 lift and +10 degrees duration, check out to only 208 degrees at the same .053 checking point. But as informative as that spec is, the real eye opener is only revealed with a plot of the cam lobes. The "hot" reground WL cams held the valves within .010 of full lift for 25 degrees, both intake and exhaust. The stock WR cams held the valves in that same range for 50 degrees! Clearly, it would take a lot of flow increase from the WL cylinder to make up for the amount of air that the WR valve is able to pass with so much more time to accomplish it.

Oh, and if you haven't already figured this out, it takes a gearhead mentality bordering on the insane to spend so much time analyzing a 60 year old racing motor. What is really scary, is that I am not alone; there are others out there.

Good Yesterday/Good Today/Good Forever

2011-01-18T12:30:00.001-06:00

I like old books. I like them nearly as much as I like old bikes. I think its something about a connection to the past. When you hold an old book in your hands one can't help but wonder about those who came before you and held that same book in their hands. I haven't purchased an old book for quite some time now, but in the past I have acquired some gems.

And not only have some the books been gems, but sometimes they come with a bonus. Some years ago I bought a four volume set of the collected works of John Bunyan; well, three out of a four volume set, that is. And that's OK. The fact that one volume was missing is probably what put it in my price range. Let me tell you, if you are only familiar with John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, you are certainly missing a lot. He was a prolific writer, and though Pilgrim's Progress may be the crown jewel of his work, it is but one of many wonderful writings.

For those of you who are not familiar with John Bunyan, he was best known for his allegorical book Pilgrim's Progress, which until very recently was the second highest selling book of all time, with only the Holy Bible outdistancing it. The fact that it lost the number two position to one of the witchcraft glorifying Harry Potter books says much about the decay of our society. It only serves to reinforce my thought that the end must be near.

But back to my subject. Try as I might I have never been able to find a printing date for this set of books, though they show every evidence of being from the 1800's. The bonus? In this set of books I found a business card, clearly, having been used as a bookmark at some time in the distant past.
Like I said; a bit of a bonus, and pretty cool to boot. I wonder how many of these cards have survived since Mr. Brooks had them printed so long ago? A little history, soon to be forgotten. Only collectors of such minutia, and possibly descendants of Mr. Brooks would find it of much value. Certainly no one, even in their wildest dreams, would expect to find carriages still for sale at 412 Main in Poughkeepsie.

Recently I was paging through another book that I had purchased several years back. It too is a collection of Bunyan's writings, under the title "The Allegorical Works of John Bunyan." This one even has a printing date: 1837. That matches nicely with the owner's inscription inside the front cover (in a hand that would put most professional calligraphers of our day to shame) who apparently obtained the book on October 15th 1842. Though this book is quite fragile from age and use (as fits my budget) it too contained a bonus, this one in the form of a religious tract. Unlike the business card, this has a lasting message. One side is shown below:

The other side of the tract (shown below) contain this message which I have transcribed to make it easy to read:

ILLUSTRATED HANDBILL - No. 23.

"FOR EVER AND EVER!" Words that may be spoken by a child, but the full import of which can be understood by neither men or angels. Could we stand upon a sea-shore, and count its sand, and the number of drops of the ocean, we should fail to number the years of eternity. Millions of ages crowding on millions of ages; and again, millions of ages crowding millions of ages, would be as a brief day compared with"for ever and ever."

READER YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO ETERNITY. Are you prepared for it? Where - how -will you spend it? Will you be saved, and happy for ever and ever in heaven; or lost, and miserable for ever and ever in hell?

You, perhaps, hope to go to heaven; but from whence does your confidence arise? There is only one way of securing a blessed eternity. "Christ died for us."* Pardon, peace, and eternal life, come through him alone. "He that believeth on him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life."+ This must be your only ground of hope; your only plea in life, in death, and at the judgment bar.

If you look to Jesus Christ in faith, repenting of your sins and yielding to him the service of your life, you shall spend a happy eternity: - if you live and die without him, you must be lost - FOR EVER AND EVER.

*Romans V. 28 +John iii. 16

The Religious Tract Society, 56, Paternoster Row, and Piccadilly.

As I said, good yesterday, good today, good forever.

Another Mystery Vintage Drag Bike

2011-01-06T13:00:00.000-06:00

This bike is just extreemely cool. Yeah....that's extreemely with an extra "e." That's just how cool it is.

Ron is one of those guys that I have yet to meet in person, but courtesy of the magic of the Internet, we have corresponded, leading to a phone call or two. It's pretty obvious what the connection is. Ron and I share a passion for vintage drag bikes. In fact, when I first met Ron it was in response to a post I made about some old drag racing parts that I eventually turned into "The Knuckledragger." It seems that Ron had purchased a vintage drag bike of his own, and hoped that he could scare up some information on its history. And that wasn't even this bike!

That's right, it seems that Ron is becoming something of a vintage dragbike hoarder. Seriously Ron, I am starting to wonder why these cool old pieces keep finding their way to you, or is it just because you live right. Anyway, if you are new to this blog, or don't remember Ron's other bike, here is a picture and a link.

But, back to the drag bike at hand; The JAP. At first glance, the uninitiated may find a number of things puzzling. First, what exactly is it? Next, why is it named "THE JAP"? Well, that is fairly easy to clear up. THE JAP is, as with many competition machines, a marriage of many years and makes of parts. The crankcases are 1944 Harley Big Twin Flathead (UL). The top end is where things start getting interesting though.

There was a company building motorcycle engines in Great Britain since the turn of the last century (that would be 1900 to you youngsters) by the name of J. A. Prestwich Industries. Named for its owner/founder, his motorcycle engines soon took on the abbreviation J.A.P. So the simple answer would be that this bike sports a J.A.P. top end, and hence the name. But hold your horses! That is not actually a J.A.P. top end. As can be seen in the pictures, the letters "G.C." on the rocker box don't quite match the normal "J.A.P." lettering on a genuine J.A. Prestwich engine, as seen below.

The G.C. actually stand for Gus Carlheim. It seems that Mr. Carlheim was well known in the world of midget race cars. Working with J.A.P. engines for those racers, he eventually produced his own heads as a performance upgrade for those engines. Kind of like S&S building heads for Twin Cams as a performance upgrade....but now take it one more step and put those S&S heads on a Victory. Yeah, sorta like that.

While Ron doesn't have much info on the history of the bike, he has been inside the motor, and so has some of the details. The 2 inch valves, intake and exhaust. are actuated by UL cams that have been heavily modified for increased lift and duration. Displacement is 86 cubic inches via 3 7/16" bore and 4 5/8" stroke. Ron says the flywheels that were in the motor still showed traces of originally being formed with a cutting torch, though he chose to replace them with a set from Truett and Osborn. Compression ratio is a healthy 12.5:1.

Power is relayed to the M&H slick via a standard Harley Davidson clutch and four speed transmission. Not shown in the pictures is the pair of 42mm Dellorto SS1 carbs which feed the hungry monster. One of the most "endearing" aspects of this hybrid is the "hardware store" elbow which is brazed into the seat post to link the original VL frame to the raised top frame rail. One has to wonder if the builder did some moonlighting as a plumber (or perhaps he was a plumber who did some moonlighting as a drag racer).

Known history of the bike is very skimpy and all hearsay. The riders name may have been Eddie McDonald or Eddie McDowell. The bike may have been purchased from a SoCal shop called Cheetah Engineering (of early chopper seat fame?) possibly in 1969. The story goes that it had been dismantled in 1970, and found a home under a bench until 2009. Shortly thereafter Ron purchased THE JAP and undertook the process of reassembling it.

While I am happy to see another piece of drag racing history in good hands, both Ron and I would love to hear from anyone who might be able to fill us in on some of the history of THE JAP.

A special thanks to Pete at The VonPetrol Pages for sending me these pictures of the JAP and allowing me to post them here.

New Year: Looking Back and Forward

2011-01-01T10:00:00.003-06:00

Here we are in 2011. As they say, time flies when your having fun! A little over a year ago I took some time and wrote about my blogging goals for last year. I guess its only fair to take a look and see how I did.

The first item on my list was to write about my adventures drag racing a Knucklehead during the 1986 season. Well, I took a wild swing at the first pitch and then got caught looking as the next two strikes (the rest of 2010) whizzed by. In other words, I did make an attempt at beginning the tale, but wasn't happy with the little I wrote, and never got back to it.

