American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 226 May 2018 | Page 34

The tale of
two Reggies
It might be sophisticated machines that
cut the shafts and do the initial porting,
but it’s talented people who buy,
program and fully utilize those expensive
machines. You really can’t explain R&R
Cycles without explaining the father-son
relationship that forms the shop’s
foundation.
The relationship between the two
Reggies is more than just a father-son
partnership. Though the two share DNA,
a strong work ethic
and old-fashioned
values that put
quality above all
else, they are as
different as they are
similar. And it’s their
differences that
JR.
make R&R such a
strong business.
Reggie Jr. is a biker through and through.
His passion for motorcycles is really the
seed that grew into R&R Cycles. It’s
Reggie Jr. who started in the garage, and
it’s Reggie Jr. who runs the shop on a
day-to-day basis, still doing much of the
engine assembly.
Reggie Sr. on the other hand is
something of a silent partner, working
behind the scenes. It’s Senior who
designed the new cast cylinder heads,
and Senior is the
partner primarily
responsible for
R&R’s
bulletproof
flywheel
assembly.
The shafts, the
weights, and
even the fixtures
SR.
used to press
together the
flywheel components prior to welding, is
all done in-house and it all bears Senior’s
signature. Even the software used to do
the final dynamic balancing is a Senior
product.
They say a triangle is one of the
strongest structures found in nature. And
it’s hard to describe R&R without
including what might be called the third
side of the triangle. That of course would
be Vicki, Sr.’s wife of many years and Jr.’s
mother for almost as long. It’s Vicki who
keeps the books and tells the boys when
they can and can’t invest in more
equipment.
Together these three have created one
heck of a business - one started from
scratch, survived the worst financial
crisis since 1929, and went on to build
some of the most innovative products
seen in the V-twin industry.
When it comes
to ports, Senior
preaches the
importance of
velocity - which
is why he spends
hours and hours
on the computer
designing ports
that flow well,
and fast.
If he’s not at is desk, Senior (on the
right) can often be found in the back
shop working with the rest of the crew
on the CNC machines.
Senior does the dynamic
balance on an R&R crank
assembly using software that
he designed.
Once the crank pin is
pressed into one
flywheel, the bearings
are dropped on, followed
by the connecting rods
and the other flywheel.
The Timken bearing set needs to be mocked
up before final assembly, so the tech can set
the end play and preload.
Not only does R&R manufacture most of the
components that make up a flywheel
assembly, they also designed and built the
fixtures used to press the shafts and wheels
together.
For R&R flywheels, the crank runout is
checked and adjusted both before and after
the welding.
Before installing the heads, Reggie Jr. always
checks the distance from the top of the piston
to the cylinder’s gasket surface. That
measurement is matched up to the correct
head gasket so there’s the ideal squish when
the piston hits TDC on the compression stroke.
The R&R 124 and 131-inch engines use a Timken
bearing set on the right side of the crankshaft.
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AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MAY 2018
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