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4thcoast · 12-11-2011, 10:03 AM

I thought I would post some shots of one of the Cannonball KJs. This is a great bike that was found in New England. The bike had been in a long sleep resting in the basement of a retired aircraft mechanic who had taken the whole bike apart in the mid 60s and just never got it back together. All the original gingerbread was there. It was a great find. It will run this Monday for the first time in almost 50 years. Soon the old bike will point its nose West and head for the coast. It is the first Wolf Pack bike to be up and running. The bike has many new untested parts in it that we are using on the Cannonball. She will be our test bed for some of those parts. The bike is so nice, we are going to paint it and then dull it down to match all of the original componants and metal finishes. Before she would let me close her up, I had to machine a little extra clearance in the wrist pin bosses of the pistons to give some float factor for the connecting rods small end bushing side to side clearance. I'd better head to the shop so I can meet my Monday date.

Kris Thompson · 12-11-2011, 10:33 AM

Looks really nice Mark. Interesting rear fender skirts. Also notice the "flat" style handlebars. This looks like it will be a fantastic machine. "keep rolling". Kris

quote='4thcoast' pid='2138' dateline='1323615802']
I thought I would post some shots of one of the Cannonball KJs. This is a great bike that was found in New England. The bike had been in a long sleep resting in the basement of a retired aircraft mechanic who had taken the whole bike apart in the mid 60s and just never got it back together. All the original gingerbread was there. It was a great find. It will run this Monday for the first time in almost 50 years. Soon the old bike will point its nose West and head for the coast. It is the first Wolf Pack bike to be up and running. The bike has many new untested parts in it that we are using on the Cannonball. She will be our test bed for some of those parts. The bike is so nice, we are going to paint it and then dull it down to match all of the original componants and metal finishes. Before she would let me close her up, I had to machine a little extra clearance in the wrist pin bosses of the pistons to give some float factor for the connecting rods small end bushing side to side clearance. I'd better head to the shop so I can meet my Monday date.
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4thcoast · 12-11-2011, 07:47 PM

Here are a couple of shots of the valve train. It is all new from the tappits on the camshaft up. These are parts that have been in short supply, anemic. On the last cannonball, I had a buddy break a tappit screw adjuster. Try and find a 12-32 tappit screw adjuster that hasn't been made in 100 years. I walked over to my truck and pulled out one of Westfall's spares and handed it to him. I had insisted we have spares of everything in the valve train. He couldn't believe that I had it. That one little tappit screw was made of 8620 carburized steel and cost a lot of money to make. Short batch parts runs on obscure makes are not for the faint of heart or wallet. I probably could have gotten a million bucks for that adjuster screw that day. Most of the new parts you see in these pictures will be rockwell tested and cut apart for destructive testing to check the metalurgy, but there really is no better test than to just put miles on. Tom Fickau made the beautiful new push rods, valve springs and valve spring retainers. There is no easy way to do the cannonball. Comparatively speaking, some of those Milwaukee boys have it easier because there is a huge aftermarket for parts. cannonball is cruel. Stuff breaks you would never expect. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Buzz Kanter · 12-12-2011, 08:05 PM

Nice. Very nice! Wonder how they will stack up to Milwaukee's best and let's not forget Springfield's too!

Kris Thompson · 12-12-2011, 11:05 PM

Loved what you wrote Mark...That was one lucky guy you helped out that day with the valve tappet adjuster. You could not have said it better when you you make reference to being prepared. The Cannonball is grueling and anyone taking part should be double and triple checking EVERYTHING!!! Good Luck fellow Cannonballers...

Tom Lovejoy · 12-13-2011, 12:22 AM

Right on guys, go Henderson !

4thcoast · 12-15-2011, 08:54 AM

(12-13-2011 12:22 AM)Tom Lovejoy Wrote: Right on guys, go Henderson !

She fires up today Tom in about two hours we will get some video for Lonnie

Mark

4thcoast · 12-15-2011, 10:03 PM

(12-15-2011 08:54 AM)4thcoast Wrote:
(12-13-2011 12:22 AM)Tom Lovejoy Wrote: Right on guys, go Henderson !

She fires up today Tom in about two hours we will get some video for Lonnie

Mark

I will post the video as soon as I figure out how to. Here are some pics of the bike right before it fired up. 50 years of waiting gone with one kick. She runs great.

darrylri · 12-16-2011, 12:57 AM

Congrats! It's a great feeling when it fires up for the first time! Looking forward to some video! Smile

4thcoast · 12-17-2011, 11:17 PM

Hendersons are hard to come by and if you have one, boy, hold onto it. These are the Deusenburgs of the antique motorcycle world. After years of service, many of the Henderson engines have been hurt beyond repair by a normal motorcycle shop. These motors were designed by craftsmen who cared about every minutia of detail. If you get the chance, look at the Julian date on a Henderson motor some day. It will proudly display the day the the foundrymen cast the aluminum case you are looking at. The case will also display its KJ-1000 part number. There will also be a capital "W" just below its K number. The W is for Wera - this was the foundry that cast the part you are looking at. Arthur Constantine, creator of the sleek Henderson KJ, fondly recalls this in his letters late in his life. Constantine and the Wera foundry are gone, and all that remains of their work is that motor case that has found its way to my shop. This is what drives me when I stand at my machines and fight years of abuse, neglect and time itself. The pictures I am about to post show the process I use to actually qualify an engine case so it can be line bored properly. You can count four indicators on the line boring machine which insure that all the internal geometry of the engine will be corrected. This is engine blueprinting. You will see a few photos of some of my custom jigs and fixtures being qualified before the engine is even installed onto them. I would like to think that Schwinn's shop foremen are smiling somewhere. No, I won't be watching to see if the Packers go 14-0 tomorrow. I'll be standing at my machine thinking about that W and Mr. Constantine.