LONG-TIME ENGINE AND BIKE BUILDER MIKE LANGE REVIVES A 1946 HARLEY-DAVIDSON WR
FACTORY RACER
Mike Lange with his 1946 Harley-Davidson Factory Racer , which won the Best Vintage Bike award at the High
Voltage Show . restoring . He ’ d ride it past a local Harley-Davidson shop , which he describes as more of a backyard shop at a nearby apple orchard .
“ The guy that owned it was a drag racer ,” he said , “ and I went in there and started hanging around and saw a bike I liked . I bought my first Harley from there , or rather , he sold it to my mom because I wasn ’ t old enough . It was a 1948 UL Flathead , and once I had it I raked the frame and turned it into a chopper while still in high school . Once I graduated , I rode that chopper to California and back .”
Engine work went right along with that very first bike build . “ The first internal combustion engines I worked on were lawn mower engines ,” Lange said . “ I ’ d take them apart , put them back together , and find leftover parts on the floor . They were junk
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