1947 Harley-Davidson FL

My name is Erik Bahl and the antique motorcycle bug bit me with my first motorcycle at the age of 21, a 1964 BMW R50/2. At that time in my life the BMW seemed like it was 100 years old. As I got older, the bikes got older! Time has passed and I have three Cannonballs under my belt with varying degrees of success. When Jason and Leanne announced the Chase, I only had one motorcycle that qualified which I had owned a mere six months, was not running, and was last ridden in 1976. The bike has an interesting history. It is a one owner bike which I pulled out of a barn. When purchased new it was a 1948 Panhead bought by a recent high school graduate, farmer, and soon to be married young man in North Alabama. This motorcycle was the only transportation for the newlywed’s until they purchased a truck three years later. At some point in the late 50’s something went wrong with the Panhead motor and it was replaced with a 1947 Knucklehead motor. At that time the registration was changed to 1947 since the only serial number is on the motor. Over the past year everything but the engine has been disassembled and serviced. The bike was ridden hard and everything was worn out. I just got the bike road worthy in May of 2019 and put 100 or so miles on her. The final test was the AMCA Pennsylvania Road Run that just wrapped up. She fared well and I hate to miss a good ride so I’m throwing my hat in the ring on this great adventure. The possibility of taking this motorcycle to places that the original owner only dreamed of is a great motivator.