So, that’s exactly what I did when I asked Stan Houfek of Hard Knox Cycles in Wilmington, North Carolina, what the inspiration was behind this particular build. Hey, you gotta believe me that sometimes, okay not many times, but sometimes, the obvious is not the obvious. Obviously Stan must have thought he was being interviewed by the only motorcycle writer that had never seen or heard of the movie Easy Rider as he calmly said, “Easy Rider’s Captain America bike ─ as the picture shows.” Yup, got me on that one, but I had to ask. There might have been a much bigger story behind the obvious that could’ve changed the whole outcome, but it is what it is. 

 

          Now I’m no purist historian of all things Easy Rider like I’m sure some of you Internet road warriors are, but this looks like a pretty damn good Captain America replica to me. Is it absolutely perfect down to the smallest detail? I don’t have the slightest idea or interest to find out as I said before, but it looks pretty damn good to me. Doesn’t hurt that it’s built around a real 1948 Harley-Davidson 74 cubic-inch Panhead engine instead of new S&S Panhead or, heaven forbid, an Evo or Twin Cam with Panhead covers. Nothing against those choices for something else, but in this case, the real thing is the way to go when you’re trying to emulate the real thing.  

    

   As I’m sure you know, all three of the original Captain America bikes built by the late Ben Hardy and Cliff Vaughs have supposedly disappeared (stolen) off the face of the earth although there are stories that the “burn” bike was restored. If you’ve got something that looks like this bike out in grampy’s old shed and maybe grampy was a little shady himself, you might just be sitting on a fortune so don’t assume anything. Even if it’s not the real Captain America, it’s worth something to somebody just like this bike that belongs to Jim Smith of Rocky Point, North Carolina. Not surprisingly, this bike came about the same way as a find. “The bike was actually found in a dilapidated barn just outside of Oakland, California, and brought back to North Carolina by Jim Smith. He then asked his son, Richard Smith of Hard Knox Cycles, to completely restore the bike,” said Stan. “The bike was then totally restored down to the bare frame including re-chroming all parts as original. The engine was gone through from top to bottom. Richard did all of the work and brought the chopper to its current state.” 

 

      One thing that definitely is not original, but I’m sure ol’ Captain America himself (the prettiest man in motorcycling at that time), Mr. Peter Fonda, would have appreciated was one major modification Jim had Richard make. “After kicking the ol’ Panhead for eight or ten years, my leg about gave up!” said Jim. “Again, Richard came to the rescue with an electric starter kit from Tech Cycle Performance Products. It’s a straight bolt-on starter that required no changes to the original 1948 motor.” I’m totally cool with that mod although I’m sure it raises the blood pressure of purists to dangerous levels. 

 

   With the bike restored and ready for a cross country trip to New Orleans, Jim wraps up the Captain America saga with his feelings of what it’s like to own and ride such an iconic bike saying, “The bike rides and looks like it just rolled out of the movie. I use it for poker runs, club runs, parades, special events, or just plain ol’ getting away from it all. The bike is a full-blown original chopper from the ‘50s. It’s easy to ride, looks great and, as long as you have time for a lot of questions at fuel stops, can be ridden anywhere.” 

 

         By the way, in case you were wondering what else Hard Knox Cycles is into, you can check out a recent article Barnett’s Magazine Online did on a totally different HKC bike or click on their website http://hardknoxcycles.com/ or Facebook page for more Hard Knox info.