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Speeding Big Twin, do you have any info on 1981 shovels ?
I havent looked into them much and I didnt even have their VINs recorded in a certain order like I had done with Shovels from earlier years. I even had to check again what an AF was. Anyway, I went through my photos of 1981 Shovel VINs (engine and/or frame) and I have 23 examples that appear authentic. They range from 0104++ thru 1123++.
One of the examples which I didnt include in the 23 currently appears to be AH but the H looks like it was stamped over another character. But I cant tell what the original character was and I dont know if the overstamp was done at the factory or not.
Eric
I havent looked into them much and I didnt even have their VINs recorded in a certain order like I had done with Shovels from earlier years. I even had to check again what an AF was. Anyway, I went through my photos of 1981 Shovel VINs (engine and/or frame) and I have 23 examples that appear authentic. They range from 0104++ thru 1123++.
One of the examples which I didnt include in the 23 currently appears to be AH but the H looks like it was stamped over another character. But I cant tell what the original character was and I dont know if the overstamp was done at the factory or not.
Eric
I called HD and they said that my 1981 FXS was built February 8th 1981. The vin starts with 1HD1 so it is with the new system but is an AMF because the company was purchased in the summer. So they were prepping for the sale at that time ?
From what I can gather, in February 1981 H-D said it intended to purchase the company from AMF but the deal may not have been finalised until later that year.
Eric
Harley-Davidson started using the 17-digit VIN format beginning in the 1981 model year to comply with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulations. The "1HD" prefix indicates a U.S. Domestic Market bike, which has been the standard for nearly all Harleys from 1981 through the present.
Continued interests brings me to more certification data. I am at the point to where further VINs are a moot point, unless they break up large block numbers or are accompanied with the Certification date that is located on the foil decal.
For those also interested, here is the pattern that I am seeing for the 6 model big twins for 1973. The only "organized" numbers are those accompanied with the date. All others are just estimated.
As can be seen in the list below, I need some dates for the XL and FX models in order to get them started on the list. 6xxxx's thru 7xxxx's VINs should all be built in York. 1xxxx's, 2xxxx's, 3xxxx's, 4xxxxx's and 5xxxxx's should all be built in Milwaukee.
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