Mike, thanks for sharing your motorcycle knowledge with us, it’s great to see someone working on old scoots while explaining each step of the way. Your how to videos have saved me a ton of time while working on my old stuff. Can hardly wait for the next panhead video. Ride safe my friend.
I like to use an old clutch plate with a bar welded to it to lock the clutch hub when I torque it down to factory spec. If you go crazy with a rattle gun, it can actually split open the taper in the clutch hub (right at the keyway, usually). I don't think in the Panhead era service manuals had torque specs, but the factory service manual for Shovelheads calls for 50 to 60 ft lb, which is easy to go over with a rattle gun. An old timer has the experience and finesse to know how far to go with an impact, but some young guys get a little ham fisted, so to be on the safe side, I'll tell them to use a torque wrench.
@@pacificmike9501 I hope it didn't sound like I was chiding, but these videos will likely outlive us, and future generations will study them to learn, so it's a historical responsibility on our shoulders. A lot of the actions we do are habits from long experience and are hard to show in a vid. It's easy to forget that the new guys as well as future generations are coming from zero experience. You've been living and breathing Harleys for many, many years. I study your videos intensely and find them a hugely valuable resource. Thank you so much for what you're doing!
It's great to see someone actually doing the best they can with "used" parts. I've worked on a few Harleys and I know not everyone has unlimited resources $. Keep up the great work.
Really enjoying this series....Brings back memories of a very similar style 61 CI '48 pan chopper that a buddy put together ... I was fortunate enough to help & observe its build from boxes of parts + sorting out the bugs when riding "sweep" with the always present bag of tools lashed to my ironhead once his pan was on the road.
Hello Mike, that's a very good Video. I am so far from you and the Harleys in America, but your Videos, bring me so close to your Garage. Thank you so much for that.On this Way :Best Regards to you and your Team and all the Harley Enthusiasts in Amerika from Germany. Mike to.
I just found your channel when you started this bike and now I can't wait till your videos come out. (I'm also going back to your older videos) I'm sure you've heard it before but you are the Bob Ross of motorcycles and I could watch your videos for hours. Thank you for the knowledge. I feel without channels like yours these techniques would be lost forever. Keep up the great work.
Good morning Mr Paciific, Cameraman Mike🌞 Always setting an example in workmanship, cleanliness and quality control. I’m the type of guy where nobody but myself works on my bike, you Mike, would be the one exception to that rule, in fact, it would be a great honor to say Pacific Mike over at Mike’s Garage did work on my scoot, couldn’t ask for a better mechanic. This preservation of Harley history is so important, we need to respect our Trailblazers and hope to be half as good as you guys were back in the day, when men were men and sheep were scared 😂 In all seriousness, thank you Mike and please take care of yourself.
Good stuff Mike. It’s good to see how to keep older scooters out on the road withe parts that still k Have life left in then. Hi cameraman Mike & Sonia!
I have assembled whole engines with worn used parts just as Ferrari did in the sixties. More power from lower friction of smooth surfaces and loose fits. Just shorter life. New parts are not needed many times.
Great videos Mike, really enjoy learning about maintaining old Harleys. Not many about down here in Australia, you guys are lucky to have so many, hope I can find an old Panhead one day. Keep up the great work.
It seems I remember a whole lot of Shovelheads getting shipped to Australia in the late eighties and early nineties. Where did they all go? There must have been some Panheads in there too.
@@pacificmike9501 They are still here, not many for sale though, and expensive if they are, $20,000+ for a shovel, $30000+ for a Panhead and over $40000 for a Knuckle if you can find one (Aussie dollars). Quite a few people here are importing them nowadays as it works out cheaper. I'm thinking of doing the same.
Also, quite a few have been wrecked over the years so the numbers have been reduced. Several people I know have collided with kangaroos or an emu, one guy was killed :(
Great video Mike. Good reason to keep parts. My Shovelhead has a used compensator and clutch basket. Went back to chain from phase 3 belt many moons ago.
another good video. good camera work and good explanations on what is what and sometimes why. I was thinking, Mike why you kept on putting that nut on, but didn't surprise me when he backed it off and going to do the right thing by replacing it. maybe next video you can explain what the compensator does.
Its soothing watching you do the jobs we have all done in the past with such calm and aplomb Mike. I particularly like th fact that you are working on a beater road bike- not a garage queen. Hard not to laugh at all the red silicone around the rear cylinder base. Lets call that an 'Externally applied gasket" shall we...!?
Hey, I just said I'd get it running. We'll redo the whole bike at some point "Down the road." That silicone is keeping the oil on the inside. Yah, a little extreme.
@@pacificmike9501 Oh forgive me if it seemed I was criticizing. I was actually celebrating it. I can relate to such improvisations all too well, which is how I have stayed on the road all these years. If it works, why knock it!
