Remotorcycling

When I was young And in my prime, I'd chop my Harley All the time. But now I'm older And got more smarts, I restore my Harley with original parts.     Then ride it!

Welcome 2002 is here and the VL  is  Here. Do you want to know more?

(Onions): For those you wanted to see a hotrod VL well here it is. (Al Say's): "But it looks like a stock 34 VLD sport solo".  Right! That's the way you want them for Remotorcycling. You got that right. They don't always come that way though! When I got my JDH it had been chopped for hillclimbing! Did you butcher it all up and try to stock it out again. Hell NO, I went hillclimbing with it!

    Hopefully you can get a project bike that is mostly complete but it just don't work out that way sometimes. Choppers were in style in the 50's and 60's and there were a lot of old bikes around to chop up for cheap. Boxes of parts are a harder project to complete, but a box of old stock parts is not junk and if it's cheap buy it. Makes good trading stock. It also fits on future bikes.

This bike got a stay of execution by hiding in a junk yard shed for 27 years before bill bought it 11 years ago and brought it back to the road. It looked a lot worse than this when he found it but is mostly stock. Check the muffler, Wrong for 1934.

    Trying to keep the stock old bikes Stock and restoring bikes as Close to Stock as you can is what a lot of old bike fans and I  agree on. It's a damn shame when a near perfect stock flathead, Knuckle or Panhead or shovelhead now. Is ruined by chopping, stretching and raking. If the bike you find is stock, Keep it stock! If you got the chopper from the past keep it chopped. If somebody has done a good job of building, the damage has already been done and it's still got all the fun. Choppers are Cool too. I got 2 of them.

( Some people are crafty enough to return the choppers back to stock. They deserve an extra 6 pack for the effort.)

    If you gotta chopper Jones. Go out to the many after-market parts suppliers you will find the selection wide & varied, Frames, Tanks, Fenders and the like, Butcher the after-market stuff. Stash the stock stuff away so 15 years later you can put it back to stock when the Jones goes away. Think of the money and time you will save not having to track down all those parts. If you can remember where you put them.

    I've bought batwing fairings from the old shovels for 5 dollars! They took them off and tossed them in the garage and never thought about them until after they sold the bike. Believe it a 70's shovel is now old.

Some interesting facts about the Harley-Davidson VL

Produced: 1930 - 1936   74 Cubic inches 30-35  80 Cubic inch 35-36   Flathead V-Twin

The VL was only produced for 6 years but a lot of changes in the way the H-D motorcycle looked and operated happened during those years. Fenders went from a rounded shape to the fatter flattened curve of 34 or later bikes the same shape fender can be seen on the heritage springer of today.

Toolboxes went from round (30 only) to teardrop shaped (31-34) mounted on the forks below the headlight. In (35-36) it moved from the forks to the frame and used a square shaped toolbox , mounted on  the right rear, Right behind the kicker lever where it stayed thoughout the flathead era.

The I-Beam Springer( 30-36) A unique Item indeed. I think the I-beam springer is one of the nicest looking forks out there, Al had one that was all chromed it was beautiful.

They went from 3 to 4 speed Transmissions in the 1936 year model.

The headlight went from the Twin headlight offered only in 1930 to the   Motolamp with the flat lens up to31 to 33, 34 and after to a Cycleray with a curved lens that was fitted to many model years after that.

The introduction of the two tone paint scheme in 1933.

In 35 the VLDD Was  80 cu. in. along with the 36 VLH models.

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Last update: January 13, 2002

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