1929 Harley Davidson Model JD with side car

1929 Harley Davidson Model JD with side car

Vin Number: 29F12810

Registration Number: BF8353

A wonderfully restored machine from the last year of production, coming to us with simply masses of invoices for the meticulous restoration that was performed upon it as witnessed by the detailed description of the engine rebuild below provided to us by the restorer. Additionally all nuts & bolts have been renickeled etc as required to bring the motorcycle back to the condition it was in when it left the factory.

This motorcycle comes to us with ite original Harley Davidson side car in situ along with a half & full tonneau cover in high quality double duck. To remove the side car for solo use is as simple as undoing three bolts & lifting it away from the motorcycle.

This is a very easy machine to start. Simply turn the fuel taps on, put the choke full on & kick the engine over 3 times with the ignition off & timing half retarded. For the 4th kick put the choke to half on, turn the ignition on & with just a whiff of throttle the engine starts first time every time on the 4th kick. Once running the choke can be put fully off & the timing advanced.

Being of 1208cc capacity this is a big torque laden beast easily capable of running in modern motorway traffic. WIth scant miles covered since restoration this Harley Davidson is ready for immediate extended use with eveything needing to be done having been done to it.

The engine was completely overhauled with nothing ignored.

Flywheels and rods:

The shafts and big-end pin are perfect/new (shafts trued to within 1 thou) as executed by Fred Warr many years ago, then oiled and stored waiting on me to get going on the rest of it. The rods have Delapena honed lower ends with all new rollers, sized to 1 thou running clearance.

New small-end bushes reamed to 0.8 thou clearance for new gudgeon pins. End floats on rod assembly, and whole flywheel assembly within crankcase, set correctly.

Main bearings:

Sprocket side - steel bearing outer track honed as above for 1½ thou clearance. Pinion side - new bronze bush line-taper-reamed, 1½ thou clearance at narrow end. All H-D tolerances - it allows for slight flexing of flywheel shafts at high revs.

Gearcase:

Rotary timed breather all good. New bushes for gears, just free fit. The gears and studs are original and have normal tooth wear (within tolerance). The cam is a JDCA cam for smooth and flexible running (standard cam available to swap if desired - almost the same but a bit more valve overlap i.e. later inlet closure). Cam-follower arms completely overhauled by Neve Engineering many years ago. Exhaust-valve-lifter spindle bush modified for O-ring to improve oil retention. Oil pump components were Parkerized - this is non-original but is beneficial - it's a chemical conversion of the steel surface that is oil retentive and anti-gall. It also has the benefit of safely minimising clearances to reduce oil leak-down. All end-floats adjusted (special phosphor bronze shims were made by Shimpack Engineering as originals no longer available)

Crankcases and gearcase:

Vapour-bead blasted to remove staining and make similar to new appearance. Insides sealed against any porosity using Loctite penetrating grade after trichloroethylene vapour degreasing New sprocket-side felt oil-seal.

Cylinders:

Early '29 type, rebored and honed for repro later UL pistons (alloy steel-strutted, taper cam-ground). New valves and guides, valve seats re-cut and valves lapped-in. Outside refinished with electroless-nickel by Jackson Plating (originally would have been nickel-plated). Refitted with compression plates for smoother and cooler running, approx. 3¾:1 compression! (standard a tad under 4:1)

Valve gear:

Tappets all within spec - I think hard-chrome plated and precision ground the exhaust tappets were, but not 100% sure. New push-rod springs inside covers, all cover components in place (rare!). Rockers re-bushed with upper push-rod grit excluders. I have never seen these remaining on any other '29. I made them myself by reverse engineering. A real talking point for JD enthusiasts! New valves with correct stem clearances. New valve-springs. Inlet special springs for slightly less strength. Full strength available for swapping. The lighter springs put less load on cam follower arms and are entirely suitable for JDs ridden at today's speeds.

The file of bills is really well worth reading as it give you an idea of the level of meticulous detail the restorer went to in order to get the machine right. It was the 5th Harley Davison he had done so clearly he knew what he was doing as evidence by the wonderful condition of the machine & how sweetly it runs.