New to site with questions on My K

[starcain]

Tony, You may still have something very special. The fact that I or anyone I know has never seen a 52KK makes it special in and of itself. It would be so interesting to know what cams and valves it has in it. You might just have one of a kind. Stan

[hennesse]

No problem Stan. I had the same suspicions, However I did not want to discount the possibility of the bike being something special?
I have limited historical data on the bike due to the previous owner passing.
His collection was quite expansive with some very old and unique bikes. (1927 Ariel in pristine cond.) This 1916.

Stan - good catch on the different "K" stamps. I suspect you're right - someone upgraded a 52 K to the KK configuration, and then upgraded the serial number. But I'll bet it's the fastest 52 K out there...

I like that '16. Here's a photo of me riding Richard Duda's 1917 around at Oley probably 5 years ago. It ran great, but I was scared to death that I was going to run into something. Notice my sartorial splendor - I look like I just crawled out of that dumpster in the background.

[Tony]

That is a cool 17, And you rode it!

I know the history of this K is a mystery for now. the factory could have added the Second K with an upgrade? or maybe pulled a 52 motor and prototyped a KK? I have seen on the net, K's (the letter) in the serial number of other K model's that resemble both K's on this engine. I also figure someone else could of smacked a K on it.

Does anyone know for certain that there were no 52 kk's produced?

I guess I could open it up.

If any one knows of a good source for me to research it further, I would be very appreciative.

Also any more input or parts connections would be great.

Thank you

[EKHKHK56]

Tony, I have never seen a 52KK and no record of one is on any production sheet. I noticed the different Ks also so assume it was added, hopefully, after upgrades! They really run strong mid and top end. Sound like a flattappet dragster. You can lift up a valve cover and see how big the cams are by duration just watching as it turns over. This is the place for research of the K & early XL kind!

[EKHKHK56]

If it were factory the Ks would match and it would be a later engine number much closer to 53 when they made the KK. Your number is about 800 out of 1800 approx. The 53 KK is super rare by itself. Erik K

[hennesse]

Does anyone know for certain that there were no 52 kk's produced?
If any one knows of a good source for me to research it further, I would be very appreciative.

Well, that's like asking for proof that Leprechauns do not exist.

We only have three date-related things for the KK. The 1954 Spare Parts Catalog lists "Early 1953 KK" and "Later 1953 KK". The May 1953 Enthusiast has a photo of a Texas dealers' convention on March 28, 1953, where there is a KK poster on the wall. All known example bikes have serials in the range 2300 -2600, which were produced near the end of the 1953 model year.

The KK ad in our Literature section is undated, but reflects the "Early 1953" configuration with the WR valves. We have an undated newspaper or magazine ad from Budelier's Harley in Los Angeles, which mentions the KK with the "Competition Cam Kit", but not the valves. The 3 KK literatures are all based on the same artwork.

I've uploaded the Enthusiast and Budelier images to the Literature page. While I was at it, I reformatted the entire page so it now has a more logical arrangement.

[hayleyl]

About 2 years ago there was a KK for sale in Gisborne Aust. (on Gumtree) It was about an hour from where I live. Went and checked it out, it was pretty rough and I reckon put together out of swap meet parts or 3 or 4 machines. However I do recall distinctly the engine number was 53KK 25--something. I reckon I have a pic somewhere. I recall at the time thinking it was a high production number. Cheers Hayley.

[Tony]

Thanks for the replys. There is a great deal of experience on this site I may dig some more and watch this thread to see if any other ideas surface. It may have had the performance upgrade added.
time may tell.

[starcain]

Tony, I think unless that elusive piece of literature appears that shows the connection between 1952 and a KK model the only way to know what you have is to take the motor apart far enough to see what valves and cams are in it. If the speed kit was installed I would suspect that it would only have the KK cams and light weight roller tappets in it since the WR valves apparently didn't work out so good. They switched back to the standard K valves for the later KK production run. However it turns out please keep us posted. It is of great interest to many of us. Good luck.
Stan

[EKHKHK56]

Tony, You can easily check basic lift and duration just lift up an intake valve cover and rotate it and watch. Std K cam is going to open and close relatively quickly. Those KK cams will stay open and near open for quite a while. Erik K