Panhead Harley-Davidson German Patient with “Tinkering Malaria” Receives a Miracle Treatment
No, it’s not true that there is tinkering malaria, so stop looking for it online. It’s simply a made-up illness that the guys at Thunderbike, a German custom motorcycle manufacturer, invented to characterize the original condition of a Harley-Davidson Panhead that they just restored. And a pretty good phrase, at least in light of the current appearance of the motorbike.
One of the most valued motorcycles to ever leave the Milwaukee bike company’s doors, the Panhead is a treasure for custom garages. It’s so precious, in fact, that the individuals who convert or restore these items usually would rather hold onto them than sell them.
The Harley-loving community referred to motorcycles built between 1948 and 1965 with a certain type of engine in their frames as panheads. An engine with rocker covers that resembled regular pans—a sufficiently commonplace object that has nonetheless inspired decades.
The Panhead motorcycle’s precise birth year and engine displacement are not specified by Thunderbike; it was originally sold with either a 61ci or a 74ci engine.
What’s important is that not a single bolt was left in place once the Panhead ended up on the workbench, as everything needed to be stripped and repaired or replaced, depending on the condition.
The Germans put it back together in a functional form, including by means of welding the engine housing and cylinder heads, patching up the broken exhaust manifolds, and repairing pretty much everything else: the transmission, clutch, primary, forks, wheels, and brakes. Why, even the motorcycle’s electrical system had to be remade.
That means most of the parts listed above are still on the motorcycle, but the build itself is far from being a Panhead true and true. The German cure for that tinkering malaria mentioned earlier transformed it into a bobber with plenty of custom parts on.
Designed as per Thunderbike to be reminiscent of the hot rod style of the 1960s, it features no front fender, but quite a large one at the rear, wrapping around almost half the wheel on its inner side.
That fender and the fuel tank have become the central elements of the build, with a creamy butter color made to stand apart by the black flames drawn on them, the tons of black used everywhere else, and the polished aluminum seen here and there.
Unlike the way they usually advertise their products, the Germans did not make public the list of custom parts used on the build, now called the Hot Pan. And that also means there’s no way for us to get a sense of how much the ride cost to put together in this incredible form
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