Rotary thumps arriving, turned linear round the bend, they flap their way down running chain, impulsive as they send, nervous flicks & twitches, to plates held spinning 'free', adjacent to their neighbours, who sit there, stationary. Prone as they are to wobble, as they kiss those spinning walls, that have them 'well surrounded' & about to squeeze their b-them all, if thoughtfully assembled, with parts still flat & true, the damn things run forever . . . & boy I envy you . . . not that I'm really jealous, not at all . . . (Nose growing noises : )
Hot pancakes and butter….I fought for an hour with a woodruff key on my 6t pinion oil pump drive gear trying to get that bad dog to stay in place whilst I positioned the gear and interlocked it with the pump 24t drive gear…then I had to do,it all over again with the cam drive pinion gear - many bad words were said. And here is the master with a mallet showing me how I could have tapped it in place….😂 what a fool I was
Time doesn't matter when you're doing it because you want to. You do it until you learn it and get it right. Then, it's on to the next thing. We all start in the same place. You're no fool. You stuck with it.
Brilliant job Pacific Mike, shown easily and clerarly, very helpful... sorry, can i ask, the 1/2" deep inpact socket youre using, what size is that for the nuts, it appears you used the same for both, i'd like to be prepared, cheers 'n appreciated, Jon
@@pacificmike9501 thank you! Keep with the the videos sharing your wisdom, like my mechanic professor said the knowledge i have i will share everything i can possibly share to you because if i don't do that all i know will be lost now is up to you if you want to learn he is an old school mechanic.
noticed ya don't torque the clutch hub nut...?? fy i made a clutch hub holding tool by welding a square stock bar to an old clutch plate so it slides over the studs..work like a charm...thks for sharing...
I got the same clutch on my 81 Sturgis. I replaced the primary belt this winter. The belt is pretty tight but not adjustable on my bike. Now the bike has trouble taking of from standstill, it kinda groans and lurches when I let the clutch out. I am 100% sure the key is in there correctly. Could the tight new belt be responsible for this ? Maybe I did not put enough grease on the big roller bearing (as I did not want the excess grease to gum up the clutch plates) ? Whe taking it apart to do the belt replacement I forgot to bend back the tab for the clutch hub nut. The protrusion into the hub broke off and I could not get the locktab to come off over the threads. The remaining protrusion bit made the hole in the locktab too small. That took a lot of swearing, some blood too...
Mike, long time fan of all your videos. Any issues with impacting the nut on the front sprocket shaft, rather than torquing it down? I’m installing a belt drive on my 54 Pan.
I believe (just me) I'd rather use an impact that tightens on a small diameter, rather than using a long wrench, which is a big lever loading the shaft sideways.
Hey Mike. Love all your videos. I'm curious about that compensator you showed in the video. I've never seen one of those before. What was it for and what did it do? Why not still use it?
I just brought it out to show. It's an early one that goes on bikes 54 and earlier (tapered output shaft). Harley only made these with 22 or 23 tooth sprockets, so most people put on a solid sprocket for 24 teeth (higher gearing). But, it is basically a "cushion drive." Harley still uses a modern version of these on their motorcycles today.
I really enjoy your videos, but I have a question that has led to much debate over the years, that being the use of an impact wrench in a primary. Some argue that is OK to use one for disassembly , but never for reassembly. Maybe I have been unnecessarily doing it the hard way the last 50 years by only using a breaker bar and ratchet. 🤔
Mike, primary chains are good, but back in in the day I used a belt drive, that way I could block the chain oiler so the bike didn't mark it's s[ot. Another great vid for the history channel... SUOOTR...
That's why I install belt primaries on all the old kick only bikes with tin primaries. And, you don.t have to constantly adjust them. This one will get one eventually.
Im new at working on old harleys these videos are a godsend! ...how much is the clutch suppose to open? I got this old chopper that needs help and the clutch opens barely 1/8" and only on one side.... its a mutt chopper built by someone who probly cut corners...didnt do it right...and used warn parts....
Your videos are priceless!!! Question: I have a 1975 FXE and can’t find any information on how many loose bearings should be in the clutch hub. 50-52? I don’t remember there being a 3 roller gap not sure if I may have lost any.
@@pacificmike9501 Yes I do. And I didn’t ask a complete question. I was thinking faster than I can type. It didn’t dawn on me that my clutch isn’t stock. But still uses the OEM style clutch hub but uses loose roller bearings not caged. I spilled them and am not sure if I found them all. After I tried to put it back together I had 50. I just ordered a new OEM style hub and the “52” bearing kit that specifies new “52” for a smoother less wobble clutch. For your reference Part# 20-0229. Thank you for your response.
Hi Mike, another good video. Like you I try to do any upgrades that make sense to me. After rebuilding the transmission in my '57 FL I decided to use one of those super nuts with the seal built in to secure the transmission sprocket. As you would know they are considerably thicker than the stock hex nut. Before I put the clutch hub back on I wanted to ask you specifically if the added thickness of the super nut has ever caused you a problem with the clutch hub not fully getting to the proper depth on the mainshaft? Please advise. Thank you.
