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 talk to a local farmer whilst walking my dog one night and he said he has an old motorcycle his old man had bought in 1945 from a Canadian soldier at the conclusion of the Second World War. He explained to me he thought it was a Harley, and that it is for sale. The bike was stashed in his barn from 1945 until1981 he made a decision to make use of it and get it running.”
Looking over the motorcycle, it had 18-inch front and rear wheels from Honda, a vintage Honda petrol tank, Honda fenders, a Suzuki headlight, handlebars from an lronhead Sportster, a hand clutch, and a big Vincent sprung seat. The farmer had coated the entire bike yellow, including all the nuts and bolts. Nick continues saying that the motorcycle had a long-expired UK registration and after checking the engine, forks, and frame ensuring they were complete, he sealed the deal for the equivalent of $1,200.
Nick adds, “Once home, I got the motorcycle working and was very happy to see there were no knocking sounds, no smoke, and like every ’42s, once on the road, there are no 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.
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.
According to Nick, “The gears are replaced by a smaller sized shifter we made which still runs clutch. All braking systems and clutch components are authentic as are all the switch gear, levers, and cables. Many parts were acquired as authentic or old stock which would possibly be similar as Harley would’ve done decades ago. The motorcycle starts on the first or second kick not to mention the hill brake works just fine, well, sort of.”
Bodywork was kept minimal and carries a classic look, but that’s where the similarities end. The rear fender began life as a triumph piece that was adapted with a custom set of struts and backed with a taillight. Adding some across-the-pond design, the license tag was created to look like an old English pub signage. What would you expect from any English motorcycle builder? Looking deeper into the gas tank, it becomes clear some additional work was done.
Nick designed and constructed the unit into two interlocking parts identical to the original but with a little more flair and a bend more in accordance with the frame tweaks. The seat moves from the framework mounts to a spring within the classic seat post tube. All the rest of the parts are original ’42 Harley WLC or new old stock. A classic black paint was applied most parts of the bike with gold highlights painstakingly painted by hand. All that is needed is a classic motorcycle helmet to complete the WW II look of the bike.
In just two days of its long transformation, the ’42 WLC was shown at the South of England Rally and won its very first trophy as winner of the Best Professional Category. A couple weeks later it was exhibited and won Best Classic at the annual Bulldog Custom Show. After sitting in boxes for 10 years, Nick clearly understood that if he didn’t find the time to sit and work with the Harley, it would be subject to another 10 years of sitting there. It started from an ordinary project into a labor of love, and then developed into an obsession. Nick concludes, “It’s a joy to ride once you get used to it. I love it to death.”
Bear in mind that it’s critical to ensure that you cruise with your bike with safety gear on. Be certain that you keep on authentic motorcycle helmets.
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