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Jul 26, 2006 13:49:02 GMT
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Retro Military motorcycle. Apologies as this is not ‘Car’ related ( is still retro/old-timer/classic vehicle related though  ) but as we all know there are a lot of bikers (classic or otherwise) on this forum. As some know I’m a great fan of BSA’s WW2 military motorcycle – the M20   However in the future I will be wanting to own one of these – The military Harley Davidson WLA (or Canadian under license built WLC) which apart from being used by US Forces was also lease lend issued to British (and even Russian) Forces during WW2.   I am not really a ‘Fan’ of Harley Davidson Motorcycles as I feel they’ve flogged their ‘retro image’ to death, and their modern machines are just a bit to ‘tacky’ for my liking. However the ‘orginal stuff’ I respect (e.g. pre 1951) and the Military WLA I really like, as it was of-a-time. My question amongst classic/knowledgeable bikers of you is do you know of any sites that are good information providers with regards to World War 2 ‘WLA’s? As much knowledge as possible I require because mistakes I do not want to make as some of us know these Military ‘Arleys ain’t cheap!  Ta  |
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Jul 26, 2006 14:01:03 GMT
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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Jul 26, 2006 14:25:50 GMT
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dazmax Cheers  that is superb! Believe it or not £4800 is actually a more resonable price. There was some loony a few weeks ago on ebay trying to sell a 'wreck' for £9000 !!! ... ...needless to say 'no bids ;D |
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Jul 26, 2006 14:38:25 GMT
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No worries ;D Best to have a lot of knowledge on those old Harley's,as there are plenty of "ringers" out there. £9,000 phew! like you say,people seem to buy Harley's for the image,bit like the V Dub buses in the other thread............  |
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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tigran
Club Retro Rides Member
In rust we trust. Amen.
Posts: 6,444
Club RR Member Number: 142
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Jul 26, 2006 16:19:44 GMT
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There was a huge demand for these in Russia about 6 years ago. don't ask why but I know a friend of mine there exported several.
Random bit of trivia of the day from me.
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1964 Rover P5 i6
1987 BMW 525e - The Rusty Streak
1992 Micra K10
2001 BMW E46 316i
2002 BMW E46 330Ci
2013 BMW F31 320d
2018 BMW G31 530d
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dp
Posted a lot
DP Race Tech
Posts: 1,044
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Jul 26, 2006 16:39:33 GMT
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twincamgti in da house:
However the ‘orginal stuff’ I respect (e.g. pre 1951) and the Military WLA I really like, as it was of-a-time.Rumour has it that a bunch of old WW2 Harleys was shipped out to Vietnam during the war for the South Vietnamese MP to use and I have heard of a bunch of these bikes beeing shipped to Sweden and The US at the moment, might be worth looking into before they'r all gone..... Not Army issue but one of my alltime fave 40's bikes is the Vincent Black Lightning, during my time in the USA I found an old derlict 1949 Black Lightning that I restored to a replica of Rollie Free's record shattering 150.313 m.p.h. Bonneville Salt Flats scorcher, I brought the bike with me when I moved to Sweden, did not use it much and 2 years ago I sold it to a 75 year old Swedish Vincent collector who already had 3 Black Shadow and now he owns the one and only Black Lightning (and probably most expensive Vincent to) in Sweden, man it was cool but deadly to drive.... Rollie Free doing 150.313 m.p.h in SWIM TRUNKS!!!!!!!  A "stock" Vincent Black Lightning, if there's such a thing......  DP says: Also heard of WW2 Harley's in Belgium but that's a well kept secret.....
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bryn
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,913
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Jul 26, 2006 16:49:20 GMT
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Rollie Free doing 150.313 m.p.h in SWIM TRUNKS!!!!!!! Do you ever get that feeling you were born too late? We'll never see anything like this again I'll bet... |
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Volvo, Buggy, Discovery and an old tractor.
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tigran
Club Retro Rides Member
In rust we trust. Amen.
Posts: 6,444
Club RR Member Number: 142
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Jul 26, 2006 16:55:44 GMT
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Tell me about it bryn. I should have been a rodder in the 50's. I whinge about this every living day.
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1964 Rover P5 i6
1987 BMW 525e - The Rusty Streak
1992 Micra K10
2001 BMW E46 316i
2002 BMW E46 330Ci
2013 BMW F31 320d
2018 BMW G31 530d
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Jul 26, 2006 21:03:46 GMT
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Hmm,my 'kin bike is still in the repair shop six weeks,three days and about six hours,I'm told it will be back with me this week(Not really counting down the hours) total bill for the engine repairs-£1670.34p Bearing in mind the curse word is a straight forward single Bloody tax-export tax from sweden-import tax,then the cheeky B*stards put V.A.T. on top!!!  |
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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Jul 27, 2006 10:01:47 GMT
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tigran:
Exporting to Russia 6 year ago …strange I would have thought people would have been exporting them FROM Russia due to the amount that were supplied during the lease lend program of WW2.
