Downtube weep hole question

[Ferrous_Head]

I've actually been meaning to buy a copy. Can't get it from my local dealer - they are too far away and unintrested in anythung but trying to sell me a new bike. Preferably a BMW. But I was looking on line last week and found a number of copies for sale.

The following is off topic and should be in a PM but I cannopt seem to get PM's to work. Not getting the option to "send" for some reason. Yes, I am logged in.

Dave, very glad you mentioned Dean Hummer. I tried to contact him maybe 6-7 years ago. He was in a nursing home and they told me it just wasn't possible for him to talk to me.

I understand you were friends with him. I was wanting to talk to him about one of his sidecars and about an engine he might have commissioned from Strociek. One of his sidecars came up for sale on eBay but the seller wouldn't deal with me. He insisted on the buyer coming to collect the outfit in person and that's a big ask for me as I live in Australia. Given the "sad" state of the bike and the lack of an engine in it, it just wasn't worth it.

But I believe the Strociek engine I have was intended for use in a sidecar and I think Dean would have been the most likely buyer of this engine. That's just supposition of course. The engine is very unusual in that both the inlet and exhaust ports are on the left side. Which would make perfect sense if you had a right side platform sidecar. Which dean had.

I have a serious interest in getting some information on this engine as I'm trying to get approval from MA (Motorcycling Australia) to run this engine in the Period 4 class. For that the engine needs to be pre 73. Belly numbers begin with 772 and it has -72 casting date codes. But it has no engine number and the heads and cylinders are clearly Strociek, not Harley Davidson.

I did have a talk with his mechanic many years ago. Can't remember his name. He told me he managed to get the heads from the engine that blew up (I think in Canada?) But he had nothing else to add.

Were you by any chance mates with him as far back as 1972 ?

Again, sorry this is not in a PM.

[Otis]

I’ve had to ream original seat Ts to fit Corbin seats so probably an engineering thing
Also I had a 69 CH judged and was deducted 3 points for the short seat. After consideration it was corrected to a dealer installed option with no deductions.

[Otis]

I’ve had to ream original seat Ts to fit Corbin seats. Probably an engineering issue.
Also I had a 69 CH judged and was deducted 3 points for the short seat. After consideration it was corrected to a dealer installed option with no deductions.

[Otis]

Can someone post a picture of exact weep hole location. I can’t find any evidence of them on my 66 H frame. Thanks

[hennesse]

Otis,

At the front of your rear fender is a "curved bracket with buffer", and two bolts attach the bracket to the frame in threaded holes shown in red. The holes for the bolts are drilled through the frame, with small openings on the far (front) side, which I've called "weep holes". The battery hides the one on the left, the one on the right is easier to see.

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If you were to take off the bracket/buffer, you could stick a finish nail into the bolt hole, and it will come out the weep hole. The red stalk on a spray can of WD-40 is easier to use than a nail.

Inside the "socket" at the bottom of the downtubes under the seat is a small opening. Any water that gets into the downtubes should go through this opening and then come out the weep hole. But this opening gets clogged with rust over the years. The long "SpeedBor" drill is what I used to clear mine out, since the bike is assembled. If you have the bike disassembled, you MIGHT be able to apply air pressure to the weep hole and blow the rust out from the opening and out the top of the downtubes, but I haven't tried that.

I did have rust built up on the lower insides of the downtubes, which prevented the springs from going all the way in. I scraped around for awhile with a long screwdriver. Then I got a set of stainless steel copper pipe cleaning brushes with hex shanks, a 12" locking hex extension (total $20), and used the 1" brush with a drill to clean them up. Keep the drill turning at all times, and do the old in-and-out routine. Hope this helps!
Dave

[Otis]

I inspected the fender mount holes before posting not knowing if they were the holes and couldn’t poke anything through so I guess mine are clogged. Thanks