Dudley Perkins

     I just heard that Dudley Perkins Harley Davidson has sold to new owners. Dudley Perkins started selling Harley Davidson motorcycles in January of 1914 and the dealership has been family owned for 103 years. 

Gordon's Ironhead Build

I promised build photos of Gordon's Ironhead Sportster. The bike started as this 1984 XLX and it doesn't look too bad from a distance. But a closer look shows a lot of wear, rust and corrosion, the bike was showing it's age.

   

 It was clear that the bike needed a complete rebuild, it was time to get it on the table and tear it down.

The engine would be completely rebuilt.

   

 The frame and wheels needed repair and all new bearings.

After repair and rebuild comes powder coat,
paint and new parts. 

     
     
Then it's time to get engine back in the frame and finish putting it all back together.

 



Better than new.
This bike is a keeper.

Sportster Floating Rotor

     I have been wanting floating rotors for some time. These are the Harley Davidson black floating rotor. First thing, I don't think they are truly floating. The part that allows the rotor to move separate from the hub assembly appears to be a rivet. It is too solid to allow the rotor to "float" between the caliper brake pads. 

     I have read that removing the rotor bolts might require an impact driver to get loose. I didn't have any problem, the torque for these bolts is 16 to 24 ft.lbs with blue Loctite., so other than some steel/aluminium corrosion these bolts shouldn't be hard to remove.

Hub plate and hub casting

     When the stock rotor is removed you can see the casting of the hub and when the rotor is placed over the casting it just doesn't look right to me.  

Rotor in place without hub plate

    So I checked with the supreme authority, the Harley Davidson Factory Microfiche. As you can see from this unauthorized cell phone photo of the Official Microfiche, part #9, officially called a Hub Plate and often called (unofficially) a hub cap, goes between between the rotor and the hub. 
     I ordered a "Hub Plate" and it just didn't fit. The plate is thin but still moved the rotor to the very side of the caliper and the rotor bolts cleared the fork sliders by about the thickness of a sheet of paper. 
     I ditched the hub plate, painted the mating surface of the hub black and mounted it all up. I think it looks good.

Northern California Fire, Coffey Park

     Monday, October 9 in the early morning hours, fire, pushed by unusually high winds, blasted into the Northern Santa Rosa neighborhood known as Coffey Park. This fire was named the Tubbs Fire but 14 other fires, all fanned by the high winds burned in Sonoma and the neighboring counties. More than 40 people died and over 8300 buildings were destroyed. 

The fire was so hot it melted aluminium engines and wheels.

There are three Harleys and a '57 Chevy Pickup burned to scrap.

Dirt bike and sport bike

These bikes almost look like they were trying to ride away.

I think this bike is a BSA B31 or B33.

Flat fender Jeep probably survived war but not this firefight.

An original uncut Bronco.

But you can rely on a fireproof safe...

Maybe.

Gordon's 1965 XLCH

     This is my friend Gordon's 1967 Sportster XLCH.  It's set up in a '60's flat tracker style with a hard tail.  The bike is kick start with a magneto and is set up to be street legal.  After the '65 the '66 and '67 Sportsters had two different engine cases.  There was one set of cases for the XLH, for electric start and different cases for the kick start only XLCH.

     Unfortunately Gordon, who has been know to sell a bike now and then, has sold this Sporty and it's on its way to Australia. I've seen the bike that replaced this one, and it's a beauty. I'll have a build photos soon.

Farewell Little Suzuki

     A friend gave me this little Suzuki. I think it is 1971-75 Suzuki TS-125. It sat on the side of my house for years while I tried to decide what to do with it. Finally I decided to pass it on and I gave it to another friend. 
     But when it was on the trailer...it looked so...right.

Born Free 9

     Saturday it was time to head to Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado, California for Born Free. It's a fairly short ride from Riverside. There was plenty of parking in the dirt parking area. There is parking available on the grass inside the event, but you have to prepay for that parking and I am not good at planning more than three or four days out.

       For me being a newbee at Born Free it was a little hard to tell where the parking area ended and the "show bikes" started. Next year I plan on spending more time looking at the everyday bikes in the parking area.

   

     The heat, crowds, the volume of bikes and other distractions made it difficult to focus on anything specific. Still, I know what I like.

     Then there are the bikes that are a little more unusual.

     This was my first trip to Born Free. Despite the heat and the crowds I really enjoyed myself. This bike show is different than all the others. I'll be back next year.