Shed Find Unrestored Harley-Davidson WLA Motorcycle
If old bikes could talk, this baby would certainly have a few yarns to unravel.
THE 1942 WLA Harley-Davidson — Walla, The Liberator, call them what you will — there’s many an aging biker who cut his teeth on one of these charming classic flatheads. But these old bangers are fast becoming a very collectable machine and rightly so.
Back in an early edition of Ozbike, Kelly Ashton relayed a story from the past that rings true with many a middle-aged biker. The urban legend of the disused army dumps that were supposedly dotted around the outskirts of Australia’s capital cities all over the country, that concealed (supposedly) hundreds of crated up 1942 military issued H-Ds. The stories ranged from rusted carcasses buried under mounds of dirt to pristine examples of the old war-horses still wrapped in the original grease paper. All proved to be unfounded and, as with any Chinese whisper, the stories got bigger and better each time they were relayed around a rally campfire or at a country pub.
In the real world, a few examples of the ’42 WLA were being unearthed, but usually in granddad’s garage or the odd rural tractor shed. Which brings us to the bike on these pages. Harry from Harrys Custom Bike Work got a call from a fella who had found an old bike in a shed and was wondering if Harry was keen to buy it off him. Harry agreed to have a look, if the bloke could bring the bike down to the shop. Now I reckon Harry must be the king of poker faces, because when the bike rolled up to the shop (laying on its side in a trailer), it became pretty damn obvious that the current owner had no idea of what he was about to part company with. To cut a long story short, Harry sealed the deal and the bike was his for an undisclosed sum of cash. Very cheap, I’d say, but Harry is keeping that close to his chest, and that’s fair enough.
The trained eye will soon pick up that the bike is in civilian trim. The pipes are non-existent (probably poached by a parts seeker); it has a homemade buddy-seat and mirror. Apart from that, the bike is completely stock and in reasonably good nick for something that has been carelessly parked for many years, according to the original owner.
Harry hasn’t got any plans for a resto on the old girl, and at the time of the photoshoot, has had some offers from interested parties, none of which he snapped up. Harry has an eye for classic machines and said if no one waves the right sort of dollars under his nose he is quite content to keep the ’42 as a show piece in the shop.
So, if you would like to check out this untouched blast from the past or make Harry an offer he can’t refuse…
Pics by Jo; words Chuck U Farley
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I remember when you could get one of these for $250 in running condition from Johnos at Redfern in Sydney