Petrified Panhead

PETRIFIED PANHEAD

American FLYERS

World's First Fat Boy?

WHILE COLLECTORS often place top value on original, unaltered classics, nothing quite captures the spirit of an era like authentic, period-modified machines. After all, customization didn't start with Arlen Ness or the bickering bros. from Orange County Choppers.

Here’s proof rolling on balloon tires: a 1949 HarleyDavidson Panhead that appears as if delivered from a time capsule, an early-’50s hop-up recipient that’s usually showcased in the Wheels Through Time Museum (www.wheelsthroughtime. com) located in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.

This is not your run-ofthe-mill static collection of antiques; with 90 percent of the machines on display in operating condition, Wheels Through Time has become known as “The Museum that

Runs.” More than 100,000 visitors have been treated to the sight and sound of various classics in action since the museum opened its doors in July, 2002.

Founder and curator Dale Walksler has spent nearly 40 years assembling his extensive 250-vehicle collection of rare American motorcycles and automobiles. And like several of his prized bikes, this ’49 Pan was taken in on trade toward a new model at Dale’s HarleyDavidson-an Illinois dealership Walksler owned and operated for 24 years before selling out and becoming a full-time history keeper.

As the story goes, Charley Manning of Evansville, Indiana, purchased the bike new on November 17, 1948. A member of the “Rod Benders,” an early black bike club, Manning was a gentle-

man with an eye for what’s proven to be forward-thinking style. Details are vague, and Manning has since passed, but what Walksler has pieced together indicates the bike’s modifications span about a 10-year period from when it was new.

“I guess within the aftermarket there were three or four brands of wheel covers, but that set I’ve never identified,” says Walksler when asked about one of the bike’s Fat Boyish styling cues, its ridged-aluminum wheel discs. And the custom exhaust, with bell tips turned sideways and stacked? “Kind of what we call Tong shots’ today,” he says. “I don’t know the manufacturer of those either, but they were definitely period pieces.” Ditto the add-on filter and glass sight level on the chromed oil tank’s right side.

There’s no question that the gold flames were handbrushed over the original black paint, and certain additions such as the dashmounted choke knob, rear fender rails, and the red grips, kicker pedal and handshift knob were factory accessories. The bars are believed to be Flanders, while the narrow front fender looks to be made from a section of Model A Ford sparetire cover. And to think, after all the work Harley put into winning the “Fender Wars” against Indian with its signature, Brooks Stevens-penned piece for the all-new ’49 Hydra-Glide fork...

It just goes to show that the creative process that starts where the production line stops can result in an individual leaving behind a legacy for others to enjoy.

Or copy.

Don Canet