This young man of 23 years is without any doubt one of the best Harley Davidson mechanics in Germany.
By age 12, his favorite after school activity was fixing the mopeds of older kids and the lawnmowers of the teachers. After many hours of restoring old motorcycles with his dad and his older brother and three years of vocational training at GM, he graduated top of his class. Since GM was not doing well, not a single one of the kids was given a permanent job - the top graduates were offered part time, on call car detailing work. He eventually took a job at a nearby Harley Davidson shop.
A little over a year ago, he brought home his latest find from a Saturday trip into hill country.
He held up a rusty frame and pointed to two boxes of miscellaneous, equally rusty parts, including an engine, and announced: my new Harley.
We did not follow the history of the bike in all detail, but it was a "Wxx" motorcycle from 1941, out of British Army inventory.
Once or twice in the year and a half, we saw it take shape in the well equipped basement workshop of his parents' house. He had decided to go for the civilian color scheme, which honestly, is much more glamorous.
This weekend, we saw the fully restored motorcyle on the road for the first time. All paperwork done, stringent German inspection passed, fully street legal, registered with, as luck would have it, a new retro license plate.
What a shame nobody had a camera or a cell phone on them. We'll get a photo as soon as possible.
It looks and runs as if it came out of the factory yesterday.
We decided to make him a consultant. For a reasonable fee, of course -- or just for the fun of it, he will decide case by case. Drop us a mail, and be patient.
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