harleyKmodel

Hi All,
I was looking at my K Model top motor mount spacers and realized I had 3 sizes. The tallest I am comfortable believing is for the 52-53K. What I am confused about is of the shorter ones, which one height wise is the 54-56KH spacer and what is the odd sized one for?
Thanks in advance for your insights,
JerryR

I believe the middle one is for KH and the shortest is for a WL.

Attention - The above red text suggestion has been found to be incorrect - apologies. Continue reading below for updated information. Jan 24, 2020.

Measurements were made on 4 stools from a ’56 KHK and all stools were found to be 1.064” long. A request was made to a friend to measure his stock of K and KH stools and he reported lengths of 1.435” and 1.064” respectively for the subject stools.

The above reported difference in stool length aligns very well with the difference in stroke specifications between the K and KH engines. The KH engine has 0.750” longer stroke, so the KH cylinder is 0.375” taller (0.750/2 = 0.375”) than a K model cylinder. All other things be equal, for the longer KH cylinder the stool would then have to be 0.375” shorter to position the top motor mount at the same relative height in the frame. Thus, if the K stool is 1.435” long, then the KH stool would have to be 0.375” shorter, i.e., 1.060” long (1.435 – 0.375 = 1.060”), which is within a few thousandths of an inch of the results reported above for KH stool length.

These results suggest that the difference in K and KH stool lengths might now be properly identified. However, the mystery still remains regarding the 1.128” intermediate length stool and what it fits. Perhaps the only option remaining is a stool for the 45” WL series engines?

Jerry, I belive tallest head bolt spacer is for K, KK, KR (750 cylinders), middle is KH, KHK (883 cylinders) and shortest WLA, WL, WLC etc. Cheers Hayley.

888 Cyl its not a Sportster!!! 10-4 on the W app...

KH 54.002", 884.93cc

Hi All,
WZ, Stan and Yarddog checked their K spacers and it appears as though the 54-56Ks used the shortest 1.06" versions. That leaves the question of what are the 1.12" spacers for? If someone with a WL would please check their spacers we could nail this down.
Thanks,
JerryR

I bought some spacers several years ago from a Harley dealer that they had labeled 16860-54 and wondered if they were labeled wrong since they were slightly longer than the ones I had. I found that the edge of the motor mount interferes with the control coil clip sitting square over the control coil (for throttle) when using the shorter spacers. I thought recently from this post that maybe the ones I got from the dealer were correctly numbered, but maybe the clip clamping the cable at an angle is normal? If the longer spacers are used, the edge of the mount clears the clip and is no longer an issue. Just an observation.

strong56KH wrote:I found that the edge of the motor mount interferes with the control coil clip sitting square over the control coil (for throttle) when using the shorter spacers.

Here’s how the throttle control coil clamp fits the coil on a KHK engine assembled with the 1.064” stools – just clears the top motor mount and appears to cover the full coil diameter. Another wild card in these observations is the clamp itself, and perhaps the clamp shown is shorter than the one you are using. I certainly appreciate how a different and slightly larger/longer clamp would cause the interference you observe.

Thanks for posting the photos. That's the exact same clamp I have so I'll loosen the motor mount bolts and see if there is any wiggle room.

Palmer indicates (pg. 203) that the 45 spacers (spools) raise the motor mount up 1-1/8" from the heads. This is the length of the 1.12" spacer when measured with a ruler.