A Milestone, by Any Other Name...

Well, it seems that earlier this evening, in the year of our Lord 2020, I reached somewhat of a milestone.  With little or no fanfare, I finished the flow tests on the 1100^th set of Harley heads which I have ported and flowed over the last 30 years.  And, as if to mark the occasion, it seemed that they flowed unusually well.  Well enough, in fact, that I took the extra precaution of checking the SuperFlow SF600’s calibration to confirm that the figures are in fact correct.  Funny how I have never gone so far as to check the calibration when a set of heads did not meet expectations (immediately back to the porting bench instead), but I have performed the ritual a number of times when the figures were suspiciously good.  

This set of heads happened to be stock Evolution castings with 1.900” intake valves – a time tested formula.  280 cfm @ .600” lift and 28 inch test pressure.  And yes they flow more at higher lifts, but face it, they will never see a cam larger so why brag about the higher lifts? As it turns out, performing the calibration was a bit of overkill, since checking the records for the last set of similar heads revealed nearly identical results.  Oh well - calibration is never a bad thing.

BTW, set 1101 is on the workbench and 1102 is in queue.

A Note in Passing

As it so happens, right now I have two sets of Evolution cylinder heads in my shop that I have seen before.  Both of them were previously ported by me.  What make this worth mentioning is the "when" that I last saw them.  One set has a porting job which I performed in 1994; 20 years ago.  It was the 131st set of heads that I had ported.  You may wonder how I can be so sure about work that I completed so long ago, but its simple.  I stamp an ID number into the heads I port and keep records.

Now, I don't know much about the life this particular set of head lived in the intervening years, but it was ready for new valves and guides.  Not totally shot, unusable junk; just out of spec on the valve to guide clearance and stem taper.  The present owner is not the one who I did the work for originally, and since another local shop brought them to me to freshen up, I don't know how many miles or owners they have gone through since '94. 

16 year old porting

 

The second set of heads received my porting work a scant 16 years ago.  They were the 273rd set of heads that I ported.  I have a little more info on this set due to the fact that I count the owner as an old friend, though I suppose that he would point out that it would be more accurate to say that I am his old friend, since I am about 10 years his senior.  This set has gone in excess of 100,000 miles, many with sidecar attached,  since I last saw them.  The rest of the motor is quite worn out, to the point of needing a new crankcase pinion race, oil pump, and even an oversize breather gear due to the amount of debris that has passed through it.  Somewhat surprisingly the guides did not need replacement on this set of heads, which is a testament to the design of the Evolution valve train.

 

guides still good - seats after valve job

 

 

2010 Knucklehead Reunion Rousing Success

Last year, attending the Knucklehead Reunion was one of the goals I set, but I failed to get "The Knuckledragger" finished in time. In fact, it may not even have been named yet. But with the announcement that Pete Hill would be appearing at this year's event, there was little doubt that I would have to make time to be there. The fact that I have the drag bike running (though as yet un-tuned and untested) only helped seal the deal.

The adventure began with Kevin Baas (instructor of the Kennedy High School Chopper Class) talking me into riding out with a group on vintage bikes. This necessitated installation of a new rear tire on Jane's '47, which in turn necessitated a little time in the burn out pit with the old tire. I have it on video, but so far Google's "Blogger" program has not co-operated with my attempts to post it.

Fast forward to Friday morning. We left Teach's house in Lakeville Minnesota nearly a half hour past the projected 7am start because Krazy Karl got stuck in traffic. The plan called for us to be to Menomonie Wisconsin by 9am sharp to leave with a larger group who were meeting there. Suddenly our leisurely ride on 63+ year old Knuckleheads turned into a 75mph blast down the freeway with Jane in our Jeep, trailering the Knuckledragger, in close pursuit. Behind her were Karl and Jason pulling a trailer with three more Knuckleheads inside. The next glitch occurred just across the Wisconsin border. Sure enough the newest part on Jane's '47 (a V-Twin replica rocker clutch pedal) broke in half. Luckily the part hit my foot and I was able to trap it on the footboard so that we wouldn't have to stop short of the Menomonie exit. This did, however end my ride to Milwaukee, putting the '47 into the trailer alongside The Knuckledragger.

