Vintage
Initially, Walt and Arthur had different ideas about how this project should evolve with each getting in their licks on the final design. “I was hoping he was going to go all the way as I really wanted to build a pure salt flat race bike, no lights, no nothing, and he wanted a street bike,” said Walt. “He was contemplating getting an Evo motor for reliability, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around an Evo. I still can’t. They don’t fit my style of work. I talked him into buying a Panhead basketcase instead.” All was not peachy with that period correct purchase, though. After being informed by engine builder Andrew Rosa of Rosa’s Cycles in Huntington, Long Island, that the 57-year-old cases were unusable in spite of repeated attempts at repairing them, he told them to get a ‘62 and up “if we really wanted to go for it.” Walt instead chose to go with S&S replacements yielding an eventual 84” motor sporting STD heads and an Andrews B grind cam producing reliable, but not over the top power compared to today’s big-inch behemoths. At least they got to use the H-D cylinders, so something from the Fifties is still along for the ride. An S&S Super E carb was called in to provide the mixture of gas and unfiltered velocity stack-supplied air to be lit by a traditional-style magneto, although in this case a Morris G-5 magneto adds a new twist to the old hazards of firing up a kick-start big twin. “There’s a spring loaded gear inside that adds an additional oomph to the magneto on starting. It loads the cam in the magneto then releases it at the proper time, you don’t have to force the kicker to start it,” said Walt. “It’s an easy starter and completely reliable when the mag is set up properly. You can’t go with a timing light from my experience, just fiddle around ‘til you have it right.”
The nickel-plated frame is not an original, but a reproduction from V-Twin Manufacturing with dead stock dimensions, but isn’t box stock. “The castings were quite rough so I polished it by hand before plating. I didn’t take it down so much that it blends in, but still shows the casting. The nickel has a warm finish,” said Walt, who’s not a fan of chrome. A stubby looking 3” under Paughco springer adds to the butch mechanical look and has a brakeless, spoked 18” Akront rim shod with Coker’s Firestone reproduction tires in a 4.50 width. The fat sidewalls and square tread couldn’t be more opposite of today’s trend of fat width and rounded minimalist tread. In the rear, a similar setup sports the only stopping power Arthur has with a cool reproduction of the finned AP Racing caliper from the Sixties. “They were never made for streetbikes,” said Walt.
With the rolling chassis done, Walt planted the motor in the frame and cobbled together a narrow open-belt primary from Primo parts he had lying around and fabbed his own belt guard which also serves as a mount for the taillight and tag. An early ‘70s H-D 4-speed tranny spins the chain to the rear wheel and is shifted by Walt’s inner city-made foot controls. Because of the brake pedal location, Walt fabricated a set of straight pipes that wrap around each side of the vehicle and add an unfettered sound that should travel the length of the five mile course at Bonneville. Walt’s cool clip-on bars make Arthur assume the position on the Back Drop sprung saddle, the racing position that is, and V-Twin’s hand controls get this puppy up to speed.
Although it might look simple to some, the bodywork, specifically the silver and yellow gas tank, was a time eater. “The design of the motorcycle started with the fuel tank. Arthur made a set of tanks out of cardboard and he said, ‘Whatever I ask, ignore from now on, but I’d like to have these tanks’,” said Walt. “It was an absolute bitch to make; it was so difficult because the sides were flat. It’s simple and totally complicated at the same time. It couldn’t be too simple cause then it becomes hokey. It needed the piping and more.” The tank emblem made from a brass gear cut in half took at least thirty hours to make according to Walt. His oil tank design mimics the fuel tank and a modified Super Glide fender finishes the bodywork.
So after all this work, is it headed for Bonneville? “I really truly want to do it. I’m not gonna beat anybody,” said Walt. “I’d just like to see what it can do.”
Builder: Walt Siegl
Following the moves of Walt Siegl’s life is like playing a game of international Pong. Coming from a background of his grandfather and his Dad being ardent motorcyclists, it was only natural he should follow their two-wheeled approach to life. Upon graduating from art school, he moved from his native Austria to Marseille, France, where he found a job unloading ships. His motorcycling addiction was fueled by an interest in racing. “There were a lot of time trials there up the mountains racing against the clock,” said Walt. “A local shop hired me for their team and I raced for them for two years, but after having a serious accident, I stopped racing professionally.” Moving on to Italy he worked as a tool maker, then on to Germany and as a welder and tool maker. Moving again, this time to Russia to work at a steel company, where the communist-run country led him to make a life decision. “I had to make a choice. Back to western Europe and pick up some sort of art career, or go to New York City, which is the opposite of Moscow,” said Walt. NYC it was. “When I came to the states, I had no money to buy a motorcycle, but I bought a ’68 Sportster for under a $1,000. It never ran, so I ended up tinkering with it and I loved that bike so much that I continued building bikes,” said Walt. Leaving NYC this summer, Walt has a new workshop in New Hampshire with his wife Laura and their newborn son. Play Where’s Walter? at www.waltsiegl.com
This bike feature originally appeared in Barnett’s Magazine issue #58, October 2007.
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
|---|---|
| Owner: | Arthur Sordillo |
| Fabrication/ Assembly: | Walt Siegl |
| Build Time: | 6 months |
| Engine: | 84″ Panhead reproduction |
| Cases: | S&S |
| Flywheels: | 4.5″ S&S |
| Rods: | S&S |
| Pistons: | Keith Black |
| Cylinders: | Harley-Davidson |
| Heads: | STD |
| Cam: | Andrews B grind |
| Ignition: | Morris Magneto G-5 |
| Carb: | S&S Super E |
| Pipes: | Walt Siegl |
| Air Cleaner: | S&S velocity stack |
| Transmission: | 4-speed ’70s H-D |
| Primary: | 3″ open-belt/ Primo parts |
| Clutch: | 5 stud green plates |
| Frame: | V-Twin Manufacturing wishbone |
| Rake: | Stock |
| None | Stretch: |
| Forks: | Paughco springer |
| Fork length: | 3″-under |
| Wheels: | 18″ 40-spoke Akront |
| Tires: | Coker Firestone repro 4.50×18 |
| Brake: | AP Racing caliper/disc by Russian machinist in Brooklyn |
| Fuel Tank: | Walt Siegl |
| Oil Tank: | Walt Siegl |
| Fender: | H-D/Walt Siegl |
| Handlebars: | Walt Siegl |
| Headlight: | Vintage fog light |
| Taillight: | Vintage guide light |
| Hand Controls: | V-Twin |
| Grips | V-Twin |
| Foot Controls: | Walt Siegl |
| Electrical: | Fred Warner |
| Chroming: | Dayton Grey |
| Painter: | Walt Siegl |
| Color: | Silver and candy yellow |
| Graphics: | Dave |
| Polishing: | Walt Siegl |
| Molding: | Walt Siegl |
| Seat: | Back Drop/LA |
| Special thanks to: | Arthur Sordillo and Carol Mangen |