Quite a few amazing tales have been brought to light over the years, finding the obscure "barn find" appears impossible that any more could exist. The years have taught us a lot of lessons and none are common than the fact that history repeats itself. Naturally, given plenty of time, it's possible, even so the tale behind this '42 Harley-Davidson WLC seems to be a one time episode. A genuine barn find produces a great tale, but a World War II Harley outlined in Honda bits and stored in a barn in a rural region in England? Well that just has a nice twist to it.
Builder Nick Gale tells us, "I found it whilst visiting a relative 10 years/ten years ago. I got to talk to a local farmer when I was walking my dog one night and he said he's got a classic bike his old man had purchased in 1945 from a Canadian soldier at the conclusion of WWII. The local explained to me he thought it was a Harley, and that it is for sale. The bike had stayed inside the barn from 1945 until1981 he made a decision to make use of it and make it work."
Checking out the motorcycle, it had 18-inch front and rear wheels from Honda, a vintage Honda petrol tank, Honda fenders, a Suzuki front light, handlebars from an lronhead Sportster, a hand clutch, and a big Vincent sprung seat. The farmer had coated the whole motorcycle yellow, including all the small parts. Nick goes on to say that the bike had an expired registration and after inspecting the engine, forks, and framework ensuring they were complete, he sealed the deal for $1,200.
Nick said, "When I got it back home, I got the motorcycle running and was happy to see there were no strange sounds, no smoke, and like all '42s, once on the road, there are no breaks."
To prep the Harley Davidson for its revival, it was stripped to nothing to the basics. New 16-inch wheels were bought to exchange the Honda tires and the initial snafu was witnessed. Rolling the front wheel with the springer forks was easy enough, but the farmer had heated and curved the back of the WLC's framework to make room for the Honda wheel to match. With more than one friend telling him to scrap it, Nick opted to maintain the classic frame and just get a little creative 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.
Opening the 45-inch motor revealed another whirlwind find. To Nick's enjoyment, the inside was almost new and with the crank split, the 70 year old grease spilled out. Examining carefully showed completely unmarked internals with matching numbers. After bringing the entire stock 750cc flathead back together, the Amal carburetor was rebuilt and topped with a brass velocity stack. The rest of the engine decorated with brass over new paint and all oil and gas pipes were created with manually bent copper tubing. The motorcycle was included with a battered and soiled clamshell exhaust. To conceal decades of abuse, the pipes were wrapped to disguise the imperfections plus a curve allows the pipe to kick up a bit for added 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."
Builder Nick Gale tells us, "I found it whilst visiting a relative 10 years/ten years ago. I got to talk to a local farmer when I was walking my dog one night and he said he's got a classic bike his old man had purchased in 1945 from a Canadian soldier at the conclusion of WWII. The local explained to me he thought it was a Harley, and that it is for sale. The bike had stayed inside the barn from 1945 until1981 he made a decision to make use of it and make it work."
Checking out the motorcycle, it had 18-inch front and rear wheels from Honda, a vintage Honda petrol tank, Honda fenders, a Suzuki front light, handlebars from an lronhead Sportster, a hand clutch, and a big Vincent sprung seat. The farmer had coated the whole motorcycle yellow, including all the small parts. Nick goes on to say that the bike had an expired registration and after inspecting the engine, forks, and framework ensuring they were complete, he sealed the deal for $1,200.
Nick said, "When I got it back home, I got the motorcycle running and was happy to see there were no strange sounds, no smoke, and like all '42s, once on the road, there are no breaks."
To prep the Harley Davidson for its revival, it was stripped to nothing to the basics. New 16-inch wheels were bought to exchange the Honda tires and the initial snafu was witnessed. Rolling the front wheel with the springer forks was easy enough, but the farmer had heated and curved the back of the WLC's framework to make room for the Honda wheel to match. With more than one friend telling him to scrap it, Nick opted to maintain the classic frame and just get a little creative 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.
Opening the 45-inch motor revealed another whirlwind find. To Nick's enjoyment, the inside was almost new and with the crank split, the 70 year old grease spilled out. Examining carefully showed completely unmarked internals with matching numbers. After bringing the entire stock 750cc flathead back together, the Amal carburetor was rebuilt and topped with a brass velocity stack. The rest of the engine decorated with brass over new paint and all oil and gas pipes were created with manually bent copper tubing. The motorcycle was included with a battered and soiled clamshell exhaust. To conceal decades of abuse, the pipes were wrapped to disguise the imperfections plus a curve allows the pipe to kick up a bit for added 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."
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Keep in mind it's critical to be certain that you ride your bike with caution. Make certain you use original motorcycle helmets.
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