About Riding Vintage

Riding Vintage is a vintage Harley-Davidson resource focused on history, restoration, technical information, and real-world riding. Founded in 2012 by Panhead Jim, the site has grown from a collection of articles into a structured reference platform built around motorcycles that are ridden, maintained, repaired, and used in the real world.

The goal of Riding Vintage is to preserve practical knowledge, historical context, and firsthand experience with vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Rather than treating old machines as static display pieces, the site focuses on motorcycles that continue to work, travel, and earn their place on the road.

Over the years, Riding Vintage has expanded into a large archive of reference material, technical guides, travel stories, event coverage, and curated photo collections for riders, restorers, historians, and enthusiasts.

Explore Riding Vintage

Reference Materials: VIN decoding, model information, production numbers, and identification resources for vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Technical Guides: hands-on repair procedures, workshop solutions, restoration details, and practical maintenance advice.
Ride Stories & Events: long-distance travel, campouts, road runs, and motorcycle gatherings.
Photo Archives & History: curated collections covering racing, service machines, factory history, and motorcycle culture.

About Panhead Jim

Panhead Jim is a builder, rider, writer, and photographer specializing in vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles, with an emphasis on machines that are built correctly, maintained properly, and ridden regularly.

Over more than a decade, he has produced hundreds of articles covering technical procedures, motorcycle history, feature builds, event coverage, photography, and long-distance travel. His work has appeared in both print and digital motorcycle publications.

This combination of hands-on mechanical experience, documented projects, and real-world riding gives Riding Vintage a perspective grounded in use rather than theory.

A record of published magazine and media work can be found on the Published Works page.

Major Projects

Two major bodies of work on Riding Vintage represent the site well: one focused on building a pre-war Harley-Davidson from the ground up, and another focused on riding a vintage machine across the United States.

1933 Harley-Davidson VL Build: a complete build beginning with engine cases and progressing through assembly, fabrication, tuning, and road use.
Cross Country Ride: a 19-day ride from North Carolina to California documenting the realities of long-distance travel on a vintage motorcycle.

Start Here

If you are new to Riding Vintage, these pages are a strong place to begin:

Why Riding Vintage Exists

Riding Vintage exists to document machines, knowledge, and stories that can easily disappear with time. By combining technical information, historical research, and real riding experience, the site helps keep vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycles alive and useful for the next generation.