There's No Place Like Chrome

When settling down to write a feature for a magazine, it’s necessary to have two things, nay, three things in front of you. A computer is useful, it saves all that messy ink and blotting paper that we used in those long gone school days, a strong hot mug of tea should also be on the desk (goes without saying), and finally, a set of scribbled notes that a couple of months ago resembled a detailed description of a motorcycle, but that by now, are largely illegible…

- Keith Harman

It’s also usual to start with an introduction to the builder/owner of the bike in question—but not in this case. While many of our readers are dead chuffed to not only see their featured bike in print but also their name preserved for posterity, there are those that shun the limelight and remain anonymous, preferring to let the bike take centre stage, as with this drop-dead gorgeous 1958 Harley. Fortunately, I know that the unnamed owner not only has mucho good taste, but that he entrusted the ground-up restoration to Paul Jenner at PMJ Motorcycles.

Paul is an independent Harley specialist, skilled in both custom and restoration work. Although originally from Reading in Berkshire, he now plies his trade in a small and picturesque village on the Dorset coast. I managed to grab photos of the bike at Paul’s workshop in the narrow window between its completion and his customer coming to collect the finished machine that he had still yet to ride, having bought and imported it as a non-runner.

Not much history came with the bike unfortunately, though it was previously owned by the late owner of a Philadelphia bike shop who had passed away—the bike was bought from his daughter after being spotted parked outside her house. That was in 2018 and it wasn’t in the country very long before it was in Paul’s capable hands ready for a full rebuild.