No matter what you're into, every interest group has that guy (or girl).
You know the one. They're the person to whom everyone brings their questions/problems/concerns/cool stuff related to that interest group, well before they bring them anywhere else. They're the first phone call about the weird XXXX thing they found in Grandma's basement or the YYYY thing they found in Uncle Steve's shed.
We can't say this with absolute certainty, but we're pretty sure that Matt Walksler, who runs the Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, is probably that guy for a lot of Harley-Davidson folks.
There's a very good reason for him to be. The man is a walking, talking knowledge base of arcane wisdom about the intricacies and quirks of multiple different models throughout the Motor Company's storied existence.
Nowhere is that more evident than in this video, where he takes us along on a dive into not one but two rare vintage Harleys.
The first is a 1955 Harley-Davidson Panhead sidecar rig. It has a ton of original parts, as well as plenty of OEM accessories. In fact, many of the OG parts are in boxes that came along with the purchase, because they were displaced when the accessories were installed. They counted a total of 16 accessory lights currently installed on the thing when they picked it up.
The second one is a 1914 Harley-Davidson twin, and it's a bike with a one-year-only two-speed shift mechanism on it. Now, since Walksler grew up in the vintage bike business and learned alongside his dad, this isn't his first time encountering a lot of the things we see in this video.
Because he's so enthusiastic and knowledgeable, though, he's able to walk us through the salient points about both bikes. And he's also able to point out when something completely new to him comes up, like the rear axle shift mechanism on that 1914 twin. Although Walksler has restored 1914 bikes before, he's never had that particular assembly apart before.
Just as Matt Walksler learned from his dad, he now has his eight-year-old daughter in the shop serving as an apprentice. She helps out with the 1914 machine, and the plan is for her and her sister to go riding in the 1955 Panhead sidecar hack if her dad can get it up and running. It'll be the new family fun machine if all the pieces fall into place. I'm not crying; you're crying at how sweet it is.
