Hello, I'm new to Harley's. I recently restored a 1970 Triumph TR6 last year and I'm bored so my uncle found me a mid 1930 VL model with a side car that I'm going to restore. My question is where do I start? Are there any good books I can get about model history? For my Triumph I got a workshop manual and parts manual, can I get the same for Harley's? I will have a lot of help for the resto from my uncle and his freinds but I would like to get some literature about this bike. I don't have any details on the bike yet. Hoepfully I'll have those in the next few days.

Thanks for you help

Peter [align=right][/align]

 

Motorbooks International should make a book youre after."How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson" They made these books for knuck,pans,side valves,and serv cars from 37 to 63.I also believe they made for the earlier yrs too.

 

http://www.vlheaven.com/newindex.html second paragraph down.

 

Thanks Pittguy, I'll check it out.

 

Idoc, I have a 30-49 models ops, maintenance and spec manual that covers 1930-1949 models. It is a HD factory paper book from 1983 and breaks down 1930-34, 1935-40, 1940-46 and 1947-49. The manual is basically a compliation/synopsis of the riders handook foreach 5-year period listed above. Each section is about 30-35 pages (double-sided). I can try to copy it and see if the print quality is sufficient and send it to you. The mailing can't be more than a couple of bucks.

 

That would be great. I'll email you when the sale is final. I'm waiting to hear from my uncle as to when I can pick up the bike.

Is there anything special I need to know about this model. I assume it has a foot clutch and a shift on the tank, it's probably going to take a bit to get used to. Is this a desireable model?

 

Yes desirable,the more thats correct the better.Many states hold antique meets at various times of the yr,attending one would be worth your wild.Antique Motorcycleclub of America holds several of these a yr.

 

If you don't mind, I'm going to hijack my own thread for a moment.

Since I'm a noob when it comes to Harley's I'd like the groups opinion. After talking with my Uncle, he said bikes from the 40's and 50's are easy to come by (a little paraphrasing, but close to what he said) So what are the plusses and minuses of the major groups of bikes from that era? If you had the chance to get a VL, WLA, or other model form that era which would it be and why? Is one more easier to ride,easier to work on, more reliable, and so forth?

 

Try Antique motorcycle supply, http://www.antiquecyclesupply.com/ They have manuals and parts going way back.

 

Pittguy is correct, go to VL Heaven and buy Steve Slocombe`s book. I`ve done a VL and it`s a great reference. The weak points of these bikes are, 1. total loss oil system (no return pump, it goes through the engine and out on the ground) 2. The 3 speed trannies are somewhat frail and have a large ratio "gap" between 2nd & 3rd. 3. brakes are even more pitiful than the later models. 4.The single downtube frame is less than robust. Until the later bikes became so expensive, there was little interest in VL`s (or 45`s for that matter)