One More Thing for Us Knuckleheads to Worry About

Or, to be more accurate, one more thing for those of us who are Knucklehead aficionados to worry about; but that wouldn't have fit in the title box.

One of my long time customers who goes by the name "Tom" (and I suspect it may be his real name) has had the same Knuckle for as long as anyone around here can remember. Over the years, I have had my hands on and into most of the parts of his engine, but never all at once. You see, Tom is just one of many Knucklehead owners who like to do as much of their own work as possible. Back when many of us started riding Knuckles, this was often out of necessity as much as choice, paychecks being what they were.

In any case, somewhere between the turn of the century and 2005, Tom had me order up a set of new reproduction Knucklehead tappet blocks for him. I really don't recall the specific occasion, whether it was a broken flange, or maybe it was Valentine's day and he wanted a special treat for the old gal. I ordered a set from Flathead Power.

At that point in time, Flathead Power was in no way connected with S&S - it was still "in transition" between its founder, Anders, operation in Sweden, and the acquisition by S&S. That transition period, and the unscrupulous characters involved have been gently exposed elsewhere, so I won't comment further.

Tom installed the FHP lifter blocks with a new set of lifters, and went on his way - which way consisted of putting lots of miles on his '42.

Fast forward through several years of hard riding, and Tom found himself in the need of a complete rebuild following a catastrophic parting of the ways of many of the engine parts which formerly made up his '42. The word grenade could be aptly applied.

As part of the resurrection, Tom opted to use another Flathead Power product which he had acquired, that being a set of FHP Knuck heads (also pre S&S vintage). Here again I was called into the act to provide oversize intake valves along with porting work. Knowing that the master plan called for a high lift cam (by Knuckle standards) I was very careful to get the stem protrusion on all four valves in just the right place to provide for a combination of the correct valve spring installed height and retainer to seal clearance while keeping the guide as long as possible to promote longevity. That is why what happened next left us scratching our heads.

Because of the special order 3-5/8" bore pistons which were chosen to match the 4-9/32" stroke flywheels and provide his targeted compression ratio, Tom mocked up the new engine parts with clay in the valve reliefs to be sure clearances were sufficient. Immediately a discrepancy became apparent. The rear intake valve to piston clearance was approximately .100" more than the front intake. Puzzling to be sure, but a problem...? If this had been a well used set of heads with untold numbers of past valve jobs, it would not have been too surprising, but that was not the case here. Suspecting a possible, albeit unlikely problem with the new Leineweber cam, Tom substituted his older, milder Leineweber cam. Same difference in clearance front to rear. Yet another check with a stock Knuckle cam gave the same results. Mr. Leineweber's name was thereby cleared of any crime in this case.

At this point I was starting to worry that I had gotten the stem protrusion off by .100" on one valve - not such a stretch given the human capacity for mistakes and the fact that my stem protrusion measuring device features a dial that measures .100" per revolution. I had Tom bring the heads back in so I could double check my work. To my relief and consternation, the problem was not in the stem protrusion.

My next thought was that perhaps there was a difference in the height of the machined surface that the valve guide bottoms out against from one head to the other. Some careful measurements which involved placing the head gasket surfaces on a table and dropping a steel rod through the guides proved this also was not the culprit.

I was nearly out of ideas, but there was one logical check still to make. I set up the lower end for my '46 with a degree wheel to perform what is commonly known as "degreeing a cam." Finally! By checking the opening and closing events with both a stock set of lifter blocks as well as with Tom's FHP blocks, it was obvious where the problem lay. The rear intake was opening 27 degrees later on the FHP block compared to both the stock block and to published specs for the cam (measured at .020" lift). And of course, checking the tappet lift at TDC, showed the difference between the valve to piston clearances which Tom had found with clay. The timing for both the exhausts and the front intake all matched those taken from stock lifter blocks. Now the only puzzling thing left to this story is that there was no large noticeable loss of performance when Tom installed these lifter blocks! I certainly would not have expected that.

The drawing below should help you visualize what the problem is, despite the sore lack of artistry. It is not to scale whatsoever, but shows the relationship between the tappet bore and the cam lobe centerline in a way that (I think) makes it understandable.

However, a little closer look at the figures gives a clue. Looking at the .053" lift timing, the difference between the FHP and the stock lifter block shrinks to 20 degrees on the opening side and 16 on the closing. That puts the timing on this rear intake, when used with this performance cam, pretty close to that of a stock Knuckle cam. In essence, for several years, Tom's '42 was running with a "hot" cam on the front cylinder, a hot cam for the rear exhaust, and a stock cam for the rear intake. My guess is that had he been running a stock cam, the performance loss would have been much more noticeable.

An important note. When this problem became evident, I contacted the gentleman at S&S who heads up the Flathead Power division and was pleased to find out that they had found the same issue and corrected it before they went into production, so you can rest assured that if you purchased FHP lifter blocks after S&S took over, they are machined correctly. I procured a new S&S block for Tom and he can attest that the valve to piston clearances now match front to rear.

One other note. I have no reason to think that ALL the pre S&S FHP rear lifter blocks suffer from this defect. It could very well have been just one run of the blocks made during that "transition" period. But that brings us back to the title of this post, doesn't it?

