WWII Harley Davidson 'Liberator' at NW 200

The proud owner of the bike talks us through the charm of the 1942 model

Transcript

00:00This is Rob Gibbs from Ballyclare and he's got a 1942 Harley Davidson, that was 1942 Rob, that was used in Europe in the Second World War.

00:14It was informally known as the Liberator and it is a very impressive looking machine.

00:19Very unusual looking Rob. Yeah? Yes.

00:23And you've rebuilt it yourself? That's right. Yeah.

00:28And what's so special about this bike Rob?

00:32It's very simple. Yes.

00:37It's got a full clutch. Right. Hand gear change. So it's completely different riding styles to anything else. Okay.

00:45Just the simplicity.

00:48I'm telling you, why would you not go for a very modern motorbike Rob?

00:53Well, too much electrics. Right. Difficult to work on. Yeah.

00:58But I do have a modern bike. Yeah.

01:03But I prefer riding this around the coast, around the Antrim glens. Yeah.

01:07It's just a joy to doodle around on.

01:10It's got a very unique beauty. Oh it has. What? It has.

01:16So this was the, you reckon this was the very first Harley Davidson?

01:21No, no, not the first. It's a very early model. It's an early model. Yeah.

01:25It's called a Flathead. Yeah.

01:28Yeah, it's rather different from all the modern Harleys. Yeah.

01:33It was a standard sort of pre-war design, I think.

01:37But they carried on using it for a long time.

01:40So, and the modern Harleys then are all kind of, in some ways, descended from these?

01:44They're all derived from these, yes. All derived from it.

01:48Well, beautiful machine. Thank you very much for your time. No problem.