45 magnum

[magnum45pete]

good morning from rainy England,
has anyone out there had hands on experiance with a 45 magnum before,
I'v just built one over the last 2 years and now its just about ready to fire up, i think i'v got a bit of a problem,
with the plugs out it kicks over fine,with the plugs in, the compresion seems almost too much for me to kick over, and i'm about 250 lbs
i'm running a std 45 transmission with a 29 tooth motor sprocket and when building it i had the pistons machined down to give about an 8-1 ratio, i'm also using 45 cams.
is this somthing that will get easier with use or will it be something i'll have to live with and get used to (or move house to the top of a big hill)

[claydbal]

something aint right. check cranking pressure. i had one years ago with WR cams, electric start. it spun over as fast as the 45. i could duck walk it pretty fast and slam into second, she would fire right up.

didnt take long to blow it up though. LOL dont try and spin it very high. these days, it may be a waste of a rare engine case.

[magnum45pete]

thanks for that, i'll check it out a bit more,got to say it got to be the best looking harley motor that harley never made,
keep safe, pete

[Hillside]

Keep us posted on this.
Scott

[magnum45pete]

hi, i think all is ok with the motor, i'v checked the cam timing, the scavenger pump timing and the mag timing, all look right, i'v now put a larger motor sprocket on (32t) and it is a lot easier to kick over and i cant see why it wont start except that i may not be able to kick it fast enough to produce a spark from the magneto. one thing im not sure on is the choice of spark plugs, the ''45 magnum'' booklet from victory library recomends a champiuon long reach plug but my harley dealer (Warrs H.D. London) says that the XL900 used short reach plugs and sold me a set of Harley plugs they say are listed for the 900,the short ones dont go all the way into the chamber as i would expect them to and would sit up in the plug hole threads, what would you fit in a 900, short or long reach? thanks for your time

all the best, Pete

[magnum45pete]

Originally Posted by Hillside

Keep us posted on this.
Scott

hi scott
i'v found the problem in firing up the magnum, it was a wire in the mag, when i put the cap on, the coil wire was gently pushed on to the points spring,and made the spring touch onto the points adjusting/lock down screw and shorted it out,(not much clearance there at all). so damn obvious now but it's had me going for ages,now i have a big fat spark and she fired up allmost first kick. now all i have to do is get use to a sucide clutch and hand shift, i keep thinking somthings missing from the left hand end of the bars but i guess i'll get use to it,
all the best, pete

[Tom Witfield]

Always thought magnums were cool.
In one of the old chopper magazines there was one that had early sportster intake cams and 45 exhaust cams.
got pics?

[magnum45pete]

i sure have pics,cant seem to get them on this reply (computors aint my strong point) but there is a sh*t load in the gallery, i just checked and they are on page 6 & 7 of the gallery page under the heading ''magnum45pete'',if you send me your email address i can send you some direct, that iv worked out how to do, but this site system baffels me brain. send your email address to me at
peterwaltman@hotmail.co.uk if you cant find them, all the best, pete

[Eccool]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 45 magnum?

[claydbal]

45 flathead bottom, iron head sporty top, machine work.

[magnum45pete]

Originally Posted by Eccool

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 45 magnum?

if you look in the gallery or in my album section of this forum you can see my 45 magnum in all stages of the build,
it may not be the quickest harley, it may not be the newest harley, but i think it is the best looking harley motor,that harley never made. its louder than my buddys 127 inch ultima motor and gets more people scratching there heads as to what it is, there aint meny out there and iv wanted to build one for over 20 years, look into it and build one yourself, it will keep you amused for a long time,
all the best, pete

[Eccool]

Originally Posted by magnum45pete

if you look in the gallery or in my album section of this forum you can see my 45 magnum in all stages of the build,
it may not be the quickest harley, it may not be the newest harley, but i think it is the best looking harley motor,that harley never made. its louder than my buddys 127 inch ultima motor and gets more people scratching there heads as to what it is, there aint meny out there and iv wanted to build one for over 20 years, look into it and build one yourself, it will keep you amused for a long time,
all the best, pete

Thanks!!!!

[claydbal]

Originally Posted by magnum45pete

if you look in the gallery or in my album section of this forum you can see my 45 magnum in all stages of the build,
it may not be the quickest harley, it may not be the newest harley, but i think it is the best looking harley motor,that harley never made. its louder than my buddys 127 inch ultima motor and gets more people scratching there heads as to what it is, there aint meny out there and iv wanted to build one for over 20 years, look into it and build one yourself, it will keep you amused for a long time,
all the best, pete

mine kept me amused.

[magnum45pete]

i got to admit in the 2 years it has taken me to build,there have been two downsides iv found,
1) i'v not been to the pub as much as i should have been, and the brewery must be down on profits,
2) I almost forgot what babes are for, ALMOST!! Now it's finished they can clean it as much as they want,(just cant get me fingers close to the hub with the 80 spokes,know what i'm saying)....................lol

[hdmarsh77]

That's pretty danged cool, Pete. Something I've never seen or heard of before. Looks like a lot of work but rewarding too.

I have an Ironhead, just need a flathead bottom...and some money and time and machines...