I did just a little better with plans to do a series on installing a big intake valve in Knuckleheads. I wrote an article on installing a new exhaust seat in the heads, in preparation to to the big intake valve conversion, but that was as far as the writing went. The work on the heads continued, because I wanted them for my display at the annual Donnie Smith Bike Show in March, but I did not find the time to do an article. The heads remain in a showcase at the shop, about 90% done but still lacking a flow test.

The third item on my "to-do" list, was to pursue a better flowing port configuration for Shovelheads. Here, again, I got some of the prototype work done, but nothing as far as documentation for the blog. I am excited about the project though. I have started with a set of new S&S Shovelhead castings, which have lots of "meat" to work with, along with a slightly smaller exhaust valve, which should help to give valve to valve clearance at top dead center without sinking them so deep. Of course, as usual, there does not seem to be a suitable intake valve readily available. A thin-stem (5/16") with 2.0" head diameter would seem to be in order. At least there are 5/6" stem Shovel guides available, so I won't have to leap that hurdle.

So, of the three blog projects that I proposed, I finished exactly zero. What is that old saying; men make plans and God laughs? Well, I choose to laugh along with him. Performance work on vintage Harleys, while I get a lot of enjoyment from it (and it helps pay the bills), is of very little lasting value. Much more important is that which pertains to the Kingdom of God. By God's grace I was able to deliver nine sermons at the local nursing home this past year. I also spoke briefly at my brother's funeral, and I filled the pulpit twice at our Church. Many of those messaged did make it to the pages of this blog.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (Matthew 6:19-20)

So, going forward into 2011, what can you expect to find here at Knucklehead Theology? Well, maybe I can get some of last years projects finished up. But much more importantly, God willing, you will continue to find God's word and God's glory proclaimed here.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T10:02:00.004-06:00

It is that time of year. Here in America, one can not help but be affected by it. For most, it is a time to get together with family; warm, fuzzy feelings abound. Many show a little extra vibrancy in their step. Moods tend to be better, especially among shopkeepers as they survey their cash drawer.

For many it is the holiday season; holiday being a generic term which avoids the politically incorrect pitfall of mentioning Christ. "Season's Greeting" and "Happy Holidays" seem to be a pretty safe middle of the road greeting that many would choose in order to avoid the chance of offending anyone. And there are many just waiting to be offended here in the States!

There are the Muslims who see the Christmas season as just another manifestation of the lasciviousness of the infidels. New Age cultists see the season as theirs, since they lay claim to the winter solstice from a time long lost in history. Our Jewish friends have been celebrating the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem at this time of year since before the time of Christ. Even among professing Christians there are little known but profound disagreements.

Most Christians accept Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Jesus unquestioningly. A few Christians reject Christmas as a Popish invention aimed at integrating pagans into the church. It is a not-so-well-known fact that this was the popular view here at the time of the founding of this nation. To be frank, it does sometimes give me pause that the holiday is called Christ-Mass.

But whatever your view of the holiday season, one thing is perfectly clear. There would be no reason to celebrate the birth of a little baby so long ago in Bethlehem if it were not for these facts:

That child was indeed the Son of God and the Son of Man. If Jesus had not been born of Mary, he would not have been a suitable sacrifice for mankind's sins. If God had not been his father, Jesus would not have had the ability to live a sinless life, again making him an unsuitable sacrifice for mankind's sins.
Jesus Christ did go on to live a sinless life, fulfilling God's law in every aspect, which in turn allowed him to be "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
Jesus fulfilled what he was born to do. He died a cruel death on the cross in our place, to pay for our sins.

Now, since these thing are most certainly true, wouldn't this be a good time to humble yourself before your God, repent of your sins, and follow Christ?

Forgive and Forget

2010-12-09T18:43:00.007-06:00

Forgiveness is a central theme of Christianity. As it applies to the forgiveness of man's sin by God, there seems to be little dispute about why it is imperative (at least among Christians). The subject of how forgiveness applies to wrongs committed by one man against another, seems to be one fraught with more misunderstanding.

When dealing with wrongs committed by one man against another, they are of two possible types. The first concerns a Christian wronging another Christian. I don't intend to address that here, because frankly, I just have a hard time seeing how such a situation could last very long if the first biblical command concerning such a situation is followed. Namely Matthew 18: 15. Really, that is all that should be required to iron out issues between two Christians.

The second concerns a Christian being wronged by a non Christian. I suppose that means there is another type; a non Christian wronging another non Christian, but since neither of them would be too concerned with what the Bible teaches, there is not much point considering them here.

Matthew 18:21-22 "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Mark 11:25 "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses"

These seem to be the verses upon which many Christians base their understanding of forgiveness. Often Christians are told that they must unconditionally forgive others for the sake of their own health and so that their sins can be forgiven. While there are certainly elements of truth to that viewpoint, as with much of the Christian life, there is a balance that needs to be found, and that balance is to be found in a multitude of scriptures.

The passage from Matthew 18 quoted above should be read in light of a similar passage in Luke.

Luke 17:3-4 "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."

Now the passage in Luke does not conflict with the one in Matthew, but it certainly adds more information. Obviously, without Luke 17:3-4, one would have to come to the conclusion that you are to forgive those who have wronged you no matter what.... unconditionally. But in light of Luke 17, we see that forgiving the wrongdoer 490 times would be dependant on 490 repentings (repentances?).

Also note that both of these verses refer to forgiving your brother. That means another Christian. If you both have the same Father, you are brothers. Non Christians have another father, which Jesus pointed out to the scribes and Pharisees in John 8. As Bob Dylan wrote; you're going to have to serve somebody; it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're going to have to serve somebody. Strictly speaking, these passages about forgiving your brother are not directly applicable to a wrong done to you by a non believer.

That is not to say that a believer is free to hold a grudge or seek revenge on an unbeliever. The Bible is quite clear in Romans 12:19 where it is stated: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

I must admit that contemplating the above verse does more than anything else to soften my inclination to being infuriated with someone who has wronged me, whether a real or imagined offence. Somehow any type of vengeance that I may contemplate pales to insignificance next to the wrath which awaits them for offending a Holy God!

So, where does that leave us? An unbeliever has wronged you. What is your biblical duty? Your duty is to leave revenge (including defamation) to the Lord. Once you have made a commitment to God that you will not seek to be the instrument of vengeance, you have forgiven.

If the unbeliever who has wronged you comes to you and asks forgiveness, then by all means grant him that. If you have actually left vengeance up to the Lord, as described above, then it will be easy.

Lacking repentance on the part of the offending party, do you need to seek them out to let them know you have forgiven them? I don't find that in the Bible. Correct me if I am wrong. Is it necessary to resume fellowship with them, even if they ask your forgiveness? I don't think so. In fact, that may be contrary to scripture. 2 Corinthians 6:14 comes to mind: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

The bottom line is that forgiveness, in all of its forms, requires that God be involved. A believer forgiving an unbeliever requires leaving vengeance to God. A believer forgiving another believer requires the same, plus repentance and a restoration of fellowship. But the big one is God forgiving me. God forgiving you. That required the shedding of the blood of his own Son. Suddenly those things that others may have done to offend us don't seem quite so serious anymore.

45 Cam Regrind Specs

2010-12-04T12:23:00.009-06:00

Due to the apparent dearth of information on Flathead cam specs, I thought this might be of use to someone out there. I had a set of stock 45" cams reground by Leineweber last summer for a WL stroker I was building for a customer, and I wanted the timing specs for my records so I checked them with a degree wheel. I am listing the timing events at several different locations because it seems that I have seen the specs listed at different points from different sources over the years, and they do you little good if you cannot compare apples to apples. I have never seen specs on a stock 45 cam, however, and unfortunately I did not check these before sending them for the regrind.

Just a note, seat timing is the least useful because it is dependant on how gently the cam starts to lift and then how gently it closes the valve, but if its all you have to compare it would be better than nothing. I included the .010" lift point simply because I seem to remember seeing it used with some other old cam specs. The .020" lift is the checking point that Jim Leineweber uses for his line of cams. The .050" is standard for the automotive industry, and the .053 check point is what most of the Harley industry uses, at least in modern times.

Jim calls this regrind a .360 lift and +10 degree duration.

