1964 XLCH Restoration
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2022 8:40 am
About 20 years ago I tore down my 64 XLCH for restoration. This happened soon after I finished restoring my 1956 KHK. The plan was to transition right from the KHK restoration to the XLCH, but life and many other bike restorations got in the way of this plan. I decided that 20 years was long enough and have shoved the XLCH to the front burner.
When I purchased the XLCH it was a solid project. All the major important stuff was correct, but it had a later gas tank, later speedo, lots of wrong and incorrect finish hardware, and a V-Twin seat. Once I had found a correct gas tank, I had the paint, chrome, and cad plating done right after I tore it down. Now the challenge was remembering exactly where I had squirreled everything away! BTW, finding a correct gas tank 20 years ago was pretty tough. I can imagine finding one today would be quite a bit more difficult. I am glad I picked one up 20 years ago.
I started with something easy and fun. I had the HD spokes and nipples plated back then and was happy to find all of them in usable condition. This bike came with the somewhat rare optional Supplementary Sportster Equipment - XLH & XLCH which included Champion aluminum rims and generator end cover. The general consensus is that the "Champion" rims were actually made by Borrani but they are not marked Borrani anywhere on the rim. Just the HD part number stamped on the inside.
When I purchased the XLCH it was a solid project. All the major important stuff was correct, but it had a later gas tank, later speedo, lots of wrong and incorrect finish hardware, and a V-Twin seat. Once I had found a correct gas tank, I had the paint, chrome, and cad plating done right after I tore it down. Now the challenge was remembering exactly where I had squirreled everything away! BTW, finding a correct gas tank 20 years ago was pretty tough. I can imagine finding one today would be quite a bit more difficult. I am glad I picked one up 20 years ago.
I started with something easy and fun. I had the HD spokes and nipples plated back then and was happy to find all of them in usable condition. This bike came with the somewhat rare optional Supplementary Sportster Equipment - XLH & XLCH which included Champion aluminum rims and generator end cover. The general consensus is that the "Champion" rims were actually made by Borrani but they are not marked Borrani anywhere on the rim. Just the HD part number stamped on the inside.