British Motorcycle Gear

By Joe Berk

The Harley WLA at the National Infantry Museum was a lot prettier than any other WLA I had ever seen, but  I wasn’t impressed.  It was way over-restored, finished in gloss OD green (something I had never seen on a WLA before).  I couldn’t find anything in my research to show that any World War II Harleys might have had such a paint treatment.  I found a reference that indicated Army administrative vehicles were sometimes painted gloss OD, but nothing about motorcycles.

Can you say over-restored?
Fancy leather. I doubt anyone ever sat in this saddle.
The port side of the Harley 45.

I once saw General William Westmoreland’s Cadillac Sedan de Ville in Washington, DC, and it was gloss OD.  But WLAs had been out of service long before that, and in any event, when I spoke with General Westmoreland he didn’t mention anything about riding motorcycles.  If anyone out there knows anything about WLAs with glossy paint, please leave a comment.


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Joe Berk

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