56 KHK Project

That's a real beauty Dave - a job very well done. If it were mine I'm sure I'd have to just sit in the garage looking at for half an hour after every ride before going inside.

Please, please, please stick it up against a white or solid colour wall and get a bunch of pics from every angle - I need a new wallpaper for the computer...

Hi Dave,

I was going through all your pictures of your Beautiful KHK, (I am jealous!) and found one when you mounted your generator and voltage regulator on Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:15 am . The wires look like they are set up a little funny to me. Did you rewire it before you started her up? I may have missed another post about it, but it looks like you have two wires running off the Generator's positive terminal, when there should be one. This one runs to the generator terminal, the center one, and is doubled up with the one from the generator warning light from the Head Light. The F or Field witch comes off the front post on the Genrator. I always turn the regulator around so the termanals are tward the outside, making it easy to get to the terminals. This way if I want to run a "Battery Tender" I can just clip it on the first terminal, or the Bat. The wire from this one goes back to the wiring plate, then to the right left side switch, and then to the right side switch, back to the plate and then to the horn, and back to the Pos. terminal on the battery. Makes it easy to charge the battery.

The wiring diagram in the owners manual is kind of confusing. I hope you got it set up correctly, or it can be big problems for the Voltage Regulator, Generator, etc... I have put my battery in backwards, like a “DoomKauf” before and it will run! It just wont charge. Turns it into an instant British electrical system. (Pun intended)

I find it easier to put the wires on the bottoms of the terminals, instead of the way the factory pictures show them as looping around from under the bottom of the regulator. The other way tends to wear the wires prematurely, and makes it hard to clip a battery charger onto.

Let me know if you have not started her up yet.

Best Regards,
Barry55KH

Barry, all is well with the generator connections. I have about 300 miles on the bike now and everything is sorted. I went with the more difficult setup of having the terminals face the rear as this is how the factory wired the 56. At least the factory photos I have seen and the 57 Sportster taken off the assembly line in the archives is oriented that way. I am sure there are examples of the opposite. Just my preference to have the more finicky, and hopefully more authentic setup.

I think I have lost a few Ebay auctions to you over the years going for the same stuff!

Sounds like you have a bike that runs as well as it looks!

Can't wait to see some more pics!

I dropped it off in the judging building Friday and had a great time talking to all the K model fans. I will let you all know how it judged.

[Pa]

Damn those are SWEET Barry !!!!!!! Pa

The bike judged at 97.5 out of the chute. Not too bad for the first time. The biggest deduction was for a bit of gas sweating its way out on a gas line, that was 1/2 point. There were a couple of 1/4 point deductions that I didn't agree with. I spoke with the chief judge and will send him the documentation so I won't have to deal with those next time. 1/2 point that I didn't agree with was pretty darn good I thought. So if I had just tightened up the fuel line a little better and not had the two little judging errors (IMO so far) it would have been 98.5. It should be fairly easy getting it to 99.5 for the next show. It was a lot of fun, and my hats are off to the volunteer judges. They did a great job!

A few have asked for left side pictures. Here you go.

dave,

really nice accomplishment...hope to have mine look as nice. can you steer me in the direction of finding some correct '56 shocks?

that's just soooooooo nice...