Month: August 2017

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Well six hours after starting I have my new seat mounted. Removing the spring assembly was quite the challenge. All nuts were rusted solid. I was able to save six of the nine. The other three I had to cut off. I want to thank Jethro Smith for the perfect seat. Impeccable workmanship. 

All done!

One step closer. 

Working on the old tank. Needed to know how much oil and gas it will hold. So I measured using kerosene. Also will let sit for a few days to see if there are any leaks. After one hour there are no weeps. 

204 oz of gasoline and 41 oz of oil. 

My new seat arrived! I did not want to use the original 106 year old leather seat as it is too fragile. 

Also had a spare oil/fuel tank made “just in case”. 

I want to thank Jethro Smith for outstanding work on both of these items. http://www.antiquemotosmith.com/

Here is the lever and pulley that applies pressure on the belt so it can transfer the engine power to the rear wheel. Original used ball bearings and the new replacement uses a sealed bearing. 

The intake valve and seat are unique. This is an atmospheric system requiring no external pushrod. The intake open on the downstroke of the piston. The valve is sucked open during this. This assembly is comprised of several parts. Here is the complete setup (on the right) and some extra parts. 

This pocket assembly slides intot he top of the cylinder. There is a pin that prevents the pocket assembly from rotating once installed. 

Before the pocket assembly is installed a copper gasket is needed. Here is the old one. I have some new gaskets being made before I can install this. 

Top motor mount pieces installed. 

Special drain plugs made for easier servicing. 

Rear breather pipe before and after install. This vents any excess oil out the rear of the engine into the frame. Excelsior advertisements in 1911 advertised the Excelsior as the “cleanest machine on the road that will not soil your trousers”. 

Then install engine in the frame. Attaches with three frame bolts and the top mount screwing into the frame rail. 

Installing the carburetor and linkage. 

The belt and lagging arrived from Page Belting (http://www.pagebelting.com/history.html). Excellent customer service and delivery speed. 

Lagging installed on front pulley. 

Spare lagging strips for the front and rear pulleys. 

Rear belt installed. I’ll have to install lagging on the rear pulley. 

The belt is made of leather with a nylon core. 

I have acquired the components needed for the ignition system; 12v lithium battery, coil with internal resistor, solid core spark plug wire, and spark plug. 

The points are normally open. 

Simple schematic. Need to add kill switch. 

Patience, percervierence, Kroil, and an impact wrench.