Queensland Car Convention

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.”

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 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 uncovered another amazing discovery. To Nick’s delight, the inside was in good condition and with the crank split, the 70 year old oil spilled out. Looking thoroughly showed completely unmarked internals with matching numbers. After getting the complete stock 750cc flathead together, the Amal carburetor was reconstructed and installed with a velocity stack made from brass. The rest of the engine decorated with brass over fresh application and all oil and gas lines were made with hand bent copper tubing. The motorcycle was included with a battered and dirty clamshell exhaust. To cover up decades of punishment, the pipes were covered to conceal the imperfections plus a bend allows the pipe to kick up a little for additional 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 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 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.

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.”

Don’t forget that it’s critical to make certain you ride your motorcycle with protection. Make certain you wear authentic motorcycle helmets.