Intake Opens:
seat - 47.5 BTDC
.010" lift - 30 BTDC
.020" lift - 22.5 BTDC
.050" lift - 7.5 BTDC
.053" lift - 6 BTDC

Intake Closes:
seat - 85 ABDC
.010" lift 56.5 ABDC
.020" lift 40 ABDC
.050" lift 23 ABDC
.053" lift 21.5 ABDC

Exhaust Opens:
seat - 77 BBDC
.010" - 59 BBDC
.020" - 51 BBDC
.050" - 36 BBDC
.053" - 35 BBDC

Exhaust Closes:
seat - 62 ATDC
.010" - 31.5 ATDC
.020" - 13 ATDC
.050" - 5 BTDC
.053" - 6.5 BTDC

This would give an .053 duration of 207.5 on the intake, and 208.5 on the exhaust. Notice that if you calculate the duration at .010" lift you get 266.5 duration for the intake and 270.5 on the exhaust, making it obvious why you need to compare apples to apples. For more info on cam specs and formulas here is a link to an old post I did on the subject.

If anyone has any other 45 cam specs that you would like to share, send them to me (or leave them in a comment) and I will try to get them all posted together in one place.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-24T17:39:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving. Is it a meal, or is it a holiday? Or is it a holiday known for its meal? Or is it just possibly, for some, an attitude?

I am afraid that for the majority of Americans, Thanksgiving Day is no different than any other day of the year in respect to their treatment of the Creator of the universe. In other words, there will be little or no thought given to the one who gives us everything. Oh, perhaps a grandpa or an uncle who grew up when life was different will bow his head and give thanks for the meal at the family get together, but that is about it. Many will not even hear those words because they are so intent on the feast that follows.

In fact, the politically correct way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to say you are thankful for blessings all the while being careful not to mention to who it is that you are thankful. That way random chance gets just as much glory as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

But, I would like to offer a suggestion for this Thanksgiving Day. Let's give thanks where thanks is due. Let's try to adopt the attitude displayed in the following:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100

Bulletin Board Worth a Look

2010-11-19T18:43:00.004-06:00

A couple weeks back I received an email from a gentleman in Holland with a link to his bulletin board. Max and Frits are the ones who have communicated with me, and I have to say, they definitely think out-of-the-box compared to the Harley tech you are likely find here stateside. The vintage Harley motors seem to be of particular interest to them. All of you gearheads out there would do well to take a look.

A couple warnings though. The site is in the Dutch language. Now my Google toolbar has the capability to translate the pages for me, and it likely will not be too tough for you to figure out how to do the same. However, even with the translation tool, it is tedious reading (at least for me), not because of how it is written, but because of the limitations of the translating tool. If you take a look, you will see what I mean.

The second warning has to do with attitude. I never would have expected myself to react this way, but I find myself having to fight off the tendency to get defensive about America's pride and joy - the Harley. You know the way it goes; its one thing for me to bad mouth the technology on a Harley, just don't try it if your not from here. But a little introspection goes a long way, and it is quite obvious after a little thought that these guys are enthusiasts just like us, otherwise they would not take the time to devote a bulletin board to the subject.

There is also a second warning having to do with translation. I think some comments that may come across as insulting, may be the result of the translation tool. For instance, if someone states that you are ignorant, it will certainly get your hackles up. If on the other hand the same idea was translated "did not know," then no problem. Well, at least no problem unless you always think you are the smartest person in the room. I try not to make that assumption about myself, and it usually proves to be true. Just try to read it giving the guy on the other end of the Internet the benefit of the doubt on such things and it will be a lot more enjoyable. I could quote a Bible verse here, but I will spare those of you who are here for the motor stuff.

So, what about that link? Here it is: Motor Vitamine

Check it out, I think you will find it interesting.

Praise in the Assembly of the Elders

2010-11-14T19:31:00.003-06:00

Psalm 107:31-32 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

If you are a genuine Christian, then undoubtedly there are few things in life that you enjoy more than worship of God and fellowship with other Christians. After all. isn't that why you attend church services? If approached in a proper frame of mind, it never fails to edify.

Now, I love the local church where I am a member, and look forward with anticipation to each service, but let me tell you about an event that provides a similar spiritual boost.

This past Saturday, my wife and I attended the annual meeting of the Minnesota Association of the North American Baptist Conference. Our hosts for the event was Bethany Baptist Church, the lone Russian language church in our association. The meeting, despite small numbers due to our first snow storm of the season, opened with the robust singing of a number of old favorite gospel songs. I quickly concluded that I was perhaps the only one there without a good voice, but no matter ....the volume was such that there was little chance that my discordant notes would be noticed or detract from the whole.

After the opening singing and prayer, a report was given by each of the
churches in the association, outlining events of the past year and requests for prayer in specific areas. The pastor of the next church on the list would then pray for the previous church before presenting his report. Stories of conversions and baptisms, and of course in some cases dwindling numbers and struggles to keep the church doors open were the norm; in other words sharing one another burdens and triumphs. The opportunity to be lead in prayer by a multitude of godly pastors is a rare treat indeed.

Next up was a "charge" by Rev. Tim Blackburn, our regional minister, followed by reports from some of the entities which are supported by the association, such as Village Creek Bible Camp and Sioux Falls Seminary.

Also on the agenda was a sermon by Pastor Vitaliy Bak, the pastor of the host church. The message was from the book of Judges, noting some of the correlations between Christianity in our nation presently and during Gideon's day. Gideon was transformed by God from a man who considered himself the least in a family which was itself poor in the tribe of Manasseh, into a leader of the nation of Israel. God changed Gideon from one hiding from the Midianites as he threshed his grain, into the leader of an army so large that God had him send most of them home so that the glory for the victory would be God's and not man's.

We were also treated to a performance by Bethany Baptist's brass orchestra, a group of about 40 youth from the congregation, who obviously expend much time in preparation for their inspiring, God honoring music.

After all of the highlights, which included an excellent meal provided by Bethany's congregation, the business meeting was pretty anti climactic; as it should be. It seems right and proper for God's Churches to run on prayer and worship, with finances playing an important, but secondary role.

Undoubtedly, there are similar meetings that take place across the country each year in various church associations. There is probably one for your church. In many cases these meetings are open to the members of those churches. I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to do as Psalm 107 says, and praise the Lord in the assembly of the elders.

Wild Wheels Interview

2010-11-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

Way back last winter at the Donnie Smith Bike Show, I met a young man by the name of Aaron Thompson, head honcho at Wild Wheels Biker Webcasting. Aaron has a vision for creating video interviews of the local motorcycle scene here in Minnesota. After a some conversation, we agreed to do a piece on my shop when time allowed. Well, we finally got to it about mid summer, and now I am finally getting around to putting it up here. It wound up as three parts, the first of which is below.

Be sure to check out Aaron's web site; he has a bunch of other great interviews posted there as well.

A Little Something to Keep in Mind for Tuesday

2010-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

WORLDWIDE COMMUNISM:

Over 100,000,000 Murdered

and counting

A VOTE for a DEMOCRAT

Is a VOTE FOR COMMUNISM!

Justice Vs. Mercy

2010-10-29T18:13:00.004-05:00

Websters 1828 defines justice as "The virtue which consists in giving to every one what is his due." In contrast it gives the definition of Mercy thus: "That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves."

Justice and Mercy are two concepts that are normally in opposition to each other. In fact, it seems that they may be polar opposites; natural enemies, so to speak.

But there is one place where these two concepts meet and neither does violence to the other. That one place is at the cross of Jesus Christ! No other place is such perfect Mercy displayed than in Christ paying the penalty that is due for our sins, treating us far, far better than we deserve. And no where is such perfect justice upheld than in that same act of our Lord and Savior taking the punishment in our place, for without the payment, mercy would not have been possible; justice would have demanded that we pay our due.

Psalm 101:1 I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

Something to ponder as we gather to worship our great God and King this weekend.

Porting the 45 Inch Flathead, Conclusions, Conjecture, and Caveats

2010-10-17T15:01:00.002-05:00

In part one of this series, I did a flow test on a stock Harley 45" Flathead cylinder and published the results here. In part 2 I added porting work utilizing stock size guides, again publishing the results. Part 3 saw the addition of larger intake valves. In this concluding piece, I would like to show the before and after results, along with my interpretation of those results.

First the overall results:

Exh stock .100" lift - 41.9cfm / finished 58.3cfm (+16.4)
Exh stock .200" lift - 82.4cfm / finished 99.8cfm (+17.4)
Exh stock .300" lift - 104.4cfm /finished 120.3cfm (+15.9)
Exh stock .350" lift - 110.6cfm /finished 128.3cfm (+17.7)
Exh stock .375" lift - 113.3cfm /finished 132.0cfm (+18.7)
Exh stock .400" lift - 115.7cfm /finished 133.8cfm (+18.1)
Exh stock .450" lift - 119.3cfm /finished 135.2cfm (+15.9)

****
Int stock .100" lift - 48.2cfm /finished 53.3cfm (+5.1)
Int stock .200" lift - 83.8cfm /finished 90.5cfm (+6.7)
Int stock .300" lift - 98.7 cfm /finished 112.4cfm (+13.7)
Int stock .350" lift - 102.6cfm /finished 119.0cfm (+16.4)
Int stock .375" lift - 103.8cfm /finished 122.1cfm (+18.3)
Int stock .400" lift - 104.3cfm /finished 124.0cfm (+19.7)
Int stock .450"lift - 104.4cfm /finished 128.0cfm (+23.6)

That gives an overall increase at .350 lift of 16% on both the intake and the exhaust. Not too bad, but is that all there is to be gained in porting work on the Flathead 45? Certainly not; in fact I already have some ideas in mind for the next set.

