56 KHK Project

This is how the 56 KHK looks after 6 years of preparation. Started as a very rough basket.

Patrick, that's your old timer on the bike!

Looks great to me. Do you have all the parts to complete it?

Wow, that is one pretty project. It makes me envious just to look at that beautiful flathead. I raced those, back in the day, and worked in HD shop in the '50s.
Keep up the quality work, that bike will turn heads for sure.

Payton, yes I have all the parts to complete. It took six years of bending the checking account when they became available, but everything going on the bike is NOS or restored original. The only exceptions are a repop exhaust system, and some Old Dude hardware.

The reason I asked is because I have a few nos parts I was going to give you. I have 2 of the 71621-52 mounting clamps for the
switches and one of the 71620-52 mounting brackets which I was going to have to look for, nos foot rests complete, fork rubbers,
and even a front fork panel which I sold on ebay but was returned to me because the guy did not think it was worth what he paid.
For a perfect restoration it would not hurt to have it refinished. I might even think of something else if needed. You say you
have everything, but if you want this stuff its yours.


Jack

Jack, Thanks very much for the offer. I have pm'd you.

Hi Dave,

Hey, my old eBay timer!!! Guess I'm stuck forever with the mag now...

Keep on posting photos of progress, a nice resto...

All the best, Patrick

dave,

very nice work! will it be a ridden machine when you are finished?

have you ever gone on the "slimey crud" run west and north of madison? it occurs twice yearly, on the first sunday in may and october.

there are always unique machines there and yours would be the first K model! the group i ride with consists of a hand full of pans, one knuck, some early sportster types and an odd indian now and then.

something to think about anyway.

looks fantastic!

john

ps, here is a thread about it over at the hydra forum http://www.hydra-glide.com/phpBB2/viewt ... light=crud

Thanks for all the nice comments. John, yes I plan to ride it and I have been on the SCCR run an number of times over the years. In fact most of my day rides occur over roads we've discovered from exploring different back roads to Leland and back. I hadn't thought that far in advance, but it probably has been quite some time since a K Model has made the run. That would be cool, and I will plan to do it. The May run might be pushing it a bit though.

Beautiful work!

Here is a couple of shots of what I started with.

2/12/08 Sitting on it's own two feet for the first time in eons!!

As of 2/19. Moving along.

[Pa]

She sure is a nice bike !! What you have done to her so far is quality workmanship !! Pa

Latest progress. I hollowed out an old bar and shield battery from the 50's and installed a new 6N63B inside. Here is how it looks on the bike.

Nice progress! And please excuse my ignorance, but should the outside of the head fins really be polished?

Yes, they are polished, just not to a mirror finish. The close up makes them look pretty dull.

Some NOS heads that I have seen seem to have a light polish finish just like Dave has here, albeit somewhat dulled over the years. It wouldn't even surprise me if you could order full polish as an option back then!

Beautiful bike Dave, I am drawn to the cad plating like a moth to the flame...

Ok, could these polished heads maybe be a KHK thing? Cause I have both & used to think that they came natural from the factory and the polishing was a later "owner improvement"...

Ok, could these polished heads maybe be a KHK thing? Cause I have both & used to think that they came natural from the factory and the polishing was a later "owner improvement"...

I have seen NOS heads the had the sides polished