Help with identifying frame
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Stage IV
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 4
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From: Ohio
Help with identifying frame
My old man bought a frame from the flea market for 45 bucks. I brought it home to clean it up. He bought it as a panhead frame. I found numbers on the downtube YE-762E. All the google machine brought up was early 40's knuckles but i cant find any exactly like this one. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys!
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
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From: Aurora, CO
It's hard to tell with what you showed there. The one with the number shows right where the downtubes hit the short straight part, which would be period accurate. Also, at that same spot is the indentation from where the original side car attachment loop would have been. The rear appears to be an OEM one, though with some gusseting and over "molding" added. I doubt either of these would hurt the structural soundness of the frame. One thing that might be a clue is to look at the down tubes themselves. Panhead ones, from 48 to 56 had the so-called wishbone frame. In 57 they went to straight downtubes. The knucklehead frames, prior to the pans in 48 also had straight downtubes, but the frames are not exactly the same. The knucklehead ones are slightly smaller, meaning a tight fit for a pan but I don't know of anything to tell you to look for that would give you a visual verification. Either way, it is well worth what you said he paid for it, as long as the rest of it isn't trashed. Can you post some more pics?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 5,372
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From: Aurora, CO
Yeah, there would be one on each side. It appears that all the important mounts are there. The original tank mounts on the top of the frame are gone, but that's not unusual for a frame that went through the original chopper era. The downtubes are straight, so that narrows it down to the last year of panhead or knucklehead (I guess technically the U/UL models used that too, but I don't think theirs differed any from the pan/knuckle. On the surface, it looks really rough, but that's all just cosmetic. I think you got a steal on a frame that has a lot of classic value. What are your plans for it? It would be a good starting point for a pretty cool project. Oh, the original seat "hinge" is still there, so it might be feasible to restore the original hydraulic seat post.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
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From: Aurora, CO
Here's a replica one that appears to keep pretty true to the original.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3017962...&ul_noapp=true
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3017962...&ul_noapp=true
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Stage IV
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 4
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From: Ohio
I just started cleaning all the paint and stuff off it. Plans were to go as original as possible. First restoration/build project.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
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From: Aurora, CO
If I remember correctly, the casting that has the tank and speedo mount is available as a replica aftermarket. You would need to weld it to the top tube of your frame.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 5,372
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From: Aurora, CO
Mine was a (sort of) rough estimate. Like you, I googled that number you gave and it seems to indicate a 40 or 41 knucklehead, which matches the physical evidence.