So, what have we learned? First off, the exhaust side of the equation requires a minimal amount of work to get it up to snuff. A good valve job blended into the port, with the ports "cleaned up," and a 30 degree backcut on the valve are about all that are required. I personally would not sacrifice any compression ratio by relieving the exhaust side.

On the intake side, the results were just as good, though perhaps not so clear cut. A larger intake valve is obviously worth while. It provides several advantages. The first is the most obvious. The flow potential is greater on a larger valve. Second, the larger diameter puts more circumference on the bore side where the flow is easier to achieve. The third advantage of the larger intake valve, is that it moves that circumference closer to the cylinder bore. That means you will actually be removing less material when relieving, which in turn leaves more compression ratio.

The possible drawback to using a larger intake valve is the increased shrouding by the wall of the head on the back side. Any airflow from the "back" side of the valve is going to have to travel around and over the top of the valve to get to the cylinder. The question becomes, what is the ideal valve size, keeping in mind that the increase in flow on the bore side from the largest valve may outweigh the small gain a smaller one would provide on the back side. In the picture below, the pencil is pointing out the area in the head that shrouds the intake valve. Incidentally, I opened up the small portion marked in black which corresponds to the edge of the head gasket in the area around the intake valve.

And that leads us to the question of seat angles. I spent a little time (very little, obviously) making a drawing to help explain what I believe to be the difference in flow characteristics between the 30 degree and the 45 degree valve seats. Note that the drawing is not to scale whatsoever.

Notice the difference in the shape of the green line which indicates my interpretation of airflow tendencies between the 30 and 45 degree seats. The 30 degree seat and valve tend to direct the air in a "flatter" trajectory toward the cylinder bore on the bore side, at the expense of a sharper turn to get around and over the top of the valve on the back side. In contrast, the 45 degree has a slightly better flow path on the back side, but is directing the flow higher in the chamber on the bore side.

With these paths in mind, here are some thoughts;

A 30 degree seat is probably much more effective in a Flathead than it would be in an OHV, since you would want the airflow directed deeper into the cylinder on the OHV(cylinder directly below the valves; flip the drawing upside down).
A smaller valve, with less shrouding would flow better on the back side with a 45 degree seat. Whether or not this might make up for the 30 degree's better path on the bore side would require more testing.
A 45 degree seat would benefit less from relieving than a 30 degree. That is not to say that a 45 degree will not benefit.
Depending on the amount of clearance between the top of the valve and the head at full lift, flow from the back side of the valve may actually decrease as the valve nears full lift. This could be alleviated by taking material out of the head at this point, at the cost of lowering the compression ratio.
A 30 degree valve seat theoretically would flow best with a smaller choke diameter than a 45 degree in order to allow room for more angles, resulting in a gradual redirection of the flow (the choke is the smaller diameter in the port just below the valve seat)

A word (or three) on the transfer port:

I have heard it theorized that the reason relieving works is because it increases the area of the transfer port (the transfer port being the "window" between the top of the cylinder bore and the roof of the head). I tend to think this is incorrect. I do believe that it would be relatively simple to test though. A well ported and relieved intake should show a significant increase in flow by relieving the exhaust valve IF the transfer port is the restriction. Similarly, the intake should show an increase by removing material from the roof of the head in the transfer area. Easy enough to test, however either method risks needlessly lowering the compression ratio.

Here is a tip if you are having trouble visualizing the transfer port. Lay a head gasket on a piece of light cardboard and trace the outside and headbolt holes. Open up the headbolt holes in the cardboard and place it on a cylinder using bolts to align. From the bottom of the cylinder trace the bore onto the cardboard, remove from cylinder, and cut out the round circle you just traced. Now by laying the cardboard cutout onto the head and aligning it with bolts, you will be able to see the actual transfer port size and shape. Just eyeballing it would lead one to believe that the transfer port (at least on a normal 45) is probably large enough. A few measurements should either confirm or dispute this. Unfortunately time restraints precluded me from checking it this time around.

This finishes up my series on porting the 45 inch Flathead, at least this particular one. There is more porting work on Flatheads on the horizon though, so if I get some positive feedback on this series, I may do another. And by positive feedback, I don't mean that you necessarily agree with my conclusions, just that you found it worth reading.

David and Goliath

2010-10-15T12:26:00.001-05:00

(Once again I chose a familiar story from the Bible for the devotional portion of Valley View Baptist's ministry at our local nursing home)

The story of David and Goliath is one of the best known in the Bible. The army of Israel under King Saul, and the army of the Philistines were faced off against each other in somewhat of a stalemate. Most of us remember how that the Philistines had a giant by the name of Goliath among their number, who was over 9 feet tall. He would come out each day and provoke the army of Israel, saying that he would fight their best man, and the winner of that fight would determine the fate of the two nations. No one except the young lad David was willing to accept the challenge.

1 Samuel 17:38-40 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

David then went out to meet the giant on the field of battle, where they exchanged insults.... well, not so much an insult as a prophesy on David's part:

1 Samuel 17:46-47 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.

With that the "battle" was on:

1 Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

There are a multitude of lessons to be learned from this event in David's life. The point I would like to elaborate on is found in verse 47 where David says "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands."

Even the part of the story where David took off Saul's armor testifies to this. Whether or not David was wearing armor would not have changed the outcome of the battle one little bit, except for this. If David had been wearing armor, it would have disguised what a youngster he was. The Philistines would have looked on him and seen a warrior, maybe a little on the small side, but a warrior none the less. No, by going out to meet Goliath as a young shepherd boy, armed with only a shepherd's sling, it was very obvious that David did not stand any kind of a chance against the giant warrior. It was painfully obvious that only God could deliver him and the Israelites.

You see, God could have provided a strong experienced warrior to fight Goliath. Perhaps even King Saul, who was taller than the other Israelites and was known for his military feats. But if God had allowed Saul to fight and defeat Goliath, who would have gotten the glory? Certainly it would have been Saul and not God. God chose an inexperienced youth to fight the battle so that everyone would know it was God who determined the outcome, not man.

The situation is much the same when it comes to salvation. Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

In Jesus day, that was a really eye opening statement. The scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders of Israel. They did everything they could to follow every commandment of God, every law, and even every religious tradition of the Jews. They did everything they possibly could to avoid even the appearance of sin! We only tend to look down upon them today because Jesus rightly chastised them because many of them were relying on their own righteousness. But if their own righteousness was enough to earn them a place in heaven, who would get the glory?

David faced insurmountable odds when he fought Goliath. He didn't stand a chance. He couldn't save himself from the giant; only God could save him, and that was obvious. So God received the glory for it.

When the Spirit of God shines the light of the Bible on our sins, and we see that we are facing insurmountable odds, then we understand that we don't stand a chance. Only God can save us from our sins, and that is obvious. If you have not already done so, won't you put your trust in Christ's payment for your sins? God will receive the glory for it!

Porting the 45 Inch Flathead : Big Valves

2010-10-06T12:58:00.009-05:00

So, what about those bigger intake valves? As we saw in part two, we finished with a 13% flow increase just from porting along with a backcut on the valves. Just how much more is there to be gained from bigger intake valves?

Before I go any farther, I'd like to mention that a reader left a comment stating that the legendary tuner Tom Sifton would actually reduce the valve size to reduce shrouding (close proximity of portions of the chamber to the valve which inhibits air flow). To clarify, I assume that Mr. Sifton was dealing with WR engines and their already oversize intake valves. The normal 45 has a valve size of 1.625" on both intake and exhaust. A WR had a 1.810" on the intake and 1.560" on the exhaust. Another difference on the WR, is that the valves were "tilted"such that the edge of the intake valve was much closer to the cylinder bore than the standard 45. There are reasons that this was an advantage, which I will come back to that later.

