What a great day we had riding out of Forest Knolls from Hatt’s Motorcycle shop to Point Reyes Station, where we stopped to do a photoshoot of this killer 1943 Knucklehead. During the shoot, Terri asked Bret if he had given this bike a name. He replied - ‘Jezebel’ -you know…Tinkerbell’s older sister. Now, you know! Not only is this a very cool old Knucklehead, but it’s a very rare one. Come to find out there were only 53 of this model ever built by Harley. Jezebel happens to have been rolled out as #52 of the 53 built.
I have to admit, it was very cool to watch this bike and another bike that Bret had been working on a 1949 EL Panhead, rolling down the road in front of us. It was like a blast from the past. As we rode behind Bret’s bike, you could hear the distinctive sound of that 1943 Knucklehead with a 68 ci displacement and custom built Megaphone pipes cranking down the road. Bret did a flawless job of handling the tank shifter and foot clutch as it operated the 4 speed tranny through Marin County’s hilly coastal terrain. I could not help but wonder how long it would take me to master that setup. The springer front end was doing its best to soak up the bumps, but this is a ridged frame motorcycle and you could see the bike transfer the bumps straight to its passengers. With the exception of the pipes and the 12 inch rusty ape hanger handlebars, this Knuckle is pretty much like it was when it rolled out of the Harley-Davidson shop in 1943. Thank you to Bret of Hatt’s Motorcycle for the opportunity to share this fine piece of motorcycle history with our readers.
UPDATE: Bret Hatt 2/14/59 - 6/6/20 Ride in Paradise
