Help starting a motorcycle restoration....

[Lassen Forge]

Not sure where else to post this....
I have a relatively ancient (1921) Harley, which I've been sitting on for decades... decided finally to get off my *** and start working on it, but I honestly have no idea where the **** to start on it.
How does someone start a restoration project, and do it to be able to see it through completion. I've seen a lot of bikes brought back from the grave, but man, no one will clue me in on where the f*** ti even start on something like this....

 

[Hank11]

Start with a real good cleaning - the best you can do with the bike in one piece. Then, lots of pictures and lots of boxes. It may not be 100% correct now but it’s probably close and it probably worked as it is. Start by taking lots of pictures from every angle of the assembled bike. Longviews and close-ups of all the assemblies. As you take it apart, make more pictures. Put the various assemblies in their own box. That might look something like a box for the front wheel assembly, another for the rear wheel, another one for the controls on the handlebars, another for the fenders and supports, etc. Get some good boxes that will hold up and last to handling and moving. When you’ve got this far, start working on each box.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I don't know if they can be found for a bike that old but I always track down copies of the factory shop manual and factory parts manual for any bike I've owned. They help you when taking inventory of what you have and what you're missing, plus you'll have the part numbers for the parts you need to buy.
Not so much help for you now that you're in Italy, but if I had a Harley that old I'd go to the Wheels of Time museum in North Carolina. They have at least one of pretty much every year Harley on display, which would be useful for comparison purposes, plus they may be able to point you towards parts sources.
I suppose another question is what level of restoration do you have planned? Patina is all the rage these days, if a bike is in relatively good condition for its age it may be better to not plan on a concours level paint job.

 

[Rusted Nut]

Start by making a list of tasks you can see needing to be restored. Break things down into categories like engine, sheet metal, wheels, etc.. Develop a written plan. Then start disassembly, document everything really well; photos and notes.

 

[tom in nh]

All great advice above.
Join the AMCA. You get to meet with other like minded people.
Not sure if you are after a concourse restoration or just a reliable runner?
There are regional chapters / clubs / shows all over the globe.
The classified section of the club magazine lists various vendors for parts, supplies, etc.
Show a picture or two.

 

[DGersic]

I haven’t done a motorcycle. I’ve done other complex restorations.

What level of “restore” are you going for? The answer to that is going to drive everything else. Original but clean? Factory fresh? Better than new? Perfect?

What’s your budget for the project? Assume that everything will be more expensive than it is now. Also assume it’ll take longer than you think.

How much background research will you need to do? This ties in to your project goals. Will you have to track down original part numbers, castings, properly aged fasteners, paint color codes, or other hard to find things? I’m assuming here that old Harley information isn’t too difficult to find.

My method is disassemble to the major subassemblies first. For a motorcycle, that’d be something like frame, fork, bars, tank, seat, engine, and wheels. Keep all fasteners organized and labeled. I use a stack of plastic tackle boxes with dividers, and scraps of paper. Take lots of pictures.

Frame is then the first thing to restore. Clean first. Then whatever level you’re going to, start doing that here. Is clean enough, preserving the original paint and (I hate the word) patina? Touch ups? Strip and repaint?

From there, each sub-assembly gets restored, and reattached to the frame. I don’t know the best order to do that in, but probably you’ll need the fork back on before dealing with the wheels. Tank goes on before seat.

When you run out of sub-assemblies, your restoration is done.

 

[Gangly]

Step 1. CLEAN IT
You really have no clue what your looking at until you can see it well. Get the oil and grim off of it, clean around the seals, and look for cracks to components and mating surfaces. You might find a cracked head or engine block, and that it's not restorable unless you are a welder/machinist or are willing to pay a good machinist to repair the component. A good, thorough, initial evaluation is the most important part of the restoration process unless you have the resources (money, tools, and skillset) to fix just about anything.

Step 2. Keep a List
After the unit is cleaned and you can do some disassembly (with heavy use of photography to document), remove individual components, clean them thoroughly, identify any needed repairs, and make a detailed list of the components that need addressing. While doing this, I place parts into in three basic categories:

1: Unit will not run without replacing or repairing it. (carb, coil, plugs, plug wires, etc.)
2: Unit will run without replacing it, but not reliably and not safely (air filter, good brake pads, proper fork adjustments, etc.)
3: Unit is not mechanically affected by it. (Blinkers, fenders, brake lights, etc.)

I don't mess with group two or three until every component in group one is addressed, or a solution is at least verified to be available. Again, group 2 and 3 mean absolutely nothing unless a solution is available for everything in group 1.

Once you have established a hierarchy of needs, and have solutions available for each need, then the actual restoration process can take place.

Good luck, and take plenty of pictures for us!

