My '51 Pan

Why? There are many answers and depending where you are coming from makes or don't make sense.

The head says what a waste of £20K; the heart says you can so why not. But there are many valid answers to each point of view. For the same money you can buy a CVO Harley Davidson Electra Glide with a 103" motor and all the right accessories. But for the money will there be another'51 Pan?

It was back in 2002 on a Fly Ride to Vancouver, Canada that I saw the dream. It was in Trev Deeleys museum and here she is:

But it had been before that. I was the typical born again biker, rapidly approaching 40 and searching for something. My Dad had always been a biker; I'd had a Raleigh Runabout 50cc moped followed soon by a BSA C15 that I had to completely re-build before I could ride it, and spent most of its life with me using a set of mole grips as a gear lever! We have all done it! It was then that I saw a '65 Pan Duo Glide that the Harley Davidson seed was set.

So why a '51 Pan. The reason is simple as my birth year, 1951; it had a certain reasoning to it. The Panhead motor was a given; I'd always liked this set up. The 'V' twin had been around firstly with the Flathead then the Knuckle as the first overhead valve and on from the Pan to the Shovelhead. I had already owned a Blockhead (Evolution Motor) and currently had a Twin Cam in the garage in the form of an 100^th Anniversary Electra Glide Ultra (FLHTCUI), with 40,000 miles on her odometer after 2 years of ownership and with an intention of putting 100,000 on her before considering a change the die was set. I'd played with a second bike in the form of an 1985 Armstong MT500, which was soon to become a Harley as H-D bought the Armstong brand in 1986, I would only, of course consider another Harley. After all, my wardrobe would need a complete re-build if I were to buy another brand motorcycle!

So that is it a 1951 Panhead it must be. Now for the second big choice an old one or a brand new replica. I had to consider what I wanted with the bike and in all my biking there is only one thing to do with a bike - ride it. An old one, although the low cost option, would mean constant fettling. I would need a knowledge and skill I did not possess. Each journey would be a voyage into the unknown and having had the joys of a troublesome 1986 1100cc Sporty (24,000miles in two years) followed by a highly challenging 1990 FXRT (78,000 miles in four years) I had already spent enough hours at the side of the road and in the back of an AA Relay truck to know that breaking down and the constant fear of breaking down was not for me. My first Glide and I did 84,000 miles and had three breakdowns, two alternators (because I had to have a Police Siren!) and one rear wheel puncture. The current Glide has not put a wheel wrong in her 40,000 miles and for sure that is the way I like it.

So second major decision made, a 1951 Panhead Replica.

The third major decision was to have a slavish replica, correct in every detail, or something I wanted. I had already stepped all over the purist's arguments so I may as well continue so the third major decision was made. And it was a simple as that I would have a 1951 Panhead Replica Custom. I even had a picture of a perfect example thanks to Trev Deeley.

Now the major choices were made how could I get to the desired bike? I started with our chapter website and was gratefully surprised at the responce and a web site, http://www.championroswell.com/vintage/panhead/ came to light. Complete kits of a 1948 Panhead were available at $17,500 all you needed was someone to build and paint it; everything else was in the kit. A Panhead for £10,000, wow - I thought all my prayers had been answered but fortunately for me Dave Swift read my plight and offered to have a chat with me regarding my planned project.

Dave ran a Shovel with a Pan bottom end and jockey shift with a kicker and was very knowledgeable in the vagaries of old Harley bikes. He had lots of good advice and I drank it all in. I also bought the Panhead Bible "Original Harley-Davidson Panhead" by Greg Field, which is also a mine of information to the historic Harley newbie that I was.

The replica kit had a springer front end and a Rev Tec motor, both of which I did not want. I started to formulate my ideas and in the summer of 2004 pretty much had the formulae of what I wanted. I even wrote out the order! It was a 5 page document laying out the parts required to make my dream bike and I went to Steve and Mark at Twin Cities Motorcycles to see if they were interested in taking on the project. They were very supportive and keen to build such a bike that I had in mind. Mark priced, in rough terms what was needed and it was looking like £15 to £20K! So that was the next obstacle - money.

Working for myself for the last 15 years I had got to the stage where I could just about stay out of debt but with no savings except for the equity in my house. Using equity to buy a 'folly' is not wise. My mortgage was due to be paid off in September 2005, which would free up some cash for the job. But there was another opportunity I could give myself a target to sell more thus earn more but it would have to be one hell of a target to ensure the tax man and my business partner got their fair shares! It happened on 24^th November 2004 the biggest single order I had taken in 30 years of selling. The very next day I was in Twin Cities with the '51 Pan order and a deposit. Project started.

The frame had to be a rigid bow (wishbone) legged with telescopic front end. S&S was to provide the 80" shovel bottom end with STD Pan Heads. This configuration using modern materials and tolerance would give a bullet-proof basic unit driving through a Baker 4 speed with a kicker - no mamby pamby electric start for me! It would be a tin primary with chain final drive. I wanted stainless steel spoked wheels with alloy rims. Everything Chrome, black powder coat or candy apple red.

So as I type this first entry up on a flight back from a weeks Sun in Tenerife in early December that is where we are!

1^st March 2005

It was like getting the first scan photo of an impending baby! Can I use that analogy? You decide, but here are the first shots of my ’51 Pan’s motor:

Is it not a thing of beauty? An 80” S&S Panhead Motor, STD heads and already bench tested. Oh feel the excitement grow! There are a load of parts in boxes in the workshop and a consignment at Newcastle airport waiting for customs clearance – she starts to take shape.

Well the summer has been and gone and I am hopeful that some serious progress can now be made on this project. I had tried to post some frame pictures earlier but they did not appear on the web page so here are some snaps of the bow legged rigid frame: