How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop) [Paperback]

Bruce Palmer III (Author)

Book Description

Series: Motorbooks Workshop | Publication Date: November 13, 1994

The biggest and best book ever written on authentically restoring the most collectible 1937-1964 Harley-Davidson big twin motorcycles. Every detail on every bike is meticulously described year-by-year and model-by-model down to the correct finish for each part. 750 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Bruce Palmer III is a noted Harley-Davidson restorer who has been building and restoring motorcycles for decades.

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (November 13, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879389346
• ISBN-13: 978-0879389345
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Motorcycles > Repair & Performance
  • #72 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Repair

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't even consider buying this book. Just do it!, July 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

Even if you don't own or plan to own one of the models described in this book; it makes for absolutely great reading. Ever wondered how parkerizing is done? How to go about shopping for a restorable bike and what to look for? It tells you all that and much, much, more.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Devil is in the Details, January 2, 2002

By 

"tamecat" (Pullman, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

Palmer's book has revolutionized Harley-Davidson restoration. Information that was once the province of a few real experts and many would be experts, obfuscated by lots of opinions, myths, and flawed memory masquerading as facts, is now available to anyone who buys the book. Palmer did a good job of using available resources to assemble, in excruciating detail, the data necessary to build these motorcycles as the consensus of the sources he consulted says they were supposed to be when they rolled off the factory's assembly line. That consensus was not always easy to reach, because, for example, the manufacturer itself used retouched photos of older models to introduce new models, and followed various other practices such as running changes, recalls, and using parts inventory from one model year into the next, that make it difficult to know, today, what was "correct" in 1938. Palmer takes us into the world defined by that level of "correctness" that demands that this manufactured product from days gone by be exactly as it was at the point of origin. We can now "know," through his book, what is "correct." More of us can be knowledgeable about the number of cooling fins on a UL cylinder, or the color, width, and placement of pinstriping, or the fact that fender trim for a particular year is polished stainless, not chrome. This is a book about building your bike to original factory specs, and it is the best available for that purpose.

Of course, if you follow this book to its logical conclusion and build a correct motorcycle, don't expect to ride it. It will have decades old tires both too valuable and too aged to ride. You won't want to run it on pump gas, because it needs lead. Taking it out on the road might ding the paint, blue the exhaust, or demonstrate that your assembly procedures weren't quite up to snuff by identifying all of the points where oil can escape. Palmer's approach to the topic seems to hold that these old bikes are artifacts, not transportation. He has affirmed and strengthened a subculture within motorcycling that elevates the machine over the ride. It will be interesting to see if others, such as Kirk Perry's "Mechanics & Owners Guide to 1941-1959 Harley-Davidson O.H.V. Big Twins" will reinforce the ranks of folks who actually want to ride these old hogs.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your restoration will be more accurate with this book!, May 7, 2000

By 

panic (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Restore Your Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

After 30 years experience, I still learned a great deal about the many variations in H-D twins over the years (does have some minor ommissions on 45" models). Take a copy with you to swap meets to make sure you get the parts you need. Worth 10 times the purchase price.