 

[cvairwerks]

Write on and stamp on tags are your friend during disassembly. When we tear an aircraft down, as each major part or assembly comes off, it get tagged with part name, number and generally serial number. Once the part or assembly has be overhauled or restored, it's retagged with the same info, but also that it's ready for install and if it needs any kind of service before operation. Installation hardware gets bagged and wired or tied to each assembly after removal.

We use bags like these, but orange in color. They're available from lots of places and in varying sizes and quantities as well as price points.

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[Sweetcorn]

I've done a ton of projects/jobs like this.

I use some simple first few steps, but they really help me out.

I first start by identifying what is my ultimate goal for the job. Restomod, concourse, getting it running/driving in moistly its current condition, something in the middle of all of that, etc?

Then I do a thorough examination of what I actually have to work with (parts, condition), including budget. That helps tremendously with identifying what I need to get and what resources I'll have to allocate to get these things. I'll make my list of parts, needs, and services that have to happen and tally it all up.

After that, I lay out my time constraints. If I'm under the gun and I'll be outsourcing certain tasks, I'll get those prepped and moved along to whomever will be doing them. I'll then move on with my list while those others are also being done.

I know it kind of takes the leisurely aspect out of it, but I'll also set a deadline for myself if its at all possible. Lots of people start and never finish a big project, and I've done that myself a couple times in the past, which is why I approach these with discipline and a plan now.

Ways to organize your work and shortcuts to take are all things to consider depending on what you're doing, but I got the impression you are looking for how to properly kick off a project like this and the only way to assure a successful outcome is with a solid plan at the start.

Good luck with it and I hope you post some pics or start another thread about it.

 

[TriumphFan]

A lot depends on the current condition. Is it complete? Was it running when you parked it? I like to do rolling restorations. Get it running and stopping and then go from there. Bikes with some patina are more interesting to me than museum level restorations.

 

[KSJeff]

Inventory. Then research what should be just cleaned, vs restored vs replaced. Original paint/lettering/factory markings are sometime worth more original than restored. The rest is just planning, buying and executing. Good luck and I hope you start a thread on it. Would be fun to follow along and it might keep you motivated to keep at it!

 

[Smilodon]

You might start with making a small campfire fueled with the national currency of your choice... Just to get it over with early.

Just kidding, but sort of descriptive of my experience in this area!

 

[RoninB4]

-Good advice above, would start with deciding what level of "restore" you want and then adjust your expectations. Some parts may be made of unobtanium for that vintage and the cost will certainly reflect that. The only other suggestion I have, which is near-n-dear to my heart, is to locate a machine shop you would trust to do the work required. I presume a 1921 may need some machine work done? Would offer my shop and expertise but you're nowhere near Appalachia any more. Hope this helps somehow. Good luck to you on whatever you decide to do, we're here to bounce ideas off.

 

[y'sguy]

I have done several Bikes and a myriad of other projects over lifespan. Firt thing after all these projects I would advise is to really analyze WHY you think you need to start over with the thing! In this day of cost on labor, shipping etc. these all must be considerd. In a lot of cases, it comes down to just for the labor of love.

I see a tremendous amount of projects redone Or never finshed. Either inadequate or worse than they were when done. As advised in previous posts, clean it up first and fix what it needs. The bike and you may be better off that way.

Anymore. I like bikes and cars, etc. that are as original and unmolested as possible. Not so perfect, but that's just my experience. I think it has to do with just throwing too much time and money at something. Then it's just too precious to do anything with, other than just stare at it. One also needs to be honest with one's skillset and the space that one has available. There are not many of us who can absolutely do EVERYTHING on a restoration. The parts you outsource are the most costly and intensive.
Good luck on your decision.

 

[bigredcornhead]

I once got good/great advise that turned out to be the worst restoration advise i have ever got lol. Get it running and driving and functioning as if it was off the factory floor, then decide if you want to make it pretty. I like so many others nowadays don't mind, dirt, rust or a for use of a better word patina. So needless to say my '68 is driven weekly and sits in a rusty blue, with a primer hood and pitted chrome Cragars. Driven weekly and i am not scared to park it/drive it anywhere.

 

[Danno1]

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Good advice to take lots of pics. But set your camera to it's highest resolution. There will come a day when you want to zoom in on a serial #, a part #, or some other small detail.


.

 

[gorilla]

I would do some research into parts availability for the engine before starting the project. If pistons,bearings, cam gears can't be found you may be stuck. I know that almost anything can be made but at what cost.

 

[Jackfre]

On the small parts bags I would suggest also dating the bag. As you have been sitting on this for a long time, it may take some time that you are not anticipating. A date on a bag can be a helpful piece of info if it gets out of hand. Show us a pic!