Vintage motorcycles are hot right now, and rightly so. In the world of collector vehicles, bikes have long been overshadowed
by antique cars. But bikes are coming into their own. Long-stored — and worse, long-ignored — basket cases and rolling carcasses
are being resurrected. Some are being restored to their former glory; others are being transformed into choppers and bobbers.
Harley-Davidsons are the darlings of these rebuilders and resurrecters, but over the years many Knuckleheads, Flatheads, Ironheads
and Shovelheads have had a rough life. Broken fins, egg-shaped valve guides, wallowed-out bearings, and cases with connecting
rods sticking through them — these are just some of the problems.
There are new cases and jugs available from aftermarket suppliers for some models, but that brings up another problem. Early
Harleys (pre-1970) had the VIN stamped on the engine, and that's the number that appears on the title. So if a guy has a titled
bike, say a 1939 Harley Knucklehead, he'll want to retain that 1939 case that matches his title.
As the local Big Twin dealer of choice, what are you going to do to help this customer when he shows up in your shop with
a chunked-out case and a forlorn look on his face? One solution adopted by lots of dealers is to call in the cavalry. In this
case, the cavalry wears the uniform of Advanced Cycle Machining ([800] 844-3200) in Superior, Wisconsin. 'We Like Challenges'
The specialty of the house at Advanced is repairing damaged Harley engine castings, though it does offer complete machining
services. The crew works only on Harleys and Harley-based engines: Flatheads, Knucklehead, Shovelhead, Evo, Twin Cam, Sportsters,
Buell, S&S, STD and any other Harley-style mill. The company motto is We Like Challenges, so that should give some idea of
how the crew is likely to face any repair your shop throws at it.
Advanced Cycle Machining was started in 1985 by Phil Runser as an offshoot of his Superior Motorcycle Service. Runser had
been in the Harley service field since 1948, so he knew his way around an engine. He got into the machining and repair end
of the business as a result of doing bearing race repair on early Harley XR750 race engines. Pretty soon, the same upgrades
were being applied to stock engines, and the business just branched out from there.
But back to repairing those cases. Advanced has patterns for virtually every section of any Harley engine ever built. It works
with a nearby casting company that makes castings of all those various engine sections. When a case comes into the Advanced
shop, the crew cuts away the damaged section and welds in a new one, completely blending in the weld lines and matching the
grain on the surface. Their finished repair is so good that it's said to be undetectable.
Of course, they do not stop there. Advanced does complete engine machine services. Among its more popular ones is the conversion
to left-side Timken bearings. This alone can add years to the life of a Harley lower end. Advanced also offers its own line
of precision valve seats, and they repair valve guide holes as well, not with inserts, but by welding and re-machining.
Complete balancing services are offered. One of the more common maladies found on neglected engines is broken fins on the
jugs and heads. Those can be repaired at Advanced, too. No problem and, again, undetectable.
Hundreds of dealers nationwide use the services offered by Advanced. Additionally, Zipper's Performance, Jims and S&S all
recommend the company. That's pretty strong endorsement.
Alan Mayes
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What's important to you is what the use of a company such as Advanced can do for you as a dealer. It's difficult to provide
all of the services in-house that customers might need. Alliance with a reputable machine shop allows you to meet your customers'
needs with a product you can stand behind. It helps your bottom line, and it keeps your customers coming back.
Alan Mayes is the managing editor of The Horse BackStreet Choppers.
