It’s a rare occurrence to find factory applied paint on anything that is eighty years old, let alone an old motorcycle. Most of these bikes were ridden in all types of weather and eventually parked in less than ideal conditions. There’s a good story behind this particular Harley-Davidson though and the crazy bidding here on eBay proves that more than a few people are buying it. Thanks goes to Don L for the tip!
The seller claims that this motorcycle was repossessed not long after it was purchased. The dealer had a hard time reselling it so they painted the tank. That didn’t help, so it went into storage until someone bought out the dealership in 1990. The bike didn’t exchange hands though until 2000 when a collector purchased it. That guy also had a big stash of New Old Stock parts…
He went straight to work swapping out the tank, fenders, fork, and a few other bits. So, although this one isn’t technically wearing its original paint, it’s wearing factory applied stuff that should satisfy most HD preservationists. The current owner has also rebuilt things and replaced some of the bad chrome. It’s not perfect, but where are you going to find a more original Knucklehead?
Nice find! Bidding is up to $115,300 and reserve not met.
Knuckle Head, Pan Head, Shovel head. Are they talking about the bike or the guy riding it?
@Luki
I think they are describing the prospective buyer!
Luki, that is the term for the various eras of rocker covers from 1936 to 47 was the Knucklehead, 48-1965 was the Panhead, and 66 to 1984 was the Shovelhead.
flew over your head hu? lol
You forgot the flathead!
Flatheads didn’t have rocker covers, Ching. I was being technically accurate. Of course, I could have put in Evo’s and Twin Cams but those don’t quite cut the mustard for vintage.
and the ironhead
Wow not sold at $115,300. Some people have way to much money!
well, it went to 115,300 and the reserve was not met. unbelievable.
All the folks who like to mock old Harleys wish they had a couple of these in the family barn
It’s unfair to call this old knuck “original” with it wearing so many parts it wasn’t born with–“period-correct” is how I would describe it. That being said, all those NOS parts are certainly cool to see and I will always love an unrestored knucklehead. Very, very cool.
Well, $115,300. I dont believe it. Man, if you paid that it must have been your great grandfathers scoot. Sweet ride but at that cost. I am going to to have another Leinenkugels and keep laughing. Like the song, Something going wrong around here.
I believe that is a world wide phenomena. While I only took up motorcycling at the age of 59, I’ve always sworn to never be that “fat old guy” on a Harley!
Modern Harleys ARE the province of “:fat old guys”. Just ridiculous. Closely followed by very old and decrepit Hells Angels……getiing old is a byatch.
Stick to Indians and you’ll always be young :)
A Knucklehead is by far the most desired H-D for me. I saw a ’36, completely restored, about 40 years ago and covet that to this day. They were only 61 inchers until 1940 (I’m sure I’ve got that right) with the ohv ’74s not really gaining in popularity until post war. I tend to question some of this unit as being a ’38. I won’t argue the engine or frame (or anything else for that matter) until I had a chance to see it up close and personal. but I don’t think the round air cleaner came out till ’40. I’d like to see the dash. What I can see from here looks like a ‘Cat’s Eye.’ which came out in ’40. Before that was the ‘skull.’ However, it is what it is, and I sure wouldn’t kick it off my driveway. But my Power Ball numbers didn’t come up again so I’ll have to continue to break that one commandment…..
LOL Wayne. You do not know about the USA. Motor noise here is KING. It is a great thing to hear horsepower in its raw form. I disagree with the midlife crisis comment also. How about those tuner cars? As a Harley owner I am bummed at your comment. Sorry you do not have any big noise creating motors in Oz land. Vroom Vrooom!
I’m sorry, I, for the life of me, just can’t see $115,000 dollars worth of vehicle here. Oh it’s nice, great piece of history, but I’d think actually riding it would be, um, challenging, to say the least. I’m a “modern” Harley person, great machines, even tossed around the idea of dumping the GW and getting another one( lot of Harleys out there) but this, at this kind of money is pure foolishness. What, you got nothing better to do with a hundred grand than to buy this?
BTW, you can tell someone is getting old, when a loud H-D bothers them. ( I will admit, however, it’s a lot more fun riding a loud Harley, than to listen to them at 2 am)
Hi Rube. I can sure agree with you in that $100K could be put to better use, such as living. I must not be getting all that old because I still like a loud Harley. And I used to ride the loud one at 2 AM….
Yeah, but how’s your hearing holding up? Obnoxiously loud motorcycles expose dangerous noise levels to more than just the rider! I am neither old nor stupid and hope to preserve my hearing!
Uh, Chinga-Trailer, would you mind repeating that; I can’t hear you. Seriously though, I’ve always had the attitude that if cage jockeys can’t seem to see you, even if they’re looking directly at you, then they can sure as hell hear me. I might add that I was around noisy farm and construction equipment most of my life and that has pretty much compromised my hearing…
Harleys’ sound too much like the old VW Beetle to me. I hear the racket coming but have to look to verify if it’s a Harley or a Beetle.
Back in the ’70s some of my uncles road street bikes. In the biker community, if you saw a rider broken down, you would stop to help-unless they were on a Harley, because you’d never get anywhere otherwise.
