Monday, January 17, 2011

Von Dutch's XAVW

What Happens when you take a very rare 1942 Harley XA and mate it with a 36hp VW?

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In 1966 Von Dutch took one of Harley's rarest bikes, the XA, and mated it with a VW engine.

48 comments:

  1. Mike and Frank on American pickers is looking for an XAVW

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    1. Looks like they just found it and bought it for $21,000

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  2. they actually baught it for $21,000.00

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  3. Mike Wolfe is a Beast ! Had to get it !

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  4. Very nice just watched the show.

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  5. but,, whats it really worth?

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    1. That's what I would like to know and I can't seem to find the answer to that.

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  6. wow thats an awesome pick

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  7. I was so happy for Mike! That was a cool episode with a happy ending.... go Mike!

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  8. like anything else, its worth what someone will pay for it.... today that's $21k

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  9. I'm glad Mike got it. It will be appreciated and well taken care of with Mike.
    \

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  10. But what's it really worth?

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  11. Awsome has no price

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  12. Nice bike, Nice find Mike!

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  13. Amazing Bike. Love The Show American Pickers

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  14. I'd rather have the Harley. I had a 1941 Indian Chief War Bike and if I still had it would worth far more than 21K

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  15. honda 450 gas tank

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  16. Same Pickers is great. Straight model of trash to treasure asside from the bike ofcourse....always will go down as a treasure

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  17. God, you guys are SOOOO 3 months ago.

    He's had this bike on his web page since January when this episode filmed.

    You can see it at Torqefest May 5th.

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  18. I was just reading more about the 1942 Harley frame with a vw 36hp by Von Dutch and there is a value out there around 80,000 - 100,000 very rare 1 of kind and 21,000 is a steal, but it went on to say that because you also can't compare to other bikes so they figure the value by the parts on the bike and it's creator it's has a 1942xa frame very rare among other parts. It's pretty cool that the bike has been discovered good job mike! Lucky man

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  19. Better someone has it that appreciates it and will show it opposed to it sitting in a barn rusting away.

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  20. With Mike's love of bikes and love for the VeeDubs.....He will NEVER sell it. Let's all just say, that the bike is in good hands.

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  21. Don't bet on it. Mike has bills, too, and says what he needs to say to get gems like this. Spoke to the Pawn Star guys at AZ car show. They don't make that much from the TV reality show.

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  22. Mike will at least enjoy while he has it.

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  23. Piece of junk in my opinion... should have kept it as a Harley 1943. Good way to ruin a nice old Harley!!

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  24. Worth easily $75,000! Not a bad turn around $21,000!

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  25. Ruin a nice old Harley ? Back in 1965 when the bike was built the XA was just another 22 year old Harley ... As myself back then many a nice old Harley got cut chopped raked molded but thats how we have the customs we have now !

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  26. Pawn stars don't make money???? Then why does chum lee drive a massarati and a hse supercharged range rover? He ain't getting paid that kinda money working the counter for $8.00 an hour. Great job mike. The history behind that bike is priceless

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  27. Dutch's paint kit(brushes, tools and case) sold a few years ago for over $300,000. This bike is a one of a kind piece of art. It would go for over $100,000 easy. It's not about the Harley or VW parts. The value is from who built it.

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  28. Rare the russians and chinese are still making them ! Its an old bmw ,rare funny!

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    1. although the russian and chinese copy of the bmw are still easily found, I think they only made 100 XA's and the army did not like them,, so they ceased production, so yes, this realy is a rare find, where do you think the idea for the gold wing came from ???? yes, it was modeled after a vw powered motorcycle...

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  29. Only thing I see is the shaft drive....that's it. Even the frame is incorrect (NOT an XA). I would say it's probably a BMW. Don't know what year but definately not a 1942. There is not one other thing on this bike I can see that shows it was at one time an XA. How do I know.......I own an XA.

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    1. You might find this article from the National MC Museum interesting Re: The frame http://www.nationalmcmuseum.org/american-pickers-vondutch-xavw-hits-museum/

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  30. Sad that these guys rip off poor old folks and everyone is happy for Mike. Good job Mike. Way to stick I to grandpa.

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  31. According to what I saw today and read, The guys never bought the XAVW. The guy that owners it was asking 40k for it when Mike offered 25k for. Mike decided to leave th XAVW where it is and still loved by its current owner.

