Others however will be thinking 'Phwooaarr, that's what I call a motorcycle! It's obviously well used and well looked after.'

Why? Because there is definitely more than one school of thought when faced with a venerable machine like Ginge's old Pan. One or two of these schools, like any other form of philosophic, academic or religious thinking can actually degenerate into that 'We're right, why can't everyone else see how wrong they are' dogma which is not too far removed from 'Burn the heretics'. And sometimes you get the feeling that if they felt they could, they would.

One school argues vehemently that such an important piece of classic Americana should be painstaking restored to its original showroom spec. While others take reverence one step further and insist that while the machine should of course be totally original, each component should be polished and preened beyond perfect. Yet others, more lenient perhaps at first sight, suggest quite rightly that an owner in 1950 most likely would not have kept his or her machine standard then. So it is in keeping, nay, practically essential that the machine, as an important historical document, should be customised as it would have been then, with (and only with) those contemporary custom goodies that were available then. And preferably of course, with official goodies from the relevant Parts and Accessories catalogue.

Mmm, fair points. So yeah, if there's an example of each school of thought's Pan in a museum somewhere, well okay, fair enough. I suppose.

Because the trouble with any of these arguments, at least in my opinion, is that none of them seem to actually view these machines as living, breathing motorcycles in 2002. If they're not dead why kill them, stuff them and put them on display. But see, I'm starting to preach now. And there's also a danger that I could be seen to be trying to defend the fact that this Pan isn't all shiny and restored, I'm not. And neither, much more importantly, would Ginge.

Because as far as I can tell (and I do know Ginge pretty well - he's a mate and we go way back) Ginge is totally oblivious to any of these arguments. He has owned this motorcycle for ages: he bought it to ride it, it's on the road and it's still evolving, as any serious road bike does. His Pan is designed to be ridden and it is. Last year he rode the machine through France for instance, covering over 600 trouble free miles in just a few days. He doesn't pretend that he rode it particularly hard, that's not the way he rides the Pan anyway - he has a Hinckley Triumph for that - the Pan is built for club runs, high-days and holidays, to cover distance comfortably and fairly sedately. As Ginge points out, what's the point of going somewhere new if you're going too fast to enjoy the view? And who amongst us wouldn't want to ride his Pan? Imagine it burbling happily away all day at a steady 50/55mph through lush French countryside on open, well made roads stretching to the horizon and pulling over in some sun-struck village for a crisp golden bagette, paté de maison and a carafe of rich red wine?

… what d'ya mean y'don't like paté?

Many custom bikes are stylistically static; by which I mean once built they are rarely changed while on the road, but then are usually quite radically altered again once they are sold and/or taken off the road for a winter re-build and re-style. Ginge's Pan though isn't designed to be a show-stopper, it stays on the road as much as possible and changes are made gradually, as pocket, taste or practicality determine. While most cycle parts are Harley, many are not contemporary with the age of the engine and are chosen as much, if not more so, for personal comfort as an aesthetically pleasing addition.

The front footboards for instance were finally bolted on for purely comfort reasons, Ginge didn't actually like them previously, but after riding with them and discovering how comfortable they were, the boards stayed on. It's not like they look out of place now either. Like wise the Fat Boy handlebars, which went on after finally getting over his huge Apehanger fetish. Again the 'bars are comfortable, practical and almost as a convenient afterthought look dead right too.

Interestingly the bike is a hell of a lot more 'standard' than would first appear. The motor, or at least, its component parts, are still much as Milwaukee intended 52 years ago, but that's as much down to Ginge's uncanny ability with a spanner as it is to Harley-Davidson's. He knows the engine backwards, re-builds it for fun and constantly stays on top of it. When the gearbox literally split into two halves, Ginge fixed it. Most people would have immediately sought help - be it mechanical or psychiatric, but Ginge just shrugged and got on with it.

But he has an affinity with metal - how many people keep a self-made forge in their girlfriend's back garden? Or indeed, have made her a perfect steel and brass replica of the fantastic Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton Hoo for her birthday because he couldn't think of anything to buy her? Not that many.

