Lots going on here at the Pastime headquarters. Been working like a mad man, not on my bike but in the forest. Just got back from 14 days in Oregon just south of Hood. No shower for 14 days. Sketchy fire. Me and the little lady are also making a move a couple hours north. This means I will be moving the shop, but most likely will be able to have my set-up within walking distance, which will be a big help.
Today I finally got to spend a coupla minutes with the old guy I have seen riding a '51? Pan chop around town for the past 10 years or so. The guy is a ghost. I usually just catch a quick glimpse of him heading out of town. I did catch him getting groceries on it last summer at the local grocery store, and chatted him up for a minute. He keeps to himself and was of few words, I did notice he had a THICK German accent. So today I got the chance to meet him at his place...He was fairly quiet at first, until maybe he realized I wasn't going to rip him off, and just wanted to check out his Pan. As with most guys like this I have talked to, it's hard to make it inside their lair. He was friendly though, and decided I was trustworthy. He had the Pan inside stashed away, among a couple other bikes. This bike has been his daily ride and his only mode of transportation for who knows how long. I asked why it was stashed away, and he went on to tell me he had suffered a stroke and his left foot wasn't currently cooperating. He had lost use of the whole left side of his body for a bit, but regained everything except that damn stubborn foot. He was bummed about not being able to rip around on that bike. He originally built it in 1970. He produced a photo album with a pic of the bike with a 18" over glide front end on it, the first version. He went on to explain that Peter Fonda had a 15 over on his bike, so he built his to one up him! Today the bike sits with a stock glide front end, yellow frame, sporty tank frisco mounted, carb mounted on the left side, upswept pipes, rad sissy bar, bates style solo and p-pad, flat fender, mouse trap etc. Really sweet set-up. Original frame. He went on to ask how much I thought it was worth. It was refreshing to meet someone with no internet access, no idea how much folks are getting for parts these days, just stoked on his bike still. I decided out of respect that taking any photos would be rude, and I was honest with him about how much I thought his bike was worth. He seemed satisfied with that. We chatted for a half hour more, he took down my name and phone number, I wished him good luck with the foot. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have that bike, and the fairly large amount of rare parts he had laying around. It would make me just as happy if his foot started working and he could again be in the wind on that sweet Pan. He had made it this far with the bike, it just wouldn't be right to have it end that way.