Yes, I've had the problem. Sometimes removing the shield (cover, slinger) from the sprocket, will give you a little more length on the mainshaft. Sometimes the clutch hub is worn and it goes on further than you would like. Sometimes, you're outa luck and it just isn't going to make it. Make sure it's all in good shape. Maybe a new clutch hub would do the trick.
Thank you Mike for your reply. One thing you did not suggest is to swap out the super nut for a thin stock hex nut. Seems to me that should do the job and you could retain the oil slinger. The hub is new and no cracks in the keyway so I think I best swap out the super nut for a stock one. Thanks again.
I'm not going to open this engine. The idea is to get it running while another bike is getting rebuilt. We'll eventually do everything to it. For now, make it run. Open the engine and we'll replace everything in there. Not yet.
It's a habit from trying not to ruin the chrome on hardware. Notice I use tools that really fit too. If you know how tight you want things. If you only use tools that really fit. I worked for people who rode very nice motorcycles for a long time. Knocking the corners off of chrome bolts was out of the question. There is no doubt a box end grabs a nut all the way around. What do you want or need for the job you're doing? It varies a lot.
Hi Mike! I have a 51 pan/shovel chopper that i just got cranked up after 40+ years. It won't shift. It has a ratchet top shifter and I'm thinking that the ratchet mechanism is so dried out that the pawls are frozen. So here's my question: Isn't/wasn't the primary supposed to be lubed by oil dripping /spraying on the chain? Is it dry now? Do you lube the chain? What do you clean the clutches with? Thanks Mike!
Great video - Would you know the specs on worn clutch discs and spring length - working on a 1957 pan - Would be great to just put all new in but at times we have to make do with what we have if possible Thank you
It's in the books. Those things are made so adjustable that you can make them work right up to the point of not working when they're finally completely worn out. But there are plenty of better parts on the market than Harley made originally. Just watch the videos, read the book and you can have a great clutch very easily.
I have 58 duo glide. Is this model had wet clutch? I noticed that I have a drain bolt under the primary cover. I drained it and it was more less a quarter. Ive seen that there are some difference with chain or belt in primary cover and what I understand when You have belt it must be dry clutch but when chain is it wet? BTW great footage
Thank You. Your bike came with a dry clutch and chain drive primary. The engine breathed into the primary. The chain oiler is controlled by the oil pump. It is a "total loss" oil system. After oiling the chain, the oil drained out of a hole (which originally had a spout on it) at the bottom rear corner of the inner primary cover. Then, we came along and put belt drives on in place of the primary chain. Then, we restrict the oil (which came out of the breather tube into the primary). This is done at the oil pump. The motor must still breathe. So, we extend a line out behind the inner primary cover.
Hey Mike got a question for you, would it be possible to install a new primary chain without taking off the clutch and motor sprocket, move the transmission far forward and slip on a longer primary chain ?
Hey Mike, I know this is off base on this video but here goes. I've got an "81" FLH. Short story is, when I park it, it's puking oil out the breather. I've owned shovels since the early 80's and worked on em all. BACK THEN. Not so much anymore ( health problems). Anyways, can you tell me what I need to do to stop this thing from leaking so much ? Thanks in advance. Steve. Grand Rapids Michigan...
If oil is circulating properly (be sure you can see it is returning to the tank), then , it's sitting too long between rides and the oil is getting past the ball and spring in the oil pump that holds the oil back. By that I mean, "The oil tank is mounted higher than the engine and gravity feeds the oil pump." Therefore that ball and spring is needed. You can take it out and clean it. It's under the small cap on top of the oil pump. But, if the bike sits idle, oil finally gets past and fills the crankcase. When the bike sits too long, put a pan under it and start it, run it, 'til it stops puking oil, check the tank, being careful not to overfill and go for a ride.
Originally, Harley had a fixture for this operation.. It made the whole process much easier. The way I look at it, If one stud is bad, more will be going soon. Every after market supplier of old Harley parts carries these hubs. I strongly suggest replacing yours with a shiney new one.
@@pacificmike9501 Thanks! I'm restoring my 1966 Shovelhead, and have a 5 finger that I bought 25 years ago I was thinking about using. Nothing wrong with the 3 finger that was on it.
@@pacificmike9501 I have a question, and a bit of a problem. I am going to run a stock rear fender on my bike. I have the fender, a bunch of tail light's and turn signal light's. LOOKING FOR A SET OF THOSE GRAB HANDLE'S THAT GO ON OFFSET TWO HOLE FRAME TAIL'S AND COVER'S. I couldn't remember, EBAY if anyone understand's. I would appreciate it. Thankyou, enjoy the upcoming weekend. Thx, James.
Preparing for a video: Turning on what you need, turning off what you don't need, killing the phones, the dogs across the street, the train in the distance, then a twin engined prop plane overhead. I think the compressor should definitely join in. I think we should go earlier. I really love the roosters.
@@pacificmike9501 i dont know how to send pictures. i have what seems to be a bdl clutch. but the metal plates have "o-rings" on them. not the anti rattlers i see on most clutches. i was wondering if you ever saw them before? is it someones homemade hack? and should I discard them?
