Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: 1941 Harley-Davidson
Years ago, motorcycles were considered transportation first and a hobby second. Many folks bought a motorcycle because they couldn’t afford a car and were glad to get from point A to point B. Now, especially for Harley-Davidsons, ownership has become more than a hobby. It is a lifestyle. This interest in all things Harley extends to historic examples of the fabled marque. If you would like a rough-and-tumble vintage example of America’s motorcycle, then this 1941 Harley-Davidson for sale on eBay in Oceanside, California may be the bike for you. This is not a numbers-matching museum quality example. It is an amalgamation of different Harley parts that represents the raw nature of Harley’s heritage before doctors and dentists picked up their leather vests. Already this awesome machine has generated 34 bids and is sitting at $19,000 with two days to go. Is this a hodge-podge of parts, or is it an example of a true, old-school Harley that would be a blast to ride?
There is no disputing that Harley-Davidson is currently manufacturing some of the finest motorcycles that the world has ever seen. However, the company rarely strays off the path that leads back to its beginnings. The motorcycles, except for the newer Pan America, all have styling cues that have carried the company for decades. The V-Twin engine is also a large part of the Harley-Davidson mystique. It is hard to imagine one of their motorcycles powered by any other engine configuration.
When you go beyond the styling and the engine configuration, there is the Harley-Davidson mystique. Fans of the marque look back to a proud history of dapper gents puttering along on bicycle-like V-twins on dirt roads. They see Thirties street scenes with colorful Harleys motoring through traffic with that familiar lope of the V-twin playing its sweet song. Harley also carries with it the baggage of being the preferred steed of biker gangs from the Boozefighters to the Hells Angels. While the company is now one of the most well-respected in the world, the bad boy image still sells a lot of motorcycles.
The motorcycle you see here carries buckets full of that legendary Harley mystique. This “period custom” is built from parts sourced from many different Harley models of varying vintage. The engine is a UH from 1941, while the frame is a 1935 VL frame. Putting that power to the ground is a “big twin transmission, primary, and controls” according to the seller. The fuel and oil tanks are from a WR, with a custom handlebar and an old racing rear sprocket.
The seller tells us that the bike “runs strong and rides really nice.” The practicality of the bike for street use may currently be in question, as the seller added the license plate and headlight to kind of “mock-up” what it would look like as a street bike. As I am sure there would be more work needed to make this motorcycle more suitable to enjoy on the open road, any readers who are experts in Harleys of this vintage are encouraged to share with us what would need to be added in the comments.
As it sits, this motorcycle just looks right. There is no history of the motorcycle and its construction in the ad. However, the patina would lead us to believe that it was built from parts a long time ago. Way back in the day, the goal was not to have a factory correct down to the parts showpiece. The goal was to have a reliable, sporty motorcycle to enjoy and use as transportation if need be. The used Harley parts market was a thing back then, and building a bike from parts was made easier by the fact that change has always come slowly for Harley-Davidson.
While the huge rear sprocket may need to be replaced if your goal isn’t to race it on dirt, this would be an awesome project to make into a distinctive mount. You can’t buy the kind of style that this bike has. It is cooler than any current Harley-Davidson, and arriving on a machine like this at your local bike night would be epic. Hopefully, it finds a home with someone who will make it street-legal again and drive the wheels off of it.
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Comments
Thats what old school Harley enthusiasts do….they mix and match different parts, cut and chop and customize their bikes. Any Harley enthusiast or rider can appreciate what was done here. Wish I had the scratch to bid, its already at $19,000.00 Not surprised…
Give it a good cleaning, a bigger headlight, smaller sprocket and leave it as-is. You can’t get this world class patina any more.
If I may, I think the “bad boy” image came a bit later. This bike here was a returning GI, and that back seat, called a “pee pad”, and if you are reading this, there’s an excellent chance your mom rode on the back, hanging on to dad, preferably, at the beginning of their lives. Then a long came you, and it was adios to the HD. Some not so lucky, held dear, however, and those are the bad boys/gals the author speaks of. There was nothing fancy about this bike, as mentioned, a hodge podge of this and that, and I believe what’s called a “bobber”, and yes, dug out of a pile. The new spark plugs and oil were the biggest investment. History conveniently skips women that rode these, but rest assured, there were plenty. That “tank shift” and “suicide clutch” may deter some, but how tough can it be? Cool find.
