1963 Pan Head

[JohnnyBiker2]

After seeing the pictures it looks like a lot of thought went into this bike. I have 2 questions, 1. How much is he asking for it? 2. How did it sound when it was cranked up?

HMMM, it would probably ride OK, but it has been lets say modified instead of butchered IMO, how much and does it start in 2-3 kicks?

Yes I agree that there was some thought put into the bike. It sounded really strong when it fired up, I was really impressed with that. One thing that I thought to be really different was how the pipes mounted to the head, have never seen that before. No, this bike did not start up in two to three cranks, it sounded like there was some engine work done and there was a lot of compression. a difficult to start, but it was an older person who was starting it. As far as price goes, they are asking 15k

 

[Jack Klarich]

Yes I agree that there was some thought put into the bike. It sounded really strong when it fired up, I was really impressed with that. One thing that I thought to be really different was how the pipes mounted to the head, have never seen that before. No, this bike did not start up in two to three cranks, it sounded like there was some engine work done and there was a lot of compression. a difficult to start, but it was an older person who was starting it. As far as price goes, they are asking 15k

Panheads had a spigot the pipes slid up on, lots of times they would break the spigots, bad trouble then, IMO that is a lot of dough for that bike, if it was a bit more model year correct part wise it would be a great score, JMO

 

[JohnnyBiker2]

Panheads had a spigot the pipes slid up on, lots of times they would break the spigots, bad trouble then, IMO that is a lot of dough for that bike, if it was a bit more model year correct part wise it would be a great score, JMO

I agree! I think that I would only pay 8k for it. The salesman did say that I could offer anything on it as it would not insult him. I really liked the overall place of where it was sitting. From what you could see, what would offer? BTW, will these people in Elk river know who you are JK?

 

[Jack Klarich]

I agree! I think that I would only pay 8k for it. The salesman did say that I could offer anything on it as it would not insult him. I really liked the overall place of where it was sitting. From what you could see, what would offer? BTW, will these people in Elk river know who you are JK?

Been a lot of years they have moved several times, probably not, the last time I saw them was @ the Spring Lake Park Shop they had must have been 15 years now, But if Rob and Bug are still there they are great people and know old bikes

 

[JohnnyBiker2]

Cool, come Monday I will give these guys a call and see what they have to say. What do you think about the price that I would offer?

 

[NEWHD74FAN]

Here is a photo of a buddies pan head.. 60 i believe but the motor is a 59, he says the only thing not stock is the front disk because he wanted it to stop when he wanted to.

Tale of two stories and two types of builds...1) Ridable classic



and 2) Modified custom street rod...BOTH very tasty machines to be sure for their respective genre.



Looks like someone has a choice to make and in either case condition and ridability are KEY!

 

[Crocker]

Ok so been reading here and was waiting to see the pictures and I would like to offer some info, first and most important concerning this kind of purchase is that most of the value in the serial Numbers real HD, when it come to old Iron there is a lot of fake and stolen stuff out there so you must varify that the serial number is a good number real HD and matching is better ,there is a lot of restamping going on , so beware ., Now if that checks out this is where you really have to be sure that you want this bike because what will happen is that you will go one way or the other ,going stock oem or custom , if you are leaning more to the custom side then its worth the shot but if you are looking for oem then I worn you might be spending a lot of money and time going that route with finding oem Parts. But what you need to do is educate your self , I suggest getting the Palmer book on panheads it is the book most resto guys use it will give you all the info you need and then you will be able too make a educated guess on what is real and what repop or from another year pan .Now the good new is in 62 HD started keeping better records and started stamping frames on the left of the neck It is not a serial number its a number all its own but you can take the serial number and the frame number and contact HD and they will tell you if that engine serial number was fitted to that frame .this was a theft code they instatuted in 62 then was changed in 70 where the serial number was also put in to the frame, I dont want to get to long windied here but if you want to PM me I will explain how you can tell a good serial number from a bad one , if you can get a picture of the serial number that would be better .there is so much to consider when doing a purchase like this

 

[lorne]

Very nicely done brings back memories


Jack

he wants me to take it off his hands i am thinking very strongly about it. but looks like a lot of work but the price is really right comes with a 96 softail coustom for the price the pan heads are going for up here... yea its in venezuela.

 

[JohnnyBiker2]

Ok so been reading here and was waiting to see the pictures and I would like to offer some info, first and most important concerning this kind of purchase is that most of the value in the serial Numbers real HD, when it come to old Iron there is a lot of fake and stolen stuff out there so you must varify that the serial number is a good number real HD and matching is better ,there is a lot of restamping going on , so beware ., Now if that checks out this is where you really have to be sure that you want this bike because what will happen is that you will go one way or the other ,going stock oem or custom , if you are leaning more to the custom side then its worth the shot but if you are looking for oem then I worn you might be spending a lot of money and time going that route with finding oem Parts. But what you need to do is educate your self , I suggest getting the Palmer book on panheads it is the book most resto guys use it will give you all the info you need and then you will be able too make a educated guess on what is real and what repop or from another year pan .Now the good new is in 62 HD started keeping better records and started stamping frames on the left of the neck It is not a serial number its a number all its own but you can take the serial number and the frame number and contact HD and they will tell you if that engine serial number was fitted to that frame .this was a theft code they instatuted in 62 then was changed in 70 where the serial number was also put in to the frame, I dont want to get to long windied here but if you want to PM me I will explain how you can tell a good serial number from a bad one , if you can get a picture of the serial number that would be better .there is so much to consider when doing a purchase like this

Educating myself is one reason why I put this on the forum. There are things that I have looked at already to see if this is a legit bike. One of the area's that I looked at was on the left side of the case there was a serial number there as I was it should be. The sequence started out with 63fl than was followed by some more digits. I completely agree that this is not going to be a quick process as to determine the authenticity of this bike. I will call the place where the bike is and request the numbers of the frame and motor and call HD. Ihave called them before on a different bike, they are easy to deal with.

 

[Crocker]

ther are many factors in making sure the searial numbers are correct , here are a few the first 2 numbers( 63 build year) but the six should have a staight back and not look like this 6 but it is ok if one of the last 4 digits have a round back six like this 6 , the number one always has a foot on the bottom like this1 and also the number four should have a foot at the bottom and a open top not closed like this 4 if the embosed area where the serial number is stamped is smooth and does not conform with the pitting like of the rest of the case RED FLAG , there are belly numbers on each case under the motor a 1963 build date case should start with (163) and it is ok to see a round back six like this 6 on the belly number,Soo you see you really need to look at these numbers with your eyes and get yourself familar with real Hd stampings so you can tell real from fake another thing if they are repop cases ther will be no belly numbers on that particular case but if it was done by a HD dealer there will be stampings of a replacement part on the case but I wont get to long winded here , what you have to relize is how many of these bike got stolen over the years and where parted out and I have personal knowledge of people having there bike confiscated and or returned to ther original owners ther have been guys who dump thousands in to a bike and loose it all or end up having to recoop the original owner.also red flags on salvage titled bikes title must be clean . there is a lot of homework that should be done when buying a vintage bike.