A while back, we started a cool new project in the shop -- a 1935 Harley-Davidson VL bobber. With the bobber craze thats been going on for the past couple of years, we thought we'd start a unique project that you don't see everyday. I little brainstorming and we decided to go with a VL, Harley's biggest and fastest machine built from 1930-36.
It all started out as a pile of parts...most of them dirty. Understanding the immense amount cleaning that would have to be done to make the bike bright and shiny, we decided to build a bike that looks like it has been together forever. A type of Crustoration you might say. We'd already done a "crustoration" on my pal Buzz Kanter's Panhead a few months earlier, which you may have read about in American Iron Magazine or on their website (www.aimag.com), so we were in the perfect mindset.
As parts started to come together, my son Matt made an interesting observation: we had 2 or 3 over just about every part we looked for. Hmmm...."build another bike" I thought. A twin, but this one would be the bright and shiny...fresh paint, a fresh motor, and a pile of brand new parts.
We made great progress on the "before" bike, completing the build in about 3 weeks. I even got to take it to Eustis, Florida for the AMCA swapmeet in March.
Of course, the "after" version has taken a bit longer -- countless hours cleaning and fitting parts, lots of paintwork by our friend John the Painter, and many late nights assembling, wiring, and fine-tuning the machine.
We're almost there, with only a few small procedures left. After we wire the dash, connect the oil lines, and hook up the front break, we'll be ready to roll. Keep an eye on our Time Machine Videos for upcoming shows on the before and after Harley-Davidson VL bobbers.
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