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  32. This is a bike! No no no

    this is the great & greatest bike on the world.........

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  33. Arey mike first demanded for 15k, den 16k, den tom demanded for 25k, den mike demanded for 20k den tom demanded 21k, mike didn't wanted to argue for 1k, so he just purchased it. Mike was really very happy.

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  34. Congrates mike... Im vintage bike lover.. Its a dream for me to get same bike like u... Pray god mybe 1 day i will get it... Amin...

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  35. There have been comments that the Mike and Frank, from American Pickers rip off people and make tons of money. First, as an antique collector and seller, all dealers are thieves and proud of our profession. We cannot pay more than half of what we can sell an object and expect to stay in business. And often, we will love something that we pay far more than we can recover. We eat that but we usually don’t have regrets because we love the object and we are only curators of an object. Now, that I have said that, Mike and Fred do not make the fortunes off their prey in purchases by paying far below the fair market value. Fair market value is a debate in itself. It was hinted from some commenters on the blogsite these guys take advantage when they are "picking." There have been episodes where more was paid for an item than what the seller offers as a price. I think that is because of Frank and Mike's standards of honesty and respectability in business and personalities. That is the rarest of all commodities and a damn admirable trait I have seen repeatedly from both Mike and Frank but seldom in many businesses. They have to make a buck but I guarantee such code of ethics does not exist with most dealers. Take an item you know the value to an antique dealer, play dumb, and see what they offer (see my quote on thieves). Finally, my reason for commenting is The Von Dutch XAVW is a piece of art and far more than the sum of the pieces that make the object. All paintings, sculpture, art of all disciplines, no matter what the final object, is more than the materials that make the object d’art. That is man’s reason for making art. We take materials and turn them it into an individual expression that is articulated in a unique form through a vision in our mind for another human. Sometimes, the art is a process where the results are love, hate, but always provoking if someone can try to understand the intent. That goes for all art, whether made from found objects such as tramp art; the finest of marble turned into sculpture; wonderful machines such as custom cars; this motor cycle. Maybe this XAVW crosses over a couple of disciplines. It exhibits not only one of the rare, documented motor cycles and the artist regular expression of decoration but also the artists ability to take incongruous transportation mechanical parts and in doing so created another one of a kind form that is still related to the original ... I am not a gear head but do understand a bit. All artists in their careers work in different mediums at one time or the other. Picasso went through a period of working in pottery and it was mass-produced – yet it is still Picasso's work. Picasso’s pottery is more than clay and glaze, paintings are more pigment in the paint on canvas, material in a sculpture is not the same as than the finished piece. When you think about limited run, factory assembled, automobiles when they roll off the assembly line they are more than a standard production vehicle because humans have put a further defined nuisance from the human mind's impression on a few, single, unique objects. Can you say that all custom cars and choppers are abominations and not art? Nope, you really can’t say that can you. Haters, get real!

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  36. Very well said above. I love the XAVW and the whole Von Dutch back story and I love that a true admirer now owns the bike and is allowing it to be displayed for all to enjoy. I also agree that Mike & Fred are very generous with what they pay and above that they are very warm and personable. I don't get that same sense of fairness nor camaraderie from Pawn Stars. AP is a great show and the XAVW is a breathtaking snag!

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  37. The bike is now in the national motorcycle museum in Anamosa Iowa, saw it last week. Cool machine.

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  38. Everyone seems to speculate that the guys on the show Pickers are ripping people off sideways.
    Just take into consideration that this is a TV show, and the History Channel probably has a budget of at least $250,000, to produce every episode. You've got to figure that the show is filmed on the private property of people that own collectibles deemed worthy to be in an episode of Pickers. The owners of the private property where each episode is filmed are probably offered a sizeable chunk of cash to consent to having a huge film crew film an episode of Pickers on their property. At that point it seems that the price of the collectibles at each property might be more negotiable to an owner thats already received a huge chunk of cash for concenting to the show being filmed on their property to begin with. In addition, who knows what goes on behind the scenes? These guys have a TV show to produce, its a major hit, and they have a huge budget to make it happen.
    Go figure...
    Oh yeah, thats an ultra coool Von Dutch/ Ed Roth bike. its amazing... It was an important aspect to that episode...

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  39. I am a bike guy in Daytona Beach. I can appreciate what kind of creating and modifying went into that build. I build '70's style choppers. I am seriously considering a VW/bike build now

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