1949 WLA

[WP1]

I'm finally getting close to finishing my 49WLA, I thought I'd share a few pctures

[Johan WILLAERT]

Nice and not common!

[Lib45]

I totally agree..

[OLDABEWLA]

Palmers book calls out 379 49WLA's built she is a rare bike! Very nice restoration and I'm glad to see her back to her old self.

OldAbe

[WP1]

Bruce Palmer said that this is one of only 4 left that he's knows to exist. I've tried to restore it as close to what his book says as possible.

[OLDABEWLA]

The only thing out of place is that you have a early jiffy stand spring plate used from 1932-1943 Harley made two different types. The first has the hole and flat top like what is on your bike the second type has the top notch in it used from late 1943 to 1952.

Want to point that out if you ever get it judged. I had the wrong late spring plate on my mid/late 42WLA I didn't realized that there were two different types.

That is a sweet Jem !

OldAbe

[chibobber]

WP1,
Noticed your coil.Looks like a current repop.There is quit a discussion on the "caimag" site.The general thought is that the internals are wired incorrectly.The posts are backwards. If you can find an original,you would be better off.I'm sure Lib 45 and Johan can add more info.Nice looking so far.
Bob

[Lib45]

General consensus (and personal experience) is those repop Taiwan/ Indian made square coils are crap, excuse my French.
As long as you want this '49 to live its restored life as a trailerqueen and drag her from show to show, you'll be fine using this coil.
But if you want to use it (as they were meant to be) as a (daily) rider, toss that coil in the bin.
Although discussion is still going on whether to wire these coils backwards or not, they simply can't be trusted.
Buy an old used one off eBay or swapmeet or install a round cilindrical dual coil (no they're not original but they deal so much better with heat).

I've cleared a repop square one completely to its casing and slipped in a round one..you'll have to look twice to notice it.
It has never failed me since and made my '44 a reliable compagnion over the 2500 miles since restoration two years ago.
Just my tuppence..

[ChrisLewis]

Hi there.

Nice bike

There may be 5 in the world now as I have one in England, it is 50 percent restored and recovered from Holland where your Country had a huge military base after WW11.
Really difficult to restore as it seems to be edging towards a 49 civilian models with whatever second world war bits Harley Davidson had left !
Good to see the tombstone rear light as that is how they left the factory, my one had the incorrect WW2 lights, or maybe it was changed by the military ?
Also interesting is that Harley did not ship them with a speedo leaving it up to the military to fit whatever was available.

I did try to attach a photo but the web site said it was to big, may have a go when I have more time.

Currently I am having issues with the wiring as there appears to be several routes, one includes a junction box behind the coil, my one only utilised the two on the forks and the two located on the frame under the saddle, along with the ignition switch. So not sure what route to take, any suggestions would be useful.

Also run a new breakout, and a 1927 J model.

Regards

Chris (England)

[1stCAVREG]

Chris,

Your 49WLA uses the same wire diagram as 1948 OHV and 1948-1952 45 Solo models. The below link offers a view from a 1948 OHV rider manual. The terminals 45 through 50 are found on the terminal box located behind the coil on these models.

http://www.hydra-glide.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=4413

The original rider manual for 1948-1952 45 Solo models (excluding the 1951-1952 WLA) can be occasionally found on eBay. There is a pricey one there right now but it is NOS (1968 factory reprint) and he has a make offer (item 321642154157).

[ChrisLewis]

Thanks very much for the information, this is the route I was heading, will look for a junction box, and maybe a photo or drawing, (these are scarce for this model)

Regards


Chris

[1stCAVREG]

Chris,

The junction box is common. It was original equipment on all Big Twins and 45 models through 1969. Colony makes a very nice and reasonably priced replica. You can place a retail order direct and, if you purchase enough items, the shipping will be worthwhile.

You can visit Colony's website (below) and download their catalog. The junction box will be found on the top left of page 49.

http://www.colonymachine.com/

[ChrisLewis]

Thanks once again, managed to get one from Belgium so could start wiring in a few weeks time !

Chris (UK)

[WP1]

Chris, I'm at about the same point with wiring. I had to pull off my bike to remodel my bathroom but I'll be back on it soon. It looks like the hardest part is wiring the junction box behind the coil then it should go easy after that. I'll try and post pictures as I go and then maybe the guys here can correct what I do wrong so I can correct it early ! Funny story about the taillight is that my bike was a Greek return in the 80's. It was changed to the military rear light as well. I found this correct taillight on ebay from Greece. It was OD with traces of white exactly how my rear fender was painted. The guy said he got it off of a 49WLA years ago, possibly the original light of my bike????

[WP1]

Chris I'm having a reproduction data plate made, let me know if you need one