Make: HARLEY-DAVIDSON
Registration: JGW 355
Engine Size (cc): 750
Year of Manufacture: 1947
Date First Registered: 16/07/1947
MOT Expiry Date: 31/07/2025
Current V5: YES
Location: PICKERING
Guide Price: SUMBIT BEST BID
You can view from: Tuesday 27 August - Tuesday 3 September 2024

Current V5 present. Paperwork includes previous V5, MOT certificates and an old tax disc.

The vendor has provided the following:

The vendor of this 1943 Harley Davidson WLA is the Bangers & Cash Restoring Classics team. They write:

We bought this piece of history in February 2024 from Mathewsons. It had a hammer price of £15,000 and was officially the most expensive bike we’ve ever bought. Thanks to the hefty price tag we knew it was special, though perhaps didn’t realise quite how special.

We transported the bike into the depths of London where Karen Neil and her team at Zenith Motorcycles were very excitedly awaiting our, or perhaps more accurately, the Harley’s arrival. The auction sheet listed it as being manufactured in 1947 - however Karen and her team were confident it was older than this - something known as a ‘42’ or ‘The Liberator’. The engine number confirms this is indeed a 42WLA.

These bikes were produced for the US Army and their allies during WW2 and were manufactured in their thousands between September 1941 and August 1945. However, every machine delivered between ‘42-’45 would receive the 42WLA engine number. Experts have told us ours would’ve left the factory around late February/early March 1943.

Due to its historical significance we did not want to give this old soldier a complete restoration - making it pretty and shiny was not on our agenda. We asked the team of Harley Davidson enthusiasts at Zenith to get the bike running and take it back to something as original as possible - this included removing any military unit markings which we’d discovered to be incorrect.

Work completed (but not limited to):

• Carbs have been overhauled
• New clutch?
• New engine gasket set
• New battery box cover
• Seat
• leather panniers
• valve tappet adjusters
• oil pipes
• rebore cylinders
• replace valve seats & guides
• replace valves
• replace pistons
• Repair outlet to carb tubes
• Rust treatment/removal and painted (to look of its age)
• Dash Plate Mounting, instrument panel cover plate
• Spark plug champion x4, point set braker, condenser, caution plate, fuel tank shut off valve
• R/H mirror exhaust and exhaust silencer
• Battery
• 530 chain & split link

The bike now has a clean MOT until July 2025.

Please Note: We take great pride in restoring our vehicles but they are classics and will no doubt have imperfections. Please do your own checks before bidding.