World's Finest Original Paint 1940 Harley-Davidson EL

Benchmark Bid

To say this 1940 EL is the color of money is a pretty accurate description. In 2014, 'Greenie' was auctioned for $159,000, making it the priciest EL sold to date. The record was short-lived — just forty-eight hours later a 1936 EL set a new benchmark. Looking to reclaim the title, 'Greenie' is rolling back to Mecum's Las Vegas auction in late January 2020.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

Hollywood Green

The unrestored 1940 EL still sports its original 'Hollywood Green' livery. The color has been contentious in the past. The good condition eighty-year-old paint is not a stock color, rather a custom order applied at the factory. Research has shown that Harley-Davidson offered DuPont paint options from 1926 onward. In addition, nickel plating was ordered instead of chrome.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Original Machine

The 1940 EL may have set a sales record, but it also changed attitudes. It was revealed that ordering a factory 'custom' was the norm until 1942 — a 'catalog standard' was the exception. Greenie's provenance redirected the conversation about period-correct restorations. Previous to the paint revelation, the Antique Motorcycle Club of America insisted machines needed to be restored as-per-catalog to be correct.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Odd Features

Due to postwar shortages, the trend of ordering a factory 'custom' only resumed in 1948. Evidence shows that factory build orders would often contain notes indicating the unavailability of select items such as chrome exhausts. The shortages also meant that some Harley-Davidsons had odd features such as a mix of painted and chromed wheel rims, mismatched fender straps and strange S-shaped brake rods.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Trade In Value

Greenie's contemporary story begins in 1971, when the EL was traded in on a new XLCH Sportster at Wayne 'Pappy' Pierce's Harley-Davidson dealership in DeKalb, Illinois. At the time a 1971 XLCH was about $2000 — about six times as much today with inflation. Pierce must have recognized the potential value of the EL. Instead of selling it, he added the Knucklehead to his growing motorcycle collection.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Untouchable Collection

Pierce passed away at age eighty-seven in 2008. Part of his collection, including Greenie, was eventually sold at auction in 2014. Among the offerings was a first-year Sportster believed to be the 10th XL produced in 1957, an unrestored 1947 EL with period aftermarket accessories, and a 1933 VLE Chicago police bike that appeared in the 1987 Academy Award-nominated gangster movie: The Untouchables.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Backbone History

Pierce started his shop in the 1950s in a one-room tin shed. In business for fifty-five years, Pierce Harley-Davidson was considered to be one of the last 'Mom & Pop' dealerships that formed the backbone of motorcycling in America. His dedication to preserving the brand's history, and his understanding of its importance, has had a far-reaching effect.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

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Motorcycle Scholarship

Greenie goes up for auction with no reserve. While the 1940 EL is out of reach for most, it has been an invaluable window into the past. The commitment of the current owner to prove its provenance has been an impactful landmark of motorcycle scholarship. Greenie, with its custom order paint, has already set benchmarks and is bound to do so again.

Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

>>Join the conversation about this old school EL Knucklehead right here in the Ford Trucks Forum!

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