OMS Ironhead Thumper : 02

Have you ever put together a 3 dimensional puzzle? Well this is what we have here. My plan at this point for the “Half A Harley” is to assemble everything as intended from the factory, then do the fab work for the custom bits and finally pull the motor and make it from a v-twin to a thumper single.

The bike arrived at my shop in a few totes. I separated out what I know fits and where it goes. As with every puzzle you need to start somewhere. I start with first the easy large things that I know where they belong and hopefully everything else will fall into place as the boxes get emptier.

One of the biggest hurdles is locating all the fastening hardware as I go. I have a very good selection of used bolts and fasteners from other projects that I have done over the years. I will be mining for the correct hardware in the various boxes and totes that I have acquired. As you may know most shops have a miscellaneous bolt box around to catch all the cast offs when the project is complete.

So far we have rebuilt the swing arm pivot and installed the vintage spring struts out back, then added the dual disc front end taken off my last project. I am saving The Performance Machine calipers and the mounting brackets that were included with this bike for another project or if needed to sell off to keep my budget below the $1000.00 max limit. The motor is installed in the frame and the front brakes are plumbed and bled using a combination of used custom vintage steel braided lines and stock Harley rubber brake lines. It is not the prettiest set up but it is cheap and works.

Next on the list is to get the disc brake rear wheel and caliper mounted up and on location. This bike is supposed to have a mechanical drum rear brake with a 5/8” Axle diameter. I am installing hydraulic disc brakes with a ¾” diameter axle so some machining is in order to get the whole deal to work together.

Tim