I posted this in one of the other sections but Im curious what the Dyna people have to say.

A discussion came up at work today. Why HD riders talk in chassis codes, and, is it necessary?

I see threads titled in both ways. If a thread is titled in just the chassis code, do people looking on the forums understand this? Are they meant to learn this? Or is it just making it difficult for anyone not in the HD world?

When you are talking about a Harley with anyone other than a Harley rider, they wouldn't understand what you are saying anyway.

When you shop for parts for your bike, do you shop by chassis code, or by year/make/model? Do you think its necessary to designate the models by codes anymore or is it antiquated?

 

Exactly what do you mean - chassis code, as in VIN number????? When I get parts from MoCo, J&P, Bike Bandit and everybody else out there, it's by make, model and year.

 

I think what HyperM3 is referring to are the model names and letter identifiers. In short, you can refer to a model by its full name, letter identifier, or by the family, the model belongs to .. Touring, Softail, Sportster, Trike...

 

Exactly. I used to refer to my 13 FatBob as a 13 FXDF in threads or whatnot. I would search for parts as 2013 Harley FXDF. Why though? Nobody other than the HD community might understand, or even list things online this way.

 

I have owned other brands of motorcycles and have challenges finding parts by name as well. For the most part, I have found that the larger retailers do allow search by name or code. Smaller vendors not so much.

 

Inner circle short hand. Happens to be quite useful in certain cases. Consider Low Rider. Adding a year can clarify but it's quicker just to use the short hand.

Quote common in all the auto forums I've used. G-body, Fox Body, DEW98, E36, differentiation between 911 evolutions... various engine codes...L88, 420A, RB26, Etc.