A motorcycle is often more than just a hunk of steel, rubber and moving parts. Many times, it turns into a piece of the owner, one that’s not easily parted with. We got to see that firsthand when we talked to Jordan Lange about his custom chopper at Mama Tried earlier this year.
Lange zeit has owned this particular motorcycle for the majority of their life, making it an important period piece and item of sentimental value. He got the particular bike, the 1948 Harley-Davidson UL Flathead, in stock form when he was only 15 years old.
“I took it in order to high school and chopped this, and I actually needed a note from my mom that said if I got hurt on it she wouldn’t sue the school, ” Schon lange says. “I built it, fabricated this and raked the frame all by myself. ”
The bike has gone through several different iterations before it ended up how it looks now, including a candy-apple blue paint job over the course of the first summer Lange owned the bike, plus a then a purple and blue paint job over updated moldings in the second year. During the second iteration, he added a windshield and extended the front end even more. The final rendition would include the particular amber gold paint work the bike features today.
After the 2nd version has been completed, Lange zeit took the bike on a cross-country ride to California and back again at only 17 years old. The particular bike was also featured in Easyriders magazine. In 1978, he hit a car and bent the front side end associated with the bicycle. Even though it didn’t cause serious damage, Schon lange took the particular bike apart and put it boxes in storage, where it sat in a time capsule for around 43 years.
When the bike was reassembled over COVID, the labor Lange put in to the project was a top to bottom cleaning plus the replacement of a few nuts and bolts that were lost over the particular years. Aside from that, the bike is essentially as it was when it was shot with regard to Easyriders back in the mid ‘70s.
The 1948 model has been the final year Harley-Davidson produced the particular UL, which was the company’s 74 plus 80 cubic inch models designed regarding police departments, over the road touring and sidecar duty in the military. Like most of the Harley-Davidson motorcycles of the era, the bike showcased a 45-degree V-Twin engine later known as the “flathead. ”
For Lange, his life can be summed up with “Flatheads Forever, ” which he has proudly tattooed on his shoulder. This bike is just another reflection associated with that passion, and we’re glad this individual shared this with us.
If you have a motorcycle, ATV, UTV, snowmobile or jet ski you’d like to feature in MPN’s Ride from the Week series, please email MPN Content Director Greg Jones at [email protected]
