yea i belive your right on the rear brake

you have some good pieces the forks look real frame and motor look as well as the fuel tanks --

the rear fender -- i actually have a fender that was cut just below the bolt holes in the front at the frame attachment -- if you should deside to take that off i would be interseted in it to repair mine - if the metal wire channel is still intact on the inside of it., just as a passing note 45 resto in NY buys and sells mostly V Twin stuff and some of that is garbage, i needed OEM rear brake shoes for a WLA i owned last year and was told they had them and they were OEM - well i know they were tiawan tedds stuff as i also had the exact box and shoes from them in stock and would not take them back - just so you know i have suppliers but nothing quality is cheap

 

thanks john...rear fender i was told is a repop and since it has already been trimmed by the po i was planning on using it for my pretend racer.

unless I hear different, plan is to order the the 18 front wheel and brake assembly, matching 18 rear rim and s/s spokes, and "sport" handlebar/top triple tree assy from 45 restoration.

unless someone here needs them, the 21 front (good rim & tire, s/s spokes, flaking chrome brake hub), dogbone risers and drag bars will go on evilbay.

 

Having trouble posting so we’ll see if it works this time.
Assuming your frame is genuine H-D and is the style that accommodates a trans case with three mounting studs then the frame may be somewhere from a 1941 model to a 1952 model inclusive. They didn’t have date codes and Big Twin frames didn’t have them either until about January 1953. According to Bruce Palmer’s 1937–64 H-D restoration book, frames for 1941–47 Flathead 45” Solos originally had a two-hole bracket on the seat post tube for the clutch release cable. For 1948–52 models the bracket originally had three holes. Also for 1948–52 frames, originally there were two 5/16” threaded blocks on the left side of the seat post tube for the new-style coil mounts, meaning the earlier U-bolt mounting system was eliminated.


You mentioned the forks were professionally put back to stock? But you do realise the lower portion of the rear legs doesn’t look like the original style?




If the trans case has three mounting studs then it may have casting number 121-41 under the oil filler spout. Also under the spout you may find a casting date code to indicate the month and year the case was cast. The code won’t necessarily be the same as the model year of the case but it may be close. At least two types of format were used for date codes under the spout and you may also find a circled E which is a casting hallmark. If no date code under the spout then it may be on the floor inside the trans case, depending on year, and the code format may be a different style again.



A fourth date code format was later employed but I’ve only seen it underneath the trans and it was for a 1970s Servi-Car. If you can’t find a code under the spout or underneath the case then it may well be inside and I can post a photo of one in an empty case so you’ll know exactly where to look if need be although I’m not sure you’d be able to see one when all the internals are in place. Anyway, please let us know if you find anything.

Eric

 

i never noticed the difference until now. if you mean the rear legs don't taper nicely it's because they were 12" over and shortened. For the cost of replacement at this stage I will live with them.

I do see my lower rocker assemblies are upside down, probably to keep the thing somewhat level.

it's all going to come apart and put back best I can, the po(s) used stacks of washers for spacers, wrong length bolts and an amazing variety of nuts, locking and not, some with lock washers, some with star washers...and this is all on the lower end of the forks.

thanks for the dating tips...here's a close up of the fork bottoms and seat post.

 

I took a close up of that rear brake...it doesn't look like anything I've seen for a WL. Its got some sort of a guide channel riveted on that I can't figure out.

if the assembly was rotated 180º it'd be forward of the axle and I suppose hidden behind the frame...any idea its purpose?

btw check out the low tech brake actuating "cable"...this and the front mini brake was the only way the bike could be stopped.

 

Yes, I was partly referring to the lack of taper. Also, I don't see anywhere to attach a shackle for a front brake.


The frame doesn’t have the two 5/16” threaded blocks on the left side of the seat post tube so with them missing the indication is that it’s a 1941–47 frame, assuming the frame accommodates a three-stud trans case. And if that bracket on the seat post tube for the clutch release cable only has two holes instead of three then that too indicates a 1941–47 frame.


Shifter gate on the tank appears to have the shape first introduced for the 1947 model year but I can’t tell exactly what type of gate it is. I assume it has markings on it.


Notice the petrol tank has a petcock, or tap, as opposed to a forward-mounted set-up that would include a shut-off rod running through the front of the tank from top to bottom. I’m not sure when the 45” tank first received a petcock. Bruce Palmer’s book says 1959 but I have no proof about that. Anyway, the lever on the petcock appears to be 1975-later style but the petcock body appears male so that makes me think the petcock is AM because when that type of lever was introduced by H-D the body was female.


Rear brake is not from a 45” but appears to be for a Big Twin rigid frame, meaning the brake is 1957 or earlier. I can’t tell if the brake is H-D or AM. For a BT that brake would normally be on the left side. The curled, or rounded, part of the riveted-on piece would usually be accommodated by the left rear forging on a BT frame.


You mentioned the motor is from a 53 Servi-Car but I can’t see any characters stamped on the visible part of the number boss?
Eric

 

there is a kludge brace from the lower rear fork pivot bolt to the mini brake control lever mounting boss, I will have to fab something for the correct brake. in fact the entire frame needs more work: in the restoration back to stock rake the top tank mount boss got left off. also the frame lower rear centerstand mounts cut off by the po need to be recreated.

awesome to be able to narrow the year down by those little details, thank you chris.

the shifter gate is incorrect...it's the gate for a servicar having an "R" at the rear. Unfortunately the correct one (3rd forward) is an arm and a leg.

this is a definite mutt...ii may be an aftermarket petcock...the tank boss is female.

if this is not rotatable 180 and the lever flipped to operate it the opposite direction this is not good news...it means i have to cough up for a rear brake assy as well as the front. one more millstone around the neck :-)

the number stamped on the left case between the cylinders is 53G XXXX

 

One thing to do is to check the servicar engine does not still have the small diameter intake manifold and/or carb.

Lots of fun you can have with these old flatties. My brother has a bobber with 900cc stroker flywheels, KHK cams, big intake valves, and a Mikuni 38mm carb and it is an absolute hoot to ride. Feels more like a Sportster engine than a flattie.
So my son and I are in the long, slow process of building one ourselves, slipped into a Norton just for gits and shiggles.