From Menomonie we followed the now larger group of Knuckles (plus a Flattie and a Pan) on backroads to Black River Falls to meet up with an even larger group of antique Harley riders. The remainder of the trip to the Milwaukee area was uneventful. Once we were close, the group split up for their separate destinations. Kevin had already contacted his good friend Mario, to confirm that he had a rocker clutch that I could borrow to put Jane's bike back on the road.

Mario and his wife Pat were unbelievably gracious hosts, and soon convinced us to spend the night at their home rather than looking for a motel as per our original plan. It turned out to be simpler to repair the broken weld on the clutch pedal than to change out the whole unit. Mario supplied the welder, Kevin supplied the welding expertise and before you know it, the '47 was roadworthy again. A quick tour of Pat and Mario's house left me a bit dazzled, leading me to ask him if perhaps he is the King of Wisconsin. Mario didn't admit to it, but on the other hand he didn't exactly deny it either. The breakfast that his wife Pat prepared the next morning confirmed my suspicions, because it is obvious that Mario also eats like a King.



finishing a quick repair on Jane's '47

The night was rounded out by a trip downtown to the "shed." The shed is a building in a warehouse district where a group of like minded guys each rent a space where they work on their hot rod and/or motorcycle projects. A neat concept, to be sure, and a good way to compensate for lack of garage space at your home. Mario had arranged a bit of a reception there so that Kevin, Jason, Krazy Karl (by now joined by Krazy Konnie) Jane and I could meet his friends.




jason and the seven Knucks @ Mario's


By the time we arrived at the Harley Museum on Saturday morning, Pete Hill's supercharged Top Fuel Knucklehead dragbike was already set up on display. I felt really honored to set up the Knuckledragger in close proximity to Pete and Jackie's bike. John Endrezzi of the Knucklehead Company (hosts of this great event) did a nice job of interviewing Pete in front of the crowd.





John interviewing Pete Hill

One of the stories Pete related was about the very first "Harley Homecoming" AMRA drag race at nearby Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove in 1988. Pete blew a tire at speed during the first day of time trials, sending he and his bike sliding on its side at an estimated 140mph. With no serious injury, he and Jackie managed to get the bike back in shape overnight and went on to win the event. Jane and I were there racing at that event (flying the #1 plate in Pro Stock on our Knuckle drag bike by the way) so I remembered the incident well, but had forgotten that Pete had come back to win the event.

Pete on his Top Fuel Knuckle

A little later in the day, Jane and I got the chance to spend a little time visiting with Pete and Jackie. We came prepared, with some photos for Pete to autograph. They say that behind every successful man is a good woman, and its no different for Pete Hill. I feel confident(and I am sure Pete would agree), that without Jackie Hill, there never would have been a "Pete Hill -Drag Racing Legend."

myself, Pete, Jane, and Jackie

Field games were held in the afternoon, plus most of the participants in the show also found time to tour the Harley Davidson Museum. Just before the show wound down, members of the Knucklehead Company were kind enough to invite me to start the Knuckledragger for the crowd. To be honest, this was more pressure than an actual drag race. By the time we got the roller starter unloaded and the bike fueled up, we had the entire crowd gathered around to witness the results of my handiwork. If there weren't a hundred people in the crowd, it sure seemed like there were. It certainly was a prime opportunity for me to make a fool of myself if the Knuckledragger decided to play a trick on me by not firing up.

Teach putting alcohol somewhere besides in his stomach

But, I survived with my pride intact. The bike started with an impressive roar, and I avoided doing anything stupid. Rather than doing a crowd pleasing tire smoking burnout, and thereby running the risk of wearing out the welcome that the Harley Museum has given the Knucklehead Company for this event, I tried to make up for it with a lot of noise. One lap around the show, clutch in, and revving the engine just a few hundred rpm past where a sane person would take it, seemed like the best compromise. Besides, I already had enough excess adrenaline pumping without doing a stress test on the notoriously bad vintage springer front brake.

