Post #1 - Why do I have a '48 Harley?

My father, Mark Kallhoff M.D. (Motor Doctor), has had this bike forever. From what he's told me - his cousin, Andy Kallhoff, got this bike from a "dude" in Sioux Falls, SD. In exactly what shape Andy bought the bike - I'm not totally sure. And the title - yea it burned up in the dude's shop shortly after purchase...

According to my dad - the bike's engine was wild, overheating & blowing head gaskets all the time because of the high compression, nearly un-streetable because of the aggressive bump-stick. The "dude" did some decent work to the engine - but always operated with the "I'll get you by cheaply" mentality - so he stuffed some VW valve guides in the heads, sleeved the cylinders with something out of a John Deere - and God knows what else.

Meanwhile - my dad was scootin on an old Knucklehead. Somewhere - the time passed & my dad rode w/ a brother & some buddies out to California. Upon return to Minnesota - he sold the Knuckle & bought this Pan in 1976 from Andy (Andy was ready to rid himself of the Pan because it was in the shop more than on the road). My dad gathered some parts & commenced a detuning of the Pan - making it steetable. Where & when the cradle frame was chopped to allow for a +4" fork or when the bulk of the stock h/w was ditched - again - I'm not sure.

Between 1976 & ~2005, my dad rode the Pan, changed its look a couple of times, took care of basic maintenance & rode some more. Seems to me I can recall several younger days of my dad rolling about town or coming home from work on the Pan & me thinking - Jesus that bike looks goofy. My dad had attempted to make the Pan a comfortable ride with bars that curved vertically back to his seat, a big 70's chopper seat & sissy bar out back for him to setup the sleeping bag on for a backrest, a narrow windscreen & even narrower front springer fork & ginormous fat-bob gas tanks. Being naive about the heritage & age of the bike - frankly - I wanted nothing to do with that bike.

The "dudes" true craftsmanship & my dad's infrequent riding of the Pan were starting to show by 2005 with a severe backfire on deceleration, nasty vibration from the engine @ ~60mph, a good bit of oil leaking from the clutch push rod & the rear drum brake about as good at slowing the bike as putting your feet down to stop. These nuances were starting to make the Pan less of a fun ride & more of a pain in the ass or worry (fearing breaking apart). Instead of conducting a Pan revival - my dad surfed across a basket Shovel soft tail (the Pan's rigid frame was sending the wrong vibes to the ol' man's spine) in Iowa via EBay.

Gradually - he built the shovel & made it his own & it turned out to be a pretty sweet scoot w/ a S&S Shovel engine & decent rear suspension setup. The Shovel was consistently working well for him - I asked about a potential Pan revival & he approved with one stipulation - don't change it much!