It is a valid question, though. If a bigger valve is better, then when, or does it ever, become too big. Unfortunately, due to time considerations, I will not provide a definitive answer to that question at this point. Testing multiple valve sizes was just not practical on this particular project. I chose to use a readily available oversize valve marketed expressly for 45 inch motors. This valve has a 1.875 head diameter, which is about all that will actually clear the head gasket on a 45.

Now, let's see if I can put this diplomatically. I was somewhat taken aback upon receiving these oversize "performance upgrade" valves. My first thought was "these are nothing but antique tractor valves with a hard tip installed." OK....I may be wrong on that. They may have been made for an antique auto engine, but the fact remains that they have all the modern technology of a 1920's Minneapolis Moline. Conveniently, instructions included with the valves detail how to back cut, shape and polish the valve head as per the factory KR manual. Finished valve is shown below.

Where was that promised diplomacy you ask? Let me get to that. My guess is that these valves have been available from this supplier for quite some time, and as such they have been a valuable resource for many hot rodders over the years. What I am trying to say is that, before custom made valves became affordable, these were the best way to get a big intake into your 45. And as long as you have the equipment and ability to do the mods to these valves, then they will be a cost effective alternative to their custom made modern performance counterparts. But if you have to pay someone (like me) to do the modifications to the valves, well, then not so much. Next time around, I will probably have a pair of valves custom made to spec. In fact, if I were to get some indication that there is enough demand, I would probably have multiple pairs made and offer them for sale. The price might be slightly higher for the custom valves, but they would be a high performance valve right out of the box.

But enough of that; on to the results. The oversize valve has a 30 degree face rather than the normal Harley 45 degree. This has an advantage for this application, which I will discuss later. For now, I began the seat by opening the "choke" to 85% of the valve diameter. This was an arbitrary figure I selected (very conservative) and in retrospect I wish I had opened it up more after initial testing, because it may have provided further gains. Truth be told, by the time I had all the other testing done, I had forgotten that I had started with such a small choke until I looked at my notes to write this. The next step was a 30 degree seat cut, which I narrowed on the port side with a 45 degree, and then added a 60 degree also on the port side. Had there been room, I would have added a 75 degree cut, but opted to hand radius the 60 into the choke.

On the top side of the valve, since I lacked a stand alone 15 degree cutter, I opted to use a "flat" cutter to provide a top cut and thus some unshrouding on the back side (away from the cylinder bore). I made this about .090" larger diameter than the valve, which took it just about to the gasket.

For this set of tests, I switched over to the front cylinder, so a comparison between these figures and those from part 2 will not be apples to apples.

.100" lift - ported 1.625 valve 50.3cfm / add 1.875 valve 57.0cfm
.200" lift - ported 1.625 valve 85.5cfm / add 1.875 valve 88.9cfm
.300" lift - ported 1.625 valve 104.7cfm / add 1.875 valve 105.9cfm
.350" lift - ported 1.625 valve 106.7cfm / add 1.875 valve 111.9cfm
.375" lift - ported 1.625 valve 108.1cfm / add 1.875 valve 113.1cfm
.400" lift - ported 1.625 valve 109.0cfm / add 1.875 valve 113.6cfm
.450" lift - ported 1.625 valve 109.7cfm / add 1.875 valve 112.8cfm

As you can see, it came out to a nearly 5% gain at .350" lift. Next up was to unshroud the valve on the bore side (there is no where to go on the back side since we are already to the gasket.

The results of unshrouding (as shown in above picture) are as follows:

.100" lift - previous test 57.0cfm / add unshroud 60.9cfm
.200" lift - previous test 88.9cfm / add unshroud 94.0cfm
.300" lift - previous test 105.9cfm / add unshroud 111.3cfm
.350" lift - previous test 111.9cfm / add unshroud 115.6cfm
.375" lift - previous test 113.1cfm / add unshroud 116.7cfm
.400" lift - previous test 113.6cfm / add unshroud 117.3cfm
.450" lift - previous test 112.8cfm / add unshroud 116.1cfm

About another 3% increase at .350" lift. So what about relieving? That's next. There are plenty of resources available that describe the process, so I won't attempt to describe it here. I just want to add a couple points. Since I was already satisfied with the exhaust flow, I relieved only the intake side. Also, you could think of the relieving as extending the unshrouding that I did in the previous test all the way to the cylinder bore. In other words, if you are going to relieve, then skip the unshrouding step. I did them one at a time for testing purposes. The relief is shown in the picture below.

Flow results were:

.100" lift - previous test 60.9cfm / add relieve 58.8cfm
.200" lift - previous test 94.0cfm / add relieve 94.3cfm
.300" lift - previous test 111.3cfm / add relieve 115.5cfm
.350" lift - previous test 115.6cfm / add relieve 119.6cfm
.375" lift - previous test 116.7cfm / add relieve 120.8cfm
.400" lift - previous test 117.3cfm / add relieve 120.8cfm
.450" lift - previous test 116.1cfm / add relieve 118.9cfm

That shows a 3% increase from the relieving vs. unshrouding, or a 6% increase from relieving as opposed to installing the larger valve alone. The last change was to modify the face of the valve as per the KR instruction sheet ....well almost. The sheet suggests cutting the face down to until there is only a .025" margin left. That seemed too narrow for my taste, so I cut it to .050". The results were:

.100" lift - previous test 58.8cfm / add face mod 60.5cfm
.200" lift - previous test 94.3cfm / add face mod 95.0cfm
.300" lift - previous test 115.5cfm / add face mod 113.5cfm
.350" lift - previous test 119.6cfm / add face mod 118.8cfm
.375" lift - previous test 120.8cfm / add face mod 120.3cfm
.400" lift - previous test 120.8cfm / add face mod 121.0cfm
.450" lift - previous test 118.9cfm / add face mod 120.8cfm

Somewhat inconclusive on this modification. Small gain at .100-.200 and a small loss at .300- .375, and again a small gain at .400 and above. I was happy that I didn't make the margin any smaller than .050".

In my next post on this subject I plan to go back to the rear cylinder to give a direct comparison from the stock readings to the finished product, along with some analysis of what caused what. Incidentally, I am not happy with the readability of the "charts" I put here on my blog, so if anyone is interested in having a better version emailed to them, contact me at lee@leesspeedshop.com and I will be happy to send out something.

Indoctrination vs Conscience

2010-10-02T20:08:00.005-05:00

In the news this week is the sad case of a young university student who took his own life after a homosexual encounter that he took part in was made public on the Internet. This comes at the end of a month that has seen at least three other teen suicides thought to have been brought on by taunting due to their sexual orientation. The Rutgers student was 18 years old, one of the others 15, and two of them only 13 years of age.

The media, of course, is all abuzz with what should happen to the students responsible. A near consensus among liberals is that the perpetrators should be charged with a hate crime.

But maybe its time to take a look at the real culprits in these tragedies. Who's really at the bottom of this rash of deaths. After all, kids have been bullying other kids for as long as there have been kids. Teasing is often a much more cruel act than the name implies, but are we really ready to charge children with hate crimes for it?

No, the real criminals in these cases are those groups which rabidly promote a gay lifestyle. Every Gay/Lesbian/Transgender/Perversions-You-Have-Never-Even-Heard-Of group had a big hand in driving these young people to their death. The prime time television programs that reek of sex, sexual innuendo, and always feature a really cool gay guy are accessories to the crime. Yes, and every school teacher who has taught young people that homosexuality is perfectly normal, may have blood on their hands also.

Thirteen years old and already out of the closet? Seriously? Does anyone really believe that a thirteen year old would let anyone know that they had such tendencies unless they were constantly being told it was normal, right, and most of all cool?

The problem is, even with all the indoctrination of young people into accepting homosexuality, they still have to deal with a pesky little thing called a conscience.

Romans 2:14-16 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Let me give you a rough paraphrase of that: Even those who don't know God's law have it written on their hearts, so that there will be a sense of shame when they transgress it, and they will stand in judgement due to that knowledge.

The homosexual activists cry foul when anyone is "outed" even as they preach that there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in the act. If that were true, then how can it be a hate crime to reveal something that they claim is normal and right and good? In the mean time, the poor victim falls for the propaganda calling homosexuality proper, only to have their conscience overrule their wish for guilt free sin, said consciences having not yet been seared by years of debauchery. Obviously for some of these youngsters the shame is so overwhelming that it leads them to take their own lives.

And that is indeed a tragedy ....but let's put let's be honest about who the real guilty party is.

