BARN FIND! Harley Davidson Knucklehead Motorcycles!

what can you tell us about this bike well 36 is the first year knucklehead it's the Holy Grail it's what everybody wants yep a lot of one year only things in a 36 knuckleheads that is a big big early Harley guy and I just wanted to kind of talk to him and pick his brain and see exactly what kind of Harleys he has and and what we can learn together Danny hey how you doing what's going on brother how are you all right man good to see you it's good to see you too I see they're cutting the trees down across the street they would be today wouldn't it would happen today that's the way it works out huh hopefully it'll be quiet soon I don't want to just walk by this bike right here and you told me at the gym that this is a 39 39 39 and I'm not like super knowledgeable when it comes to early Harleys it's not something that I've traded in you don't really find them very often what can you tell me about this bike any of those pre-wool Knuckles are really rare yet don't see them a whole lot these days so this is a knucklehead yep okay 39 which would have been the fourth year they started them in 36. by the time 39 came around they got some of the bugs worked out of them so 39 was a really good year really good running motor and bike yeah this one here it's pretty much probably 90 percent original motive it looks oh it does have a brand new one brand new rebuilt motor built to look kind of petite yeah it's original paint frame original fenders but just wanted a little bit of the patina look to it but the big thing most of it's oil original I think they did a great job did you do this or yeah oh you did this yeah okay somebody else rebuilt the motor but I did you know pretty much the rest of it and for those learning at home with me also this is a knucklehead and that's because the the heads on this motor look like the top of of your knuckles exactly is that correct exactly and is there any other special things on this bike or anything like that that are specific to a knucklehead or what what else can you teach us about it 39 if you can see it has kind of a sweep Fork to it can you see how that came just a little bit Yeah from 36 to 40 that's the kind of fork they use and those are pretty scarce you don't see those around a lot the frames is a lot of one year only Parts on this thing too kind of a one year only frame a one year only oil tank transmission I got something neat for you sure it's the only year Harley put neutral between second and third gear can you see that yeah on every Harley that I've ever ridden it's between first and second down at the pegs kind of a dumb idea it didn't work too great but yeah 39 to be original that's what they had so this has got that but yeah 39 only God this bike is just let's just take a step back to admire it I mean that doesn't that look like it belongs in a museum or something oh it's beautiful that is just I never get tired of looking at these things the media works so hard you were telling me that 39 is the last year for certain things on this bike what were you referring to the last year the big twins used 18 inch rims okay and the last year they used these step hubs if you can get in there close you'll see what I'm talking about see that little step in there oh it's like a little flat line a little flat piece on somebody early 40s had those but basically 39 was the last they used them in the 18 inch wheels so last day 18 inch last year is 39 yep okay these square foot boards are rectangular that's the last year they used those they went to like an oval one in 1940. okay and the toolbox it's the last year they used that kind of a rectangular tool box that's this piece right here you don't have to answer this if you don't want to what's the average like value of a bike in this condition kind of going for probably anywhere between 50 to 100 000 just depending if you had a nice original paint one it's worth a lot more a lot more if you had one that's just kind of pieced together with sporadic miscellaneous Parts it's worth a little less but the more original it is the more correct it's you know be pushing 100 easily I don't know if you guys can see that in there it looks like you have a couple more bikes you want to take a peek in this absolutely that's shared it's just a little 1947-45 Flathead okay so this one right here is that what we're referring to yeah okay so this one's uh you said a 40 45 cubic inch okay for 750cc gotcha okay the same motor they used in the military for the WLA Army bikes and they made those all the way up to 1952 those Styles so they're they're pretty common yeah they used well they used to be used to be okay now they're getting a little harder to get but yeah just a 750 cc just a nice little get around bike and what's what's the the price of something like that that's probably 10 to 15 10 to 15. yeah somewhere does that one rot yeah I'd ride it like that yeah now people like the patina stuff these days maybe change the seat on it I don't know I like this a little rough I like the seat on it though it works it works you might lose a little bit of the seat as you're everywhere and then what what is uh I see here you you did say that those were the these are the more of the rounds yeah the oval type thing yeah okay and that's got the 16 inch tires in fact this is a 47 Nook which is the last year of the Knuckleheads okay why does this one have a bigger seat on it that's they just call that the Buddy seats oh okay yeah if you wanted or you can just stretch out more on them and is there any any special like one-off features or anything on on this year uh not a lot but it's a one year only gas tank oh it's the first year that they use those gas tank emblems the first year