There's something about old iron that just seems to call to humans. We make much of improved technology and "newer, sleeker" inventions, but it is the classics that continue to fire our imagination: Sailing ships, muscle cars, the original Star Wars trilogy-all were surpassed or improved technologically years ago, but remain in the public eye (and often heart) far beyond their preconceived usefulness.
This 1950 Panhead is an example of just that. Breaker Dragich first picked up this bike in January of 1980, trading in a '47 Knuckle for it. While the bike was a hideous blue color with a narrow glide frontend, it was mechanically sound, which was the important thing. "I had a '57 Panhead for nine years prior to this one, and was very happy with the look, sound, and (when set up properly) the reliability," he said. As a new member of the Invaders Motorcycle Club, he did quite a lot of traveling on his bikes from the late '70s to the mid-'80s, and liked the solid reliability of the Pan enough to make it his regular road bike.
The new incarnation of the Nomad sported a 2-inch over Wide Glide, fatbobs, a bobtail fender, 14-inch apes, and shotgun pipes on a white frame with black sheetmetal pinstriped in white. It remained his primary ride for several years, traveling all over the country with the Nomad group. "We averaged 25 states a year," Breaker said. "We geared the bikes tall to keep up with the top end with the then ever-so-popular Shovelhead strokers, and they did just fine." He refreshed the bike every now and then, but kept it looking about the same, citing "When you hit on something that works, you leave it alone!"
The Pan survived one year of service as he'd gotten it, but Breaker was already getting the rebuilding bug. He was spending a lot of time in Southern California, getting a look at the "short-bike style" from the '50s and deciding it would fit his blue bike to a tee. Since he was working for a chrome shop at the time, the machine "got plenty of bling" as it was constructed in various shops. "I built a super tall old-style bitch bar that later became known as the 'Tunnel Scraper,'" Breaker recalled. "Boy, could you tie some gear on that thing!"