Any opinions on the value as it sits?

 

This is what I see based on the photos:
1- Missing the Linkert carb, not sure what is on there but not a Linkert, it looks really big!?!?
2- Frame had the seat pivot mount hacked off or modified
3- Front head has some broken fins
4- After market, and not Flanders, bars and risers.

You do have:
1- frame
2- motor
3- transmission with clutch and primary
4- Rear brake
5- Rear wheel

What looks wrong or aftermarket:
1- Carb
2- Front wheel looks like a star hub, 45's have specific wheels with brake drum as part of the hub
3- Speedometer including base and ignition switch
4- handle bars, risers and top clamp
5- Tires
6- Rockers on the front end are on the outside, so either wrong or incorrectly installed due to wheel, they should be on the inside
7- headlight
8- wiring
9- coil

The picture of the VIN # is great accept part of it is obscured with the rubber hose, need a better shot of that for sure. The font does not match my '46, but I am not sure what years they might have changed. I am a little nervous if he thinks it is a 1946, the font would match mine then. Again need the entire # to evaluate. The first 2 digits will be the year, then letters will be the model (WL, WLA, WLC) followed by more numbers which were sequential at the factory.

Based on the paint on the oil tank (does he have the fuel tank and fenders?) and then general after market stuff on it, I would guess someone had it together and running in the 80's, then something happened and it came apart. So that jives with your Uncle's story. Much more to see and talk about but for $3k you can't get hurt. Parted out just the frame, front end and transmission would cover that investment.

Lots of good stuff there and people have started with much less. I would shake his hand, give him $3k and get it home and disassemble it and catalog what I have. Good luck.

 

He gave me a little more of the story yesterday. He bought it when he was 18 when he was down in Arizona. He is in his mid 50's now, so he's had it about 37 years. He said at the time there was another bike that was together and running for a few hundred more bucks. he said he should have bought that one instead of trying to save a couple hundred bucks.

He said over the years he gets inspired, buys parts, starts to tinker on it, ether tears it down, builds it up etc.. just never finished it. He took it everywhere with him since he was 18. I always remembered seeing it in his living room my whole life and always loved the bike.

Yesterday when i was there he mentioned that the front must be a big twin springer, he said it had bearings to fit the frame. He didn't know this until he was doing the brakes years ago and discovered they were big twin brakes. so he thinks the forks are big twin forks. He said for some reason when assembling it, the front wheel is offset and not centered and said he must have a spacer or something wrong with the wheel/ fork setup because the wheel isn't centered. So would it be recommend to find a set of 45" forks or use the big twin forks.

It has a new minkuni carb on it. He said he got it because it produces a little more power than the original carb. I am assuming he doesn't have the linkert carb.

He said he has a seat pivot bracket that was fabbed up to put on the bike (so its not original)

The fuel tank was in the box with matching paint, and has a rear fender no front.

I very much appreciate you helping me out.

 

Do you think think those forks will be ok to use, or should I probably find a set of 45 forks? if so I could possibly break even buying a set of 45 forks and selling the big bore forks.

 

hobby10k, welcome to the forum. In the VIN the 1, 4 and 6 are not consistent with factory stamping of Model WLs for 1946. Notice the top serif of the 1 is at about forty-five degrees where normally for 46 I’d expect it to be horizontal. The 4 has a closed top but I’d expect the top to be open for 46. The 6 has a round back where usually for 46 we’d see a straight back. Can you post a clearer close-up please because some of those characters may be Harley but from other periods. And I’d like to get a better idea re the thickness of the VIN boss. Thanks.

Look under each case half, near the outer edges and somewhat toward the front. Stamped there you may find crankcase production numbers, aka belly numbers, aka line-bore numbers, aka confidential numbers. They may be formatted similar to the following example: 42-1234. Let us know what you find.

Notice at left of the engine sprocket there is the start of a casting number. In full is it 112-392 or 112-376? Not far from the end of the casting number, is there a small rectangular plate? (It may be partly hidden by the sprocket.) If a plate is present, what characters are on it? These characters may indicate what month and year the left case was cast.

On the trans case, under the oil filler spout you may find another casting number and another small plate with characters on it.
Eric

 

speeding big twin thank you for your help. I will get better pictures of the case numbers next time I head over there. Where is the frame numbers located?

I got a picture of the neck sticker I'll post if that helps in any way.

If the cases end up being aftermarket and the incorrect years etc, what do you think would be a fair price for the bike?

I don't plan on assembling it 100% original, so if its mismatched its not that big of a deal, I'm going to make a bobber. I don't want to pay too much for a bike that I have to ground up rebuild, but also want him to get a fair price for what I am getting. so fair for both I guess. I'll get the pictures the next time I go there

 

 

For the engine I would call Dan Baisley at Baisley Motors. He and his family have been working on these engines for many years. They know what it takes to make them run.

 

hobby10k, you’re welcome. I don’t think the crankcases are aftermarket. When I mentioned the 1, 4 and 6 not being consistent with factory stamping, I meant the VIN does not look like it was stamped at the Harley factory. Also as I indicated, some characters in the VIN may have been done with Harley stamps but from other periods, not from 1946. H-D used certain stamps at the factory and they changed them from time to time. For example, they used more than one style of round-back 6 in VINs over the years but I wouldn’t expect to see a round-back 6 used as original for any 1946 Harley VIN.

There can be several reasons why VINs don’t contain characters consistent with the year and/or model indicated and a clearer close-up of the entire VIN may help us determine what happened, not only with the characters but also with the VIN boss. The production numbers under each case, along with the casting number and date code (if present) on the left case, will also help because they may indicate what year the cases really are. I agree it's not a big deal in this instance if things are mismatched but it's always nice to know what year the engine and transmission are.

Originally WLs never had a frame number so they were originally registered by the engine VIN only. But you may find forging numbers on some areas of the frame. The sticker has a state-assigned ID number on it and the bike may have been registered by that number at some stage. Looks like the sticker says Arizona? Any other info on the sticker?

Sorry but I can’t give you an idea regarding price. In the late-70s and early-80s I bought and sold nine Harley 45ci Solos (eight WLAs and one WLC) but these days I’m not even in touch with pricing here in Australia. BTW, Harley never made a 46WLC. The WLC (C for Canada) was made for the Canadian Department of National Defence but only as a 42 model and a 43 model. The WL was made for 1937–52.
Eric

 

Speeding Big Twin My uncle did correct me when I went over and got the pictures I posted. he said its a WLD not a WLC.

I will try and get to my uncles sometime this week and get some pictures of the numbers. He purchased the bike when he lived in Arizona around 37 years ago.

Your In Australia, thats cool. I have a buddy who lives in southport Queensland.

You guys on this forum are all a bunch of good guys, and I thank you for the help.