1974 Harley Davidson (Aermacchi) Sprint 350SS - 'Barn Find'

CafeRacer650

Dream it. Build it. Live it.
Hello all! It's been a really long time since I've been active on DTT and it's a shame, but I've just had too many projects that have kept we away from my KZ project. Anyway, I'm back and with a new acquisition.

A fellow DTT member and good friend recently contacted me about a couple vintage bikes that he had found up in IL. The one that was available for me was a 1974 Harley Davidson Sprint 350SS. I didn't even know that Harley made a bike like it, but after a bit of research I discovered how cool a bike it really was. It's essentially an Italian bike, made by Aermacchi, but branded as a Harley. The price was too good for me not to say yes, so I purchase it, and my buddy got one as well. I rarely purchase anything sight-unseen, but I think you'll understand as I continue the story. All I had to go on in regards to information was this pic:

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As you can see, the bike is in pretty good condition, and it seemed like everything was there. What really got me hooked (besides the price) was the registration tag on the plate. If you look closely, you'll notice that the last time it had been registered was 1978. That was all I needed to see before I gave the thumbs up.

After a 1400 mile road trip, lots of Mt Dew, and very little sleep, the bike was in my driveway, and it was all that I thought it could have been.

100% stock. Factory tires, that were not even dry-rotted, which in my mind defies logic... and they are holding air beautifully. All the rubber on the cables is great. The paint, minus some nicks and scratches is in fantastic condition. Even the lenses weren't cracked and the original dealer stickers were still on it!!

My plans are to get it running with the least amount of molestation. I want to keep this thing as original as possible. So I suppose it's not considered a restoration, but it's not going to be a custom job so...

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Looks like one you can maintenance anything in disrepair add a fresh set of rubber and enjoy without having to touch the appearance at all.
 
Cool find. I didn't remember them having downtubes but apparently post-73 did. Doesn't look as good as the trick metisse frames but definitely better than the earlier factory made open version in my opinion. I like your idea to keep it original. New fluids, tires and some meguiars motorcycle leather polish on the vinyl seat and you're good to go.
 
Tune-A-Fish said:
Looks like one you can maintenance anything in disrepair add a fresh set of rubber and enjoy without having to touch the appearance at all.

That's the plan anyway. Even the screws and bolts are pristine... I almost feel guilty taking anything apart. :)
 
BarnBurner said:
Cool find. I didn't remember them having downtubes but apparently post-73 did. Doesn't look as good as the trick metisse frames but definitely better than the earlier factory made open version in my opinion. I like your idea to keep it original. New fluids, tires and some meguiars motorcycle leather polish on the vinyl seat and you're good to go.

I guess I can't make an informed criticism of the bike since I've only recently been aware of it's existence, but I think it's a neat bike. Very light-weight with a low center of gravity. Seating position is really comfortable as well.
 
Small Update: Pulled the tank, battery, and carb. The tanks has a fair amount of rust in it, so that will have to be dealt with. The carb is a mess. The fuel inlet was FULL of a rust/fuel sludge that had almost turned to a solid. Also, the throttle needle slide had seized inside the housing. The carb is going to need a good soaking to get it back in order. On the positive end of things, the motor turns freely, and looking into the intake valve... things look like they're in good shape!

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Thanks all!!

Update:

Been trying to clean the carbs and prep the tank for cleaning. The carb was really nasty. Several of the jets and hardware were completely glued into the carb housing, so I had to soak it in parts cleaner for 24hr just to get all the parts out of the housing. Once all the parts were out, it went back in the parts cleaner. Most of the parts seem to be cleaning well, however the petcock is another story. It was solid. The fuel has solidified and created a hard and dry paste. I took a screw driver and a wire and tried to get as much of it out as I could, but I'm not holding my breath. Hopefully another day in the cleaner will do the trick. Love this bike though.

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UPDATE:

I finally completed the carb rebuild. It took 4 days of soaking in parts cleaner, 2 hours in an ultra sonic cleaner, and several part orders from overseas including the choke lever that I didn't know was missing until I was looking through the owners manual. I ended up removing the factory air box and installing a velocity stack. I'll need to make a mesh cover for it, but I'll worry about that when it's running. The velocity stack was too cheap to pass up :) I also finished getting the rust out of the tank. It took 2 weeks of soaking with Metal Rescue to get all the rust out. Crazy. All that's left to do on the tank is seal it. The last chore left before I can start it, is have a key made.

