A number of staggering stories have been revealed over the decades, finding the obscure "barn find" would appear almost impossible that any more could exist. Time has shown us a lot of lessons and none are more prevalent than the fact that history repeats itself. Of course, given some time, it is possible, but the story around this '42 Harley-Davidson WLC looks hardly able to see a sequel. A real barn find makes for a good tale, but a World War II Harley Davidson adorned in Honda components and hidden away in a barn in rural Devon, England? Well that would make a great story.
Custom builder Nick Gale tells us, "I found it when I was visiting a loved one A decade ago. I got to speak to a local farmer whilst walking my dog one night and he told me he has a classic motorcycle his dad had bought in 1945 from a Canadian soldier at the end of the Second World War. He explained to me he knows it was a Harley Davidson, and I could buy it if I wanted to. The bike was stored inside the barn from 1945 until1981 when the farmer decided to customize it and make it work."
Looking over the bike, it had 18-inch front and rear wheels from Honda, a classic Honda tank, Honda fenders, a Suzuki front light, handlebars from an lronhead Sportster, a hand clutch, and a big Vincent sprung saddle. The farmer had coated the entire motorcycle yellow, including all the nuts and bolts. Nick goes on to say that the motorcycle had a long-expired UK registration and after examining the engine, forks, and frame making sure they were complete, he closed the offer for $1,200.
Nick adds, "When I got it back home, I got the bike working and was pleased to see there were no crackling sounds, no smoke, and like several '42s, once on the road, there aren't any breaks."
To prepare the Harley for its resurrection, it was stripped to nothing and thoroughly gone through bolt by bolt. New 16-inch wheels were purchased to replace the Honda tires and the first snafu was encountered. Rolling the front tire under the springer forks was simple enough, but the farmer had heated and bent the rear of the WLC's body to make room for the Honda wheel to fit. With more than one friend telling him to scrap it, Nick decided to preserve the original frame and just get a little funkier with the build.
Nick said, "The drop seat concept happened when we cut the back off. We used most of the original pipe work and decided to shape the backbone too. And the frame was created. The most challenging aspect was making the seat plunger to enable us to use a new seat cut down by a good few inches from the original design. It spent four hours using a hammer to remove the existing seat post that was fused together." From this point the story goes stagnant. After owning the bike in 2001 and getting the frame remolded, "custom biker wants" have won and the old Harley was boxed and shelved for another day. That day didn't come for another decade. In early 2011 the boxes were and readied for work again.
Busting the 45-inch engine revealed another amazing discovery. To Nick's enjoyment, the inside was like new and with the crank open, the 70 year old grease spilled out. Looking carefully unveiled completely unmarked internals with matching numbers. After bringing the entire stock 750cc flathead back together, the Amal carburetor was rebuilt and topped with a velocity stack made from brass. The rest of the engine received brass accents over new paint and all oil and gas lines were created with hand bent copper tubing. The motorcycle included a battered and dirty clamshell exhaust. To conceal decades of abuse, the pipes were covered to disguise the marks and a curve allows the pipe to spice up a little for more style.
Nick said, "The gears are swapped by a smaller sized shifter we put together and yet runs trap clutch. All braking systems and clutch components are genuine as well as all the switch gear, levers, and cables. All parts were sourced as genuine or refurbished stock which would most likely be similar as Harley would've done 70 years ago. The motorcycle ignites on the 1st or 2nd kick not to mention the hill brake is working, well, sort of."
Bodywork was not overdone and brings a classic look, but that is when the resemblances stop. The back fender started life as a triumph piece that had been modified with a custom set of two struts and backed with a tail-light. Adding some across-the-pond design, the registration tag was made to look like a classic English pub signage. What would you anticipate from any self-respecting English bike builder? Looking deeper into the fuel tank, it becomes clear a little bit more effort was done.
Nick engineered and constructed the unit into two interlocking parts just as the original but with a little more flair and a curve more in line with the body tweaks. The seat moves from the frame supports to a spring inside the old seat post tube. All the rest of the parts are authentic '42 Harley WLC or new old stock. A deep black paint was applied most parts of the bike with gold accents meticulously applied by hand. To top this up is a vintage motorcycle helmet to carry out the WW II look of the bike.
Within just two days of its six-week modification period, the '42 WLC was displayed at the South of England Rally and bagged its first trophy as winner of the Best Professional Category. 2 weeks later it made an appearance at the 25th anniversary of the Bulldog Custom show winning Best Classic. After stored in boxes for 10 years, Nick clearly understood that if he didn't find the time to do something with the Harley, it would have been another decade for the bike to sit and wait. It went from a must-do project into a labor of love, and then became an obsession. Nick concludes, "It is a joy to ride once you get used to it. I love it to death."
