The 1956 Harley ST165 "Hummer" rebuild begins today!

[Risk Man]

The petcock and fuel line have been converted over to modern and robust petcock and straight gas line. Works great, no leaks and positive shut off. Was disappointed to see some of the thread tape remaining on the internal threads of the carb cap where the fitting goes.... took it out carefully, Also noticed that the Blue Monster tape (and now the yellow tape) both mention petroleum on the label..... not just "gas" which previously reference natural and propane gas lines not Petro lines. Ended up using the blue on the petcock and after removing the old one, ran a tap in to clean the threads and the new one went in very well. I also decided to use an O ring on the carb fitting instead of the tape.

 

[Risk Man]

Redid the exhaust with new clamps and the exhaust sealer and also was able to get the pipe up further on the exhaust manifold this time with a little persuasion with the dead blow hammer... no leaks on the exhaust pipe at manlfold but still a bit o weeping at the muffler joint to the pipe.

Did a nice 12 mile ride after waiting a week for parts..... Getting closer to full break in but now sure I will make the car show next Sunday unless I get quite a few miles after work this week... wait and see. Final push for that today......

 

[DAMIEN1307]

the exhaust sealer

Outta curiosity, what do you use as an exhaust sealant just in case I or others may find that information useful for future referrence.

Always nice to know what products work and don't work...TIA

 

[DAMIEN1307]

sure I will make the car show next Sunday

Take lots of pics and post them if ya make it there OK.

 

[Risk Man]

Got the luggage rack on today with much effort and much luck. The precursor to attaching the final ornaments..... saddlebags by Duane Taylor!

The rack is secured by two 5/16 bolts through the fender and two hidden tabs under the rack along with the side struts connected to the fender hoop bolts on either side. NO way to mark the holes through the rack Was not easy to lay out the holes centered on the round fender. Spent a few hours mapping it out with masking tape, hold your breath and drill holes that are just slightly bigger than the bolts... and voila ! they fit with out any filing or making the holes larger..... two "holes in one"

 

[DAMIEN1307]

Got the luggage rack on today with much effort and much luck. The precursor to attaching the final ornaments..... saddlebags by Duane Taylor!

The rack is secured by two 5/16 bolts through the fender and two hidden tabs under the rack along with the side struts connected to the fender hoop bolts on either side. NO way to mark the holes through the rack Was not easy to lay out the holes centered on the round fender. Spent a few hours mapping it out with masking tap, hold your breath and drill holes that are just slightly bigger than the bolts... and voila ! they fit with out any filing or making the holes larger..... two "holes in one"

Nice job getting that on there neat and professional looking...I also love that extremely "springy" seat ya got there...lol.

 

[Darwin]

Risky has found his calling, well done!

 

[Risk Man]

Outta curiosity, what do you use as an exhaust sealant just in case I or others may find that information useful for future referrence.

Always nice to know what products work and don't work...TIA

 

[Risk Man]

The honorific late afternoon Muggy bugs onslaught cut my ride to 6 miles tonight... could not continue and wish I had a full face shield! They even gut under my wrap around safety glasses shades in both eyes. The elusive 100 mile break in is still out of reach for a few more days after work.

Some Two Stroke Questions for you two stroke experts here (Yes, this engine is 165cc so just think double your experience with the 80 CC china girls!

That said, I want to mention the gearing of this bike and max rpm. It is three speeds. Manual says run 1st gear no higher than 5 MPH (about 3000 rpm and when it shift to 2nd it is pretty slow to initially accelerate) and second gear no higher than 20 mph (Again about 3000 rpm) When I get to the top end of both 1st and second (second actually seems to top out at around 18 mph) with rpm at around 3000, it starts to sputter and does not seem to want to go higher (assuming the gears will allow).

When I shift to 3d at 20 mph, rpm drops to about 1800 rpm and slowly accelerates..... seems like their should be a gear in between two and three. I can climb to 3000 rpm which is about 27-30 MPH in 3d gear; seems long to get there and it seems to bog a bit. But, the problem is, I am not able to go any higher during the break in, they say max speed of 30 mph for first hundred miles. I am at about 70 miles total so far. So I really can not test the higher RPM and what it might get to. I have been using one of those electronic tachs with the wire wrapped around the plug wire.

Carb is very simple. Only adjustment is the clip and idle is done with the throttle cable screw. I have it in the middle slot I believe. The diagram below shows three slots, but I thought I had 4... Need to pull it again and move it up one just to see the difference. Fuel delivery seems fine. Plug shows slightly rich, but not fouled. Idle is just fine. Any thoughts or comments?

Admittedly, this my first MC with clutch and gears other than my MC course where I ran a Honda in 2nd gear most of the two days. So I really don't know what to expect. Maybe all is normal

 

[Risk Man]

The bags are on, running better as break-in is almost done. Heading for 12 mile ride to the car show at Mercado "Cars and Coffee 239" tomorrow morning early. Event pictures tomorrow night.