Sunday, October 7, 2012

47 knuck

So i just picked up this old girl the other day.  pinch me please.  24 hours of driving, half of which was through a surprise blizzard! 12 inches of snow and wind.  crazy shit for this time of year, but we made it home in one piece.  1947 Knucklehead, polished cases, fresh rebuild in 07-08. 4-speed, 8 over offset springer, which i believe to be a buchanans job, or at least a buchananas kit that was very well done.   This bike may appear Survivorish, but the bike was actually started in 04 and finished in 09.  I picked it up off the son of the builder who told me the background on the bike and his dad.  Apparently a lifetime chopper builder he built bikes from the seventies through till this knuck.  He recalled a time that his old man has 8 choppers in the basement in various states.  Triumphs, harleys but never a knucklehead.  The old boy deciced that he wanted his knuck so in 04 he found a motor and used some of his choice parts that he had kept or collected or gems he found at swaps and built his Knucklehead chopper.  He finished the bike in 09-early 10 and rode if for about a year before passing some time in 2011.  After 6 months or so the family decided to sell it off as part of the estate.  The bike is near immaculate, obviously built with love.  every fastener was considered and polished.  Unfortunately the only flaw is the molded tank appears to be cracked  at the front mount as the molding is cracked all around and under neath.  The frame is not necessarily my first choice and seeing as it needs to be repaired anyways my plan is to find a oem knuck frame and build it too similar dimensions.  i really love the stance of it.  I do plan to make some changes but i want to keep the general look of the bike in respect for the original builder.  the springer will stay of course, and i plan to mold in a smaller sportster tank.  Not too sure how far ill go into it this winter as i have other comitments so i may ride it as is next summer if the tank holds fuel.  we'll see.  I still can't believe it.  -brian-








2 comments:

"LOUIE" said...

Nice score man. Clean bike.

http://thehandlebarmc.blogspot.com/

Cory said...

Hell yeah! What an awesome chopper! I can't wait to see what you're gonna do with it. I'm sure what ever you do to her, you'll make the old owner proud.