How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson

by Bruce Palmer III

Harley-Davidson Knucklehead and Panhead motorcycles are among the most collectable American motorcycles. How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson is a complete guide to correctly restoring these models to factory-original specification. Author and Harley-Davidson expert Bruce Palmer has packed 640 pages with more than 600 photographs, detailed descriptions, specification charts, and tables covering: VIN, motor, and frame numbers Frame, chassis, and bodywork...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879389346
• ISBN13: 9780879389345
• Release Date: November 1994
• Publisher: Motorbooks International
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 4.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 8.2" x 10.6"

Customer Reviews

The Devil is in the Details

Palmer's book has revolutionized Harley-Davidson restoration. Information that was once the province of a few real experts and many would be experts, obfuscated by lots of opinions, myths, and flawed memory masquerading as facts, is now available to anyone who buys the book. Palmer did a good job of using available resources to assemble, in excruciating detail, the data necessary to build these motorcycles as the consensus of the sources he consulted says they were supposed to be when they rolled off the factory's assembly line. That consensus was not always easy to reach, because, for example, the manufacturer itself used retouched photos of older models to introduce new models, and followed various other practices such as running changes, recalls, and using parts inventory from one model year into the next, that make it difficult to know, today, what was "correct" in 1938. Palmer takes us into the world defined by that level of "correctness" that demands that this manufactured product from days gone by be exactly as it was at the point of origin. We can now "know," through his book, what is "correct." More of us can be knowledgeable about the number of cooling fins on a UL cylinder, or the color, width, and placement of pinstriping, or the fact that fender trim for a particular year is polished stainless, not chrome. This is a book about building your bike to original factory specs, and it is the best available for that purpose.Of course, if you follow this book to its logical conclusion and build a correct motorcycle, don't expect to ride it. It will have decades old tires both too valuable and too aged to ride. You won't want to run it on pump gas, because it needs lead. Taking it out on the road might ding the paint, blue the exhaust, or demonstrate that your assembly procedures weren't quite up to snuff by identifying all of the points where oil can escape. Palmer's approach to the topic seems to hold that these old bikes are artifacts, not transportation. He has affirmed and strengthened a subculture within motorcycling that elevates the machine over the ride. It will be interesting to see if others, such as Kirk Perry's "Mechanics & Owners Guide to 1941-1959 Harley-Davidson O.H.V. Big Twins" will reinforce the ranks of folks who actually want to ride these old hogs.

INNER SANCTUM

An excellent research book for restorers or replicators wanting to get an in-depth overall view of OverHead Valve Big Twins. Every year of Big Twin production (1936-1964) has a factory photo, along with first year and last year equipment changes.

Your restoration will be more accurate with this book!

After 30 years experience, I still learned a great deal about the many variations in H-D twins over the years (does have some minor ommissions on 45" models). Take a copy with you to swap meets to make sure you get the parts you need. Worth 10 times the purchase price.

640 pages of pure Harley-Davidson

If You're restoring a '37 to '64 Harley-Davidson then buy this book! It's a must have! You can find every detail in the book and an answer to almost every question You may have. Buy it! It's that simple.

Don't even consider buying this book. Just do it!

Even if you don't own or plan to own one of the models described in this book; it makes for absolutely great reading. Ever wondered how parkerizing is done? How to go about shopping for a restorable bike and what to look for? It tells you all that and much, much, more.