How About A Harley For $35?
I can’t say for sure but I suspect the $35 Harleys were similar to this one.
I’ve spent a good bit of time now talking with Rick Steele, not just about the history of his business, Steele’s Cycles, but rambling across the history and memories of the motorcycle community in Denver. Several things Rick has mentioned brought back memories to me that had been long buried.
We talked about the D.U.M.P., Denver Used Motorcycle Parts, which used to be just east of downtown. That was the shop I went to when I first started riding. My first leather jacket came from there as did my riding gloves, the visor for my first helmet, and the windshield for my 1980 Honda CB750 Custom. Other stuff, too. It was always fun to watch people’s faces when I would say, “Oh yeah, I got this at the DUMP.”
We talked about the fire that devastated the old Fay Myers location on West Alameda. Steele’s bought all those burned bikes and then had two days to get them out. Rick said it was the city’s parking requirements that made it impossible for them to rebuild on that site and so Fay Myers moved to its current location on East Arapahoe. I had forgotten all about that fire.
The real memory jolt, though, was when Rick mentioned the $35 Harleys. Oh yeah, I remember that!
There was a point, years ago, when the government was looking to clear out a lot of old World War II gear. Amongst all this was a large number of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that had been purchased for the war effort but were never needed. They sat in crates, disassembled, brand new. The decision was made to unload them. The price they put on these bikes was $35.
I heard about these bikes back in the day. At that point in my life I had never owned a motorcycle but I had wanted one for years. A $35 Harley was truly a temptation.
I was totally unprepared to do anything with one if I bought it though. I had nowhere to haul it to to take it out of the crate and assemble it. I had no experience at all in the kind of effort it would require to assemble it. And I had never ridden a bike bigger than a 250; I had serious doubts about my ability to handle something a lot bigger. Oh, but the temptation!
Needless to say, I did not take advantage of the opportunity. Then over the years the memory faded and I forgot all about it. And then Rick brought it up. Oh yeah, I remember that! I do remember that!
Biker Quote for Today
This bike will pay for itself with the great gas mileage!
