This made-in-Japan Knucklehead recreation gives new meaning to the term better-than - new
ALLAN GIRDLER
OLD & IMPROVED
PICTURE THIS: Guy RIDES UP TO THE SHOW at Davenport or Daytona Beach or Myrtle Beach or Laughlin or Sturgis. wherever vintage and antique machines are seen atid admired.
He's on the motorcycle seen here. Murmurs of approval run through the crowd as a judge says. "That's the best-running old Harley I've ever seen." Not a Harlev' says the rider. Made in Japan last year."
And the crowd goes. . .welL there surely would be some who are shocked and dismayed, but for any true gearhead. this project, this tribute to endan gered values, deserves Best in Show.
This is the work of Take Shibazaki, known worldwide as Zak, an engineer and founder of Sundance, a Tokyo-based motorcycle shop (wwwsundance.co.jp). The "Sundance Knuckle" began when he restored the real thing, a 1946 Model E Harley-Davidson. It was a dream come true, the classic posture and profile, the stop-short looks of one of motorcycling's true milestone designs, the machine that kept Harley-Davidson alive during the Great Depression, but... Zak never took a spin on the old machine that he didn't
have one ear co*cked for ominous noise, never parked it that he didn’t check beneath the engine to see where the leaks were this time.
The first step was to note that if he could rebuild an old engine, and could design and improve new engines, he could build and improve an old engine, for instance the HarleyDavidson Knucklehead.
Next, Zak took a page from the book of Mr. Honda, who used to say that he'd think of a new machine that he liked and then bet that if he liked it. other motorcycle nuts would too.
So Zak sat down and designed and built what’s seen here, a better-than-new 1936 Knucklehead.
What can be seen of the frame is a true duplicate, right down to the lugs for a sidecar. Same wheelbase and engine location and rake and so forth. But a really close look reveals that the rigidly mounted rear wheel isn’t. The rear and forward portions of the upper tubes are a slip fit. What looks like the leading edge of the rear fender is actually mounted on the frame, concealing the swingarm pivot. There are shock absorbers beneath the gearbox and the rear suspension actually provides 3 inches of wheel travel.
Front suspension is classic springer, as in leading-link, with the improvement here being a coating for the bushings that provides friction-free motion and a lifetime of no wear. The coating came from a Sundance customer whose day job is with the Formula One car guys.
Zak didn’t want to compromise the details, so the Sundance Knuckle uses drum brakes front and rear, except that this time they’re hydraulically actuated, not cable, with top-grade iron for drums and the latest in linings.
The project is a complex mix of practical and obsessive. Lots of the minor items, the trim and lights and so forth are from Custom Chrome and other American suppliers, used because they’re good quality and Sundance, through Zak’s retail operation and parts catalog, has them in stock.
And then, well, look really closely at the voltage regulator atop the generator. They aren’t. The engine cases are production S&S, generator-style but with an alternator inside. What looks like a generator is an oil filter and the little box with wires is an outright fake.
Over on the left, there’s what looks to be the stock foot clutch with rocker pedal. You’ll also note there’s a hand shift lever and gate on the tank. Except the lever isn’t connected to anything, and the foot “clutch” shifts the cogs in the four-speed box, which explains the lever on the left side of the handlebar that really is the clutch control it appears to be. Oh, and up on the left-side fuel tank, the brass handle that looks like the oil pump from a pre-1936 Harley? That’s the fuel petco*ck. Seriously, the engine is old and new at the same time.
Old, because while Zak considered making an Evo Big Twin that looked like a Knuckle, he instead made a real one, but better. The S&S lower end has a bore and stroke of 4/4 x 3Vs inches, written in fractions like the old days rather than decimals, never mind metrics. That works out to
88 cubic inches. The increased displacement, up from the 61inch Model E or the later 74-inch Model F Harleys, was for what has to be called “milk power.”
The heads are aluminum, rather than cast iron, with the classic hemispherical combustion chambers enlarged to limit the compression ratio to 8.0:1. The cylinders are all Sundance, a mixture of Shovelhead, Panhead and Knucklehead design. The cooling fins look stock but the bases have been revised for more strength and the oil passages are internal, i.e. don’t leak. The stock rocker covers, the shapes that inspired the nickname, used to mount on lugs at the edges of the head. Vibration cracked the lugs, so the Sundance versions are thicker and stronger.
