Hi y'all.

i allways keep an eye on this sporty section but dont ever post in it as I currently have a Fatboy ( looking to sell/swap) but more on that later.

So a little backround on my quest to bring you up to speed.

I finished the chop on my fatty and have been getting the itch again. You all know the feeling. The grass is always greener on the other side.

I have a hankering to build a rigid with  250 rear and sports bike front and bombed sporty/Buell running gear so its sort of a drag bike look. anyway i have the exact look in my minds eye, just like I did before I started on the fatboy.

I have explored several options on how to achieve this bike with the minimum amount of ( most importantly) cost and secondly fuss ( ie ICV&160" border="0" src="/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wink.gif" /> I ( like most others i suspect ) thought it would be as simple as buying a sporty, chopping the arse of and welding a new one on. Done. Lets go riding. As I now know that type of mod requires a full ICV ( thanks for the heads up Chopaweeza) I think if I was going to head down the path of misery, pain and heartbreak ( ICV) then it may as well be on a complete frame such as a hooligan from Bitter End etc.

After trawling the net for hours and hours and finally finding a bit in some dank moist corner of the web ( note to Dept of transport, if you make the info accessible, people might just use it!!!!!!!!!)  I came accross the checklist used by the icv engineers, and ..................wow................... theres alot to say the least.

I wold love to hear anyones first hand experience of doing an ICV especially in QLD. Im not totally off the idea yet.... just looking for a less painfull alternitave.which brings me to the topic of this thread.

I was on the phone to a riding bud, chewing his ear about my predicament and remembered his wife had an older model sporty in the shed that hardly ever gets started let alone riden and would he be interested in parting with it. Turns out he was thinking about the same thing so we are currently in the process of finding mutual ground price wise. In the process of "selling" the bike he told me that while it was registered as an 86 model, although someone had told him at a bike show years ago that the frame wasnt 86 but more like 52 ( correct me if I am wrong but sportys didnt start production till 57?) I said theres one way to prove it and thats check the serial number on the neck with Harley. He told m that there wasnt any identification number on the neck , or anywhere else for that matter.

So, my deviate mind is crunching into overdrive thinking if this frame is pre bullshit and no numbers are on it then I should be able to chop or preferably swap aftermarket frame into without having to do the ICV thing.

Can anyone throw any light on this????

Btw thebike has been registered for years as is.

thanks in advance.

Matt

P.S this is my ride . was just playing with colours on the computer

G’day Matt. I'm having trouble placing an image as well as text in the one post so I'll do this in four posts.

You are correct in that the first production Sportster was a 1957 model.

If someone told your friend the frame was more like 52 then he may have meant it looked like a K-series frame because 1952 was the first model year for the K-series (Flathead). Early Sportster frames are similar to the K-series frame but I’m not familiar with the specific differences as the years went on. Ask your friend to check for a date code stamped on the right-hand side of the frame just above the rear rocker cover. As an example, in the red square below (in the next post) you’ll see date code L7 indicating the frame was made in December 1967 (it’s a 1968 model Sportster frame).

Eric

A date code will give us some idea, depending on what sort of frame it is because K-series frames also had a date code in that area as of about 1953.

The first Harley frames to have frame numbers were made around 1916 and H-D then continued that practice until at least 1927. And there is at least one known Harley frame from 1929 that has a frame number. In the 1960s, some (all?) Aermacchi Harleys had a frame number.

Sportster frames didn’t receive a frame number (VIN) until the 1970 models. However, 1962–69 model Sportster frames did have extra ID stamped on at the factory. H-D refers to that extra ID as additional original component identifying numbers. Some people refer to that extra ID as anti-theft numbers. For 62–69 Sportster frames the ID is often stamped on the upper right-hand side and normally consists of one letter followed by either three or four numbers but the characters are small and may be hard to spot so a close inspection will be required. As an example, the photo in my next post shows D ---7 on a 1965 model Sportster frame.

If your friend's frame has the additional ID, please tell us what the letter is and I’ll check what model year(s) the letter relates to. We don’t need to know what the numbers are. Remember, this additional ID isn’t a frame number. And even if it is present, I don’t know if it will be enough to satisfy licensing authorities as far as full frame identification is concerned. If the frame does have the extra ID it would be best to check with licensing and see what they say about using it.   

Eric

 going off the frame casting's thats in the picture's she is a 1952 to 1968 frame 1969/70 had the frame number boss  but with no number , 1970/1 & up have frame numbers                                 if you look @ the frame  casting's part number's they will end in - 52 . meaning that section was design in 52 & used into the later years  ,                                                                                     too me a K- model is a flathead Sportster ,1952 to 56 carry the same frame & body forks & brakes as 57 & up  except the top end heads & barrels