Dale Walksler and his '37 Knucklehead.
How serious? For the attempt at the endurance record, Dale, as crew chief and lead mechanic, built a '37 Knucklehead as close to Fred Ham's ride as possible. Fred's EL, basically a stock bike, had been prepared by tuner Bill Graves, who had polished the cases, piston rod, and crankshaft to reduce friction. Besides a small windscreen and a carburetor induction tube to block the abrasive Murdoc Dry Lake debris, the bike was unmodified-and deliberately so, since it needed to show the world what Harley-Davidson had to offer.
Here, father and son Dale and Matt Walksler carry on the tradition...never give up! The en
Says Dale about his re-creation of the '37 Knuckle, "It's all Harley-Davidson. I polished the internal parts just as Graves did, but that's it. The only differences are the enclosed chain and the tires. There are no non-stock high-performance parts." Fittingly enough, the Knuckle was finished on Christmas Day 2006, a "present" for the museum's already stellar collection of historic American iron.
Speaking prior to the record attempt, Dale added, "Fred was one of the greatest endurance riders, and no one will ever surpass his feat at Murdoc Dry Lake. Besides, that was then, and this now. He was on a hard dirt surface, and we are on a paved superspeedway. And although we've tried to duplicate his motorcycle in mechanical detail, it's a fact that lubricants and tires are far superior today. All of these factors will give us an advantage. Our effort is to honor Fred Ham, to celebrate his accomplishment, to prove what a fine motorcycle the Harley Knucklehead was and still is, and to publicize the unique nature of Wheels Through Time among America's leading motorcycle museums."
The '37 WTT was bone stock except for a custom intake hose, Subaki rear chain, rear sets b
As far as physically preparing for the endurance challenge, Dale and Wayne were well-informed about Fred Ham's regimen back in 1937. Swimming daily at the local YMCA, he shaved off 30 pounds, trimming down to 180. Coincidentally, Wayne's weight matched Fred's almost to the ounce. Much of the prep work was mental. "I knew what it took to make this kind of ride. I went to bed at midnight and got up at 4:30 a.m., learning to function with the minimum of sleep, as well as adjusting my diet to improve my mental and physical stamina." In spite of their many similarities of experience and abilities, there was one major difference in their stats: Fred had been 29 when he did his 24 hours. Wayne was 59. Of course, age is a relative thing, and Wayne wouldn't even consider it a factor.