Overall, a great time was had by everyone. A special thanks the the Knucklehead Company for hosting this great event. And if you own one of these fine '36 to '47 motorcycles, you owe it to yourself to bring it to next year's Knucklehead Reunion!

New Year 2010

First day back at work for the new year of 2010! For many, not such a day of excitement, especially if you don't care for your job. If, however, you are self employed like me, there is a better chance that you are doing work you like, so the fresh new year of work ahead should make for a good day.



But I must admit, as I came in this morning, it was with anything but an attitude of expectation. In fact I was not looking forward to it at all, and I knew the one reason why. Taxes. And not even the amount of the taxes; after all, I have been paying in estimated taxes all year, so its not as if there is a "big hit" coming other than the normal one that comes with the 4th quarter payment.



No, the discouragement was due to the vast amount of time that will be spent preparing for taxes. First there is inventory. Every part I have in stock had to be counted. Now the cost of all those parts has to be looked up and recorded. Hours upon hours will be spent going over records to be sure every receipt was properly categorized and then entered into the correct space on so that some time before April 15th an accountant can spend less than an hour transforming all of my figures into something that only he and the IRS can decipher. I estimate that I lose at least a week of production every year preparing for taxes. In other words I work a full week (or more) with no pay just to determine how much the government will take from me. No.... doesn't put me ion the best of moods.



However, things took a turn for the better when I put a set of heads on the flow bench this morning. Just before closing up on new years eve, I had put the finishing porting touches on a set of Iron Sportster heads. For years I had avoided porting these heads like the plague, because the grinding dust from the cast iron would make me sick for the week following any venture into modifying them. Live and learn though; a year or so back I realized that if I used a mask while porting cast iron heads I could avoid such a reaction (DUH!)

On this set of heads,I reached a new personal best for Iron XL, with the intakes flowing 259 cfm at .600" valve lift (@28 inch test pressure). That also happens to be the same cfm that the dedicated manifold that I use for Shovel/XL heads on the flow bench is capable of flowing by itself. In other words, the heads have reached the flow limit of the manifold testing through said manifold. Not too shabby!



If I am not mistaken, that adds up to three porting "milestones" for 2009. Earlier in the year I reached the same results on Shovelheads, with the heads flowing as much through the manifold as the manifold will flow alone. The third was reaching 300 cfm on a set of '06 and later stock Twin Cam head castings (304cfm @ .600 lift to be exact).



Looking back at these accomplishments managed to take the sting out the Government waste that is our tax system. Well, ....at least temporarily.

Eight Hundred

Last night as I was stamping numbers into a set of heads that I was preparing to port, I realized that I had reached a milestone of sorts. This set of heads will be the 800th set of Harley heads that I have ported and flowed in the 19 years that I have been doing this work.

I thought it would be interesting to break that down into the different head types, so this morning I took a look at my records and here are the results:

• 417 sets of Evolution heads


• 142 sets of Twin Cam heads


• 101 sets of Shovel heads


• 87 sets of aftermarket heads (such as S&S, Screamin' Eagle, etc.)


• 32 sets of XL heads


• 16 sets of Knuckle or Pan heads


• 5 sets other (Indian PowerPlus 100, etc.)

I have to say that I was a bit surprised to see how many Evolution heads I have done compared to Twin Cams. I guess it makes sense though; Twin Cams have only been in existence for half of that time.

Among the next 800 sets, I hope to do more Knuckleheads and Shovelheads. The Knuckles because I would like to do more R&D on them to see just how good they can be made to flow. The Shovels ....well, I already have some new ideas that I would like to try out. Modern equipment including the latest in wet flow technology should reveal some untapped potential in these antique castings.