Simple question, how does one determine the assembly build date from your VIN? I am not sure how to properly interpret the HD 17-digit VIN. Thank you -

 

I think the info you are looking for is in the owner's manual that came with your bike.

Regards,

Bill

 

Yes, I reviewed the manual. I was under the impression that you could get the build date of your bike from the VIN?

 

I saw something on harleydavidson.com I think. I will go back and look to see if I can find it again.

 

Call Harley at 414-343-4056 and ask them.

 

According to my owner's manual, position #6 will give you the 'introduction date' and position #8 will give you the year of manufacture.

The first number is position #1, the next two characters (usually HD) is position #2, the next number is position #3, the next two characters is position #4, the next letter is position #5 and the next number is position #6 which has 6 separate entries...

#1=Regular
#2=Mid year
#3=California regular
#4=Cosmetic changes
#5=California cosmetic changes
#6=California mid year

Then position #7 is a number and position #8 will be another number which is the year of manufacture; i.e., 6 = 2006

It doesn't look like the actual day and month of manufacture is available on the VIN.

 

Year of the vehicle is determined by the 10th digit. It started in 1981 with the letter "B". I won't list them all but you can pretty much go through the alphabet, and figure it out. They skipped the letters "I","O","Q","U", and "Z". "Y" is the letter for the year 2000. From there on out it is all numbers. So if the 10th digit of the VIN is "3", then you are looking at a 2003 vehicle. Who knows what they will do once we hit 2009. Probably be back to letters again.

 

There should be a plate, near the neck of the frame with the dates on it.

 

I contacted the MOCO customer service as suggested to make inquiries. The friendly and courteous HD representative that I spoke to was able to provide me with the information that I was seeking. Thanks to everyone for your help!