The Service Department
THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT
GORDON H. JENNINGS
HP FOR THE H-D
We have been reading your wonderful magazine since the first issue. All of the technical articles are well written, but deal with accepted models built with an eye on speed and performance. What we would like from you is a fearless series on tuning the large Harleys, FLH, etc.; going into detail and even quoting part numbers and listing the makers of the necessary parts.
Please don’t tell us we are wasting time because we have spent and are spending large sums of money, sometimes with no result, to obtain better performance. I would like my Harley still to be a street bike, but also a shock to the T 120s, etc., on acceleration and speed.
The Jazzy-Ones M.C.
Warren Moore, President Robbins, Illinois
Although I dislike being obvious, and it will do not a whit of good anyway, I will tell you that the best solution to your problem is made available by HarleyDavidson in the form of the XLCH Sportster. This machine has truly formidable performance, as delivered, and is better equipped to handle speed, with regard to handling and brakes, than Harley-Davidson’s 74-inch touring bikes. And, in the long run, it would be cheaper to buy an XLCH if you are trying to avoid being “shut-down” by those T 120s, etc.
However, I recognize the fact that this was not what you wanted to hear; so I will give you an equally effective alternative. From the standpoint of the hop-up artist, the Harley-Davidson has one outstanding virtue: it has the space, and the strength, to allow a considerable increase in displacement. Certain of the design features, particularly in the FL-series engines, do not encourage the use of high crank speeds, but these engines can be “stretched” a lot, and that does wonders for both torque and power. For information and parts, especially the latter, I suggest that you write to Burkhardt Engineering, at 1226 W. 15th St., Long Beach, California. They specialize in making the big H-D engines even bigger, and they can supply you with all the necessary hardware.
POLISHED ALUMINUM
My problem, which may seem insignificant, concerns the polished aluminum cases found on most of today’s motorcycles. I’m sure you’ll agree that nothing makes a bike look sharper than an expanse of polished aluminum. Any motorcyclist who is proud of his machine is sure to spend hours with polish and rag trying vainly to keep the cases shiny.
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Moisture, salt air, industrial fumes and heaven knows what all else, tend to corrode polished aluminum. And, to make matters worse, 1 work at one of the two paper mills here, and my bike sets out front all day, collecting lime, sulphur and various other caustic fumes.
Is there anything, to your knowledge, which can increase the life expectancy of a polish job on aluminum? I have tried regular car wax, and it streaks and discolors the aluminum.
Charles Jacobs, Jr.
Monroe, Louisiana
Almost any of the coatings that can be applied to aluminum will tend to reduce that freshly-polished luster. Probably the most satisfactory protective coating, even though it places a dulling film over the aluminum, is one of the clear dopes used by model-airplane buffs. These dopes are relatively unaffected by heat and oil and they might just be the thing for this sort of service.
That failing, there are probably some of the new synthetic lacquers, such as those used in auto-body finishes, that would work. The only snag is that these coatings will chip and peel, sooner or later, and the inevitable scabby patches of corrosion are not going to look very good either. And, then, there will be the fight to remove all of the coating so that the process can be begun anew. Perhaps the problem has no real answer.
MAGNETO IGNITION
/ recently purchased a new BSA C15S and would like to know what type of magneto will adapt to this machine. 1 have had trouble with the energy transfer ignition system and would like to replace it with a good mag.
Harold Friesen Corpus Christi, Texas
Popular opinion has it that the magneto is the last word in ignition, and that all others are simply half-way measures foisted off on the buyer by cost-conscious manufacturers. This might have been true at one time; it no longer is. Lucas, the firm that manufactured the energy transfer system on your BSA, can also supply a magneto; but I am not sure that is the answer. Magnetos are fine when there is a compelling reason for dispensing with a battery, but they will not make your engine perform any better and the magneto, too, has been known to give trouble in service.
Actually, the present trend is away from magnetos. Most new racing engines are being sparked by battery-and-coil systems in one form or another. In fact, Lucas has developed a transistorized battery-and-coil system, with a magnetic spark trigger, that will substantially outperform any magneto. It will deliver strong sparks at an incredible rate, and it gives such a rapid voltage rise that even a badly oilor fouled plug will fire. I suggest that you fiddle with the energy transfer system for a while. •
