Identify This Old Harley?
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Road Captain
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From: Virginia
Identify This Old Harley?
My wife's grandfather died a couple of months before his 100th birthday, Among the pictures displayed after the funeral was this picture of him and my wife's grandmother. The best info I could find was that the picture was taken in the late 30's. Can anyone identify the bike?
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[QUOTE=470004;19612463]Looking at the primary cover, Four-Five.[/QUOTE
yes its a flathead but:
drive chain on left side equals big twin
its a V model
early had flat fenders, 32 on had the round as pictured with Art Deco tank graphics
last year is 36 37 brought in U model flats with recirculating oil system V was total loss
availability in 74 & 80 cid
yes its a flathead but:
drive chain on left side equals big twin
its a V model
early had flat fenders, 32 on had the round as pictured with Art Deco tank graphics
last year is 36 37 brought in U model flats with recirculating oil system V was total loss
availability in 74 & 80 cid
Last edited by eighteight; Dec 20, 2020 at 04:36 PM.
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From: New York
[QUOTE=eighteight;19612475]
You are correct. Did not see the final drive chain on the left side. My bad.
Looking at the primary cover, Four-Five.[/QUOTE
yes its a flathead but:
drive chain on left side equals big twin
its a V model
early had flat fenders, 32 on had the round as pictured with Art Deco tank graphics
last year is 36 37 brought in U model flats with recirculating oil system V was total loss
availability in 74 & 80 cid
yes its a flathead but:
drive chain on left side equals big twin
its a V model
early had flat fenders, 32 on had the round as pictured with Art Deco tank graphics
last year is 36 37 brought in U model flats with recirculating oil system V was total loss
availability in 74 & 80 cid
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Road Captain
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From: Virginia
Thanks for the information, always cool to find out details on an old family photo.
After his funeral I had a copy of the picture enlarged and framed it, and had a local photo store try to match the patina on a picture from our wedding in 1996. I gave the matching set to my wife for her birthday.
After his funeral I had a copy of the picture enlarged and framed it, and had a local photo store try to match the patina on a picture from our wedding in 1996. I gave the matching set to my wife for her birthday.
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From: Western Australia
That style of front and rear mudguard was introduced for 1934 and H-D called it an air-flo design. Also introduced for 1934 was that air-flo tail light.
However, the tank graphics indicate the bike is a 1935 model and youll see the same graphics on the 1935 prototype below. There were at least eight types of V-series machines available for 1935 but three were equipped with sidecars and one was a competition special. That leaves four so I imagine the bike in your photo is one of these: Model VD, VFD, VLD or VLDD.
Eric
However, the tank graphics indicate the bike is a 1935 model and youll see the same graphics on the 1935 prototype below. There were at least eight types of V-series machines available for 1935 but three were equipped with sidecars and one was a competition special. That leaves four so I imagine the bike in your photo is one of these: Model VD, VFD, VLD or VLDD.
Eric
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Road Captain
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From: Virginia
That style of front and rear mudguard was introduced for 1934 and H-D called it an air-flo design. Also introduced for 1934 was that air-flo tail light.
However, the tank graphics indicate the bike is a 1935 model and youll see the same graphics on the 1935 prototype below. There were at least eight types of V-series machines available for 1935 but three were equipped with sidecars and one was a competition special. That leaves four so I imagine the bike in your photo is one of these: Model VD, VFD, VLD or VLDD.
Eric
However, the tank graphics indicate the bike is a 1935 model and youll see the same graphics on the 1935 prototype below. There were at least eight types of V-series machines available for 1935 but three were equipped with sidecars and one was a competition special. That leaves four so I imagine the bike in your photo is one of these: Model VD, VFD, VLD or VLDD.
Eric
The only difference I see in the two pictures is the seat mount. Was there an option for a one or two person seat?