Porting the 45 Inch Flathead, part 2

2010-09-26T19:15:00.007-05:00

In part one of this series, I published the results of a flow test on a stock cylinder from a '48 WL. In order to get an idea of what effect different modifications had on the process, I resigned myself to spending a lot of extra time with multiple flow tests. My first step in the process was to do a basic porting job. The cylinders were in need of new valve guides anyway, so I removed the old ones before working on the ports. In almost all cases, more flow can be obtained by doing the port work with the guides removed. Much of the "work" involved opening the intake port to a nominal I.D. of 1.250 inches. This is a modest increase in size, and I would consider it to be the minimum that one would want to invest effort into.

Once the ports were cleaned up and shaped, new guides were installed and sized. Next the seats were cut for new stock size Rowe valves. The exhaust seats received a radius seat, which in actual practice on a motor such as this, does very little. The "choke" or "venturi" just below the 45 degree seat is too large relative to the valve size for the radius to enhance the flow much more than a conventional three angle valve job would. If you lack the equipment to do a radius seat, just do a 3 angle and blend it into the port. The intake seat (only one since I would be installing larger valves next) got a multi angle seat, although this too suffered from similar size issues as the exhaust.

The results of a flow test in this state are as follows:

Intake .100" lift - stock 48.2cfm / ported 42.5cfm
Intake .200" lift - stock 83.8cfm / ported 81.7cfm
Intake .300" lift - stock 98.7 cfm / ported 107.1cfm
Intake .350" lift - stock 102.6cfm / ported 114.2cfm
Intake .375" lift - stock 103.8cfm / ported 117.3cfm
Intake .400" lift - stock 104.3cfm / ported 118.6cfm
Intake .450" lift - stock 104.4cfm / ported 121.0cfm
***
Exhaust .100" lift - stock 41.9cfm / ported 52.0cfm
Exhaust .200" lift - stock 82.4cfm / ported 92.8cfm
Exhaust .300" lift - stock 104.4cfm / ported 112.4cfm
Exhaust .350" lift - stock 110.6cfm / ported 117.2cfm
Exhaust .375" lift - stock 113.3cfm / ported 120.8cfm
Exhaust .400" lift - stock 115.7cfm / ported 121.2cfm
Exhaust .450" lift - stock 119.3cfm / ported 124.6cfm

You will note that there was actually a loss of flow under .300" lift on the intake side. This is due to the shape of the Rowe valves. Basically what they do is manufacture an exhaust valve and offer it for use in both intake and exhaust. Nothing wrong or deceitful about that. It is not sold as a performance valve, and in the long run, by reducing their manufacturing costs, Rowe is saving the owner of a stock motor money at rebuild time.

But back to the valve in question; on the back side, just below the 45 degree face, is a lip (shown in picture above) which inhibits flow. Which leads to the next logical modification: a 30 degree back cut on the valves. It is well established that air will "follow" a 15 degree change in direction with minimal flow loss (if you have never heard that before, then just now a light bulb should have come on in your head explaining why a three angle valve job consists of angles of 30, 45, and 60 degrees). With a 30 degree back cut on both valves, the next flow test looks like this:

Intake .100" lift - ported 42.5cfm / add back cut 48.7cfm
Intake .200" lift - ported 81.7cfm / add back cut 88.4cfm
Intake .300" lift - ported 107.1 cfm / add back cut 109.5cfm
Intake .350" lift - ported 114.2cfm / add back cut 115.7cfm
Intake .375" lift - ported 117.3cfm / add back cut 118.1cfm
Intake .400" lift - ported 118.6cfm / add back cut 119.2cfm
Intake .450" lift - ported 121.04cfm / add cut 121.8cfm
***
Exhaust .100" lift - ported 52.0cfm / add backcut 58.1cfm
Exhaust .200" lift - ported 92.8cfm / add backcut 99.2cfm
Exhaust .300" lift - ported 112.4cfm / add backcut 114.0cfm
Exhaust .350" lift - ported 117.2cfm / add backcut 118.4cfm
Exhaust .375" lift - ported 120.8cfm / add backcut 121.3cfm
Exhaust .400" lift - ported 121.2cfm / add backcut 122.5cfm
Exhaust .450" lift - ported 124.6cfm / add backcut 126.2cfm

As can be seen above, adding the 30 degree back cut on the valves adds flow at all lifts, and more than makes up for the loss of flow in the previous test. At this point, for this application, the exhaust ports are done. They still outflow the intake by a substantial amount, just as they did when stock.

Before moving on to installation of a larger intake valve, there is one more modification that I felt was worth a try. Due to the long length of the valve guides in a Flathead 45, I felt that it would not significantly shorten longevity to remove the short portion that protrudes into the intake port. I have never been a fan of this modification, and though I have seen it done before (I believe it is more prevalent with auto engines) I have never done it myself. The 45 however, seemed a promising candidate. The results are thus:

Intake .100" lift - prev. test 48.7cfm / add guide mod 48.5cfm
Intake .200" lift - prev. test 88.4cfm / add guide mod 87.3cfm
Intake .300" lift - prev. test 109.5cfm / add guide mod 109.7cfm
Intake .350" lift - prev. test 115.7cfm / add guide mod 116.4cfm
Intake .375" lift - prev. test 118.1cfm / add guide mod 118.9cfm
Intake .400" lift - prev. test 119.2cfm / add guide mod 121.8cfm
Intake .450" lift - prev. test 121.8cfm / add guide mod 124.9cfm

This would seem to be the first modification that did not really pan out. The flow differences at .375 lift and below are inconsequential and would rule out shortening the guide at this level of modification. Better flow at .450 lift does nothing if your cam only lifts the valve .360" (as the regrind that this motor is getting does). I have to admit that I kind of dropped the ball on this one though, in that I did not test the other cylinder with the bigger valve before and after modifying the guide. That would have told us whether it was more viable at the higher level of modification. The increased flow at higher lifts would seem to suggest that this mod could be more beneficial with say, for instance, a larger port diameter.

So, what have we learned so far? Porting work; Do it! With the little done so far we show a 13% increase on the intake at .350" lift. Just be sure that you put a back cut on those Rowe valves. As to the shortening of the valve guide. At this point I would say no. Definitely not if you are not going beyond stock valve size. Further testing using a larger valve is in order though.

Up next: a larger intake valve with step by step testing. Stay tuned.

Knoxville Vintage Flat Track Nationals

2010-09-19T21:27:00.007-05:00

I got a call from Bill Hofmeister yesterday to report on Friday night's Knoxville Vintage National Flat Track race. If you follow my blog, you know that I am really a drag racer, not a flat tracker, so some of the details may be a little muddled, but the main points should be correct.

As I have mentioned before, I did a little top end work on Billy's old iron head Sportster engined XR. Porting, some pistons, and some modern coatings in the combustion chambers. Nothing super trick, but the things I did turned out pretty well. Bill raced the bike a time or two last summer with good results, but this spring we put a modern wet clutch in the bike, and that seems to have been a game changer. It always helps if the power from the engine gets all the way to the rear wheel!

So it was off to the vintage flat track races at Davenport, Iowa as part of the AMCA national meet. After sorting out some issues with the rear chain, Bill took his XL engined XR to the "Dash for Cash," which he reportedly was leading by half the length of a straightaway when he ran out of gas. He got beat by a wheel length, dropping from the first place $750 prize money to the second place $0. No, that's not a typo. Second paid zero/ zip/ nada.

But all that is just lead in for the real story. Billy brought the XR back to me last Monday morning so that I could work out a few bugs (such as aligning the rear wheel to prevent further chain problems). Since the bike showed such promise in Davenport, Billy decided to put a young gun on it for Knoxville. Since he also uses the old iron head to help promote his venture in producing street going XR replicas, he wanted all the press he could get.

The young man Billy decided to put on the bike for Knoxville is National #68 Josh Koch from Cedar Minnesota. If you are not familiar with flat track racing, earning a National number plate is a really big deal. In fact, I believe there have only been about a dozen Minnesotans to win the right to a National number in the history of Grand National racing. Now, Billy is one of those riders, having held several National numbers, as well as a Canadian National Championship, however Josh not only has earned a National number; he has another advantage. He is nearly 40 years younger than Billy!

It seems that Josh is presently looking for a team with an XR750 that is in need of a rider. It sounds as though Billy didn't have too much trouble talking Josh into riding for him with the lure that if he were to beat bunch of vintage XR750s while mounted on an old iron head, it should really get some attention. And that is just what he did!

I took a long time to get to the punchline, but here it is. Josh Koch won the main event in the Open Class at the Knoxville Vintage Nationals on the Grand National Replica/Lee's Speed Shop sponsored lowly old iron head XR by about the length of the straightaway. How 'bout that!

