one of the coolest vtwin motors I have ever seen

 The owner told me that this is a 1909 Peugot?  I really have no idea.  I do know that it is amazingly beautiful and has some cool features.  It is an atmospheric intake valve twin.  Check out the rest of the photos and if you have more info, please let me know.  thanks

36, 47, 65 and baby heart beat!!!!

 I put together 12 hubs this weekend.  It was pretty laid back.  Jesse cleaned up all the parts, which is the most time consuming part.   Here is a cool pic of Bob's 39 sleeves,  can any of you guys guess why the three rings are on them?

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Here is the line up.  Fitting bearings is a pain, I like to do a lot at once, rather than a few scattered throughout the year

 My dad and I spent Sunday together pre assembling Jim's 36.  It is really going to be a nice bike.  This frame was really chopped up and took a bit of work to turn into something .  It was really nice to just hang out in the shop and work on the same bike with my dad like the old days  

 Oil lines and crash bar are pre fit in this pic

 We still have to get the rocker arms and shafts sized to fit before we can finish the top end, but you get the idea. 

 Late 36s had a one piece crash bar,which is a lot better than the 27 piece one that most of them used.  There is a dimensional problem with it bolting up to the frame, the u bolts and spacing on the crashbar is for 1.125 tubing and the frame tube is 1.00 Here is a cool photo of the piece that Harley designed to take up the difference.   I made up a dozen sets of these shims eight years ago and have only sold one pair, I guess I just doubled my sales lol

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This is my good friend Jason's 65,  we are just about finished with it,   It has been a monumental amount of work to figure out the anamolies of 65 electraglides,  It makes me feel good to work on the bike because its for my friend,   I dont think that I will ever work on one after this.

 Too many lights is not enough!   The tail light lense is a nos piece that we bought in Pennsylvania

 This was one of the hardest parts to find for the bike.  The electra glide emblems are a one year only part and do not have the little trademark dot at the end of the script. 

 Here is Justin's 47 frame back from the Powder coater

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Craig is already truing wheels!   Two of these are for the 47 and the other one is for Pauls back wheel.

Yesterday was a milestone day for britt and I, we drove up to Moore head Minnesota to do some prenatal stuff and got to hear our baby's heart beat for the first time.   This was a pretty amazing moment.   We wont get to find out what sex it is for another six weeks.  I hope it is a boy, but it doesnt really matter as long as its healthy.

just b/c it's monday and sometimes we need something pretty to start our week......
or this had me rolling if you need a good laugh :)

motors, wheels and a couple new parts

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Here is Randy's 45 motor that my dad finished up.  It is really so nice.  We put the short clips in as a joke.  

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I really like 51 fl motors, this one turned out nice.

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This is a 62 motor that we just finished for a fellow in Hawaii,  it is the third motor we have built for people from the island state.   This motor was toast and one of the worst ones I have ever seen.  

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Here are Jacks wheels for his 36.  My friend Anthony let me use a nos vl fender for color matching the croydon cream and venetian blue.  I cant wait to finish this bike its going to be so nice.

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Here are some prototype kicstand brackets we had made up.  They still need a little metal finishing before they can be parkerized, but you get the idea.  They are correct for 36 to early 38 big twins with the short kickstand.  If you need one email me before theyre all gone.

Here is a rare part that nobody really knows about.  These are kickstand stops for 36 els. They were made out of two pieces and spot welded together.   We made up the kicstand brackets and it made sense to have these made too.

and here is a wax for a 36 and 37 footboard tab.

explanation for dropping off the grid!

  Hi everyone, it has been a couple months since I posted anything.  I apologize for loosing touch with the blog responsibilities.  A lot of people over the summer asked about it, and I didn't really realize how many people read the site.   I will do a better job of updating the site throughout the coming winter to hopefully help you get excited about old bikes.   If you have any tech questions, please email them to me at mattbrittney.olsen@gmail.com  and I will post some answers and photos to help you out.

With that being said it brings me to the the explanation for me being off the grid, 
 Britt and I found out that we are having a baby!  The due date is May 13th and we couldn't be happier.   I have felt like a little kid before christmas ever since I found out.  

 Here is a shot I took last night of her bump  she is 11 weeks along and feels great. 

 Here is the sweet carriage that we are getting from our friends Pete and Kim,  It is in SF  California,  If any of you can recomend a good way to get it here that would be great. 

We took this photo at the110th anniversary party for Harley right after davenport,  there is a good chance that britt was pregnant in it, so It counts as our first family photo with the 36 

Sat. night my phone rang at 10:00...when i saw dad's cell on my phone i panicked and immediately thought something's wrong.... my dad does not call at 10:00 at night (actually no one calls at that time since i reached my 30's and had kids ha!).  when i answered the phone it was super loud and my dad was yelling "shannon do you hear this?!!"  i realized he was at a concert w/ my brother and he was excited about a song that was playing.  it put a smile on my face that he thought to call me.  i didn't want him to know that all i heard was yelling and nothing that resembled music.  i get my love for music from my dad.  he listens to songs he loves loud and over and over again.  whenever we are together he likes you to listen to the songs he's discovered.  it's cute and i realize i do the same thing....so here's my suggestion of the week (dad i think you'll like it).

Tendai, Ku and Talumba Welcome little Wangu into their Family

This shoot took place when Wangu, Tendai and Ku's son, was only two weeks old. This is a great time for a new born shoot, as babies tend to sleep through it all, allowing the photographer to get the best possible shots without upsetting the little one. These types of shoots usually take place in controlled environments, such as studios, but we were out for something much more bold and dramatic, so we opted for a beach and open field, as a backdrop. Tendai and Ku were an absolute pleasure to work with! Ku did a very impressive job at coordinating outfit colours, as well as bringing in bold props. We were blessed with sunshine, and a beautiful KZN sunset, as our shoot came to a close. It was quite windy on the beach, but we managed to work around it, by taking shelter behind a tall set of rocks. This shoot was somewhat tricky to monitor due to the strong winds, the kids on the move and the bright sunlight, which left me a little unsure of the end result. When I did get a change to go through the collection of photos, I was thrilled with the outcome. This shoot was placed into a exquisite coffee album, which will savour this special day forever.