GSG Cargo import history to Worthing
During World War II, the U.S. Army asked Harley Davidson to produce a motorcycle as good as BMW's side-valve R71 for desert use. So Harley copied the BMW, simply converting metric measurements to inches, and produced the shaft-drive 750cc 1942 Harley Davidson XA. The contract was cancelled early due to war combat moving out of North Africa and subsequently only 1,011 XA.s were built and the motorcycle never saw service.
After the war the motorcycles were sold as surplus, mainly to the farming community. One particular XA was bought by a farmer and used for general transport until one day it failed to start. The farmer pushed the bike into his barn where it was left and forgotten. The farmer died in 1958 and the bike remained, untouched until it was discovered by the farmer's grandson only a few years ago.
This motorcycle turned out to be the last remaining complete Harley Davidson XA motorcycle and was bought by Gordon Sinclair of Worthing. Gordon has been an avid collector of vintage motorcycles all his life with over 100 motorcycles in his collection.
Once purchased the next hurdle Gordon faced was the logistics of moving the fragile motorcycle from the barn in USA to his workshop in Worthing where his colleague Peter Martin-Smith, who had been restoring Harley Davidson motorcycles since 1972 was ready to begin the restoration.
Gordon commented "Once I had bought the motorcycle the enormity of the task of moving it to the UK really sank in. At the time I thought we were beaten. I had tried UPS in USA but the costs were very high but then Peter recommended GSG Cargo to me. The whole experience with GSG Cargo was first class. I was kept informed of the movements of the bikes all the way through from pick-up all the way to Worthing by Sue - the added bonus was that the staff were just as pleased to see the old Harleys as I was. I would recommend GSG Cargo with no hesitation."
For the photos please click on the below thumbnails
