The Frank-ironhead: Part 1. Just a Pile of Nuts and Bolts.
There’s always a starting point. Although sometimes you don’t know it until you see it. I had recently finished the show rounds with the 1963 Triumph built by Revmo Choppers and was beginning a new project when word hit me a friend was leaving town. I knew they had a basket case they were sitting on for a chopper project that never seemed to get off the ground. Eight hundred dollars later, they had a lighter load to move across the country and I had an ironhead project with a lot of unknowns.
Once I got the components in the garage I had some pleasant surprises, and some setbacks. I am sure this is familiar territory for anyone who has purchased a basket case on a whim. The good news was, after taking the head and jugs off the 1980 XLCH motor I discovered the motor turned very freely and the flywheel had only an appropriate amount of play.
After draining the oil, I started first with the primary drive. This is where I hit the first roadblock. While the parts moved freely, after opening the primary case I found the internals coated in rust. It appears it moisture was coming in from the starter where I found a blown seal. As of the time of writing this I have started to take the motor apart more with the goal of putting it back together over the summer. But that is a story for another day.
With the motor to the side for now I moved to assessing the rest of the bike. The frame, a 1971 frame was in good condition, no large cracks or breaks, the front end while not desirable is a later 1970s 35mm front end at stock length. The tires were from a late 70s model as well. This is where the game of match/mis-match begins.
The 1971 frame is not equipped for a later 70s rotor style wheel. It has the infrastructure for a drum brake. The first thing I needed to do was get a new rear wheel. This isn’t difficult I honestly just bought one off Lowbrow and loaded it up to what I wanted for the build. Suddenly my $800 project had become a $1200 project, but I found that it put me off to a start of sorts.
The pile also came with a dual rotor 19 inch front wheel set up. To get the bike to a roller I can just run that, I already have a dual set of brembos to throw up front if I want. But right now I am thinking of putting a 21 inch mini-drum and narrow the front end, shave the fork legs, and ad a tab for the brake stay.
I don’t want to spoil the vibe of what kind of bike I am boing for, so for now I think that is is for the first part of this bike’s story. Stay tuned over summer as I continue piecing it together.
