My Dad was an old school Harley man. In 1970 he sold his motorcycle and didnt get another until 1994.

He never talks much about riding, I dont think Mom wanted him to influence me. But its in the blood sometimes you know.

Anyhoo, I was talking to my aunt last July and she said he bought a bike in 1949, and a new one in 1950. That would have made it a Panhead. So Ive been combing the forums to see some pictures and some conversation starters. A history lesson, really, its a good resource for that.

Anyhoo, I was just wondering, how were these bikes to ride? Ive been looking at some pics, and they had rigid frames with coil springs in the seats for suspensions. Id be guessing that that setup is a little bouncier than the swingarm setup but I could be wrong.

You know it is just eerie how much these old bikes look like my V Star. They are so close that Im wondering if I can make the rear bag guards work on my bike. Surfing these pics has given me a head full of projects to do that I should probably leave alone, but thats all part of the fun. Maybe one day Ill find my own real classic to play with. You never know.

 

Tackdriver, I know you really meant to say that your VStar looks so much like the older bikes . That aside I can tell you that I have been riding pans since 1970. There is nothing like the older bikes be it a pan, shovel, knuckle or flathead.

The 49 and 50 were as you stated, rigid frames (wasn't until '58 that MoCo had shocks on the rear). The seat was what some refer to as a 'pogo-style' set up. The seat post was set into the down tube in the middle of the frame. There were spring adjustments in the tube to accommodate a riders weight. If you had a buddy seat there were extra external springs that were attached to the bottom of it so that they you would not bottom out with a passenger. I have to say that the solo seat (some called it the tractor seat) mounted to the pogo-style seat post is the most comfortable seat and ride I think was ever developed.

if you want to check out some more pans, log into www.hydra-glide.net website. They have a gallery section that has a lot of pan pics.

 

or head on over to www.caimag.com and see lots of stuff there. good luck.

 

Besides being a rigid, a 50 pan would have been a tank shift, foot clutch also. I found a link to some old timers riding their 1950 Pan's like modern riders ride dirt bikes. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29723 You have to give them alot of respect.

 

Riding the old bikes is a whole different mind set than riding newer bikes. "If I had to explain you wouldn't under stand" really fits the older bikes. Now that the japs understand the rice a foney is everywhere