The Gasbox – 1944 Knucklehead

To my eye the Knucklehead motor is one of the best looking to ever roll down the road. So for me a bike like this is about as good as it gets when it comes to a resto custom that you can drool over and yet ride reliably as well.

This entire project began with an old photo that Jesse and Tim from The Gasbox found. It was the best kind of old school drag bike. It had a beautiful Knucklehead engine mounted in a 1930’s VL frame and it ran British forks at the front. Low and mean they wanted to build something like that old drag Harley.

The idea floated around, as ideas often do, for quite a while until they found the perfect starting point. A pile of parts that had been a stock 1944 Knucklehead engine. Purchased from a family friend, the Knuck  had been rebuilt using an 80 cubic inch Flathead flywheel and heads that were machined for larger Shovelhead valves. The performance-oriented engine would prove to be the perfect starting point for the new build and it had some racing history to go with it. The motor had been raced by local Cleveland legend Tom Kell.

‘The one thing I pride myself with on all of our builds is the proportions,” the guys from The Gasbox say. “Having the correct stance and overall line of the bike is crucial. For us it all starts with the frame and fork combination.” To do that the engine was mated to a stretched VL frame that had the rake kicked out for improve handling. It runs aluminum 18” rear and 21” front wheels mounted to Norton Roadholder forks. The front brake drum is part Norton and part BSA. A Norton and a Harley together again.

Most of the other features of the bike were fabricated by The Gasbox. The oil tank, the rear fender and the 2 into 1 exhaust that works its way around the frame and the side of the engine. The fuel tank was modified to take an old Smith’s speedometer, which helps keep the front end of the bike clean.

If you look at the craftsmanship on the bike you begin to see what makes it so different. There is no wild paint, pinstripe, or other touches that usually dominate a custom. That leaves the eye to focus on the bike itself and it had better be damn good. Considering they have won a Bike of the Year in 2014 and a 1950 Norton Dominator they built took second place at the Quail motorcycle gathering recently I would say they have things going pretty well.