Love, Biblical Style

On February 14th we celebrated Valentine's Day. When we think of Valentine's day, we naturally think of love. The word love is used over 250 time in the New Testament alone. The vast majority of those instances it is translated from two very closely related Greek words (agape and agapao) which basically mean ....you guessed it; love. Digging a little deeper, we find affection, benevolence, and even charity. I had a pastor once who often said that "love is an action not a feeling." It would appear that technically he was wrong about that, but in application, I believe he was definitely on to something.

If we start to look at some of the verses which have the word love in them, we soon begin to see a sort of cause and effect type relationship where the love causes an action. One obvious verse that comes to mind is John 3:16 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.

Cause and effect. The cause was that God loved the world; the effect was that he gave his Son; the effect was that we don't have to perish; the effect is that we can have everlasting life. That is love being carried out through an action!

There is a chapter in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 13) that is often referred to as the "love" chapter. But if that can be called the love chapter, then I think 1st John could rightly be called the "love book" or "love epistle." (and that give us the answer to the generations old question, "who wrote the book of love?") Here are only a few of the verses in 1st John that speak of love:

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

This verse very likely refers back to just before Jesus went to the cross when he said in John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Back to the book of 1st John:

1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Here we see a cause and effect relationship of love clearly illustrated. We can see that God loves us because he laid down his life for us, and our love for each other should show itself in the same way; as a willingness to lay down our life for one another. John goes on to say that if you see your brother in need and have the means to help him, but won't, then God's love is not dwelling in you. As it says here, don't just say you love your brother by your words, show it by your actions.

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Did you catch that? Love is of God, and in fact God is love! Loving one another is one of the "proofs" that we know God. And here again, John goes on to name a cause and effect. God showed us his love for us by sending his Son into the world so we can live through him. And John makes it plain that the love came first from God. He didn't send his Son because we loved him, but rather he sent his Son because he loved us. And the natural effect is that since he loved us so much, we should also love one another.

1 John 5:1-3 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Here again, John lays out the notion that Christians should love each other. In this passage he states that one who believes Jesus is the anointed one, is born of God; in other words born again. And if you love the one who you were born of, you will love others who are born of him. That's natural, because you have the same Father. They are your brothers and sisters. John goes on to point out that this equation works both forward and backward. In chapter four he told us that loving one another was proof that we love God. Here he says that loving God is proof that we love God's children. But here he adds a little something, and that is "keeping God's commandments." The way that we show love to God is by keeping his commandments.

Now whether you want to include the ten commandments in here or limit it to the commands that Jesus gave when he was here in the flesh hardly matters. Either way we have all failed miserably at keeping them.

Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

Those are only two commands of Jesus, and both of them having to do with loving others. Have any of us kept those commands? Have you always loved your enemies? Always? Maybe I should make that "have you ever?" I don't know about you, but I have even failed at always loving my friends and family. That puts me in the same boat with everyone else. I am a sinner.
But we have this promise:

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

That's right, God loved us, and he didn't just tell us that he loved us and then left us to perish in our sins. He put that love into action. John 3:16 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.

If you haven't already done so, wont' you take the first step in returning God's love? Won't you turn from your sins and to Jesus Christ, believing that he paid the penalty that we each deserve?

2nd Place - Not All It's Cracked Up to be

So, about a week ago my friend Neil approached me about a bike show. I seemed that a promoter friend of his was short some entries for the local edition of the International Motorcycle Shows and that they would be willing to waive all fees if I would enter the Knuckledragger. Since they draw in excess of 50,000 people for their three day event, it seemed like a good way to drum up a little interest in the National Vintage Motorcycle Drag Racing Association, so I agreed to do it.

Friday morning the wife and I loaded up the bike and headed to the Minneapolis Convention Center, where the Knuckledragger took up residence until Sunday evening. The gentlemen running the show were kind enough to bend the rules a bit by allowing me to put fliers next to the bike to promote the NVMDRA.

As bike shows go, this venue is more akin to an expo, with all of the motorcycle manufacturers being heavily represented, displaying all the latest models. The "custom bike show" within the show is really quite limited, featuring fewer than two dozen bikes divided into four classes. The "Retro Mod" class which required the bike to be at least 25 years old seemed to fit the Knuckledragger best. I walked away with a second place plaque for my efforts. That would sound slightly impressive if it were not for the fact that there were only two entries in the class. The winner took home a check for $1000, and I got a plaque that says 2nd Place, but really means last place. Oh well, at least I didn't have to spend any time polishing my bike.

Above are a couple shots of the Gold Wing which placed first in Retro Mod. Now that means I have been beaten twice by a Gold Wing in the space of only 31 short years! The first time involved some "street racing" during the summer of 1981. I had just stroked my Shovelhead to 88 cubic inches, leaving everything else in the motor stock, right down to the cam. The Shovel felt really strong, and so I was really taken aback to be trounced by a stripped down and slightly warmed over Gold Wing owned by the service manager at a local Honda dealer.

That proved to be a pivotal event for me. By the next summer I had done some research and reworked the bike from top to bottom, transforming it from a fat fendered bobber to this:

Sifton 468+ cam, solid lifters, hi-performance valve springs, ported heads, SU carb, Barnett clutch, and a Goodyear "rain slick" ...I wasn't about to let that happen again.

But now, by the grace of God, I am older, wiser and can take a loss in stride. In other words, the Knuckledragger won't be acquiring new paint, chrome or gold plating, and the show bike world will remain safe.

Politics and Old Letters

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

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!

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

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.