DP:
A supply coming from Vietnam I did not know about, interesting.
Vincent, beautiful machines!
I believe there is a gentleman in America who is going for the Motorcycle Landspeed record and his ‘machine’ is using two (heavily re-engineered) Vincent engines, I stress this is only a rumour I have heard a motorcycle meets/shows.
Incidently the survival rate of WLA’s is quite high in great Britain as a lot were put into storage in the south of England by American forces before they commenced with the D-Day invasion and on into Europe (It is believed many were even buried in the South of England, were American GI’s were stationed, along with Jeep and GMC parts, but the way they were buried was in ‘greased up’ condition in sealed creates. I know 60 years will have taken it’s toll but some parts might not be as bad as at first might be imagined)
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Jul 27, 2006 10:10:03 GMT
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Out with the Metal Detector then twincam ;D
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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Jul 27, 2006 10:56:42 GMT
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Incidently the survival rate of WLA’s is quite high in great Britain as a lot were put into storage in the south of England by American forces before they commenced with the D-Day invasion and on into Europe (It is believed many were even buried in the South of England, were American GI’s were stationed, along with Jeep and GMC parts, but the way they were buried was in ‘greased up’ condition in sealed creates. I know 60 years will have taken it’s toll but some parts might not be as bad as at first might be imagined) I heard a similar tale once whilst on a GMC convoy through the Savernake Forest in Wiltshire. We stopped at a large valley and one of our party alluded to the 'burials'. As the land is largely owned by the MOD, I don't think digging it up would be wise  |
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Peugeot 307sw - Suzuki SV650S - MX5.
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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Jul 27, 2006 12:00:02 GMT
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Hey,don't forget the INDIAN!!!!,as mentioned in the "Worlds Fastest Indian" ,any old Indian motorbike was refered to In NZ as a "army Indian". These were almost identical to the WLA ( known here in OZ as a WELLA) in appearance and were still common right into the 70's. In Hamilton ,New Zealand,Valentines disposals managed to buy several tons of motorcycle parts ,all of it WW2 surplus Indian motorbikes and I think They actually built 38 bikes from the parts.Also for sale in their crazy shop was all the COOL leather gear you needed to ride a 'bike in the war,such as jerkins ,( i still have one!!) goggles ( i still have those too!!!) boots, and Army great coats....prices in the early 70's were so cheap it was crazy ,a whole bike for around $300. Heres a real NZ army Indian. called a "741" in army speak.  Heres a bunch of new 741's being assembled for use on the front.  Heres a new engine still in the military box.  You can buy new Indian engines here.. www.kiwi-indian.com/catalog/dd6ff594ab4be785db618e57120c9843/I also had a WW2 BSA M20 in the late 60's which i built into a chopper... |
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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Jul 27, 2006 12:12:28 GMT
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mercmad, YES I did forget about the indian, good point!  Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! ;D ;D ;D Then again you say 60's so it would be nether old nor new so fair enough |
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Last Edit: Jul 27, 2006 12:13:02 GMT by TwincamGTi
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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Jul 27, 2006 13:00:34 GMT
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mercmad, YES I did forget about the indian, good point! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! ;D ;D ;D Then again you say 60's so it would be nether old nor new so fair enough 8-)Yesssssss! top pic was of the frame ,most of which I built at high school,with the head raked and the original girder extended.And the bottom pic is of the bike as I found it,in a shed,as you can see it had been civilianised by the fitting of a post war chrome tank.These old pics are fading fast.....   |
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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Jul 27, 2006 19:15:41 GMT
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Hey,don't forget the INDIAN!!!!, Heres a real NZ army Indian. called a "741" in army speak. we got 741's over here, the RAF used them! there is another military indian, the 841. uses the indian v-twin mounted longitudinally (like a moto-guzzi), unsually it uses chain not shaft drive. if you know what your doing, over half the engine of a "big base" scout uses a mix of 741 and 841 components and the rest of the bike is made out of the parts bin, except for the magic 50 (alledgedly) special components that can all be made easily, except for the oil tank. if you get stuck finding a reasonably priced m20 , twincamGTi, have you thought of a b33? my grandfather used his own calthorpe 500 during the war (he was a dispatch rider). |
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^ did not know about B33 (same as B30/31?) being 'militaryfied'.  |
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) but as we all know there are a lot of bikers (classic or otherwise) on this forum.
that is superb!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