Sundance also cast new valve-lifter blocks, in silicon/ bronze, in part for longer life and also because they could incorporate hydraulic lifters, as seen later in Pan and Shovel engines. Silicon/ bronze was also used for the intake-valve guides, with beryllium/copper picked for the exhaust sides.
The rocker arms are equally exotic, with one half revised alloy and the other half stock Shovelhead.
The camshaft is from Andrews, a longtime Sundance supplier, with mild timing giving strong low-rev power and a calm idle. Zak emphasizes that the Sundance Knuckle is not a hot-rod; the changes are for ease of operation and long engine life. As one could guess by now, the stock-looking timer on the gearcase cover houses an electronic ignition, and the electrical system is of course 12-volt. Primary drive is by belt, as Zak doesn’t like mechanical noise, while the gears come from Andrews.
Oh yeah, there are hidden buttons for the turnsignals, but the other “button” isn’t there because starting is kick only. The mild engine tune, (relatively) low compression ratio, modern S&S carburetor and state-of-the-art ignition make starting easy. On paper anywaymore to come.
One more nifty feature: In 1936, sparkplugs were big and clumsy. Zak didn’t want to use the antiques, but he didn’t want the modern look to spoil the game. He made case replica sparkplug bodies, into which the modern plugs thread. Would anyone have noticed? Would anyone else have gone to such trouble? Probably not.
For what all this work, research and money add up to, we click back to Mr. Honda’s notion that he’s just one of many motorcycle fans.
What Zak does to keep the business going is, he makes bikes he likes and sells them, naturally in small numbers. This Sundance Knuckle is one of six he’s made to date. All sold to Japanese enthusiasts, and in this case borrowed back for the PR trip to the States.
So we need to note that the front brake master cylinder is a bit too big for this application and slowing the machine takes a mighty squeeze. Next, the carburetor seen here will be replaced soon with a replica of the production carb from 1936, a Linkert, which will be updated with modern insides. Further, by state mandate California gas is made to formula different from any other in the world. And finally, as anyone with kickstart experience knows, sometimes Newtonian physics applies and sometimes it doesn’t.
Meaning that when Zak, wife Tomo and media guide Adam Kauffman took the Knucklehead from the crate, it fired on the first kick. Then, at the pre-ride tune-up, when the shop was packed with CW staff, it took, well, more than one. Many, in fact, a condition that lasted all through our riding sessions.
Zak set out to recreate a classic, with character as the magazines used to say when explaining why we tolerate shortcomings. Riding the Sundance Knuckle, in other words, is a classic experience.
The best part is, in the opinion of those who actually began with bikes this old, the Sundance’s posture and the ride, the graceful progress at the pace of its time, is just right.
Plus, no question, the rider need not worry about leaks or things falling off. All that’s a given. Not so much as a drop of oil appeared anywhere.
When the engine was finally started, it idled smooth as a sewing machine and nearly as quiet. It pulled from rest like the modern Big Twin it is deep down. Freeway speeds are easier on the drivetrain than on the rider, who despite the comfortable tractor-style spung saddle is propped up against the wind.
The gearshift swings through a fairly narrow arc and works best with 1) a dancer’s light, fantastic toe; and 2) practice. On this first day, with this example, traffic was as much a challenge as a country road was a pleasure.
So.. .what?
What we see here is about $50,000 worth of time and skilled craftsmanship. Zak doesn’t expect to make a profit from this project but he does need to pay for the machines he makes.
There must be some legal questions as well. We’re not talking restoration here, nor will Zak pretend this is an old Harley. He isn’t exactly seeking orders, nor is he refusing to write the ticket, while what an American buyer would do down at the DMV is beyond the scope of this discussion.
Finally, The Motor Company has earned a reputation for a legal department staffed with hardnoses. Not long ago, H-D tried to patent the sound of a narrow-angle V-Twin. Zak has taken out a Japanese patent on the nickname Knuckle, so if need be that’s what will be on the tank emblems.
But it’s crystal clear what everyone will think this bike is, by plan and design and intent.
Will Juneau Avenue go up in flames?
Zak bets not. He points out that you can’t count the number of makers, suppliers and sellers in the custom, cruiser, chopper and restoration shops that make replica Harley parts and emblems, with no objections to date. And anyway, he says, “They never had a patent on this old thing.”
Let’s hope he’s right, that this is the rarest of good deeds, one that goes unpunished.
