Harris Vincent GalleryModern motorcycles are mechanical marvels. Whether you
buy Japanese, German, Italian, British, or American, you’re pretty much
guaranteed that your new bike will be safe, reliable, and virtually maintenance
free. And you don’t need any mechanical skills to ride and enjoy your mean
machine; just throw your leg over it, fire it up, and away you go.
Among the world’s greatest thrill rides must be counted this 1951 Series C
Vincent Black Shadow, restored to perfection by the Harris team. Its famous
speedometer, the size of a pie plate, reminds the rider just how capable a
performer the old girl really is.
(Click image to enlarge)
For a
small but passionate group of riders, these “plug and play” motorcycles are
anathema. They covet bikes from a bygone era, machines that demand a solid hour
of preparation before they’re ready for the road. In fact, as strange as it may
sound, most vintage motorcycle collectors are just as happy with their bikes in
bits as they are riding them. For many of these grease-loving purists, one
extinct brand reigns supreme: Vincent.
“There are two things that set
Vincents apart from any other vintage bike,” says Herb Harris. “First, they’re
loaded with unique and complicated engineering solutions. Just about every
aspect of the bike is adjustable: foot pegs, brake pedal, shift lever, oil flow
to the rocker arms, you name it. Second, they’re fast. Very fast.”
Harris is
a 56-year-old defense lawyer out of Austin, Texas. His passion for Vincent
motorcycles has led to a collection of 35 bikes. The trove includes 15 Rapides,
four Black Shadows, and two Comets. The names may not mean much to riders of
contemporary road rockets, but they are all legendary machines, as cutting edge
in their day as the Ducati 999 Testastreta is today. And unlike most Duke
owners, Harris knows his Vincents from the inside out.
“The bike could have
been designed on Mars,” Harris asserts. “It was engineered like nothing else
before or after, in the days before British motorcycle manufacturers became obsessed with
making their bikes cheaper and cheaper. But unless you know how to take care of
it, unless you’re willing to put the work in, there’s simply no point owning
one.”
If you’re wondering why anyone would get so intimately involved with a
motorcycle that went out of production in 1955, consider the crown jewel in
Harris’ collection: the Vincent “bathing suit bike.” It’s the one in the famous
picture with the seminaked man riding in a fully prone position. The story
behind the picture goes a long way toward explaining the marque’s enduring
reputation.
“In 1948, a wealthy sportsman named John Edgar decided he wanted
to own the fastest motorcycle in America,” Harris recounts. “Edgar met Phil
Vincent in Los Angeles, who told him that his new Black Shadow was running 125
to 130 miles per hour in street form. Vincent agreed to modify the bike for a
run at the motorcycle land speed record in Bonneville [Salt Flats].
“Edgar
hired Rollie Free, a former Indian motorcycle dealer and Daytona land speed
record holder. On his first couple of passes, Rollie got up into the 149s. But
the wind opened a seam in his leathers, making his pants billow. So Rollie
stripped down to his shorts. On his next two runs, he set a record of 150.313
mph. It was nothing short of a sensation, establishing Vincent’s reputation
throughout the motorcycling world.” (Click image to enlarge)
Once in a great while, Harris takes
Edgar’s Vincent for a spin—albeit fully clothed. As far as he’s concerned, it’s
priceless. That said, everything has its price. For Harris, the cost of
indulging his love of Vincents is running an Internet-based vintage motorcycle
dealership. The Harris Vincent Gallery sells vintage motorcycles, trophies,
books, magazines, and other related ephemera.
The current star of the
company’s portfolio is a concours-winning 1951 Series C Vincent Black
Shadow. The bike exemplifies his company’s fanatical attention to detail. “The
wheels use genuine Dunlop Vincent rims and have the correct, factory wheel
weights,” Harris says proudly.
For the uninitiated, Harris’
rhapsodic description of the Black Shadow may sound like the excited ramblings
of a fanatic. But before they dismiss Vincent mania, owners of modern bikes
should hear something else: the sound of a Vincent at full chat. Once they
absorb the basso profundo crescendo of a well-sorted Vincent tearing down an
open road, they may suddenly reconnect with the true spirit of motorcycling.
From there it’s a very short step to the Internet.
Harris Vincent Gallery
www.harrisvincentgallery.com
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