I need some direction in finding my dad's old Harley. I do realize the odds are against me. What avenues should I try first?

Dad was in the Navy from 1941-1947. He puchased a 1947 EL from Tokar Harley Davidson on Fulton St. in Brooklyn. He drove it 80,000 trouble free miles and sold it in 1961 or '62 from a Marcella, New Jersey address to a guy in New York. Dad was a DC fireman at the time. Dad passed last October and i'm missing him a lot these days.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. (I do have the motor number)

Thanks, Brad

 

haven't got a clue but if you figure it out let me know I would love to find my old 49fl that I put a knuckle in> I even know the town it should be in and it is a small town..

 

Looking for a bike that was sold 47 years ago would be a miracle to find, you'd have to track the person or persons family that bought the bike from your dad and go from there,,,, good luck with your quest, sorry about your dad's passing.

 

carfax would tell you if it is still registered and where.

 

Having the vehicle number, maybe the NYDMV can help. I don't know if they can give that info out to just anyone tho. Good luck.

 

I do not have the buyers name, Dad did not remember it. I tried carfax but the four numeral motor number would not work. Dmv in N.Y. sounds good, but I dought they'd give me that info. It is worth a try though! Thanks for the replys.

 

Cross post this along with any info you can come up with on a variety of forums. I'm pretty active on some gun boards and a few years back a guy was trying to locate a specific Garand carried by his dad in WWII ... thought there was no possible way ... but one guy passed the into to another guy who passed it to another and within about 6 months he had found the gun. (Still amazed at that one)

Have a good one,
Dave

 

Chances of the motor number matching the VIN (if they even had one back then) are slim, thus eliminating the possibility of a registration with DMV. They use VINs.

Good luck. It could be in pristine condition sitting in some museum, or it could have been melted down and made into plumbing supplies by now. Or anything in between.

 

Thanks Guys, I'll google some other sites and try posting there as well. I have Dads original purchase order from Tokar HD, and the only number they give is the four didget motor number, no vin. The price was $735.00 plus $28.00 for 1 delux group, not sure what that consisted of.

 

If by some slim chance it made it through the chopper era it may well have been sold into Europe in the 1980's. Many thousands of old bikes were cannibalized for parts in the 60's & 70's, and many more went overseas in the 1980's. They had buyers in the US shipping them back over to europe and Oz in containers. That's why you don't see as many shovelheads and Panheads as you would expect. I know i sold 64FLH 10873(has interesting history) into Switzerland, would love to talk to the present owner about the bikes history if it still exists.