Treasure Hunting Stories

[c.o.]

Good stuff INLINE4NUT! It's not very often that you get an automatic rebate like that! Thanks for the hillclimber story ID I think that it's one cool bike! I've had the pleasure of really looking it over in Vernon and it's quite the piece! I really hope these stories can keep coming. It's like MC said I find myself checking this forum regularly like an addict lookin' for the next fix! Thanks Guys!

[Paps]

No find in this story fella's. More like it found me but I feel it relates to the topic somewhat. It was the year I married [1975] and I had just got in from work when I decided to make a stop at my folks home before going home myself. First thing my mother says is "Your Uncle Bud Pasted Away". He was my uncle but he wasn't my Dad's brother. He was my Dad's Dad's brother. I hadn't seen him for a few years so I stayed a while shooting the bull over times with Uncle Bud when the phone rings. It is my Uncle Bud's wife wanting to speak with my Pop. I can hear parts of the conversation but I can't make out what it's about except for the fact that my Dad says he has no place to store it but thanks never the less for considering me. He then turns to face me and says " Aunty wants to know if you want Uncle Bud's motorcycle?" I didn't have any place to store it either and being a newlywed I knew the little woman wouldn't let it sit in the livingroom. I learned months later that the bike I turned down, turned out to be a low milage mint condition 47 Indian Chief. Paps

[c.o.]

Well, Paps I guess that's like the fish that got away story. I'm guessing that you kicked yourself over that one. I hope you managed to compensate for it later on in years. Thanks, for the post. I'm wondering if Peter Gagan has a few that he wouldn't mind sharing or perhaps Barry Brown if he reads this. ID I was thumbing through my photo album last night and found a pic or two of you circling the track on your hillclimber at the O'Keefe. I've also got one with it stabled next to Walt's Scout racer. I got word last night that there's a rumor going around that they're erecting a horse stable where the track is placed. I hope if it's true that they can find an alternate spot. It would be a shame to see that little rally die.

[I.D.]

Cory,Just what the world needs another horse stable,after those guy,s worked their butts off getting it graded and banked properly.Pap,s a good friend of mine told me that the motorcycles that you couldn,t find a way to get are the ones your going to remember and kick yourself for the rest of your life,but not getting one they were going to give to you really hurts.

[c.o.]

ID Your got that right about the free ones. Ouch! Anyway I e-mailed the ranch to see if the rumor was true when I get an answer I'll let you know.

[AdminGuy]

I think I remeber Don telling about an IND 4cycl. That he picked up in the earily 70s for 300.00. Seems a couple of fellas who were not in the know had the mag mounted backwards, wrong rotation or something, and couldn't get this original paint beauty to start. Don was kind enough to take that old jalopy off of their hands.

In the earily 60s Pete went back to a junk yard to claim a four he had seen the previous day. Sadly they had crushed it for scrap.

I love the false wall stories. Bikes that were entomed for one reason or another inside of dry indoor storage for 80 plus years. Love that orginal paint.

Or how about a couple of guys who found a Yale frame sunken into the dirt floor of a barn. Sure- just dig it out. One problem. You have one day and it's frozen solid and no overhead room to swing a pick. No generator, can't light a controlled oil fire. So ya swing and dig from your knees.

[Paps]

I hope this thread never ends. All the stories are awsome! Yep!! I kick myself there often fella's, especially everytime I tell the story. LOL!! Paps

[petri]

