45WLA, what would you do?

[English Steve]

I'm gradually getting on with the 45, and am currently considering the wheels and tyres. Tyres fitted are of Russian manufacture and are of an unknown age - they look OK but will be going in the skip as I don't trust their condition. They looked wrong, but it took several times of looking at the bike then going away and looking at photos, before it clicked (I'm a bit slow sometimes ) - the original hubs have had 19" rims laced on in place of the correct 18" ones!
So, what would you do? Keep the existing 19" rims for now, and fit new 400x19 tyres and tubes or bite the bullet and re-lace the hubs onto 18" rims with the correct tyre size.
Bearing in mind:
This will not be a mile-muncher, it will be used as a fun bike and to visit a few shows etc.
Cost most definately is an issue. I have a few hundred pounds worth of bits to find yet.
I am not trying to make the bike look like it just came out of the factory, I'd prefer it to look like it just returned from delivering a despatch to the front line.
It may never make it to the road anyway, as I have to go through the hoops for an age-related reg number - but that's another story for another day!

All opinions welcome - fire away!

Oh, and while we are on the subject, anyone know where I can get hold of a correct pattern speedometer needle (pointer)?

[Limey_Dave]

Kurt is doing speedo parts now.

https://flatlandmotorcyclecompany.co...egory_id=11886

About £12 but post won't be anything on a needle.He also has the seal for the lens,good luck getting the bezel off.

[kevscrivener]

Don't see that 19" wheels are a problem for now. If that's the bike in your avatar it looked OK to me, and I'm willing to bet that most people including a lot of Harley owners wouldn't know the difference.

You will be able to pick up the correct rims along the way somewhere. For now get the bike up and running, and enjoy it.

I'm glad to see that you're doing it as a well-used military. Not enough of them around, and pristine 45's don't float my boat anyway, I like to see 'em looking used.

[dodgyloner]

Hi Steve

It depends on how you're going to restore the bike - as a WLA used by US forces or as one of the many thousands given to the Russians under the lend lease arrangements - which is probably where that one ended up by the sound of it. I understand that the Russians did the 19 inch conversions almost when the first set of tyres ran out as they couldn't get enough 18 inch replacements from the US.

Russian WLAs are not that common in restored form but they are around and they were a huge presence in the Russian war machine. Depends on how authentic you want your restoration to be - as it was probably used during the war or a "Band of Brothers" D Day prop.

Whatever you decide to do I'd keep the rims and the tyres to one side till you know more about them - they will sell to someone who's interested in the Russian stuff especially if the tyres are good condition USSR wartime production. Original wartime tyres are a death trap, but like gold dust to someone who's looking for 100% authentic.

If the whole wheels are original Russian conversions you might be able to sell them as a job lot and replace them with 18 inch ones as fitted by the US (basically the hub is about 75% of the cost of the full wheel). You may also have some other USSR wartime fitments or adaptations on the bike that may be sought after.

Have you checked out Johan Willaert's site WLA Introduction its a good source and I think he's got some Russian WLA stuff there.

Can we have some pictures?

Karl

[Squiz]

Personally I'd do it as I wanted to do it. I would not even think about making it "showroom like". It's a very old bike and any mods/changes are all part of it's story. Just make it work and look in a way you are happy with. I would be surprised if it's worth substantially less in that fashion anyway. If it was me looking to buy such a machine, I would like the fact it's not standard. let's face it, how many Harley's have you ever seen that are as they were when they left the shop? None I would expect. The Harley Tax is not only accepted, I think it's expected. Get it working as cheap as possible to your own spec (like every other Harley) and enjoy the hell out of riding it to shows and answering all the questions that will come your way. You'll have the answers cos you did it and decided it. Just my opinion of course, for what that's worth, but I would think if it's concourse, most Harley owners would have less interest in it anyway.

[45Brit]

keep it as it is, no doubt about that.

19" rims, so what? Take the Russian tyres off if you intend to ride it, they are dreadful things but some rivet counter will pay silly money for them as a display piece, or as something that does 5 miles a year at shows.

[Noddy]

Hi Steve.
Any chance of some pictures on here?

[grbrown]

Originally Posted by Noddy

Hi Steve.
Any chance of some pictures on here?

Yeah! We can't help you any more without pics!

[Urrell]

Yea!

[English Steve]

Thanks for all the replies chaps, your views are very much appreciated and confirm that what I want to do will be ok. So, it'll be new tyres on the 19" rims for now and see what the funds permit later, and continue with the plan to leave her looking like an old bike because that's what she is.

Limey_Dave and Dodgyloner, thanks for the links - very useful.
Kevscrivener, yes it is the bike in my avatar. Even if I did it up pristine (which I wont), it wouldn't stay that way for very long. I like to see a bike being used, not just looked at.
Everyone else, thanks for your comments and suggestions. I hadn't thought of any Russian bits as being of value - to me they just seem bloody dangerous, but I suppose if someone had to have it 100% genuine ...

Regarding photos, I seem to have used up my space allocation. I'm not very good with a camera, but I will try to create an album on here or on photobucket over the next week or so. Please bear with me though as the bike is kept around 20 miles from home and I don't get there every day.

Thanks again for the comments.