Bought my first Harley
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Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2020
Posts: 46
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From: AZ
Bought my first Harley
Hello all. I bought a ‘45 flathead recently at the Mecum auction in Vegas. I know very little(but am learning) about it so I’ll be posting in the tech section with some questions. Thanks in advance
Chris-AZ
Chris-AZ
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,711
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From: SW WA.
Hmmm,you say '45 Flathead,did you mean year 1945 Flathead or Flathead 45" (45cid) motor? It could even be both though not likely.
I'm assuming you meant the 45 cubic inch Flathead as that's far and away the most common and many were built before during and after WWII the lion's share being military WLA models.
There were also 74" and 80" "Big Twin" Flatheads made during the 1930's and 1940's.
"Named for its flat-topped, vented cylinder heads, the side valve-equipped 45 cubic inch flathead engine debuted in 1929, and the 74 cubic inch V model Big Twin came out in 1930. The Big Twin model was built in part to compete with the 74 cubic inch Indian Chief. In 1937, the U series of Harley-Davidson flathead Big Twin engines made their debut, replacing the V series. The U and UL models featured 74 cubic inch powerplants, and the UH and the ULH models were outfitted with 80 cubic inch engines. The 80 cubic inch models were produced until 1941, and the 74 cubic inch U and UL models were in production until 1948. The three-wheeled Harley-Davidson Servi-Cars made from the early 1930s through 1975, were powered by flathead engines during their entire run of production."
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Joe Kucinski
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Joined: Apr 2008
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From: Spartan Country, Michigan
Welcome from Spartan Country, Michigan!
I tell a lot of new comers to the forum to get: Factory Service manual and the Parts manual. Get a three ring binder and record all your maintenance, repairs, accessories, etc. This will be a great reminder of what was done when. And great material to pass along to the new owner should you sell and upgrade. Also know how large your fuel tank is, and record your fuel usage. I have an app called Simply Auto that I record all my fuel used. I use the odometer and use the fuel gage as reference only. I reset the odometer to zero on fill ups, and I know I can safely get 200 miles on a tank on around town riding.
Good Luck!!
I tell a lot of new comers to the forum to get: Factory Service manual and the Parts manual. Get a three ring binder and record all your maintenance, repairs, accessories, etc. This will be a great reminder of what was done when. And great material to pass along to the new owner should you sell and upgrade. Also know how large your fuel tank is, and record your fuel usage. I have an app called Simply Auto that I record all my fuel used. I use the odometer and use the fuel gage as reference only. I reset the odometer to zero on fill ups, and I know I can safely get 200 miles on a tank on around town riding.
Good Luck!!