Hello friends,
I would consider myself fairly knowledgable about pre-AMF Sportsters and have restored my share of them, but I am very green when it comes to K Models. That changes today.
EFB84D53-29EC-4CF9-A214-BA3A5F78280E by Jerry J, on Flickr
After about 6 months of conversations, I finally purchased my friend's 1953 K Model project. He had the motor fully rebuilt (top and bottom ends) about 8 or 10 years ago by a very reputable motor guy in our area. He put the motor back into the frame, and there it sat, in that same condition, in his living room ever since. He collected a lot parts for the project, but it has never gotten past the "collecting" phase.
Here are the photos of what I bought home today:
87673CBB-50EC-4E55-B23E-1DB3C533090E by Jerry J, on Flickr
CB584238-9DCA-4318-89D9-3AE095E12A18 by Jerry J, on Flickr
7AC36FC5-2251-4A08-AE74-A56783FDAE11 by Jerry J, on Flickr
FA10BFA0-B424-4C4C-89D5-322D96D05C6E by Jerry J, on Flickr
950CEE5C-581E-4EE7-91F7-D46DCC662BD6 by Jerry J, on Flickr
Here are the parts that came with it:
The headlight shell, bezel, and sealed beam are all NOS
951AC212-52EA-450F-8137-3DA6871C0F3C by Jerry J, on Flickr
NOS Chainguard and "royalite" rear shock covers:
B90BF823-11C3-4BA0-81CA-FC381EAB0EDA by Jerry J, on Flickr
68F05B93-E10D-4DDA-8FB7-476F3A885FD6 by Jerry J, on Flickr
080AFE8D-F2FD-40BC-B410-94FE68FF23E8 by Jerry J, on Flickr
19 Inch rims, front and back:
04FCDC07-3CD7-4A83-8724-CA9DB214E8DB by Jerry J, on Flickr
E099DFD8-7388-45F5-937F-AB6FA864C6A5 by Jerry J, on Flickr
The following items are included with the sale, but are not pictured because I forgot to grab them today. I will be picking them up next week:
-Rear shocks
-Carburetor
-Oil tank
-Front fender
So here is where I am asking for your help: What is right, and what is wrong? What do you see that is NOT correct for this 1953 K? What parts are missing? What hard to find pieces will I need to find? Are any finishes on the motor incorrect? Please don't worry about hurting my feelings, my only concern is about getting this bike as close to 100% correct as possible.
Jerry Raino mentioned that 1953 may take the early style rear fender struts, but suggested I ask the group to confirm or deny.
Thank you very much in advance, and I appreciate any help or advice that the group can offer. My immediate plans are to gather all of the parts that I will need to assemble a rolling chassis over the winter, as well as pull the cam cover and have it blasted to match the kicker cover since I was told that polished cam and kicker covers were not offered in 1953.
Thank you!
-Jerry J (aka "Magneto Sportster")