100 Year Old Harley Rider's Special Birthday

Here's another one about my grampa. I used to walk in the back door of his shop, and it was like a portal stepping back into the 1800's. All the equipment was driven off overhead leather belts and one big motor. He would let me work the bellows to get his forge red-hot, and tell me stories while he smoked his stogies and worked.

Once, he told me how he whipped the kid who had a hot-rod Indian in a race down Main Street. Grampa was well liked by everyone except for this "kid". That was the time when a mean rivalry existed between H-D and Indian, and competition was fierce.

That Indian was a stripped bobber set-up like a racer. But grampa knew his old WL was faster because of all the home-made parts he built, and because it had a Dell Orto carb he found in the junkyard off some wrecked sports car. He made a special cast intake manifold for it, and opened up the head ports a little and who knows what else. Like I said, Grampa was a genius.

Well, he was riding home for "dinner" (lunch) when the Indian kid roared past him and shouted something not very nice (gramps words). Grampa gave chase and blew past him in a cloud of dust, causing the kid to lose it by the RR track crossing.

Grampa went back and helped the kid pick up his broken bike, and even fixed it for him so he could get home. Grampa said "Some days you get your dinner free, and some days you don't eat". Who could not love a guy like that?

Cool GRANDPA! Wish mine lived loger so I would know em.

Two great stories ... Man, when you got stuff like that to remember about family you are a lucky man ... Good Stuff!

Thanks Alex. Great story!