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This is sweeeet! Looking forward to progress...However, not too sure how I feel about deleting the airbox in relation to your previous "minimal molestation" remark simply because I know this will change the performance slightly. Either way, this thing is a sweet machine and I cant believe its in such pristine condition
 
I've owned a couple, a 66 250 and a 74 350SS. Be sure to check your frame where the tubes meet the neck for cracks. I've been told it was a common problem on the 74 era bikes. Mine was cracked, but since it's not structural it was an easy fix. It looks like your rubber carb mount has some cracks in the photo, if so replace it. That's a nice example and stock near stock bikes are getting hard to find. I loved both of mine, wish I had kept them.
 
wworm27 said:
This is sweeeet! Looking forward to progress...However, not too sure how I feel about deleting the airbox in relation to your previous "minimal molestation" remark simply because I know this will change the performance slightly. Either way, this thing is a sweet machine and I cant believe its in such pristine condition

Thanks! Deleting is a strong word, lol. I'm not getting rid of it altogether. I need to clean it, and find a legit filter for it. The one that was jammed into it was not meant for that airbox. I couldn't resist the velocity stack, but I'm not sure I want to use it.
 
Rider52 said:
I've owned a couple, a 66 250 and a 74 350SS. Be sure to check your frame where the tubes meet the neck for cracks. I've been told it was a common problem on the 74 era bikes. Mine was cracked, but since it's not structural it was an easy fix. It looks like your rubber carb mount has some cracks in the photo, if so replace it. That's a nice example and stock near stock bikes are getting hard to find. I loved both of mine, wish I had kept them.

Thanks for the tip about the frame. I'll look into that. When you say 'rubber carb mount', I'm not sure what you're referring to. Are you referring to the plastic ring under the clamp that clamps the carb body to the little 'intake' piece?

How did the 350 compare to the 250 that you had? The bike feels like it has a low center of gravity. I'm excited to see how it rides.
 
Yes I was referring to the plastic ring, forgot it was plastic. The 250 motor had been worked on and was a lighter bike, so it felt faster. I raced the 350 in WERA vintage events. It did well, handled well and was bone stock except for a fiberglass racing seat, rear sets, euro bars and megaphone exhaust. I used a K&N air filter and had to rejet the carb for the increased air flow and open exhaust.
 
Rider52 said:
Yes I was referring to the plastic ring, forgot it was plastic. The 250 motor had been worked on and was a lighter bike, so it felt faster. I raced the 350 in WERA vintage events. It did well, handled well and was bone stock except for a fiberglass racing seat, rear sets, euro bars and megaphone exhaust. I used a K&N air filter and had to rejet the carb for the increased air flow and open exhaust.

Ok, I'll go back and take a look at it. Thanks! I've been to several vintage racing events, just spectating, and it looks like a blast! That's a pretty short mod list to be competitive. As much as I want to keep this bike stock, that sounds very tempting. :)
 
It's been a long time since I posted an update on this project, but it is still active. The delay came from the fact that the bike didn't come with a key. I really had no idea it would be an issue, however it turned out to be a big one. My initial assumption was that I could just take the ignition to a motorcycle shop or locksmith and they would make a key from it. What I discovered was that this seemingly simple process is not known to those in Georgia, or at least those who I contacted, which were many. I made many phone calls to shops all around the Atlanta area, asking them if they could make a key from an ignition and all I got was, 'no'... 'we don't work on harley's'... 'we work on harley's but not yours'... 'I don't understand what you're asking'. I got so frustrated I reached out to friends and folks back from where I'm from because I knew it could be done. A buddy of mine said he knew a guy in Wisconsin who made a key from his ignition so I quickly shipped it up to him. Sadly he was never able to track the guy down again because he did key work on the side and for some reason he wouldn't answer his phone. So my buddy shipped it back to me and I was back to square one. Thankfully, I happened to find a guy in Maryland who does nothing but restore these old Aermacchi motorcycles, while looking for other parts. I contacted him and without hesitation he told me to ship it to him and he would make a key. Finally, I was getting somewhere. A few days after I shipped him the part I get a phone call... the ignition I sent him was broken. Perfect! However, things turn around here... He happened to have two new ignitions with keys left in his inventory. Since I had no other option, I sent him the money and a week later, I was holding a NOS ignition and keys for my little Harley... SO COOL!

So, where this project stands... well I've been spending hours cleaning this bike with a toothbrush and a couple other larger plastic brushes and Simple Green. Best way to get 40 years of crap off a bike. Underneath all the grit, the bike is gorgeous. Aside from a few cracked rubber boots on cables and wires, and some surface rust here and there, it's in fantastic shape. The tank is officially rust free now and ready for gas. The new battery is in, and waiting for me to hook up the new ignition. I hope to have her running by the end of the week so there will be another update coming shortly.

Thanks for reading!

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