First Project

I am wanting to start my first project. Would like to purchase an older bike (I think) that is in need of repair and rebuild it to "new" quality. Looking for help, tips, words of inspiration, etc...
I intend to rent a garage/shop and purchase a lift. I have no tools to speek of but am looking to acquire whatever is needed to do the project.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

WELCOME! AND YOU'LL NEED ALOT OF WISKEY, BEER, AND ASPRIN FOR THE HEADACHE'S:roflmao: DON'T FORGET SOME ON CALL FRIENDS:roflmao: GOOD LUCK, LET US KNOW WHAT YA GET.

Thanks for the feedback.

Welcome to the board and good luck on your project. And as Chuck always says, the shop manual is the most important tool in your box. So what ever ya buy, make sure you buy a shop manual to go with it.

Good luck with the hunt. I would suggest buying something that is currently drivable or at least a complete bike. As opposed to something that is in a million pieces in boxes scattered around someone's shop, attic, shed and basement. That way you get to see how it comes apart which will help tremendously when it comes time to put it together.

A Factory service manual is probably the most useful tool you can get as already mentioned.

When buying tools, opt for some good quality tools with a warranty like Craftsman, Snap On, SK, Matco, etc. that can be returned without a receipt if they break. Off brands, even ones with warranties, may not be able to be returned. And if they can, they often require you to send them back to the manufacturer, on your dime, with the original sales receipt, if you have it. They cheap ones can and will break, slip off, etc. causing more aggravation than the money you think you saved was worth.

You can find all kinds of good deals on used tools and boxes if you're looking for a bunch of stuff and you have the money to buy all at once. Otherwise you may be better off buying new and just get what you need as you go.

When you do get started, try not to "overbuild". I've seen a few guys get carried away with the local parts guy or mail order catalog. You can wind up having $30,000 (or more) tied up into a bike you can't even ride yet, let alone get any money for. Make a plan and stick with it as closely as possible.

Good luck.

A good source for that is pawn shops. I feel bad about taking advantage of someone else's misfortune, but pawn shops only give a fraction of what something's worth & lots of times you'll see high quality tools that someone was using to make a living, then fell on hard times & had to let them go. Have to be careful with power tools like a drill or air impact, as they might be worn out, but hand tools are easy to inspect. And while they'll usually sell individual tools, you almost always get a much better deal if you buy the whole box, even if it includes some tools you already have.

One thing about cheap tools - sometimes they do come in handy. For example, you don't want to heat up & bend a nice hand wrench to get in a tight spot, so use one from K-Mart, etc. And when I took the right footpeg off one of my Sportsters, the recessed nut had so little clearance that a quality socket or open-end wouldn't get down in there - but a K-Mart open-end did just fine. Thinner & not as strong, but it was the only tool I had that would reach.

I learned something else many years ago when working in a shop that had many different brands of tools - each brand has their own specialty. For example, while Snap-On makes the best deep sockets, a Craftsman ratchet is actually better & costs a lot less. And I had never heard of Armstrong before, but we had a long 1/2" drive Armstrong ratchet that clicked like a Swiss watch. You could pull on it like a breaker-bar too - that thing was indestructable! Mac & Matco make open ends with 4 flats instead of being rounded like most - they don't slip. Cornwell makes some great tools too & some companies make specialty items that nobody else does.

Point being you don't have to limit yourself to just one brand & sometimes you'll see a box with a hodge-podge of different tools that's being sold @ a deep discount just because they're not all the same brand.

About the pawn shops, it is true that someone can fall on hard times and sell their stuff at a pawn shop, but how many wrenches will sell their tools, they need them to get out of hard times. The people may give that reason to the Pawn Broker as the reason for selling them , but most of the tools you find in Pawn shops are stolen, a way for thieves to fence their loot for whatever they can get for them.

Well, there's another reason too - drugs. I've seen it several times - guys that are good @ what they do get into smoking crack, etc. & give up their tools for another high. I once knew 2 guys who went to Florida immediately after Hurricane Andrew with all kinds of stuff - 2 big trucks, a bobcat & darn near every tool you could think of. Jack of all trade types borrowed $40,000 to go down & get set up, but made over $335,000 in a year. Got into that crack & smoked up all of it. Last I saw them, everything was gone - from trucks to screwdrivers. Somebody got a deal on all they sold though.

another place that they get them high end tools are at estate sales they buy them from the widow for next to nothing, and actions are another place to get quality tools for cheap, and don't be afraid to pick up a box of say snapon tools that you already have for really cheap because you can trade tools in for other tools on the truck you just have to do your home work first.

I stand corrected Art...Very,very sad but true. That Sheit does destroy lives,and familys. Its what drives the thieves to do what they do too. Can take the best of men down if they get caught up in it.

Oh, I'm sure you're right that a lot of tools found in pawn shops are stolen & while guys I worked with on big jobs used to take an electric engraving tool & put an identifying number like their driver's license # on expensive power tools, it'd be nearly impossible to do that to all your hand tools. But guys who would not normally ever sell their tools will if they get into that crack, etc.

Ironhorse mentioned estate sales & auctions & those are other good sources I forgot about. Should have remembered though 'cause indirectly, that's how I got the Sportster frame for the bike under re-construction now. There's a fella in this area who restores bikes & he goes to every estate sale & auction that pops up. When I mentioned we were looking for a Sportster frame he said he had one - said he found the bike under the front porch @ an estate sale & it wasn't listed by the auction co. Front head had been removed as well as several other parts - obviously someone started to work on it but it had been years.

He bought the bike as-is dirt cheap, sold the useable parts individually & just had the frame left. He'd cleaned it all up, the welds were all good, no damage anywhere from being dropped hard or wrecked, so I bought it. That bike has already gone 167 mph, no obviously there's nothing wrong with the frame Got some more goodies for it, but hardly anything has been bought new. Just have to know what you're looking for & not get in a hurry. Deals pop up @ the most unexpected times.

Don't forget yard sales. I once got a complete set of Hansen taps and dies that looked like they had never been used at a "divorce sale" for 10 bucks.
For a while there you could get worn out shovel heads pretty cheap but with the bobber craze I don't know. Sportsters are still a bargan. If you buy one and totally go through it and learn what you are doing you can buy another one and build it to sell and get back a good bit of your investment plus the knowledge is priceless as they say. Older Harley's, pre computer programing are very forgiving to the shade tree mechanic. Just have a good manual handy, take your time and once you figure out how something goes together don't forget the lock tite. Mostly you will need simple hand tools and a torque wrench. A pneumatic rattle gun is used for removing the compensating sprocket. You need to be aware that some threads are left handed so you definitely need a shop manual, readily available on line. Good Luck. AL