My 1st Harley was a 1959 xlch 900cc right shift distributor with spring (for advancing timing from a retarded position to start it up) voltage regulator dry clutch (that didn’t stay dry for more than 3 months) sidefloat linkert carb (that caused a severe fire once and completely burned [parked 100 ft from a lake, the keg was closer but wouldn’t pour fast enough to slow the pace of the fire, smothering just burnt my beloved floppy jean hat up and only had shorty gloves and no coat due to 95 degree temp day] all thanks to gasahol debut and carb drip ignited by an engine backfire while kicking to start, which the carb only dripped when on the kickstand hence a lean then a bike shaking during a kick disturbed the float level allowing the tiny amount of extra fuel into the bowl that most of would exit through the overflow tube but flooding elsewhere and a timing overlap cough pushed the gas out instead of sucking it all in and happening when the plug ignites cause the flame to shoot out of the air cleaner and igniting area vapor from previous drip(s) then also lights current drip which takes the flame to the engine case where a couple drips have landed are still gasahol minus some light ends making the fuel on the engine heavier and slower burning as in less explosion and there is some reserve to burn off due to porous unpolished state of the engine cases spongeing up fuel that’s not suppose to be there or be lit by the occasional backfire. The firefighting aids in area were of no help. 200 hundred feet total for each 16oz cup of lake water times 30+ people but 26 didn’t even know about a fire yet and the beer cup rate slower than the 200 feet plus only a weed here and there amongst all rocks for any smothering dirt then only a jean hat and a couple cotton shirts weren’t efficient enough to slow the spreading growing flames to carb air cleaner and gas line where it went crazy and pushed us back to basically only spitting at the Harley bon fire. Sad day for me as i loved that bike. Hard to watch for sure, and was like 2 hrs until cool enough to push to a friend’s where safe til I could pick it up. Ironically when the date came to me I realized exactly 1 year earlier the house I was renting had burned and fire/police still there when I got home, it was June 9, 1979, and the same day in 1980 when the bike fire happened. Many stories were made with that bike, but for another time. Heck only 3 weeks earlier on May 18, 1980, a Sunday I was returning from Cour’delane Idaho on it not knowing Mt. St. Helens had blown that morning! I hit the wall of ash just before Ritzville then ran into a van at 5mph cuz couldn’t see anything but the guy took me and it for a 3 day stay there then dropped me in Everett where I called to be picked up due to the chance of ruining the engine if ash had gotten in. But the other thing I was adding after the carb was it was kick start only, no elec. start yet. My knee surgery from starting that bike was in late Jan. 1981 and now just realizing I was only 4 years old when that bike was brand new. Fast and fun that bike was, which I bought in 1977, the guys with shovelheads were amazed by how slow they were compared to it, except a few that built their engine’s (at quite a cost to make them move near sportsters). I’ll end with saying the fire didn’t kill the ’59. I took the burned stuff off and cleaned up what was left and sold it to a friend that converted it to more of a Bagger style from the light hopper it was. It lived and was loved again. My next Sporty was the last iron head of 85 (I worked in Alaska 4 years came home got married had a couple kids and rode a 650 Yamaha I traded a cheap car for until the 85 I bought in 89. My next Harley and still have is a 99 KXDX Dyna Super Glide that to me is like a bigger better Sportster. I love it, and now gets some breaks thanks to an Adventure type bike I got that is TONS of fun! It’s a too big for me bike but I don’t care cuz it is really really fun, the “03 Suzuki VStrom DL1000. It’s like a bigger, longer, heavier Buell (making them way different for sure. So what might be added to the garage next,? Wanna guess?
Cheers to health, safety, and two wheels