Porting the 45 Inch Flathead

2010-09-17T14:49:00.007-05:00

I have to admit, its not something I'd have given much thought a few years back. What got me onto the subject, was having a customer bring in a 45" WR (racing) motor last spring. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the nuances of such an engine, I decided I would read up on 45 engines in general on the Flathead Power Bulletin Board .

Now, I have frequented the board for some time, but had always skipped the 45 section of the forum because, well, there just aren't enough hours in the day to read everything on the Internet. But now, with a new found reason, I tackled the job of reading the backlog of posts on the Flathead 45 ....well at least those with titles which indicated they were engine related. A huge task, and it has taken me some time, but I am nearly through.

I was SHOCKED. Who would have expected a forum on 45 Flatheads to be such a hotbed of performance talk? That stirred my interest.

Then, soon after the WR motor came in, another long time customer brought in a 45" trike motor. While the WR is here for a rebuild/restore, the trike is in need of a little more power. Well, 45 or not, that is still right up my alley. In the past I have had to slap myself to keep from doing performance modifications on an old cast iron Briggs and Stratton that I had apart for no other reason than to clean and paint it for display; sure markings of a gear head bordering on lunacy.

There are two ways to modify a motor. One is to do all of the things that you think should help and then test the results. On an engine type that you are not likely to get a lot of repeat business, that is the sane way to do it. The other way is to test each modification before going on to the next. That way you find out how much each step helps, or in fact if it helped at all, or even in some case if it hurt. Its a lot more work, and you are seldom paid for it, unless you consider increasing your knowledge base as "pay."

So, as if I needed to prove my insanity to anyonen else, here are the results of my first step in "porting the 45 Flathead"; a flow test of the stock ports.

Intake .100" lift - 48.2cfm

Intake .200" lift - 83.8cfm

Intake .300" lift - 98.7 cfm

Intake .350" lift - 102.6cfm

Intake .375" lift - 103.8cfm

Intake .400" lift - 104.3cfm

Intake .450"lift - 104.4cfm

***

Exhaust .100" lift - 41.9cfm

Exhaust .200" lift - 82.4cfm

Exhaust .300" lift - 104.4cfm

Exhaust .350" lift - 110.6cfm

Exhaust .375" lift - 113.3cfm

Exhaust .400" lift - 115.7cfm

Exhaust .450" lift - 119.3cfm

Tests were done on a Superflow SF600 @ 28 inch test pressure with a radius entry directly on the spigot (no manifold)

The next test will be with conventional porting work performed. Stay tuned.

Noah's Ark

2010-09-08T16:51:00.002-05:00

(Here we are, up for our turn to do the service at Friendship Manor again. Continuing to follow my wife's advice, I will go with another familiar story from the Bible. Short and sweet.)

Gen. 6:5-8 "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."

NOTE: Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. What wonderful words those are! Doesn't that make you long to have those words written of you? Lee found grace in the eyes of the LORD. "Your name here" found grace in the eyes of the LORD!

Gen. 6:12-14 " And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."

God goes on to give specific instructions to Noah for the construction of the ark. I have heard it said that in modern times a scale model of the ark has been built, using the dimensions from the Bible, and found to be one of the absolutely most stable, and unsinkable shapes ever constructed.

Gen. 6:17-22 "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he."

Did you catch that? It says that Noah did ALL that God commanded him. How important was Noah's obedience? It would seem that the fate of the whole human race depended on it. And not only the human race, but also the animal kingdom. How good a job do we do of being obedient to God?

So Noah did as the Lord has commanded him, and the Lord did as he said he would. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. The flood rose to a point approximately 20 feet higher than the tallest mountain. Every creature that lived upon the land perished, except for those in the ark. After the prescribed amount of time, the flood waters went down, and the ark came to rest upon Mt. Ararat.

The story of Noah and the ark, though it is a true story, also serves as a pretty good picture of salvation. We already mentioned some things about Noah that line up with salvation. The Bible says "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." All around him was great wickedness, but Noah found grace. There is great wickedness all around us, but if you are truly a Christian, then you have found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

The Bible says that "Noah walked with God." It is not possible for a person to be truly saved unless he walks with God, and walking with God involves going the same direction, and with a common goal.

Noah did all that God commanded him. Salvation involves doing as God commands. In the New Testament Jesus says: if you love me, keep my commandments. I think it is safe to say that most of us fail miserably at this. But the difference is that a true Christian will try to follow God's commands and it will be grievous to them when they fail.

Another parallel between salvation and the story of Noah is the protection from God's judgment. While all the earth was being punished for its wickedness, Noah and his family were shut up safely in the only vessel capable of withstanding the judgment. In fact, in Genesis 7:16, the Bible says that "the LORD shut him in." The same is true for the Christian. Once Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then you are safe from the judgment to come. Jesus said "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)

Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

Just as Noah was saved from physical death by his faith in what God told him, and his putting that faith into action, he was also saved spiritually and declared righteous before God because of that faith. The same is true today. Through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can also become an heir to righteousness.

Jesus Christ died in our place paying the penalty for our sins, and what he gives us in place of our sins, is a share in his righteousness. And just as Noah's faith in what God told him resulted in his work of building an Ark, our faith in Christ's sacrifice on the cross, if it is real, will result in turning from our sin, and to building his Church.

Remember what it says here in Hebrews. It was Noah's faith that caused him to build the ark, and it was his faith that allowed him to inherit righteousness. The work of building the ark was simply the result of that faith. The exact same thing is true for you and me. It is our faith that will cause us to turn from sin and our faith that will allow us to inherit righteousness. The repentance and good works are simply a result of that faith.

If you have never done so, won't you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Won't you believe that he died in your place, and paid your penalty so that you might live? Won't you have faith like Noah?

Cam-a-palooza

2010-08-25T13:06:00.005-05:00

Top row Big Twin, Center WL, Bottom WR

About a week ago, I received an anxiously awaited package via my friendly local UPS driver. It was the return shipment of three sets of Flathead cams which I had sent off to Mr. Jim Leineweber for regrinding. I believe its a little unusual for a small shop like mine to be dealing with three Flathead engines at the same time (though to be honest, the Big Twin of the bunch is now officially on hold due to the owner putting his new found Knuck engine in line ahead of his Flattie)

The Big Twin cams have been ground to .420" lift and +10 degrees over the stock duration. The WR (racing model) cams have been re-ground to stock specs, and the WL cams to .360" lift and +10 degrees duration. Note that the WR cams take a flat tappet, which is unusual for a Harley, which accounts for their likewise unusual lobe shape.

The WL is for a trike and will be getting stroker flywheels as well as porting to give it a little extra power for a decent cruising speed. I'll try to post a little about that project as it progresses.

Psalm 91 - Comfort for Christians

2010-08-21T14:27:00.004-05:00

all of the quotations are from the 1599 Geneva Bible

Psalm 91 is one of the most uplifting of the psalms. Unlike so many of the others which tell of the apostasy of Israel, and God's judgment of it, this psalm is filled with strength and encouragement.

The psalm begins with "Who so dwelleth in the secret of the most High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say unto the Lord, O my hope, and my fortress: he is my God, in him will I trust."

Here we have the claim that the Christian has God as his protector. I think it is important to note a couple of words that are applied to the Christian here. Dwell and Abide. The NIV uses the word rest in place of abide. All three of these words give the same sense of a continual presence in close proximity to the Almighty.

This is not a bad description of a Christian. Not definition, but description. One who spends the majority of their time in close proximity to the Lord. Just as one who only visits your home town for one hour a week could not be said to dwell in your home town, one who only visits the Lord one hour a week on Sunday morning cannot claim to be abiding in him. If a person does not spend the majority of their time dwelling or abiding with the Lord, then they do not fit the Biblical description of a Christian. As such, this psalm does not have much in the way of application for that person.

Now, just to be clear, a person can certainly spend the majority of their time dwelling with and abiding in a false god ....but that would be a whole different subject.

Verse 3 "Surely He will deliver thee from the snare of the hunter, and from the noisome pestilence."

In the New testament, in both 1st Timothy and 2nd Timothy Paul uses the phrase "the snare of the devil."

I think it is pretty easy to put 2+2 together and identify the hunter who the psalm tells us is setting snares for you.

Pestilence is defined as a plague; a disease that is contagious or infectious and is epidemic and fatal. A second meaning is corruption or moral disease destructive to happiness. But for those who, as verse 2 tells us, have cried out to the Lord, placing their trust in him as their fortress, we have the sure promise of deliverance from both the hunter and the pestilence!

