Vintage Antique 1940 Harley Davidson "Knucklehead" s/n 40FL2498 NO RESERVE!

Description

My Dad competed in “Class C” events with/for Harley Davidson. Dad – Wayne Lyle Cody of Council Bluffs, A – competed in many of the local & regional hill-climbs and some flat-track events in the late 1940's and early 1950's. He won a couple of State of Iowa Hill-Climb Championships and also competed in the 1949 AMA National Climb in Dubuque, A, here he placed 7th.

Dad passed away in March of 2014 at the age of 90. Dad was kind of a hoarder/pack-rat (an understatement really), ut I knew that he STILL HAD his bikes. His old bikes are: a 1946 "WR" (eBay listing #131619841702), 1929 45 cu.in. "side-valve/flathead" (eBay listing #131621204018), nd a 1940 74 cu.in. "knuckle" - THIS LISTING.

I also found a lot of Dad's old riding memorabilia… including his Harley Davidson racing jersey, is helmet, eathers, LASS-LENS goggles, iding "kidney" belt, tc. along with a number of his trophies.

I'll be selling most of it over the next week or so, o click on the "See other items" in the Seller's Information box that is located in the upper right-hand side of the listing. CHECK OFTEN!

THIS AUCTION IS FOR THE 1940 HARLEY DAVIDSON “40FL2498” HILL CLIMBER

(CHECK OUT SIMILAR AUCTIONS FOR THE OTHER TWO BIKES, ND MEMORABILIA, ND MISCELLANEOUS PARTS, o be posted over the next week or so!)

While the bikes have not seen the light of day for 50+ years, adly, hey can’t say the same about the "(rain/snow) water"! Dad's garage hasn't had a good roof on it for a number of years, o the "weather" has taken a toll on the bikes. Even though they were "inside", ou could see almost as much daylight through the garage roof, s there was roof.

The bikes are far from their conditions when last parked. In fact, he predominant “color” is RUST… Here are photo links to the 1940 “Knuckle”:

1940 Harley Davidson S/N: 40FL2498

1940 SLIDESHOW

1940 PICTURES

I'm FAR from being knowledgeable about this bike/these bikes!!!! Below, am sharing with you what OTHERS have told me. They could be wrong… but more than likely, hey're right (or conflicting). I am trying to present this bike (and all of the bikes/stuff) as accurately and as honestly as I can… but "what you see is what you get".

I have received a mix of information regarding the bikes and their “accuracy”; here is what has been said about THIS BIKE, he 1940 Harley Davidson S/N: 40FL2498:

… yes, he left side of the knuckle (crankcase) HAS BEEN repaired. (Look at pictures CLOSELY!)

I've had a couple of local "experts" (at least compared to me!) check out the bikes… 1) THEY SAY that the serial numbers on the case of the '40 Knuckle has been "stamped" in, nd are not the original Harley stampings. They ALSO say that HD didn't make a 74 cu.in. "FL" bike in 1940… but that it was built as an EL 61 cu.in. But they said that many took the 74 cu.in. cylinders off of a '41 (or later) model and put on the '40.

They THINK that Dad did that – and then to be legal for competition in those days – Dad re-stamped the housing with the "40" and kept the accurate serial NUMBER, ut changed the model designation to the "FL" to reflect the increased displacement. They checked the number on the BOTTOM of the casing, nd that seems to bear out that it WAS originally a '40, 1 cu.in. EL model.

Also of note…

* While no attempt has been made to START the bike, he motor DOES turn over (via the kick-starter.

* The bike has been converted to run via a magneto. I found the original installation instructions and it will be included with the bike – see pictures. (Note the “W. G. Davidson ‘stamp’ on the back of document!)

* There seems to be a lot of interest in this bike… to possible restore it to its “competitive” condition, nd even possibly to make a display from/of it. In that regard, his auction will also include Dad’s (Clymer) helmet (no size – guessing about a 7 ), is black & white Harley Davidson jersey (guessing a size medium), is leathers – jacket (probably a small or medium) & pants (about a 30” waist), hree number plates, nd one trophy (Iowa State 1954).

Again, 'm FAR from being knowledgeable about this bike/these bikes!!!! I am sharing with you what OTHERS have told me. They could be wrong… but more than likely, hey're right (or even conflicting). I am trying to present this bike (and all of the bikes/stuff) as accurately and as honestly as I can… but "what you see is what you get".

If you have ANY QUESTIONS or would like additional/different angle/close-up pictures, lease ask BEFORE BIDDING!!

Everything is sold "AS-IS" with NO warranty/guarantee inferred or implied!

Also published at eBay.com