1911 Indian

That's a good question isn't it? I sold my Harley engine to a friend at work who needed it, so that project is off for me. My biggest problem is time. I work at something all the time. I just happen to make the Indian during a vacation that I didn't happen to go anywhere, something that wont happen in the foreseeable future. We will see. If I get an idea that inspires me it might push me in that direction. The military Indian was something that I have wanted to do and lucky for me it was a simple redux for my existing bike. It does look better in person that the pictures I posted. Riding the military bike gets a lot more reaction from the public. It lifted the bar a little. So instead of going on to project 2.0 I just did 1.5. My Doughboy uniform is going to arrive to me in about 8 weeks or so, just in time for a local vintage motorcycle show. I'm looking forward to that right now. I'll take pictures of the event and post for sure. By the way, it was nice meeting Feelyx last night. I'm sure his build is going to be awesome. He's doing all the groundwork in preparation right now.

Mr.B. said:

Hi CF,

I hope this isn’t too far off topic, but I imagine you have more successful miles on a GX200 clone/22mm Mikuni carb than anyone else...!

So I ask you first for advice on my own like powered build, weather permitting I hope to fire it up tomorrow.

-What type of oil do you recommend?

-How much oil do you use, my engine is mounted at pretty the same upright angle as you.

-What notch do you have your carb slide at? (My engine is just straight up stock if you think that might make a difference)

-What do you recommend for a break in procedure?

Thanks in advance!

-Kirk

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I estimate I have around 4000/4500 miles on mine now. Still run like a top. Can't be more pleased with it.

I always recommend synthetic. It just makes more power in any engine and makes it last much longer than standard oil. I'm using 3ow and it seems fine.

i use 3/4 of a quart. Any more and it spurts it out. I would make a dip stick showing where 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 of a quart is just to keep you in the know. I made one out of flat brass stock and keep it hanging in the garage.

I'm running my engine tilted 3 degrees to the rear when the tires are flat on the ground. This is important because it causes the splasher to scoop oil for the all important big end bearing(provided you upgraded the connecting rod to the performance unit.

Adjust your valves to .003 for intake and .004 for exhaust. Can't trust the factory on this.

My carb needle is at the highest notch for the lowest needle setting meaning the needle goes into the float bowl the farthest.

I live at 45 feet above sea level and drilled out the main jet to about .049-.050 .The bike ran poorly before i did this. If you are sputtering are sluggish at acceleration this is the cause. So if it runs bad drill as small as you can and work up doing plug checks after a 5 minute test ride. You are looking for the all important rich cream color on the plug. If you are flooding your float bowl fuel level is too high, and it is starving for gas at speed it is too low. It took me a few times to get it right but once it is set it is going to be great.

Change the spark plug wire and cap when you can, they are not great. A quality plug is in order too. it's the same plug for an air cooled Volkswagen bug but one heat range cooler.

Put a rare earth magnet on the end of the drain plug to catch steel sediment. Radio Shack and Harbor Freight sell these. Change the oil early for the first couple of changes, every 4 hours of run time of so then you can increase it after that.

Let Us know how it goes!

chainmaker said:

Hey Cobra
How's that supernova performing for you? I'm waiting on a front and rear and I'm going to be cammo-ing them. What or how did you secure the front inside that lamp with, I will be putting mine in a bullet type headlight.

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The Supernova is still excellent. But I accidentally damaged it by not disconnecting the wires when I was tack welding something on the bike and I killed the capacitor. So It now only lights up when Im moving. Not too bad unless you ride at night, which I don't. So take the wires off the hub before you weld on the frame.

After I gutted the lamp on the inside of the lamp housing, I cut a round piece of shipping foam that fit in it tightly, and then I made a hole in the middle to hold the lamp. So it's basically anti-shock mounted. I siliconed a round piece of sheet metal with a hole in the center to the foam and didn't coat the metal with anything. I wanted it to rust. It came out great.

Mr.B. said:

Thanks Man!

4k plus is impressive!

I just printed a hard copy of this info.

Weather forecast here is lots of rain and rain all day... Looks like I’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow.

-Kirk

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I took the valve cover off recently to adjust the valves and they were still perfect. No adjustment needed. I was very happy with this. I am running Slick 50 teflon engine treatment in the engine to make it last as long as humanly possible. I've had great results with it in the past on various things. I learned something about the valve cover gasket. If i ever use any sealant on the gasket, one side, both sides, a little or a lot, it will leak oil. The only way I could get my valve cover to not seep a drop is to just use the cork gasket dry. Go figure?

Oh, for those that might be interested, I got my picture in the May issue of Easy Rider Magazine in the group of winners. May issue page 30. I'm front row-far right holding two trophies. No picture of the bike unfortunately. It was a fun experience.