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Post by rockinez on Mar 20, 2014 2:05:50 GMT -5
Take this with how ever many grains of salt as it is a second hand story from my father. Harley had it's undocumented changes in their younger years.....
Harley guys please say if this is true or not.
My dad was working as a mechanic at a Harley dealership in his early days (He was vintage 1912) and Milwaukee factory trained.
As the story goes, it was common practice to check the oil on a running engine in early Harley 45 cubic inch engines by sticking your finger in the oil fill hole. At one point the lack of oil circulation on hills caused Harley to place an oil circulating fan in the engine.
A geezer working the same place my dad worked stuck his finger in one of these new engines, while running to check the oil volume. The new, an as yet undocumented circulating fan neatly removed the first joint of his finger.
Story told to me... I did not experience, and do not even know the year the engines changed. Just a story from my dad to indicate the manual does not include all new changes......
Harley guys..... Is this possibly true? |
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Post by RapidJim on Mar 20, 2014 8:31:11 GMT -5
Anything is possible, I do know my 1950 Pan has an oil tank separate from the motor, and so did my 63 Flat head 45 trike.
Jim
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Sophomore Rider
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Post by rockinez on Mar 20, 2014 13:44:18 GMT -5
One thing worth mentioning is the Harley family in the '60's, that only partially exists now. If you rode a Harley then, you were automatically included. You did not find too many Doctors and Dentists as weekenders in those days.
My dad had a lot out back of his shop. Those that made it to town in the '60s needing Harley repairs, but had no money were free to camp and fix. He had a pile of used, but still usable parts if you couldn't afford to really fix your machine. He would provide a canvas tarp and tools.... sometimes parts and beer, depending on if he liked you or not. Everybody ate, no question of that. There was a cookout every night in the summer. He did a lot of 200 mile repairs..... "This will get you 200 miles, if you push it to 201, you are going to mess up that {insert relevant part here}". You will never see that at a dealership. We were about 5 miles off Hwy 66 in the Panhandle of Texas. The next town that had parts was..... no place near.
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Post by PCBGY6 on Mar 20, 2014 14:23:01 GMT -5
One thing worth mentioning is the Harley family in the '60's, that only partially exists now. If you rode a Harley then, you were automatically included. You did not find too many Doctors and Dentists as weekenders in those days. My dad had a lot out back of his shop. Those that made it to town in the '60s needing Harley repairs, but had no money were free to camp and fix. He had a pile of used, but still usable parts if you couldn't afford to really fix your machine. He would provide a canvas tarp and tools.... sometimes parts and beer, depending on if he liked you or not. Everybody ate, no question of that. There was a cookout every night in the summer. He did a lot of 200 mile repairs..... "This will get you 200 miles, if you push it to 201, you are going to mess up that {insert relevant part here}". You will never see that at a dealership. We were about 5 miles off Hwy 66 in the Panhandle of Texas. The next town that had parts was..... no place near. Those days seem long gone. It's rare to find someone like that now days. Some here seem to have that mentality of sorts. The willingness to share ideas and knowledge is about as close as some of us can get. I know if not for the forum community I wouldn't know nearly as much as I do about my scooter. |
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Post by rockinez on Mar 20, 2014 14:38:44 GMT -5
Agreed. We share a lot of amazing information on these scoot sites. The insurance problems and liability law suits have prevented those in business from taking chances like this for the most part. You can still find a friendly face on occasion.
I was on a 125 Bridgestone 2 stroke 60 miles from home with no money (don't ask). I had plenty of gas, but my oil was running dry. I pulled off at a Yamaha shop, and offered to leave my 2nd helmet as collateral for a quart of oil. They gave me the oil... I sent them $20 when I got home.
Believe it or not, the VW community still has spots like that also.
I rebuilt a '62 on a blue tarp in Coalinga CA in the lot behind a VW garage.
The guys were great. That was a couple of decades ago, but it still happens. |
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