Noot wrote:Wow . . . Great Job ! It went to a good place ! At least you didn't part it all out like dudes in (ebay)Wisconsin. Nice bike - you saved one for future generations. Now go ride the heck out of it and see what it's all about . . . -Respectfully, Noot
Thanks Noot. It is 95% the same as when the original owner bought it in 1955. After a few years of getting to know him better, he is almost 80, I have a better understanding of the story behind the bike.
Here is an "UNSOLICITED" synopsis:
1953: Bike is born as a Pepper Red K Model and delivered a motorcycle dealership in Moorhead, MN
1954-1955: Someone at the dealership, customer demo or other (unknown) blows up the engine
1955: Dealership has access to a 55 KHK motor and replaces it into the K Model rolling chassis
1955: Bike is sold to first owner "Peter"
1968: Bike is in a barn fire, but saved with paint and wiring being melted
1968: Peter's brother paints it green after he had permission to fix it up; Peter was NOT happy with the color
1978: Bike front cylinder is losing compression and Peter put it in his barn/shed where it remained until I found it; I had hunted his farm 10+ years without seeing it
2013: I discover the bike when Peter was showing me an old car; buy it, after months of discussions, thinking it was a K Model (discovered the KHK engine a few days later)
2014: Brought it to a builder, who I caught ripping me off for over $2K; pulled bike
2014: Brought to another builder to restore engine
2017: Builder was terribly slow and completely lacked motivation to work on it because it was "so hard to find parts" so I pulled it
2018: I worked on bike for several months, estimated 500 hours or more, and got first "rough draft" finished in May (won a bike show). Then i finished off a bunch of little things that bothered me and I entered in second show on Sept 28. It won 2nd, but lost to a 63 Panhead built by a seasoned bike builder who all newly chromed and 100% original parts...just flawless bike I predicted would win.
2019: That will be my riding year for this baby as I am already working on another project now...a 1965 Ducati Monza