Verse 4 begins "He will cover thee under his wings, and thou shalt be sure under his feathers:" That makes us out to be pretty weak and defenseless. Of course that is the plain truth of the matter, we are weak and defenseless, but the verse ends with this "his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." I don't know about you, but as a man, I like this analogy a lot better. Going to war with God's truth as your shield! But as manly as that may make one feel, it is important to remember that in God's sight we are just as little baby birds protected under their father's wings.

Verses 5&6 "Thou shalt not be afraid of the fear of the night: nor of the arrow that flieth by day: Nor of the pestilence that walketh in the darkness: nor of the plague that destroyeth at noon day."

The person who is dwelling in the Lord has no longer has reason to be afraid of the fear of the night, or as some translations put it, the terror of the night. Most of us, as we grew up, got over the fear of the monster in the closet ....or in the attic...or under the bed. But there is still that fear of the unknown. The arrow which is coming at you in the daylight, is something you can see coming, and you know it is aimed at you to do you in. But sometimes just the fear that there may be an arrow coming at you that you cannot even see ....that may be more terrifying than the one you know is coming.

Obviously, these have spiritual application. I think for many, the fear of death may be the primary application. Maybe as far as you know, you are healthy. But that terror in the darkness, is that some disease you don't even know you have will suddenly kill you. Or the plague that destroys at noon day is that disease that you know you have and you know its only a matter of time until it gets you.

But if God is your fortress and your hope, then you will not be afraid. Notice that the Lord does not promise us that we will not fall victim to the arrows or the plagues, because we will. As 1 Corinthians 15:26 tells us, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." We are not there yet. But we need not be afraid!

Verses 7,8&9 "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come near thee. Doubtless with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. For thou hast said, The Lord is mine hope: thou hast set the most High for thy refuge."

This is a reference to judgment. It brings to mind the first Passover as described in the book of Exodus. Thousands of Egyptians perished while the children of Israel who had the mark made by the sacrificial lamb's blood on their door post were spared. The same will be true in the future when the wicked are rewarded for their deeds on judgment day, but those whose hope is in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, will be spared.

Continuing with verse 10: "There shall none evil come unto thee, neither shall any plague come near thy tabernacle. For he shall give his Angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands, that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone."

In this section we find a portion of scripture which is quoted in the New Testament. But unless you are familiar with the text, you may not guess who quotes it. In Matthew 4, we find the description of Jesus going into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After Jesus had fasted forty days, the devil presented 3 propositions to him. The second one is described in verses 5-7

"Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the Temple. And said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, that he will give his Angels charge over thee, and with their hands they shall lift thee up, lest at any time thou shouldest dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

We, also would be wise to heed that warning not to tempt the Lord our God.

Back to Psalm 91, verse 13: "Thou shalt walk upon the lion and asp: the young lion, and the dragon shalt thou tread under feet."

It is interesting that in the New Testament, the devil is referred to as a roaring lion, as found in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, and watch: for your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" In the book of Revelation, the devil is identified as "the dragon" (Rev 20:2). Also in Revelation, the devil is referred to as "that old serpent" (Rev 20:2), and whether your text uses the word asp as found here in the Geneva Bible, or adder as found in the English Standard Version, or cobra as found in the NIV, they are all clearly speaking of a snake.

Don't you find it marvelous how the Bible all fits together so well? Here we are looking at a text right here in the middle of the Bible in the book of Psalms, and we find another text that ties in perfectly and helps explain it in the very last book. So now how can we help but at least mention how they both fit perfectly with a text in the very first book of the Bible?

Genesis 3: 14&15. You all know the story of the Garden of Eden. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of one certain tree. Satan enticed Eve into eating of it, and Adam joined her.

"Then the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will also put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall break thine head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

I think it is safe to say that most scholars agree that this is God's promise of a coming Messiah. Christ is the seed of the woman, and as it says, his heel was bruised at the cross by Satan. Jesus suffered a cruel death on the cross paying for our sins, and yet in that very same act in which his heel was bruised, Christ crushed the head of the serpent. It was in that act of redemption that the power of sin was broken.

Back to Psalm 91. By verse 14 it becomes evident that the psalm has switched from being written in the third person to quoting the Lord. In fact, the NIV adds the phrase "says the Lord" which isn't found in the other translations that I looked at.

Verses 14-15 "Because he hath loved me, therefore will I deliver him: I will exalt him because he hath known my Name. He shall call upon me, and I will hear him: I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and glorify him."

In many ways, these last few verses, bring us back to beginning of the psalm. God promises that he will hear us when we call on him, but we call upon him because we are abiding in his shadow, because he is our hope and our fortress. He promises to be with us in trouble and to deliver us because he is our God and we have put our trust in him.

All of these great blessings and promises can be ours if only we would see ourselves as the wretched sinners that we are, and put our faith in Jesus Christ and his payment for our sins as the only means of reconciliation with God.

The psalm ends with this line: "With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation."

In closing here is the footnote on this last verse as found in the 1599 Geneva Bible. "For he is contented with that life that God giveth: for by death the shortness of this life is recompensed with immortality."

Dave's LSR Knuckle

2010-08-19T17:11:00.005-05:00

Here is a link that I have been meaning to put up here for some time now. A while back I had a conversation with Dave Iverson of Iverson Originals about his LSR (Land Speed Racing) Knucklehead. Of course I took so long to get to it, that I have already forgotten some of the details, so best to let Dave's web site speak for itself.

I borrowed this pic from Dave's site just to whet your appetite!

I think you will agree that Dave and his crew have done the Knucklehead world proud with their outstanding accomplishments using a small displacement single carb motor.

Abraham and Isaac

2010-08-17T12:36:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 18:22 tells us that: "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." This was brought home again to me recently. For a while now I have felt something lacking in my monthly preaching stint at our local retirement home. My wife was able to attend the service in July, and was quick to critique me. "It was too long and too deep. You need to preach on Bible stories that they are familiar with. You lost most of them in the first two minutes." Obviously she was right (and she loves to hear me say that). Many of those who attend the service seem to be slowly slipping back to a child like intellect. The following was my first attempt at following my wife's advice, and from what I could tell, it was a big improvement.

Genesis 22: 1-18

Most of us have known this story since we were youngsters attending Sunday School. It is the story of how God tested Abraham.

I have an old friend that I once tried to witness to. His stated reason for not being a Christian, had to do with this story. He said that any God who would ask a father to kill his own son was evil, and he wanted nothing to do with such a being.

We can find several good answers to this charge right here in this story, but I believe the best is this. Way back in Genesis 17, God makes it clear that it would be through Isaac that Abraham would be a father of many nations. Abraham had to have had that promise of God in mind as he set out to follow the instructions to make this sacrifice. If Isaac did not live long enough to take a wife and have children, it would make God a liar. We don't know what Abraham expected to happen, but we do know that he trusted God's word.

Another thing I would like to point out is that this act of obedience on Abraham's part was not what made him acceptable to God. As it says in Genesis 15:6 and in thee separate books of the NT, Abraham believed God and it was counted as righteousness. (Gal. 3:6, Rom. 4:3, James 2:23) This was long before Abraham had a son, and in fact it was his belief in God's promise that he would have a son, which was counted for righteousness. That is what made Abraham acceptable to God; faith in God's word was counted in place of Abraham's own righteousness.

In God's eyes, our own righteousness, our own right acts; our own good deeds are as filthy rags as the prophet Isaiah tell us. The obedience displayed here by Abraham, was just a proof of his love for God, just as all of our good works after salvation are only a proof of our love for God.

Clearly this incident in Abraham's life is a picture of the sacrifice for sin which Christ made. I think that the location of this event is very significant. In 2nd Chronicles we find that the temple was built by Solomon in mount Moriah, which puts mount Moriah at Jerusalem. Note that in this account of Abraham's testing, he is instructed to go to Moriah, to a specific one of the mountains there. I believe that the mount to which God directed Abraham, was the very same one where Christ was crucified.

When we think of this story of Abraham and Isaac, we should not just look at it as a testimony of Abraham's obedience. Since it is a picture of Christ's death on the cross, this story should also serve as a reminder of the inconceivable love God has shown for his children.

As we consider Abraham's situation wherein he was to offer his son as a sacrifice, it is difficult to comprehend, and yet this is much the same situation that God the Father faced. His only son suffered and died to pay the price for our sins. That is amazing love.

The Bible says that Abraham believed God and it was counted for righteousness. John 3: 16 says, "For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." If you believe that, then God will count your belief for righteousness.