Tuesday, September 8

In 2009

So I go to see this '52 Pan that's advertised in a classic bike magazine, about two hours drive away, and the bloke selling it is obviously gutted to have to let it go. I had to borrow his tools to get the bash plate off to check the (matching) belly numbers, and his wife brought out tea and biscuits to strengthen our resolve for the negotiations ahead.

While I fiddled about with the spanners we talked about life and motorcycles. We raved about KH250s – the hooligan bike of our youth – and how easy it was to pass the motorcycle test back in the day. He told me about the various 60s Camaros, Chevelles and Mustangs he'd owned, many of them picked up for under a grand in the eighties. He admitted he's unable to start the Pan any more due to an accident, so I kicked it over following the instructions he had written on a couple of sheets of paper (on the seat); I'm not familiar with Linkerts or manual advance/retard controls, so it was all fun. The bike fired up in a cloud of black smoke then settled down and idled well.

I made him an offer and it took him a long, long time (and a discussion with his missus) to finally accept. He made me assure him the bike would be ridden regularly. I hated having to knock him down, especially as he obviously cherished the bike and needed the dough, but also because he's a genuinely nice bloke; passionate about H-Ds. The whole experience was civilised and pleasant... unlike some of the many two-wheeled purchases I've made over the years.

I'll have it home soon.

8 comments:

matt machine said...

cant wait to see what you do mate....thanks for the link guy....means a lot to me ay.

m

Anonymous said...

Looks a cool bike bro can,t wait to see it when you,ve finished... yes KH250,s around 5 of us had them an thought we were the dog,s bollocks...always needed to carry a pocket full of spare spark plugs..we ruled the road around stoke until the X7 came along... those were the days hahaha

Keith said...

I remember picking up my first Pan from Southend and riding back to London with a sucide and jockey.The first 3 left handers I got off and pushed it round but by the time I got back I was a fucking expert and only fell of doing emergency stops on hills.Ha Ha Ha.The rashness of youth.

Gray Mitchell said...

man....that thing is too nice to chop.

Guy@GK said...

Nothing's gonna be altered on it that can't be put back to stock...

Michael in LA said...

Take those crash bars off, tune it up and ride it. Nice panhead - I could live in London if I had a nice scoot like that!

DicE Magazine said...

Its the tea and biscuits everytime. So were they Rich Teas? or Digestives? or of course the Rolls Royce of biscuits, Fig Rolls?
I'm glad you found another Pan bruv.

jimmy monk said...

jammie dodgers,
i bet ya.