I know many harleys were identified by the frame and engine. A lot of people talk about using a custom rigid frame for a harley chopper. What would make it a harley at that point? Finding an original harley motor? If it would be registered as a custom bike, it wouldn't really be a harley, would it?

Newbie here, just in the beginnings of planning a chopper build.

 

If it has an HD VIN and title it is an HD. If it does not it not an HD no madder what engine or how many parts are bolted on.

 

Pre 74 (I think) the only numbers were on the engine lower case. So if the engine is pre 74 the title will be HD regardless of frame. If you put an S&S or ultima or whatever in a custom frame it’s not a Harley although some people still call them that.

If you put a Harley engine in a custom frame IMO it’s still a Harley. The title however may not say that. A lot of it depends on the state you live in.

 

If it looks like a duck...

 

You can label anything custom it you want. We see it often for sale custom Harley. To many of us it is nothing but an everyday Harley with some stuff hung on. Or a rattle can paint job.

60-70's Custom bikes were a common way to make use of stolen parts. Ditch the frame. Hang parts on the new frame deal with engine numbers depending on what year it was . Get a new title or recycle one from a scraped bike and ride the crap out of it then sell it.
Custom often meant stolen rebuild.

 

I worked in manufacturing. For us Custom became "Cussed 'Em" when they wanted it.

 

As others have mentioned, having an HD VIN is what "makes" it a Harley-Davidson.
There are plenty of really great bikes out there that were built using aftermarket frames and/or aftermarket engines, but that VIN is what seals the deal.

 

I think often people really mean Harley style bike. It could be all aftermarket parts, sell as a custom motorcycle.. but everyone would call it a custom Harley.

My personal beloved Shovelhead has a Harley Davidson title…. But, it’s really a bunch of Harley parts used to build a chopper. It’s a real 57 frame that somebody made unidentifiable. Most would assume it’s an aftermarket frame. It’s been cut, grinded, Molded on by someone when I got it. I stripped it to the metal and know what it really is.. but that really doesn’t matter. The motor is actually 1970 cases with just about all aftermarket parts now except the cases and rods. I call it a Harley. The Title says 1970 Harley Davidson with no info like FL or anything. The serial number is suspect and not correct for a 70 Harley anything. Somebody at some time played games to get a title.

When I was in my early twenties I had practically zero money and any big twin was north of 9k. All my buddies had nice new bikes they bought from a dealer, I couldn’t do that. The first year I got that tired tired worn leaking mess of a 74 inch I rode it grinning ear to ear, I didn’t know any better or understand what it really was. It was the only big twin I found I had enough money to buy. I tore it down the first winter and totally went through it learning from magazines, pictures, books and a fellow named Lindy Harris outta Shelby Ohio. It came out awesome, did it all myself and it was fast as all get out. That started my journey and I built over a Dozen Shovelhead strokers and assembled a number of EVO’s. Is my bike a real Harley…? Not really sure, I’ll never sell it. And the guys with “real” Harley’s that made fun of it being a shovel only had one summer to gloat… from then on at best all they could ever see is my tail light.

To this day after all the bikes I’ve owned or ridden.. if you woke me from a deep sleep and yelled Harley it’s my shovelhead my mind would immediately go to. That image defines it to me. Love my other bikes. But my definition of Harley Davidson is my Shovelhead.

 

Just FYI, 1970 and newer Harleys have matching VIN#'s on the motor case and frame. Changing frames on a 1970 and up becomes a thing with DMV and your insurance company, but results will vary for sure depending on your State.

That said, I think you need to have an HD motor or frame to even start the conversation. Some monster S&S motor in a mostly HD chassis, OK a Harley with lots of motor. A real nice titled Knucklehead motor in lets say a fully custom frame, OK that is a Harley. But when you have neither it starts getting dicey. I have been known to tell people, put more Harley into your Harley.

 

I’ll also add that if a bike has a real title then most likely you will have no problems getting it re-tagged in any state as long as it had a real title and was registered at one time. I know in the Carolinas Tennessee, Florida, Ohio and Michigan. This is true.

in the early 2000s I was brought a basket case by somebody. He was an older fella and said he had owned the bike for l over 30 years. And he had never been able to get it put together. He did not have a title. He said he did it one time but it was lost in the DMV didn’t have records for it anymore.

I put the bike completely back together, and I took the serial number off the cases, and I had the Ohio DMV do a title search. They came up with nothing. So we then filled out paperwork for a lost title and asked for it to be re-created. the frame was aftermarket and he also did not have an MSO for it. In fact, I don’t even think they were doing those type of things back then. So we just told the DMV that it was a 1970 and they gave him a title based on the serial number from the cases by the way, those cases were 74. and he has a 1970 title. The circumstances and situation was a lot like my own bike. Except for someone had done all that before I owned the parts and pieces. It is what it is. And I would assume that they’re sharper now and don’t do stuff like that. I wasn’t trying to be fraudulent, I was just trying to get this guy rolling. He had pictures of himself as a teenager with that bike. So I know he wasn’t pulling a fast one. He just wanted to ride it again before he was too old.