After all dimensions of the cylinders and other parts are carefully and as precise as possible measured, I asked myself how to continue?

Obviously there are some required tasks which I can't do by myself (e.g. boring and honing of cylinders), other tasks I might be able to do by myself - at least in theory.

Should I buy reproduction cylinders and bring them to a specialist for boring and honing? Should I bring the old cylinders to the specialist for overhauling? Are the old cylinders original ones or already reproduction cylinders?

At those times I've read a lot in the available books and manuals, read a lot of articles in the well-known Harley rider forums. Finally I decided not just to repair the bike, I will completely restore the bike - screw by screw.

As a German engineer - the first thing I have to do - is to make a plan! My plan was: not to make any long-term plans anymore. I switched to the iterative-agile project method!

Now I started to disassemble completely the bike - until every single screw. I cleaned all parts with a parts washer and put them in several named boxes. I also used paper tags for those parts, where it wasn't obvious where they belong to.

Regarding the engine, I discovered a professional nearby my former hometown. His name is Joerg Seitz - specialized on overhauling Harley engines. His task would be to perform all required tasks on cylinders, valves and flywheel.

The frame and some other parts I handed over to Andy - working in a company specialized on sand-blasting and powder coating.

Front and read fender, gas and oil tank - I carried a few kilometers further to a professional paint shop. The current painting wasn't of high quality and on same places the paintings were already damaged. In addition, the current color combination (red / cream) wasn't my favorite one.

Currently I have a huge puzzle in my garage! My dear, what I've done? But there is no way back! So keep the lines closed and march on...