In Canada, where I live, good old bike parts are hard to find. They may be a dime a dozen and easier to find in the States, but when we find a load of parts for sale, it is a find that a Canadian keeps under his hat.
Here begins the story of my favorite bike. The build of this 1960 Panhead chopper actually came together very quickly. Last fall I heard about a huge motherload of Panhead and Knucklehead parts that was pretty local to me. I wanted the guy to show me what he had so I actually knew how good the score was, but he wouldn't. Being winter in Canada, he told me I had to wait until spring so he could dig through his garage, barn and attic to find it all, so I was left hanging, but I was also flat broke.
Anticipating the spring thaw, I started to try to get some cash together, selling parts, building bikes. I had just finished a really nice '65 XLCH, which I sold to fund the unseen parts pile, but needed one more deal to happen before I went to make an offer on the motherload. I had a pretty good '47 bullneck that was already modified for a Panhead motor, so I cleaned it up and started putting what I had around the shop on it to get some quick cash. I powdercoated a set of star hubs, built a mint set of wheels, used a cool ribbed British fender, and got the sissy bar from Negotiable Tim in California. I restored the Springer and made the bars. Everything was looking super cool but it needed a motor and transmission. A friend of mine had a complete 1960 H-D for sale. It had been bastardized but it was relatively complete and right out of the '80s. I brought the bike home and within a couple of hours I had the motor and transmission out and the rest of the bike was for sale. I was very lucky with the transmission. It only needed a basic rebuild and didn't need too many parts. When I took the motor apart I found the crank to be nice, so I fit a new set of pistons, cleaned up the heads, and polished a set of CCE covers and bolted them up. The motor was now cherry and ready to be put in. I finished the bike and it was cooler than any other bike I have built in the past.
Shortly after the bike was built I got the call from the guy with the parts stash so my girl Candice, and I shot over there to dig through what we hoped would be the buy of our lives. When we finally got there to see the treasure trove of parts, it was a goddamn disappointment. It was pretty much a bunch of beat up crap with too high of a price tag. And the guy wouldn't budge on the amount he wanted for it.
Lessons were learned that cold spring morning. One of them being not to overlook what you have when lusting after things you don't.