Hello again, digital friends. My son Mike and I spent the last week or so going thru piles old motorcycles, old cars, and old memories. In the early 60’s, I sold my beloved 1953 Harley K Model to my brother-in-law so I could finance college.
That started Chuck on a lifetime of collecting. Sadly, he passed recently, and my sister asked us to help find good homes for all the stuff in his collection.
Can you find an Austin Healey 100-6, 2 Harley cruisers, 2 Harley K Models, 2 K Model frames, a Norton, an Aerial square 4, some K Model side cases, a ladder and a rope to hoist things into the rafters? There were also a bunch more treasures stashed in the back yard and the attic.
The ULTIMATE EASTER EGG HUNT lasted several days. We found the fender and the tool case to my old bike in the attic (of the house not the garage) wedged between a heating duct and a roof joist. The gas tank was in the backyard, buried under a Harley Service Cycle…. a 45 cu. in. a flat head tricycle popular with METER MAIDS, back in the day. Once all the parts started to resemble motorcycles, we started to find titles and other paperwork in the most unlikely places. Chuck knew exactly where everything was, but he wasn’t around to tell us, so we had to search.
Most of the treasures have now found new homes. The Harley dealer in Modesto took a bunch. The president of the Bay Area Aerial Club took the Square Four, the Norton, and a small Italian bike re-branded RIVERSIDE, which was sold by Montgomery Wards (remember them?).
I think we have found most of the parts for my bike. We are going to register it in California so we can keep the cool old license plate. Say that number a couple a times, kinda fun. The faded paint is Candy Apple Tangerine. Customizer Joe Bailon invented candy apple red sometime in the 50’s, and later offered a full spectrum of candy colors, including tangerine. He lived just up the road in Hayward. Very Kool. Joe’s gone but his paint is still available.
It was a great trip back to the old days, but the present calls. Some soft summer night, if you listen carefully, you may hear the unique sound of a flat head Harley, taking one more cruise down old memory lane.