My 1942 Harley 45

Here's how I found my first real motorcycle, a 1942 Harley 45. It's not a bike in a barn story but it worked for me. I had owned a Cushman Step Through and a Cushman Eagle motorscooter, my brother had a Harley 125. And I had a friend who had just bought a 1953 Indian Chief for a couple of hundred dollars and it was Kashen Green and really cool with those skirted fenders.This is 1966 or so and I am a 22 year old newlywed in Chicago and I really wanted a big motorcycle.
There was a rumor that somebody with a yard full of junk and old motorcycles had a 30's Harley with a magneto but I could never get it tracked down and was getting desperate. I had a subscription to Hemmings Motor News; at that time it was much smaller and the format was also smaller. I decided to look in my Hemmings for an old bike and came across a 1942 Harley Davidson 45 up in Alpena Michigan for $200. I contacted the owner, he sent some pictures, we made a deal and I bought the bike on that basis. I think it only cost maybe $50 to get it shipped down by motorfreight where I picked it up in Chicago at some loading dock on the far south side. It didn't run so I had to trailer it home.
Well it needed some work to get it on the road of course. I took the gas tank off as it was covered in oil and dirt and I wanted to clean it up. I took it upstairs into our apartment and immersed it in the bath tub and cleaned it with **** and Span. Not a good solution to the problem as my wife pointed out but I had no other option. Hey, I was 22 years old and it worked.
Next I noticed that the primary chain was missing and I needed a battery so I found out where I could get old used Harley parts. There was a fellow somewhere on the south side on Crawford or Cicero Av I was told. He was in the vicinity of a couple of used car lots that I knew of, Model A Charlie and Model A Frank. Yep, you could still buy these cars off of a car lot and these guys specialized in them. I found the Harley guy, bought a primary chain and battery and put them on. Then I worked on getting the thing started which wasn't hard. Much to my horror when I put it in gear nothing happened, bad trans. So it was back to the parts guy now to buy a transmission. I think I remember paying $35 for the trans and it wasn't out of a three wheeler either. I didn't want that as it had a reverse gear and I didn't want to make any stupid mistakes. I put the trans in and this time I was able to ride the bike; I was happy. I remember it had a huge set of handlebars that the old timers called "longhorns", which was an apt description.
Now I discovered the charging system didn't work and that turned out be a voltage regulator problem. I don't remember why I didn't just buy a voltage regulator, trying to save money I think, so I made something out of a couple of relays that would charge continuously while running and disconnect when the bike was turned off. Not a good fix but since I didn't get to ride the bike too much I never overcharged the battery.
I kept the bike a few years at my grandfather's place in the country and had some nice rides on it with my wife around the country side. Eventually I sold it after our daughter was born and life's demands made it harder and harder to get around to playing with it.
Today I'm retired, restoring a 1932 Packard roadster, riding a 1978 BMW R100/7 and looking in every barn around here for an old bike. But not only is it hard to find an old bike that way today, it's hard to even pick up a rumor of an old bike. The rumors are as rare as the bikes. To me, old is more or less pre war so the BMW doesn't really count. It looks like I may have to resort to Hemmings yet again or heaven forbid, ebay. But much of the fun is in the chase. Oh, prices seem to have gone up a bit too, sigh..........

Howard

[LouieMCman]

Good farmer story INLINE4NUT, I just glanced at it and thought you might have gotten the farmers two daughters with the bike also until I read your story closer....lol

Louie

[INLINE4NUT]

Louie, Thanks but the only ROD I had was for the bike didnt see any daughters there but had I, I wouldnt tell!!!!!

[c.o.]

This one may not be as good as what has preceded me, but here goes. I've got a cousin east of the rockies that is trying to put together a '13 Indian twin. Well, a few years ago I was talking with a bike mechanic that I know and he brings up the fact that he had a line on a '13 motor for afforementioned bike. Well, he decides that it would be a good idea to stuff it into a homemade rigid frame and slap a bunch of mismatched parts together to make a bike. It sounded like a nightmare as far as I was concerned. Being that 70's Japanese machines are his specialty. Well as time and a couple years went by he lost interest in the motor, but wouldn't tell me where it was. Fast forward a year or two and I'm talking with another mechanic that brings up this same motor. He knew a guy that new a guy that had met the actual fellow who had it. You guys know the story. But he wouldn't give me names and I was starting to think that this thing was never going to materialize or else show up as somebodies bad art project! Fast forward about a year and I'm on my return trip from a rally in the sunny Okanagan and my newly purchased '69 Lightning decides that it wants to kick off it's oil return line to the top-end. By the time I noticed the oil running down my pantleg I knew I was in trouble. So I kill the motor and pull over and make an attempt to assess the situation. Well the oil tank is all but empty and and I'm many a mile from a service station. Well luck would have it that a pay phone was close and I managed to phone my wife. I told her that I was going to be a little late and was having troubles. Well unbeknownst to me she phones a guy that I used to know who lived fairly close and as I'm sitting around frustrated trying to think of what I was going to do this guy shows up with a few quarts of 50W. Well, my day was getting better although I was still a little worried about what the inside of that beezer motor might looked like. I start pouring oil and it doesn't take a huge amount, so I think maybe things are O.K. So I'm back on the road and cruising when I hear the that awful top-end knocking sound I'm sure a few of you have heard before. I know at this point my games up and it was time for a new plan. So I pull over and try and think of my next move. At this point I am in the middle of nowhere and hope that a kind soul with a pickup might amble along and save this sorry day. Well, about fifteen minutes into my roadside recess a van pulling a trailer with a couple of bikes on it roars past. He then nails his brakes. Ouch! and decides to backup to see if I was in trouble. By this time I'm guessing that those reading this tale are wondering what this has to do with a '13 Indian motor. Well, I'll tell you. We load the bike on the trailer and start down the road. This guy was an Evo rider and just happened to be driving the chase truck for a few guys that were about an hour ahead. The conversation turned to interests and I mentioned that I liked old American bikes, the older the better. He then tells me that he just happened to know where a motor for a 1913 Indian was. Here we go again I'm thinking, but he assures me that he has the phone number of the guy who actually owns it and was sure that it was still sitting under a lean-to next to an old shed. So by this time I'm thinking maybe finally a guy will lay eyes on this thing. Well, he drops me off an hour north of my place and heads off into the sunset. My darling wife brought me my pickup and all was well, except that I'd be doing a top-end on my beezer. So that night I pick-up the phone and call that cousing of mine and give him the number that I was so graciously given to me. So he phones and makes arrangements to go look at it. He gets to the farm that it's at and gets told right away that if he wanted this thing he would have to be prepared to pay for it. A short while later he leaves with the motor and $400 lighter in the pocketbook. It only had one jug and head, but was otherwise fairly complete. Not a bad deal I think! Anyway I hope that wasn't too long and boring for you fellas. Next!