As biker culture was being “sanitized” by the doctor/lawyer crowd in the 90’s I pulled over to check and see if this one guy needed help. His two-three yr old bike had conked out on him, had all of 1000 miles on it. Offered to give him a hand and obviously put off by my looks he asked if I was a certified mechanic, he didn’t want to void any warranty he might still have by letting someone else work on it. Since shovelheads weren’t worth much I parked the Lowrider and started riding rice, things have never been the same since.
Having owned a ’52 Harley, no helmet, no leathers, leaked oil, but ran, I decided after less than a year, and several close calls, that danger lurked. Bought and sold it in 1965 for $150. Bought a car in 1966 for $300 and never looked back. How do you recognize an experienced Harley (or Honda for that matter) rider? They walk with a limp. In LA where land splitting between the HOV lane and the next lane to the right is the Harley’s route, the loud noise is a defense mechanism, and is really necessary.
I cry foul they claim the bike was repossessed shortly after purchase. I do not believe in my humble opinion with the great depression of the 30s even though it was winding down by 38, anybody shy of the president of the United States getting financed for a real estate investment was any bank going to loan any money in those days, vehicle purchases were made with cash but I could be wrong, although it is a very cool bike I do not see anywhere‘s near six figures and if you’re not into bikes that’s fine some of us may not be into what you’re into either, as far as the loud pipes go I ride, more often than not they are necessary, because people do not see you so they at least need to hear you
It could have been financed by the shop. A Harley Davidson dealer around my area financed bikes up until he sold the dealership in the early ’70s. A down payment and monthly payments would put you on a Harley. Several guys paid on them until winter and they’d surrender the bike back to the shop. Some of the guys would come back in the Spring and put a down payment on sometimes the same bike they had last season.
That was a different day and time but Buy Here Pay Here car lots are still around today.
$40k in my book and that’s still too rich for my blood. The price is insane, just flat out nuts! Just like the classic car market the bottom will fall out eventually. Combine this with the owners checking into assisted living facilities and the prices will become more reasonable again.
Seeing this bike for 60k would raise my eyebrow. At 100k, I have some swamp land in Florida, I’d like to….
The sound of an early HD can’t be beat though and “loud pipes save lives”
Hi all, just got my bike back ( after a long absence) 2017 Harley iron 883. Put my v&hines big radius exhaust on , she sounds Great! Going on 56 years of age , one x wife, 3 grown children and a new life! You can here me coming! 😂
Vintage bikes are always going up and a semi original Knuck is near the holy grail for most folks if buying American. Crockers are cracking over a Million (See Las Vegas MC auction results for last few years).
For a while, no one wanted old antiques like this, but they came back around and no such thing as a cheap Knuck or Pan, Even Shovels are now sought after by young hipster bikers. I still find it amusing when they chase after Iron head sporties and while I am a proud quad cam bastard owner, I like my evo sporties and Buells.
But original and patina are hot right now and will be for a long time. I get requests for display bikes too,,, people dont care if they run, just gotta look old which is sad when stuff does not get ridden but they are extremely marketable. Anyone who thinks collectibles age out is ignorant of vintage vehicles.
Just spent last weekend at the Portland Swap meet and approx 5000 vendor booths and I can tell you it dont mean a thang if it aint got vintage swing. (LOTS of cool old iron and spent 3 days drooling)
I wonder, did you actually read what you wrote before posting this?? Is your “masculinity” really equated with being obnoxious and stupid and apparently uneducated?? Talk about playing into tired and obsolete stereotypes, you just did pal. I’m 64, don’t walk with a limp and I have mufflers on both my bike and original/un-restored Cobra sports car and don’t need to be an @$$hole because I’m afraid of someone I don’t really give a $hit about questioning my manhood. Yeah, one of us needs to “man up” and I don’t think it’s me.
guy who bought it has money so that 6 figures is a small hit in his (her?) world. I’d love it’s springers tho (put em on a)
Late 60s XLCH (B4 AMF godem) would B mine. But still, not @ over ahundrid K!
My wallet? I can look 4 free~
8^0
EDIT:
I guess this is B4 the frnt shock ‘springers”. Solid up there!
Knucklehead’s are pulling big bucks these days but even those numbers are nuts.
Something fishy about this auction. 4 guys are in it for over $115K and it gets to only $300 more and 3 of them call it quits?
Doubtfull. Feels shilly to me.
Yeah, it’s eBay so shills are even more active than at Barrett Jackson! And they think we don’t notice??
The shill at auctions are commonplace at estate and furniture auction houses in New England – If you can follow an auctioneer you can eventually pick them out of the crowd, and figure out the auctioneer’s tell. Much harder to do on ebay or a once a year big auction.
I worked for an auction house dealing in Classic and Vintage cars and bikes for 4 years and some of the antics pulled by the auctioneer would make your hair curl. He would often take bids from 5 or 6 punters before supposedly selling for a very good price, but after the auction I was told that the item didn’t actually sell as there were NO BIDDERS! He was just pulling bids out of the sky and hoping that an actual punter would make a bid, and if it were above the reserve price then he became the highest (and only) bidder.
That’s the way I feel about this auction. 4 “bidders” hike the bids way up, and if they can get a sucker to throw the bid just $1 higher, the reserve is off and the item is sold at a crazy high price.
nice looking knucklehead but I suspect sham bidders, a motorcycle like that, as nice as it is, is not worth a quarter of that amount. If the auction is real, I would suspect a re-listing with the explanation that the previous top bidder “did not honor his bid” spiel.