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Varanjar t1_iy4x339 wrote

Reply to comment by Motomegal in Randy Smith hoists 203 pounds of machine off the ground. c1970s by MyDogGoldi

These lightweight builds, called Magnum 45's, are well known and weigh around 300 lbs. Randy said his was 203, believe it or not.

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notbob1959 t1_iy4xooe wrote

Found a photo of the bike posted to the Facebook account of the Harley-Davidson Museum with following description:

>1970 Magnum built by Randy Smith. A model name for this one? Hard to pin down... Smith relished making motorcycles that defied the laws of logic. He was the owner of Custom Cycle Engineering. To build this bike, he took a 1940s WR 45 ci Flathead bottom end and grafted it with a Sportster OHV top end. It has a Cerani front end but with a KR road racer front brake. It weights 250 pounds and went over 100 mph on the quarter mile.

>The bike came into the Archives collection in 2006, and is currently on display on the lower level of the museum in the Custom Culture gallery.

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homeyinharamony t1_iy51tax wrote

Pic says 203 & article claims 250lbs - so i assume 203 is claimed dry. Terry Sheppard Tuning did one off builds(frames etc) using TL1000 V-Twin engines in early 2000's & got nowhere near that weight. V Twins are HEAVY.....using just the basics my TL motor weighed 153lbs alone.

I'm calling BS - no way that bike pictured weighs 203lbs dry or 250lbs wet

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notbob1959 t1_iy555t5 wrote

You would think that the current owner of the bike (the Harley-Davidson Museum) would know the weight. However, I found an article at motorcycle.com about bikes at the museum that says this about the Magnum:

>the end result was a bike that weighed less than 320 lbs Harley says (Smith claimed 203 lbs) and hit 106 mph in a quarter-mile drag. I highly doubt the entire bike weighed 203 lbs, but I like Randy’s optimism and hey, 106 in the quarter-mile using a mish-mash of 1940s and ‘50s engine parts ain’t bad.

So it seems there is a wide range of claimed weights.

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TheCarrzilico t1_iy5el6q wrote

I'm beginning to think that the bike weighs thousands of pounds and Randy is superhuman.

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astrorobb t1_iy52veg wrote

that front drum brake probably weighed 30lbs on its own.

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-Lumpy-Space-Prince- t1_iy6kce3 wrote

The fuel injection on the tl1000 sure made it… “exciting”.

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JD0x0 t1_iy8bmwy wrote

My little 49cc two stroke scooter is over 203lbs. Also, calling BS.

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kdubstep t1_iy56gjj wrote

Gotta be dry weight too. Oil, gas and other fluids add another 30-40lbs I’d imagine

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DrNickRiviera8000 t1_iy54pwn wrote

One other thing is that this is dead weight not a balanced barbell with equal weights on each end. Much more difficult than it appears.

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JD0x0 t1_iy8bg8c wrote

What materials are they using for the frame and engine block? I'm pretty sure my little 49cc two stroke scooter is over 203lbs.

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Varanjar t1_iy8e4q0 wrote

Randy Smith is a pretty well known early Harley builder, so I'm not sure where all the skepticism about this bike is coming from here. But if you want to see a similar build from someone else, do a search for Brew Bikes 45 Magnum, which weighs a bit over 300lbs.

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JD0x0 t1_iy8euo7 wrote

So, a 'similar build' is ~100lbs heavier? That lines up with my skepticism.

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