People buy Harleys and iPhones simply for the name. Not because they’re a better product. Too bad Henderson went under. Who knows what might have been? I met a nice couple by the Naples Pier yrs ago. They were from Quebec, and he was on a V Rod, and she was on an Indian. We talked bikes briefly, and I had told him I would love a Honda inline 4 again. That’s when he had the honesty to say that the best bikes on the planet are Hondas. I agree, but you can keep all the v twins. I’ll take that quick slide up the power band. So much fun to drive, and I don’t have to have them overhauled every year. Speed and reliability is what I prefer. But as long as you’re in the wind, it really doesn’t matter what you’re on.
Well, Jon, you don’t want to pedal that reliability stuff around a mechanic who’s been pulling wrenches for 50 years. I’ve worked on it all and saw every bit as many catastrophic failures from the land of the Rising Sun as I’ve seen from Detroit, Milwaukee, or Mannheim. My own HD had (1) failure when the end broke off the front exhaust rocker, and that was at 69K miles. I did a top end at just shy of 104K miles. Pistons were shot but there was hardly any measurable wear on the cylinders. Replaced the pistons, valves, guides and oil pump, the latter on general principles. I can name a dozen other HDs who made it to the 100K mark.
I have a good acquaintance who runs a Gold Wing 6 with 94K miles and it still going well, but he first had a GL1000 that blew a timing belt at 8K miles and destroyed the engine.
My point is: I get my dander up when someone starts in with annual overhauls being the normal and that the only reliable products come from across the Pacific. Nothing was ever designed to fail but some still do.
One of my favorite bikes was the Honda Superhawk, but I also loved my BSA 500, my Norton Ranger, and my Harley Shovelhead. The absolute worst piece of junk I ever owned/drove was a Toyota pickup but a friend bought the almost identical twin to mine and loved it.
It’s the love of the ride…
Of any make, it tends to be the high-milers that’re the more reliable ones in my experience. When I was working on H-Ds, we had a customer who commuted 30-odd miles (on a Fat Boy) each way 6 days out of 7; bike had no problems apart from high-use marks/wear and tear. On day 7, one of his tasks was to put it on a lift and wash it with a sponge and a bucket of hot soapy water.
In Honda-world, I had a VFR that did a most unlikely thing and spat its back right plug out – from totally tight, took all the thread with it. I wasn’t even riding it particularly hard at the time!
I sure wouldn’t prevent this bike from marking its territory on my driveway. Looks like a good Old-School chopped hog.
One look at this and I immediately think about Hollister, CA, in 1947. That was a time when, thanks to modern journalism, bikers became bad people. That famous picture in Life Magazine was set up. I was told that the guy on the bike didn’t even own it.
I guess these bikes were put together with whatever was available. I cannot understand why someone would want to use a VL frame with its forged fork legs. Frames were a lot stronger by 1941. Don’t get me wrong; I think a VL frame looks great—with a VL engine and transmission…
Oh Boy! Anyone that knows anything about vintage H-D knows this is not a Knuckle head.. (you knuckle head)
“That famous picture in Life Magazine was set up. I was told that the guy on the bike didn’t even own it.” BINGO! Guy in the goofy cap …
“There is no disputing that Harley-Davidson is currently manufacturing some of the finest motorcycles that the world has ever seen. ”
NO COMMENT
You can always find a guy that’s never ridden one, yet still can’t help but comment.
The WR parts are the interesting ones!
Looks to me to be an old hill climber. Narrow tanks, large rear sprocket, wide handle bars, and tiny seat with pee pad to keep the rider from coming off the back all point to it. Only the rear knobby is missing. Damn thing’s perfect.
I agree it looks like a hill climber built by a returning GI with his $20 50. It’s stunningly beautiful and represents serious history.
yrly Hill Climb round here is 80 y/o. Started by the Indian makers (factory 18 mi away in Spfld) after wrk on wk ends, they raced harleys. The locals did fair till harley came out w/the DAH a dedicated hill climber right outta Milwalky. Now the same hill has national competetions from kids’n low displacement right up to the heavy weights late in the day. U can still C bikes there like the above (big back sprocket, 12, 15 hundred displacement). Factory (01 – ’53) is still there, used asa §8 building today.