Custom builder Nick Gale tells us, "I found it when I was visiting a loved one A decade ago. I got to speak to a local farmer whilst walking my dog one night and he told me he has a classic motorcycle his dad had bought in 1945 from a Canadian soldier at the end of the Second World War. He explained to me he knows it was a Harley Davidson, and I could buy it if I wanted to. The bike was stored inside the barn from 1945 until1981 when the farmer decided to customize it and make it work."
Looking over the bike, it had 18-inch front and rear wheels from Honda, a classic Honda tank, Honda fenders, a Suzuki front light, handlebars from an lronhead Sportster, a hand clutch, and a big Vincent sprung saddle. The farmer had coated the entire motorcycle yellow, including all the nuts and bolts. Nick goes on to say that the motorcycle had a long-expired UK registration and after examining the engine, forks, and frame making sure they were complete, he closed the offer for $1,200.
Nick adds, "When I got it back home, I got the bike working and was pleased to see there were no crackling sounds, no smoke, and like several '42s, once on the road, there aren't any breaks."
To prepare the Harley for its resurrection, it was stripped to nothing and thoroughly gone through bolt by bolt. New 16-inch wheels were purchased to replace the Honda tires and the first snafu was encountered. Rolling the front tire under the springer forks was simple enough, but the farmer had heated and bent the rear of the WLC's body to make room for the Honda wheel to fit. With more than one friend telling him to scrap it, Nick decided to preserve the original frame and just get a little funkier with the build.
Nick said, "The drop seat concept happened when we cut the back off. We used most of the original pipe work and decided to shape the backbone too. And the frame was created. The most challenging aspect was making the seat plunger to enable us to use a new seat cut down by a good few inches from the original design. It spent four hours using a hammer to remove the existing seat post that was fused together." From this point the story goes stagnant. After owning the bike in 2001 and getting the frame remolded, "custom biker wants" have won and the old Harley was boxed and shelved for another day. That day didn't come for another decade. In early 2011 the boxes were and readied for work again.
Busting the 45-inch engine revealed another amazing discovery. To Nick's enjoyment, the inside was like new and with the crank open, the 70 year old grease spilled out. Looking carefully unveiled completely unmarked internals with matching numbers. After bringing the entire stock 750cc flathead back together, the Amal carburetor was rebuilt and topped with a velocity stack made from brass. The rest of the engine received brass accents over new paint and all oil and gas lines were created with hand bent copper tubing. The motorcycle included a battered and dirty clamshell exhaust. To conceal decades of abuse, the pipes were covered to disguise the marks and a curve allows the pipe to spice up a little for more style.
Nick said, "The gears are swapped by a smaller sized shifter we put together and yet runs trap clutch. All braking systems and clutch components are genuine as well as all the switch gear, levers, and cables. All parts were sourced as genuine or refurbished stock which would most likely be similar as Harley would've done 70 years ago. The motorcycle ignites on the 1st or 2nd kick not to mention the hill brake is working, well, sort of."
Bodywork was not overdone and brings a classic look, but that is when the resemblances stop. The back fender started life as a triumph piece that had been modified with a custom set of two struts and backed with a tail-light. Adding some across-the-pond design, the registration tag was made to look like a classic English pub signage. What would you anticipate from any self-respecting English bike builder? Looking deeper into the fuel tank, it becomes clear a little bit more effort was done.
Nick engineered and constructed the unit into two interlocking parts just as the original but with a little more flair and a curve more in line with the body tweaks. The seat moves from the frame supports to a spring inside the old seat post tube. All the rest of the parts are authentic '42 Harley WLC or new old stock. A deep black paint was applied most parts of the bike with gold accents meticulously applied by hand. To top this up is a vintage motorcycle helmet to carry out the WW II look of the bike.
Within just two days of its six-week modification period, the '42 WLC was displayed at the South of England Rally and bagged its first trophy as winner of the Best Professional Category. 2 weeks later it made an appearance at the 25th anniversary of the Bulldog Custom show winning Best Classic. After stored in boxes for 10 years, Nick clearly understood that if he didn't find the time to do something with the Harley, it would have been another decade for the bike to sit and wait. It went from a must-do project into a labor of love, and then became an obsession. Nick concludes, "It is a joy to ride once you get used to it. I love it to death."
|
0 nhận xét: