Brittney and I just got back from an insane trip to Davenport. After Davenport we decided to go down south to visit some friends in Indiana. I messed up and posted the pictures in reverse, sorry about that. This is one of Doug's 36s. Jim long restored it for a fellow that sold it to Doug. It is the first36 that I ever rode. I rode it when I was nineteen or twenty. I got to ride it again.
Here is the fifth knucklehead ever made, some of you guys probably remember it being built. I followed it on the blog. Doug has a really neat winding and twisting road by his house that is a blast to ride bikes on. I rode the sears on it last year and had an absolutely amazing time on it. It is one of my all time favorite motorcycle memories. It was nice to ride the road on a modern bike.
Brittney and I left davenport and went to visit our friend Greg. Greg had just picked up this amazing 40 el, he let me take it for a spin. It had chat pipes, and a ton of other really neat features. The bike was a little sketchy to ride, because there were flat spots on the tires and the steering head bearings were very loose and dry, I guess that can happen to original paint bikes that have not been worked on.
And this is the first bike that I got to ride on Monday. This is the coolest 39 of all time. It is original paint airway blue and white and was originally sold new in North Dakota. The original owner's family sold it on ebay a year and a half ago with all sorts of cool extra stuff. The bike runs great, it doesn't smoke, it has lots of power, is very responsive and brakes fairly well. I was very impressed and felt very fortunate to get to ride it. The transmission was a little clunky, but not that bad. Greg and I are the only ones to ride this bike besides the original owners family. WOOOO HOOOO
Here is the crate that the bike came in. This weeks monday was filled with some pretty amazing test rides, but none of them compare to the next test spin that I am going to take in the near future. I don't really want to spoil the surprise, so I guess you guys will just have to wonder.
Very cool, Matt,
ReplyDeleteI envy the opportunity to ride bikes like that, though I'd prefer to start on something bombed out with little value, provided the brakes are worth a little something. I'd be terrified to drop a 60-70 year-old machine with original paint.
Brady
Behind Bars - Motorcycles and Life
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