P.S. ID that rumor about the O'Keefe track is true. I got an e-mail today that said the rally was still on and that the organizers were trying to find an alternate place to race. I guess we'll see what happens.

[I.D.]

13 Indian motor

Cory,It just goes to show how small a group old Motorcycle guy,s are.Glad to hear that it was finally saved.Seaching this stuff out for me is not about getting a pile of projects that you will never finish as it is saving them so they can be ridden again.that,s too bad about Okeefe,I hear Falkland was the alternative site as they are supposed to have a track already there.Somehow i don,t think it will come up to Okeef,s standard tho the cool machinery ,restaurant right there free camping ,showers etc.It alway,s seemed to turn out a lot of no BS type old timers that you could actually talk nuts and bolts with. ID >>>>>>>>>

[c.o.]

You nailed it Ian. You couldn't ask for a better setting or atmosphere. I think I'm going to periodically check with the ranch and see what their alternative will be. I've scheduled that weekend in July for the last eight or nine years and it would be a shame to miss it. I also agree with seeing the bikes hit the road. Nothing thrills me more than to spot somebody cruising along on something old and cool! I think I was a generation or two late!

[I.D.]

Jerry Evans humongus Egberg buyout

This thread was getting a little dry so I figured I,d tell another one.As you have probably figured out I,m one sick puppy and have been for a long time.I don,t recall how I found out about Jerry Evans of Eau Claire Wisconsin(the Harley dealer there) but it was another highlight as around 78-79 Jerry bought out one of the biggest piles of antique motorcycles in the midwest. Minneapolis dealer Egberg I guess was one of the biggest dealers for many years and had mountains of old parts(I digress). I got Jerry,s # and rang him up and on the other end was a very pleasant midwestern voice ,whom I asked if he had any old motorcycles or parts. Jerry responded yes and asked me what I was looking for ,of course there was no sense in dilly dallying around so I asked him if he had any 36 61" parts,to which he said he,d look.I had a complete 36 knucklehead but it was in a later frame.He said he did,t have one so I settled on a 55 pan runner that he had serial # 55fle1955 yet.I asked him what he wanted for it and he said I think $850 as I remember.Prices were going up so I figured it was a pretty good deal.I asked him where he wanted the money sent and he said (I,ll send it to you and if you don,t like it just send it back, if not send me a check) Can you imagine your local Harley boutique extending that kind of credit?Just goes to show just how far things can go down hill.This kicked off a drunken spending spree which left me penniless for many years and put scooters under lots of fellow enthusiasts in the NW.Ten years later after ending up with a 36 upside down four,a couple flatheads,Knuckles etc he was just about out of parts. I was putting another Knucklhead together and needed a frame. I called Jerry up again and asked but his reply after ten years of selling was I only have one left and it,s not in very good shape(broke under the rear motor mount) but if you want it you can have it for $75,so figured it was slug and weld time.Well the frame gets here and BINGO it,s a 36 Knucklehead frame .Holy Moley. I.D.>>>>>>>>>

[c.o.]

Thanks, Ian I was hoping that this story-telling thread wouldn't die off just yet. It's very interesting to see how things turn-out for people. My soon to be treasure hunt was postponed to Saturday. I'll let you know how it turns out. I was just reading the Fall 2004 issue of The Antique Motorcycle and was delighted to see that Club Pres. Pete Gagan had taken on a Blackhawk for restoration. It turned out pretty darn nice! Let's hope that he does in fact take it out on the road.