they use that Dash that style Dash and Speedo there one year only Speedo okay yeah so one year of things on it Knuckles are pretty much the same from 41 up to 47 other than you know the gas tanks and the emblems is that because of the war well yeah from 42 to 45 very very few civilian bikes were made very scary okay so you almost never see anything from you know 43 44. uh you'll see a few 42s and 45s a lot more 46s and a ton of 47s that was The Big Year the last year okay yep and then after the knuckle there in 47 was the Panhead the 48 yep it came out in 48 which is almost identical to this bike except for the heads yeah the most identical I see that you got a couple couple trikes back here and you got some signs these are they just look like reproduction stuff yeah just reproduction Harley saying I'll help you kind of heard some of these tricycles can get pretty expensive if you have a really nice legit one yeah now this is a 37 the first one they ever made was 1932 and any of those early ones are very hard to find and I I know it's a 37 because you just explain to me it's got the rectangle and the last year you said was 39 for those so that that makes sense to me yeah and and what would this have been used for a lot of Automotive agencies use these they would deliver Parts in them okay and they also had see this here oh this is what you call a tow bar this thing would fold over the front end and this clamp would clamp out the car bumpers so they would drive these you know from the auto place drive them over to somebody's house that needed a repair okay either bring them parts or take the whole thing back to the shop and repair it and return the thing with us so a lot of automotive dealers use them and a lot of police departments use them you know they hand out tickets and parking tickets and all that stuff big between the auto and the police and what year is this one because this one's 39 39 yeah which one would be the the more expensive one the earlier bike probably the early probably the earlier one yeah what is this beautiful piece right here this is a 46 yeah so you said that 43 to 45 is probably the toughest of the the 40s to find so this would probably be like the first year where they started coming Mass producing them again exactly and if you notice between the 46 and 7 you see the dash and the speeder see how it's different okay so this is a 46th one and then this is uh the 47. the 47 over here yep and that's the first year for the style oh yeah the the the the numbers are in a different font exactly okay and the gas tank emblems too and the 46 they use that emblem from 40 to 46 that kind of they call it the teardrop but otherwise they're basically the same bike with a few cosmetic now as far as like speed goes which which ones are the bikes in here would be the fastest back in the day are they all the same kind of speed or the knuckles the knuckles the server cars the trikes are slow of course yeah yeah they were meant to be and they probably did these tip over a lot no oh they didn't no okay I remember seeing these up in Rochester New York in the winter time the cops would drive a mural I've seen them with the wheels up in here where the cops driving their place but I've never seen one tip yet not that it hasn't happened interesting okay yeah they're pretty neat they haven't made them the last year they made them was 1973 so they haven't been around oh that was last year for the trike yeah 73. yeah kind of a long time ago I didn't know yet I've never been here before we've known each other other from the gym and I never knew that you had this many old motorcycles and I mean they're just the most beautiful bikes well thank you they're just wow tomato works of art I know they tell you to looking at them yeah you almost just want to put one in your living room exactly you have one in your living room is what you told me you'd be amazed how many people have bikes in their homes in the living rooms I see you have a Champion spark plug sign over here this is actually a a fantasy piece someone someone made this the are you into signs at all or oh yeah I love science and you said that you also have a few cars you wanted to kind of take a look with us as well if we head that way we'll go down and look at some cards awesome awesome let's go what year would that's pretty cool that's actually a 1937 rear fender thought it was done up like the American you know flag style or something that's probably done 60 ideas it's kind of just the way I picked the thing up but yeah it's probably been done 16. I built a whole bike just around that you know I've done it before I've got one I built just from the front fender yeah I matched everything it was a really sweet original paint front fender okay and I built the rest of the bike to kind of to match the thing patina would it so come on in you like hot dogs oh wow you didn't tell me you had all this I'm just overwhelmed you got a whole bunch of signs there's oh what is Jesus look at that it was a Cadillac limousine uh 47 caddy limo we'll get to that in a second here we're gonna I see you got a whole bunch of you just have a whole wow I'm all kinds of different stuff I love to collect stuff feel like I'm home you know you know what I mean I live with his stuff yeah Nostalgia I live with this stuff looks like a 36 that this is your 36 right it's the 36 first year knuckle it's got the the rectangle yep it's got the square or the rectangle toolbox on there also you were saying it's got the 18 inch wheels see I'm picking it up what can you tell us about this bike well 36 is the first year knucklehead it's the Holy Grail it's what everybody wants yep a lot of one year only things in a 36 knuckle heads you know they're pretty much the