I was introduced to Sam at the Hard Times Show in Worcester, Massachusetts. As soon as he pulled up and parked his bike, it immediately started getting peoples attention. When asked, he had no problem wheeling his 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead around to the side of Ralph’s Rock Diner to get away from the crowd so we could chat and shoot a few pictures.
Some things never change. Until they have to. The Harley Davidson “Ironhead” first arrived on US lots in 1957 and become an immediate hit. The Ironhead has a slightly unusual history as it relates to design, shifting, and federal law. We'll dig more into what makes the Ironhead special, and how laws changed motorcycle design.
Harley-Davidson is known as a company whose reputation is built on reliability and innovation. Looking back at their offerings that came out post-World War II, one of their most significant innovations rolled off the assembly lines in 1949 when they released the new FL Hydra-Glide featuring their new hydraulic forks.
This year at the 2022 Wauseon Nationals AMCA meet there was a special show that had its first year at the event. Wauseon is all about honoring and keeping antique motorcycles alive and a part of vintage culture that has never been fully represented at the meet is the elaborately decorated vintage Harley Davidsons in the Coney Island motorcycle style
There are many motorcycles that exist only in stories and legends that cruise the highways for years evading the public eye but exist as one of a kind bikes that survive simply because they are just too wild to die. These kinds of "one off" survivors are usually reserved for custom choppers but what about a custom hybrid Harley Honda full dresser? A Honda Davidson or quite possibly a "Harlonda?" Well, we met a gentleman, Paul Atkins, one year at AMA vintage days who owns not only one, but three of these incredible machines and he brought his 1966 Harley Davidson with an SOHC CB750 motor powering it to our Old Bike Barn crossroads bike show and the rest is history and an interesting one at that. We sat down with Paul this year to pick his brain about the origins of his blue beauty which he affectionately refers to as "Psychobilly" and also get some info on the other 2 of these wild hybrid machines he has chosen to own over the years.
