Stubborn Dog Motorcycle Racing Team
The Stubborn Dog Motorcycle Racing Team was established to participate in the 2023 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run. Stubborn Dog is running a 1928 Harley Davidson Model JD.
Gary Brace, rider
Ben Brown, crew chief and manager of all work being done on the motorcycle
Art Frank, mechanic and machinist
Buck Carson, mechanic and a great help
Sophie, Bernese Mountain Dog - Mascot (1996 - 2022)
The Cannonball is a 17-day event that will run along a prescribed route from
Virginia Beach, Virgina to Oceanside, California It be held in September 2023.
The team is located in Waynesville, North Carolina.
Discussion of Bike History
The motorcycle was purchased from Matt Walksler at the Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Matt is the curator of the Museum, taking the role over when his father, Dale passed away.
Matt got the JD going out of hibernation. The bike ran well, but we wanted to make it a little safer and more reliable than the stock motorcycle as we prepared for daily rides and ultimately the Cannonball.
Getting the motorcycle out of “hibernation” by Matt was captured in a Wheels Through Time video.
The JD was purchased by Dale from a friend of his in the mid 1990s. His friend had rebuilt the engine and ran it for a few hundred miles before selling it to Dale.
The Motorcycle
Our motorcycle is a 1928 Harley Davidson, model JD. It has a 74 ci engine and according to the specifications, a blazing 20HP, but with lots of torque.
This is Gary Brace’s introduction into antique motorcycles. While he has been around vintage era bikes for quite some time, he had never used a foot clutch or a hand shifter. Riding the JD the first few times was quite a learning curve as he practiced disengaging and engaging the clutch and shifting. US Highway 276 north of Maggie Valley provided a great opportunity to practice.
Alterations to the Motorcycle
We performed a number of enhancements to the JD to make sure that it was not only safer but would be more reliable. We made these modifications based on the guidance and wisdom of a number of people including Matt Walksler, Ben Brown, Buck Carson and Jon Neuman at Sagebrush Cycle. Jon unfortunately passed away in the Spring of 2023.
Clincher Wheels to Drop Center Rims
Motorcycles, depending upon the manufacturer, had “clincher” style wheels until the late 1920s or early 1930s. Harley Davidson started using “drop center” wheels in 1929/1930. The previous clinchers worked ok but suffered from dangerous flats and tires rolling off the rim when deflated. We decided to use the later model drop center wheels. These are much safer and more reliable, especially over the course of a cross country trip. Jon Neuman suggested that we use 9 mm thick motocross tubes in the tires.
New Front Brake
Jon Neuman replaced the stock JD front brake with one from a mid-1970’s Honda CL77 Scrambler. The front brake fits perfectly between the front forks of the JD. He also manufactured a brake arm to fit the Honda brake and the JD front end. The front wheel had custom spokes installed by Buchanan Cycle in San Dimas, CA.
Speedometer
We had the speedometer rebuilt and turned back to zero by Terry Marsh of Corbin Speedometer Repair.
Engine Rebuild
During the winter of 2022-2023, Art Frank on our team, and owner of Past & Present Motorcycle Service, in Freedom, PA rebuilt the engine. He did a tremendous job with the rebuild. Rock solid.
Generator, Modified 45 ci Timer, New Coil and Voltage Regulator
Rob Nussman of RetroCycle provided a more reliable rebuilt "2-brush" generator (3-brush is the original type) and a solid-state regulator (instead of the original armature regulator).
Rob also converted a timer (distributor) from a 45 c.i. Harley Davidson to fit the JD.
Buck Carson mounted a new coil outward from the seat tube to keep it away from the heat of the rear cylinder.
Steering Damper
Matt installed a steering damper, in the final two weeks prior to the Cannonball, made from VL parts. Game changer! Increased stability and created a more confident ride.
New Carburetor
We replaced the stock Schebler carburetor with a Linkert M88 rebuilt by Mark Neberman of Missouri City, TX. Mark also effectively converted the M88 to an M51. The vast majority of Cannonball bikes are running Linkerts, and our crew is much more familiar with Linkerts.
General Parts and Assistance
Sean Jackson, of Competition Distributing provided an assortment of parts and guidance to us during the rebuild process.
We purchased a new kick stand and other parts from Replicant Metals. They were a great help.
New Paint Job
The JD looked pretty good when we got her, but a new paint job put it in show-room condition. John Dills of Cullowhee, NC did a fantastic job in painting and pin striping the motorcycle.
General Tweaking and Adjustments
The specific tasks listed above were performed to get the JD running safe and sound. But probably one of the most overlooked aspects of getting the JD ready were the never-ending adjustments and retrofitting of the cables, wires, and oil and gas lines. Ben and Buck did a tireless job in fitting all the lines and cables to the newer components.
During the final month before the Cannonball, we had the JD at Dale's Wheels Through Time Museum. Matt Walksler helped out again, working on the JD during the break-in and testing period, providing invaluable guidance and fixing a number of things on the JD as we were readying the JD for the Cannonball.
Initial Introductions and Motivation
Jim Dohms, of Dohms Creative Photography in Maggie Valley, NC provided the "initial excitement" and many of the first introductions and coaching points as Gary was getting familiar with the Cannonball.
Photo Gallery