scarcest ones you can find this one it's got a lot of reproduction stuff on it probably half reproduction half original but unless you're into it you couldn't tell the difference does that affect the value big time Big Time big time and and you said one year one year only stuff what can you show us that's that's kind of one year only so one year only frame okay and how do how would we know that like if I walked into a barn and there was just a frame sitting there how would I know that it's like a 36. the easiest way would be these are the sidecar Loops where you attach a sidecar on oh they all had that well only 36 they had them put on like that very very unique so that's probably the easiest thing to identify a 36. show that on camera here and is it on both both sides yeah just those little looks like Loops in there I can show you another frame to show you what I'm doing yeah yeah absolutely yeah you see how these are also this is a 36 frame too no this is actually a pan head frame okay from the early 50s but see how the loops are they're all proud of a forging instead of being those were like Brazen through the frame oh these were like in a fortune but that was 36 only okay so the way that they're attached is what's different yeah it's a one year only just trying 36. and what else well the fork this is a one year only fork even though it looks almost identical to the wrists it's a one year only fork the uh the fender braces here they're skinnier than the later braces okay yeah if you compare them with a later one you'll see the difference with the center I trust you yep and these actually had the old alamite grease fittings in them back in 36 can you see that in there I do yeah yeah 36 some of 37s that was pretty much the last year they used the Allen light fittings but this is another way to identify a 36 with a stripe around air like that every year from 36 to 39 there was a different kind of a graphic kind of things okay the same decal but the graphic around the decal every year was different so that that'll really make the 36 you know in itself unique like that this is a beautiful bike this is a one year only thing for 36. okay the air cleaner 36 only this cam cover even though this is a reproduction it's a early 36 there's a lot of a lot of different 36 is actually early 36 mid 36 and late 36. and what makes it an early 36. the way this is kind of matched here okay only 36 early use this notched cover over there gotcha yeah if you had another one to compare it with you'd see the difference very very scarce if you were lucky enough to find an original one you paid probably 10 grand for the fence maybe maybe even more depending on how bad you've wanted one very very tough and what's the going rate for a bike just like this in this condition if you were to take this one to Market what would something like this bring this this kind of kind of like not being a hundred percent original but this is half and half it's got a reproduction frame which is the biggest thing okay this is this would be under a hundred thousand under a hundred if you have a legit one hundred and fifty to over 200 is loud depending on how correct and original it is but yeah this is maybe half and half it's a really nice bike but it's just not I love the colors on it I think it's a really really beautiful bike that one over there is just calling my name though that's a 37 yeah a ulh that's the first year ulh 80 inch flat head I see that and it has the so that one over there is a knucklehead yep the head's on in our knuckle and this is a ulh so this one is is different for the head design exactly the flat head and the side valve side valve okay and the tank Graphics the knucklehead the same thing the same decade yeah I see that now but they had these two little stripes and so it's 37 only gotcha so this is 37. yep if you have a seat add it should be a 37 and like that one over there is a 36 it went the whole way around exactly and this one has the two the two stripe Marks here yep 37 38 39 I think this one for graphic this one has like a luggage rack a luggage rack here and what is this piece right here uh just kind of a custom bumper yeah yeah just an aftermarket bumper just to dress it up a little bit does this one run yeah yeah brand new rebuilt motor in it since I made this to look patina yeah I think you did a hell of a job well actually this whole here this is one of them I built this I had that front fended air for for l40 years I just kind of half-ass matched the rest of it I I see what you're saying but I I mean it just has a look to it like this this is one we were talking up there about you know building a bike from a Fenders this one definitely was I mean if you put this in a show or something like that I mean I would gravitate towards this thing immediately I can't take mines [Laughter] people think you're crazy but you know to me they're beautiful when you walk out of here at night you got to take like a little look back at it before that's why I got one in the living room I used to have one in the bedroom you know when I had a bigger bedroom just like in the living room what would you rather look at a couch or a chair or a beautiful knuckle hug I mean there's no you don't need to think no I it's mechanical it's it's industrial the amount of time and thought that it took to make these things back in the day you know now everything's stamped out with a machine everything back then was just like they were made very worse Harley had a lot of pretty high standards and that's why there's so many around today you could take these engines and just pull them out exactly exactly they'll be here when we're long here on exactly I totally agree with that that's why I like the stuff it's like everything