found an old patch that had f*** the factory on it. I was just curious if anyone knew meaning behind it. pretty bored hasn't stopped snowing in days.

 

I'd say it has to do with the "stick it to the man" attitude. You know, anti-establishment type of thing.

 

It's not one I've ever seen over here in the UK.

 

Probably made by someone who got tired of lack of customer service from the MoCo ..... I know I'd like to have that patch in a large enough size for the back of my jacket or a vest , so far only founf one about 4 inches wide....... Which is NOWHERE close to my dissatisfaction , which will only be matched by never EVER buying a new one ever again! Plenty of aftermarket frames & engines out there.

 

I think they were from the AMF days. I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

 

Road Rat Roberts has made FTF patches 4ever.

His take on it is:

Got a problem with "you know who"? Seems a lot of people do. I resisted making this patch for a long time. Most people in the business have been harassed by the factory at one time or another, myself included. I always, chalked it up to "just business". Not the way I do business, but, in some people's book acceptable..... Now the factory has turned on their own customers, again. This is not new. Ever since 1948 our favorite motorcycle company has tried to distance themselves from people who chop or customize their product. That lightened up a little when the bowling ball company took over. A lot of people didn't like seeing the marquee stuck on golf carts and snowmobiles, but hey, it kept our favorite motorcycle company alive thru some hard times, so....... In all fairness to the bowling ball folks, they spent a lot of money, keeping our favorite motorcycle company's head above water. They weren't exactly friendly with us chopper people, but they never went out of their way to screw us either.... Now on to the latest from "you know who". It started on eBay. "You know who" has people combing the eBay auctions, reading ads to see if their product has had modifications made to it. If it has, they have the auction cancelled.....turned off!!! ***WHAT???*** That's right, it seems that somewhere up in their corporate ivory tower, someone decided this was a good idea? If you have put Edelbrock or S&S heads, or an STD transmission case, or Andrews gears, or from what I can tell, just about anything, except exhaust. According to "you know who", you no longer have the right to say in your ad that it's a product from "you know who"? But wait, that's not all...... "You know who" has taken this concept even further. They have a program that contacts every DMV (all 50 states) to try to get the DMV's to look for these modifications and when found, you will not be allowed to register your bike as a product of "you know who", nice huh? Don't get me wrong, I have always loved the product, even when it wasn't so good, and of course the people who ride it. But, I don't much care for the people who now control it. Hey, things change, they always do, hopefully, this policy of harassing their own customers will too. Perhaps, someday they will realize that it's more that just profit and loss, more than just a company that builds motorcycles.......

 

Not trying to hijack the thread but Texas Snake posted from one of the coolest "old school" sites around. Just wanted to let the "new kids" know that there's a ton of good reading, history and information to be had here... not to mention some really great PATCHES!

http://www.roadratroberts.com/

Definitely worth a visit!

 

Ya thats site is awesome, thanks for the link TexasSnake

 

I think there referring to a HARLEY FACTORY.

 

Saved that link myself...very cool site...