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FALLS VILLAGE, CT – It was hard not to notice Terry Finkle’s cleverness when our paths first crossed two months ago. That is, 
after initially noticing the vintage motorcycle that he was riding. He had pulled into the parking lot at Toymaker’s Cafe on a smart-looking, silver 1942 Harley-Davidson WL.
So magnificent was the bike that other riders gathered for a closer inspection, and that’s when Finkle’s cleverness became apparent. Jammed into a hole on the right side where an oil plug should have been was a piece of a tree branch. See it?
Well, look a little closer…
Finkle had lost the plug on the way to the cafe from his home in New Fairfield, CT. “We looked for it that day, but we couldn’t find it,” he recalled today when our paths crossed a second time.
Before having breakfast, Finkle took a few minutes to talk about the bike he acquired in early summer. He bought the WL from a woman in Kent, NY. It had been handed down from family member to family member. “I’ve always wanted an old-style Harley. It was the right price,” said Finkle, who also owns a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King.
Finkle acquired it for a mere $4,500, which is less than NADA book value for a 1942 WL model in “poor” condition. The book value for a WL in excellent shape is $24,835. Referring to the bike’s current condition, Finkle said, “It didn’t look like that when I got it. It didn’t run.”
However, after ” a couple nights in the garage” spent freeing the rings, adjusting the timing, cleaning the carbs and adding an exhaust, and the 38-year-0ld Finkle had a running rider. “The only thing that cost me money was the exhaust,” he said.
The WL with its 45 cubic inch V-twin engine has turned out to be everything that he imagined. “Everybody was telling me how slow it is, and it is slow, but it’s not as bad as everybody made it out to be,” Finkle said. “It handles pretty well. Suspension-wise, it’s a little lacking. It’s definitely fun to ride.”
That’s not to say that the WL has been trouble-free. Besides losing the plug, Finkle’s also experienced electrical problems and the chain oiler has spewed oil. Overall, though, “the thing runs – starts every time” he said.
