The Small Engine Shop

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Back in 2015 I posted on this forum saying Kawasaki has discontinued the Kawasaki KLX 250 for sale in the United States. Well, I'm happy to say its back for 2018 and its improved. They finally got rid of the old carbureted fuel delivery in exchange for fuel injection. That's a big improvement, but other than that, I can't see any other significant change's. It looks very similar to the 2014 model, but they do have a new camo version.

https://www.kawasaki.com/Products/2018-KLX250

1930 To 1961:

The vehicle identification number, manufacturer identification number, or VIN for short, on 1930 to 1961 Harley Davidson motorcycles is located on the engine's left case. The VIN consists of 8 to 10 alphanumeric characters with the first two numbers being the year, the next 2 to 4 letters being the model abbreviation, and the last 4 numbers being the production number. An example might be:


1962 To 1969:

Harley Davidson motorcycles manufactured from 1962 to 1969 have a VIN that followed a similar format as motorcycles manufactured from 1930 to 1961, the only difference being the production number. If a model has a 4 digit production number, than the first digit is even for even years, and odd for odd years. If a model has a 5 digit production number than the first 2 digits are even for even years, and odd for odd years.

1970 To 1980:

Harley Davidson motorcycles manufactured from 1970 to 1980 have a VIN with 9 alphanumeric characters located on the frame and engine, and they are matching strings or numbers. The only exception are on motorcycles manufactured from January, 1, 1979 to February 7, 1979, where the VIN on the frame and engine do not match. The affected models during this time period have a engine number with 10 characters instead of 9. For legal reasons, it doesn't matter what string is stamped on the engine and the law will only recognize the VIN stamped on the frame. The 9 character VIN has the following format: the first 2 characters are the model code, next 5 numbers are the production number, which always starts above 10,000, and the last 2 characters are the year code. See charts below:







1981 To 2017 (Present):

All Harley Davidson motorcycles manufactured from 1981 to present have a 17 alphanumeric character VIN stamped on the frame. The format of the VIN is as follows: The first three characters are the World Identification Number, which identifies what part of the world the bike was manufactured for sale, the forth character identifies the weight class, the 5th and 6th characters identify the model code, the 7th character identifies the engine class, the 8th character identifies the introduction period, the 9th characters is the VIN check digit, the 10th character is the model year, the 11th character identifies the manufacturing plant, and characters 12 through 17 are the production number. See charts below.

Watchmen is a DC Comics, super hero movie released in 2009. The Watchmen intro contains a 23 second remake clip of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas, which happened on November 22, 1963. Riding along side the presidents motorcade, when the president was shot, are 2 motor cops riding Harley Davidson FL police motorcycles. I believe all motor cops following the president on this day were riding 1963 and 1964 model Harley Davidson FL police motorcycles. The motorcycles used in the Watchmen intro are clearly Harley Davidson FLHP motorcycles with twin-cam engine's and front disc brakes, which weren't manufactured until 1999. The motorcycles used in Kennedy's motorcade had pan-head engine's and front drum brakes. I guess there aren't many pan-head motorcycles around cheap enough for a studio to make a short clip like this accurate, and does it even matter?


Image from the Watchmen intro showing a Harley Davidson motorcycle with twin-cam engine and front disc brake.


A 2013 Harley Davidson FLHP. This bike is the wrong year, but very similar to the FLHP's used in the Watchmen intro.


A 1964 Harley Davidson FL police motorcycle


An Ad showing a 1964 Harley Davidson FL motorcycle.


This is a 1964 Harley Davidson FL Police supposedly used in Kennedy's motorcade when the president was assassinated.


Another example of an actual Harley Davidson FL used to protect President Kennedy.


Good example of a correct front brake drum used on the Harley Davidson FL to escort President Kennedy.


Good image showing what the Watchmen Clip was trying to duplicate. It shows two motor cops to the left rear of Kennedy's car.

Normally I ignore technical questions sent through email, but I enjoy numbers, so here's an email I received:

I HAVE 15 gallons of 35:1 from my old engine.....my new engine is 50:1....how many gallons of fuel do i need to get the 15 gallons all up to 50:1?

If you have 15 gallons of fuel mixed 35:1, than that means there is

15*128/35 = 54.857 ounces of 2 stroke oil added to the fuel. Will represent the gallons of fuel you need to mix with 54.857 ounces of oil to get a 50:1 ratio by the letter x. So,

x * 128/ 50 = 54.857, x= (50*54.857)/128, which makes x equal to 21.4 gallons. 21.4 gallons minus 15 gallons is 6.4 gallons. So you need to add 6.4 gallons of fuel to your mixed 15 gallons of 35:1 fuel to change the oil to fuel ration to 50:1
 
Im tired so double check everything. I'm not responsible for mistakes......

 

Then Came Bronson is a NBC television show that aired from 1969 to 1970 and starred Michael Parks, who played a loner, drifter riding around the country on a 1969 Harley Davidson XLH Sportster. The show only lasted one season with a total of 27 episodes including the pilot. Man, 26 episodes in one season seems like a lot! HBO's Game of Thrones season 7 only has 7 episodes. Anyway, I didn't even know the show existed until I found a photo of the actor sitting on the bike while I was researching information about 1970's Harley Davidson motorcycles. Even though the show only lasted one season, it was popular enough to influence Harley Davidson to offer a Bronson Red paint option on Sportster motorcycles.

Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycles back in 1969 had a 883cc v-twin engine, 4 speed transmission, chain final drive, front and rear drum brakes and a dry clutch. The shifter and rear brake lever were on opposite sides back than, so your right foot did the shifting and your left foot operated the rear brake pedal. The Bronson bike had the famous peanut gas tank with Eye of Providence decals added to both sides of the tank. The air cleaner, foot pegs, exhaust pipe, front fender and front rim are not stock, and the rear fender has been chopped.

I've never seen a single episode of the show except for short clips on YouTube. YouTube started cracking down on television shows and movies since they started a streaming service for this stuff. I wasn't able to find any episodes on Netflix or Amazon, but there is a movie version of Then Came Bronson, also starring Michael Parks, on Amazon. I will link to it below. Anyway, that's all I have to say about this, so until next time, or when we meet again on the Long Lonesome Highway.


The movie version of Then Came Bronson on Amazon. Available for purchase....Click It!


I guess this is the original Bronson bike displayed at a museum.


Michael Parks standing next to the Bronson bike with some chic.


Michael Parks playing James 'Jim' Bronson in the television show Then Came Bronson.


I guess the pilot episode of Then Came Bronson was released as a movie in Europe. This is the European movie poster.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/PYKQ3fwNb0c" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/PYKQ3fwNb0c</a>
I think this song was part of the Then Came Bronson soundtrack. You know a sportster with a peanut gas tank is the wrong motorcycle to use on a long lonesome highway. Just sayin......