Some 'performance' modifications have been made to the motor, it features solid lifters now for instance and the original 1950 61ci/1000cc barrels have been replaced by 74ci/1200cc barrels.

So although the original motor dates back to 1950, both the top end and the bottom end have evolved over time out of the original spec. For instance, Ginge's gearbox clearly is a foot change, but Harley-Davidson didn't offer a foot change option on Pans until 1952, until then all EL Hydra-Glides had been hand shift only - and 1952 saw the end of the line for the 61 cube "EL". So too the 74ci/1200cc "FL" top end on Ginge's Pan, but as with any working motorcycle, modifications happen naturally to improve them or just to keep them on the road … and an awful lot can happen in 52 years. Drawing comparisons between Ginge's Pan as it is now and how it rolled off the production line is an academic exercise, albeit fairly interesting, but pretty pointless if truth be told. At the end of the day it's a nice motorcycle, full stop.

Never one to be afraid of trying something new to see what happens, the thing that bugs Ginge the most at the moment is the paintwork - something else he also does himself and usually to a very fine standard. However the polyester powder paint, which worked so successfully on the Wishbone frame, creating a rock hard and attractive finish, reacted to the petrol tank (or something) and bubbled up and flaked off of the right hand tank. Shouldn't be two long before it bugs him enough to strip it off and try something else though. What he's dead chuffed about at the moment is the tool box, hanging pannier like off of the left hand side- an army surplus ammo box which cost him four quid. All I know, is if I'd bought an un-painted army surplus ammo box for four quid to use as a tool box on any Harley classic or no, it would've looked shite. Why Ginge's looks just right is totally beyond me, but it just does.

During his latest French adventure he spotted a local Springer Softail which had been painted black … all over. He reckoned for an idea so simple yet almost staggeringly bold it looked the absolute business - Ginge was especially struck by the all-black springer front end. I'd guess that copy-cat modification to his own springers isn't that far off, if he hasn't done it already. A sort of original version of the FXSTSB "Bad Boy".

More than most, this feature is a snapshot of the Pan as it is now - or at least as it was in November 2001 when I travelled down to Somerset on the West Coast of England to photograph it. It will almost certainly have been altered by the time you read this, it'll probably be a subtle change, but that's evolution at work. Right back to 1950, when the Pan's first owner perused the options list, the EL became non-standard. Over time the motorcycle has been altered time and time again to each new owners personal taste and requirement. The process didn't stop when Ginge bought it, and his Pan will certainly continue to evolve for at least as long as he owns it.

Specifications

Owner:	Ginge
Make & Year:	1950 Harley-Davidson EL Hydra Glide Panhead
Engine:	1950 EL (61ci) with FL (74ci) top end, solid lifters and "crap" cam, 4-speed ratchet lid 'box, "mousetrap" clutch, primary belt drive conversion
Carb:	SU - original featuring an air filter but it fell off.
Ignition:	Stock
Exhaust:	Stainless Shotgun straight through 'pipes, not silenced but a lot better than just bearable. By Phill.
Frame:	Stock Harley-Davidson "Wishbone"
Forks:	V-Twin manufacturing 2-inch over Springers
Rear suspension:	"Ha!"
Front Wheel:	21-inch
Front Brake:	Original drum - "crap"
Rear Wheel:	Harley hub laced to 4-inch wide, 16-inch rim. 130 tyre
Rear Brake:	Original drum - "good"
Handlebars:	FatBoy on dogbone risers
Footrests:	All stock H-D but not necessarily 1950's Panhead
Controls:	Fairly stock.
Seat:	"black"
Mudguards:	Front: "what?", rear: flat
Petrol Tank:	Twin 3.5 gallon Fat Bobs
Oil Tank:	Horseshoe
Paint:	Owner
Chrome:	"Coming off!"
Polishing:	Owner
Wiring:	6-volt
Lights:	Front: Bates; rear: Diamond
Engineering:	Owner, with help from Phill.
Other details:	Several sissybars: all stainless and easily interchangeable depending on where he's going and whether he's taking someone. Tool box: an ammo box 'Best £4 I ever spent.'