GOLD

 The name was given to this bike due to 24 Karat Gold plating of engine & the man who inspired it.  The Heart of Gold was inspired by a old dude I knew from years ago who was a hard core bad ass, but was also kind hearted, loved & respected.  He rode a 1961 Panhead for decades around the Country that had  gold plated engine cases and various other parts of bike gold plated as well. His bike was ridden everywhere as it was his only means of transportation. The gold plating, chrome, & paint on his bike was all blemished with nicks, scratches, & some pitting due to extreme use. The bike was beautiful with all of it's imperfections and I can only imagine how it might have looked when it was freshly built back in the 70's.I've never seen any other bikes with gold plated engines other than his, and with warm memories & admiration I committed to gold for my build.

ORIGINAL 1949

The Motorcycle is hand built using original 1949 Harley parts, & using chopper building techniques from early chopper building days gone by.  Everything on this bike with exception to rear fender is either original Harley parts restored or hand crafted parts, right down to the vintage 40 plus year old tires.  The major parts of this build are all 1949 original Harley parts including wishbone frame, gas tanks, engine, transmission, rear wheel assembly, & brakes. There is also a few other vintage Harley parts used that date up to about 1957.

The wishbone frame was twisted in cradle area and required major surgery to straighten. During frame repairs I also made some major modifications to frame consistent with chopper builds from the early 70's. The front down tubes were stretched by 6", the back bone was stretched by 3", the neck was raked to 42 degrees, & the rear section was stretched by 2".  These frame modifications were not received well by restoration purists due to scarcity of original Harley parts these days, but this bike in my opinion had to have the soul that can only be achieved by using original parts.

The 1949 "Tank-Shift" gas tanks were axed. The term axed is given when original gas tanks (two) were cut, sectioned, & welded back together to create a single slimmer gas tank giving the bike lighter and tighter lines. It would generally also be mounted higher on frame exposing more views of engine.

Other period parts including engine, transmission, carburetor, generator, oil tank, rear wheel assembly, & assorted parts were restored, rebuilt, and plated.

Many parts were hand built by myself for this build including, Stainless exhaust system,  tombstone tail light, fender supports, seat, handle bars, grips, rocker foot clutch assembly, brake assembly, shift lever arm assembly, air cleaner, and many less noticeable items too.

Sugar Bear

The vintage springer front end on this bike was hand built by Sugar Bear in 1973 in Los Angeles, CA.  Sugar Bear built this front end when he was 33 yrs old and then restored it 40 years later for this build in 2013. The same hands 40 years later.  It's a good story for a great build, and a great build respecting his contribution.

The "Heart of Gold" is a bad ass runway model. She is long, lean, & elegant. She's also a nasty bitch that will F you up if not respected. With open chain primary, rocker foot clutch, hand shift, no front brake, & just drum rear brake she's not one for the faint of heart to ride.