The Rescue

Why call it a rescue? Because it was literally a rescue of a classic motorcycle that was on the losing side of time, the weather, lack of adequate protection and the mention by its owner that if he doesn't sell he next wants to weld a rigid frame rear end where the current swingarm is and rake the front end making it a khewl chopper. These are the risks that classic bikes contend with as they age. It's what makes them rarer with time because some bikes become ruined to the point that they have no viable value because they are beyond preservation. So I call it a rescue when you take a classic bike away from one of these threats.

I had been looking for the right bike to buy for about a year. I had a couple of bikes that I had become interested in but this one represented where I wanted to be in age and appearance. A friend with decades experience at preserving and restoring bikes tipped me to this bike on Craigslist. It was a 1982 Harley Davidson XL - 1000 cc. Also known as the Sportster line, it has been a popular model for Harley Davidson since the XL was formally launched in 1957 as the XL. The bike looked good in the photo though I noticed that it had some aftermarket customization that I was not interested in. I called the owner in Mount Airy, Maryland and asked if I could come look at the bike. It was a week more before I would be able to get up there due to conflicts in both of our schedules.

I had always wanted to do some preservation of a motor vehicle and I was bound and determined to one day pull the trigger. I had always had a keen interest in engines. I would get ahold of small engines when I was 12 and 13 years old and take them apart and re-assemble them then start them up. I did most of the repair and maintenance work on my cars so I was comfortable with mechanical work. This motorcycle interest would not be a stretch for me and I had always had an interest in bikes but for three decades put all my effort into my career as a firefighter. But with retirement imminent it was time for me to accomplish the goal.

I took off from work early one Thursday afternoon in late March and headed to Mount Airy to look at the bike. The owner lived in a trailer park and kept the bike outside. It was covered with a bike cover and was under a car port but basically was exposed to the elements. I could see the rust on the wheels, spokes and some of the engine parts but all in all it did look good. The thought would cross my mind that maybe I was buying a classic bike that was in too good a condition for what I intended. What I mean is that I really wanted a motorcycle that needed my time and attention and some TLC. As I would find out was not in too good a condition and it would meet my expectations for a bike that needed a lot of TLC.

The owner told me how much he was looking for price wise. I thought it was more than what I wanted to pay and had been cautioned by a number of people about paying too much for one of these old bikes. I told him I would give it some thought and get back to him after the weekend.
I thought about the bike I had seen; about the price he wanted and about its condition. I felt that it looked like a good solid bike and I witnessed him start it up and run it for a while. I also asked him about the aftermarket parts on it and if he had kept all the original equipment. He said he had and that he would give to me if I bought the bike. I knew that whatever I paid for the bike that I could get a couple of hundred dollars each for the S & S Super E carburetor and the forward controls which could go to fund some of the preservation work. I was beginning to decide that I did want this bike. I liked more and more the idea of this bike. I checked and found that the serial numbers for the frame and engine matched. I also liked the fact that it was still in the time frame of the ironhead sportster and that it was out of the timeframe when AMF owned Harley Davidson. It was new enough to have an electric starter and disc brakes but old enough to be a classic. Some of the long experienced motorcycle experts that I was a forum member with had positive things to say about the 1982 Sportster. They described how the Motor Company had been able to solve earlier problems and this particular year benefitted from the years of Sportster experience. I decided to buy the bike and offer the owner $2,700 counter to his price of over $3,000.

So in the first week of April 2010 I offered to buy an Ironhead Sportster. The owner became the previous owner as he accepted my offer. A friend with a pick-up truck and some ramps helped me transport that big chunk of steel home. While it wasn't the oldest classic I could have bought I felt comfortable that I had acquired just what I wanted in a preservation project. I also felt that I had rescued this bike from continued decay.