Revised Plan for the Week

Morning

When I phoned Doepie on Saturday morning past, to find out what time would suit him the best for me to stop by, he said that he had picked up a bout of flu that has turned into lung infection. Which meant that I could not drive out to visit him.

Grant - the guy that has done the re-spoking of the rear wheel and is currently busy with the re-spoking of the front wheel - has not been able to finish the re-spoking of the front wheel.  I should get the front wheel back from him during the course of the week.

I consequently ended up fetching the parts from the Post Office and fitting the front brake assembly on Saturday.

What's up for this week? The following:

• Fitting the tyres to the two wheels and the balancing of the tyres.
• Then fitting the wheels on the motorcycle.
• I also have to torque the two heads.
• That will allow me to finish the installation of the tanks and I can also fit all of the fuel and oil lines.
• If I have time, I want to fill the battery with battery acid and check that all of the wiring works properly.

Dispatch Rider Patch in Wall Hanging

Morning

Today I went to fetch the patch and the vintage tyre levers.

I want to use the patch and some of the other memorabilia to put together a man cave wall hanging - similar to the one that I have done for my 95th Commemorative Edition Sportster.

In this wall hanging I have fitted the following items:

• Top left is a 95th Commemorative Edition patch. 
• Below that is a 95th Commemorative Edition pin. 
• Bottom left is a post card of the 95th Commemorative Edition Sportster. 
• Bottom right is a Maistro model of the 95th Commemorative Edition Sportster. 

In a similar wall hanging of the WW2 SAUDF Harley-Davidson WL, I would like to put together the following:

• A short history of the H-D's during WW2 service in the SAUDF, with some WW2 photos of the H-D's in East Africa, Madagascar and North Africa. I'll include the Dispatch Rider's patch, the early WW2 SATC badge and some of the other memorabilia in this collage. 
• A summary of the restoration process with a before photo, some photos that I took during the restoration process and an after photo. I also want to use some of the packaging of the NOS parts that I have used in the restoration process. 
• I have managed to get a Maistro model of a 1942 WLA (see post “1942 Harley-Davidson WLA Memorabilia”. I will include this in the collage as well. 

What do you guy's think of such a man cave wall hanging? Anything that you would suggest that I include in the wall hanging? 

Dispatch Rider Patch from World War 2

Good morning

I was really lucky to buy a British Dispatch Rider patch from WW2 on eBay a while ago. This is what the badge look like.

WW2 Dispatch Rider Patch

This looks very similar to the insignia worn by motorcyclists in the Union Defence Force in both World Wars - see post titled "SA Motocyclist Insignia".  After all - the Union Defence Force of South Africa formed part of the British Forces and used a lot of British kit in WW2.

I want to mount all of the memorabilia, some of the NOS packaging, and a short history of the Harley-Davidson's that serviced the Union Defence Force of South Africa in the East Africa, the Madagascar and the North Africa Campaings in a frame that one can hang on a wall.

Home Stretch!

Hi. 

I have completed most of the wiring this weekend. I only have to pull the two rear brake light wires through the channel in the rear fender and connect the wires, as well as, the horn harness. But before I can do the horn harness, I have to finish painting the front fender.

I only have a small amount of painting to do: the spokes for the front wheel, the front fender, the front rim, the front brake handle and the two handlebar switch covers. O. I forgot about the steering control.

Once that is finished, I can fit the painted parts and finish off the wiring. I also have to respoke the front wheel and fit the two tyres.

Hence the title of this post - I am in the home stretch! I really hope that I can have this all completed by the end of August. We can then start the Harley end of August or early in September. I intend to capture the first start on video and will post the video online.

It has been a very interesting year - actually more than a year - and I have enjoyed the restoration work tremendously!

At the moment I am busy looking for the next project to do. I'm considering doing a 1946 flathead (a 74 cubic inch motor) custom bike.  Something like this :

Outstanding Work

Hi

I have the following still to do (in  no particular order):

• Complete the spray-painting of the front fender and fit it;
• Complete the dash board rebuild;
• Complete the re-wiring of the motor-cycle;
• Assemble the rear rim and put a tyre on;
• Complete the front rim and spokes and assemble the rim and put on a tyre;
• Refurbish the handlebars and fit them, with the control cables;
• The heads still have to be torqued;
• The seat must be covered and fitted;
• Fill the battery with battery acid.

I will then be able to take the motor-cycle to Doepie to go through and do the final adjustments.

Once he is happy with everything we will be able to start the motor-cycle.

I am still aiming for early September 2016 to start the motor-cycle.

A 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA Memorabilia

Hi

I have also bought a small replica of a 1942 Harley Davidson WLA.

Original Harley-Davidson 45 User's Manual

Hi

I have managed to purchase an original Harley-Davidson user's manual for a 45.  This was a great find - these user manuals are scarce!  Here are some photo's

Harley Davidson's that Doepie are Building

Here are some photos of HD's that Doepie are busy building.