today is disposable different times man different times I would like to take a look at some of these uh it looks like it looks like Cadillacs behind me this is a Packard I believe that's a 40 Packard limo are we able to go around that way you think or sure okay yeah we'll go around the front of it maybe we'll come back here and do like uh like a sign you know we'll go over all the signs or something like that I know that's probably too much to put in this video now you were telling me that you got some of these cars off of uh just gentlemen here locally this is a you said a Cadillac limousine what what year is this one uh this is a 47 a 47. do you mind if we open up the back of it sure you could move in that thing oh my goodness let's take a look in there holy cow they got the ashtrays and lighters and that's all wood real wood oh that is what it was yeah wow a really really really neat piece and then this is a Buick of course 41 Buick yep and pretty much every GM product from 41 had this same shape Grill you know whether it was a Buick whether it was a Plymouth whether it was a Chevrolet it's also a 41 caddy down there that might be for sale even this is a Packard is this also a limousine or uh yeah 40 uh a 1940 packet 40. do these run at all or pretty much everything runs everything runs out this is the only one that wasn't driven in here it runs but yeah we didn't drive it in everything else was driven in that right there is something that we have to definitely talk about and that is a zeph so this is a 37 Lincoln Zephyr I've been looking for 39 bumpers 39 bumpers or kind of just two little beams across in here I have another car that I'm building so if you have 39 Zephyr bumpers I'm I'm your guy there get in contact with me these brackets right here are pretty pretty hard to find but this is a sedan it's not the coupe coupe's a little bit more desirable this was a local car you were selling yeah yeah just within 10 miles there 110 miles yeah these were definitely not cheap back in the day they were pretty much top of the line right yeah 12 cylinder motor in the same kind of neat yeah definitely something that I would be proud of if uh if this was my car back in 19. I know I never could have afforded one if I was around back in those days so this one looks pretty cool it's a 1940 wld this was kind of Harley's hot rod version of the 45 kind of in between a civilian bike and a race bike okay yeah this thing just had uh it looks like it's Bare Bones just go to town well it this has been kind of customized got up a little but the wld motor just had a little more horsepower compression than your standard civilian one because they were like a hot rod is there any way to tell the difference or uh yeah the civilian ones never won they never had a Magneto okay no magnetos gotcha these actually had bigger cylinders bigger thinning than a regular 45 okay it's really hard to see unless you kind of take it apart them yeah yeah okay but uh yeah visually very little you know that you can tell the difference I believe 40 or 41 was the last year they made a WL and they said they're pretty scarce these days this looks like a fun bike you could just take to the grocery store and come back oh yeah this thing will blast you around yeah I wrote a Sportster for for a year it was a bucket list thing every single day rain or shine of course I lived in Florida it was a little bit easier than here in Pennsylvania I could totally see myself riding something like oh yeah they're fun little things yeah I'm just really really cool stuff and I've noticed you got a huge tin toy collection now they make these here in America or were these made in uh Japan if they believe they made a lot of them over there right Japan Japan okay one of the old Japanese stuff and a lot of the old American marks made stuff that kind of thing and some of these can bring a lot of money yeah they can bring a lot of money too see a lot of these anymore a lot of these I got way way back in the day when you could actually find them and they were cheap you know back in the day now they're hard to find well you know back then you you might have gotten one toy for Christmas and that's all you played with so some of these to find a nice condition are very very very difficult exactly these were all just cheap little toys people be done I'm kids ruined them and they tossed them in the trash my dad was you know very very big into tin toys and growing up you know in the bathroom there was always a 10 toy magazine sitting by the toilets to breed them all and learn all about them nice nice well Dan I want to thank you for your time I want to thank you for uh teaching me and teaching our audience here at home and if you guys like this kind of content please consider subscribing to the channel if you guys like this video give us a thumbs up for Dan we might have Dan back in a future video maybe we uh go to a motorcycle event or something like that you know we you know just go there and kind of learn some more stuff I would I would love to enjoy that but you guys at home have a great day and we'll see you on the next video

Channel: Backyard Barn Finds

Views: 76,580

Keywords: harley davidson, motorcycles, bikes and beards, motorcycle in crate, motorcycle barn finds, car reviews, classic cars, vintage cars, cars, 1936 harley-davidson knucklehead, jay leno harley, jay leno knucklehead, vintage harley video, Harley, Davidson, Knucklehead, 1969 camaro, muscle cars, barn finds, barn find cars, car restoration, car build, 1969 camaro restoration, harley davidson bikes, 2023 harley davidson, harley davidson sportster s, classic motorcycles

Id: vh4rJapM4cU

Length: 23min 36sec (1416 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 12 2023