41 Knuckle in 1991

My buddy Thom and his Knuckle in 1991. There were a few of us that built and rode these cutdowns, bob jobs, what ever... between their original popularity (40s & 50s) and their modern popularity.

The great part about it in the 80's and 90's was that the cool parts were cheap or free! As people restored the bikes they pulled off the Flanders, Hellings, cut fenders, cool exhausts, Thoro shifts, B&H shifters, etc. and practically gave the shit away. I was labeled a "Dumpster Diver" at more then one swap meet as a youngster.

Anyway back to this particular Knuckle. Thom took this bike apart and began a rebuild, a year or so later (still early 90's) and I ended up buying it from him as a basket case. The motor is the one that is in the 41 Knuck TT bike I am building now.

Oh yeah...the cut down rear fender that was on this knuckle is a pan fender and is now on my 57 "Black Jersey Pan" (Apehanger). Re Cycle ing!

Snow...lots of Snow

Hard to tell where the snow ends and the sky begins except for the tops of the trees!

The 39 El performed flawlessly as usual...man I love that thing!

I took a nice 20 mile Motorcycle ride today on my old 1939 Knuckle. It’s nice when the snow on the sides of the road is above your head as you ride along! Felt like Alaska or something. I had to pull over and take a picture.
That's not plowed snow, its drifts off of fields and with two days melt. They were higher on Friday and Saturday. It’s like this all along the roads where I live.

I wonder what the weather is like in Daytona right now?

Comment Moderation

Well I had to go with Comment moderation cause I was getting Spam Comments. Pain in the ass!
So if you leave a comment it may take a bit to pop up.
Thanks,

KB

41 Knuck TT Commencing

3 Speed Lid

Original Kicker Arm

Sight Glass Holes Welded

Commencing work on the 41TT.

The 3 speed trans is a "throwout bearing" away from being buttoned up! This trans came in a U model I bought in the 80's that sat outside for decades. It looked rough from the outside but when the lid was popped it was in great shape. I should have taken a before picture! I included a pic of the original kicker arm just to give you an idea of what it looked like. The trans was manufactured in 1944 and the date codes on the case, kicker cover and lid all match. The number 3 stamped on the lid (see pic above) indicates that it was a factory 3 speed without reverse...nice...perfect for a TT bike. The kicker cover hole was stripped so that got welded shut, re-drilled and tapped. All the hardware got re-Parkerized.

I have to figure a way to take some of the glass bead shine off it to match the motor...I'll figure something out.
The oil tank I chose for it was perfect except for the two sight glass holes in the side so they got welded shut, now it's in need of a little bondo work.

Since you have to assemble everything from the seat post back around the oil tank I better get my paintables done so I can get it in and get started!!!

B&D Rahway NJ

Guy at Greasy Kulture recently put up a couple of posts about B&D Harley-Davidson in Rahway NJ. The place was right down Route 1 from Rahway Prison where I attended the Scared Straight (didn't work ...just ask my mom) Program.
I still think it's weird that someone in England knows about one of my old time local HD dealers in NJ but hell they don't call it the World Wide Web for nothin'.
I spent a lot of time there from when I was about 16 until it shut down. I went back just before they demolished the place and still found a pile of rusty 45 brake pedals in the dirt!

Anyway one of the stories I have about the place was when I was about 19. I was looking for parts for the 47 Knuckle I was building and a friend Mike told me that he scored an NOS set of fender trim there one time.
Well I needed a set and headed down to the shop. Now there were two counter guys working for Bill at the time... Wayne and Hubs. Both were cool guys and great to deal with. When I went down there, to see about the trim set, only Wayne was working that day. I asked about the trim and he said "Yeah I have them...But only one set to a customer". I said "OK" and paid some nominal price. I was happy to get it. The set was complete with clips and all! I would have liked to have bought an extra set but Wayne was insistent. Oh well.
Later that same week I went down there for something else (I can't remember what now) but Hubs was working there by himself that day...hhmmm... the little HD devil jumped up on my shoulder like a monkey on my back. "Hey Hubs...you got a set of fender trim for my 47 Knuckle?", "Yeah" he said..."BUT only one to a customer"...

The picture above (which I took tonight) shows the two packages of fender trim I bought that day. The top one is empty and the trim is on my knuckle (still got it). The bottom one is still full with the clips and all...I haven't got to that one yet...or maybe I just feel too guilty to use it!

Syracuse 2010 Shirt

Even the shirts are cool. Well except for the choice Brand X for the bike. I do like the Red Head though!

Syracuse Super Swap 2010

59 Hummer that followed me home...cute huh?

1918 Indian why? why not...

Nice bare bones Knuckle

Well it's the middle of winter and cold as shit in PA so what better to do then load up a couple of bikes in the van and travel 230 miles north to Syracuse NY!!!!

What could get me to do that? Frank Westfall's Super Swap! That's what!

Frank puts on a great show and swap meet up in the frozen north. The place was packed with vendors of every kind. From thongs and chaps to Knucklehead and JD parts, there was all manner of shit up there including several live bands going all day Saturday and Sunday. Frank is a gracious host and I always have a great time up there. I picked up a cool barn fresh 59 Harley "Hummer" to boot.

I will post a few more pics later.