Custom Harley-Davidson’s are my favorite motorcycle of the America Culture. Many have dreamed of owning a custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle ever since they were young. Maybe it started off with your uncle. Many uncles were big Harley motorcycle aficionados, and amateur custom motorcycle builders. Many parents loved this because the uncles would get the kids off of their hands on the weekends, and the kids loved them because they was always working on something interesting.
Going over to an uncles house and seeing the garage filled with custom motorcycle parts. Most of the motorcycles weren’t actual custom Harley-Davidson bikes. Some were Indians, and there was one that was always being worked on. I watched custom Indian motorcycle come together from ground up, and while that was impressive, I was waiting to build a Custom Harley-Davidson. It wasn’t too long before that happened.
My Uncle actually got an order for a custom Harley-Davidson from a neighborhood of his. Though there were more highly ranked custom motorcycle builders out there, there was no-one else who would do as good of a job for such an affordable price. He didn’t build custom motorcycles for a living, it was his hobby and a labor of love for him, and he would always do a solid job. That’s how he got the custom Harley-Davidson order in the first place. Some kid had been given his dad’s old bike, and wanted to fix it up. Not having the skills himself, he asked my uncle to help him out. I spent the whole summer helping build that bike. I was always streaked with grease from custom motorcycle parts I was handling, and I was restless and grubby, but I was happy. That was one of the best summers of my life.
If you have a son or daughter and have a Harley-Davidson, a great project to come closer together is to built a basket case bike or fix up the one you have and go for a ride. You would be surprised how many daughters are really good with tools and tuning up bikes. Many don’t mind getting greasy and some guys even like their women with a little grease under the nails. So take that old stocker you got, get some custom motorcycle parts for it, and have a summer with your son or daughter and make it a bonding experience.