54 KHK in the gallery...

[sportsterpaul]

I believe these 3I and 3J date coded frames were replacement frames intended for 52 and 53 K models.

Thanks! You just made my Frankenstien project "correct." I bought a 1952 engine on eBay, and then this 1954 rolling chassis, that seems to be pretty correct as far as being how it was made in 1954. Sorry, no VIN or belly numbers to go with this frame. Here is the write-up I did on uncrating the frame.

Just so you can see what I have, I just re-shot the neck and stamp with my GH3, man what a nice camera. Natural light with a tripod turned out best.

Here is the right side.

1954MY_1953-10_K-model-frame-neck_rt_sfw.jpg (139.17 KiB) Viewed 15626 times

Here is the left side:

1954MY_1953-10_K-model-frame-neck_lf_sfw.jpg (141.03 KiB) Viewed 15626 times

Here is the stamp:

1954MY_1953-10_K-model-frame-stamp_sfw.jpg (144.33 KiB) Viewed 15626 times

I note the tack-weld on the main tube. Patrick knows all about the silver-solder/brazing/welding, so I wonder if these tack welds are not some clue. That this is a service frame for a wrecked 52/53 is perfectly plausible to me. The front end would have gotten munged, and I am sure the dealers knew to keep the 52/53 front ends matched to the low-rake 52/53 frames. When they replaced with the late-model frame, they were sure to use the late-model front end.

And we have to remember, that the casting number on the neck is just that, the neck number, not a frame number, and there is no telling which bin the drunk Harley guys reached into on any given day.

This whole thing might mean there were frames stamped with a false date code. The other possibility is that the 3J frame I have was built with the hacked-up neck casting and made for service replacement. Then years later, Harley got a conscience about the crappy-looking neck, and un-soldered it and replaced it with this neck.

We know far a fact that there are engine cases sold to dealers with no VIN, that the dealer would transfer the original VIN to it when he did a case replacement. So now we have to wonder if dealers had frame stamps too-- and went nuts with them as well.

It already looks like there are PBR* welds, and careful welds to do the rake change. Dave H really made things come alive for me, when he talked about the poor sales and financial troubles Harley was having. Their desperation shows in these early K-models, and I am sure they would do some real half-a$$ed things to save a few dollars. It was rework mania. It sounds like the dealers were just an extension of the factory, and would put together all kinds of stuff of their own.

It is awesome how much information you folks are collecting about this 60-year-old machine. I think over time, thanks to social media like this forum, more and more examples will come to fore, and we can maybe, just maybe figure out what Harley was doing so long ago.

*Pabst Blue Ribbon

[hennesse]

So Dave how do you figure my 554-3221 belly numbers fit in with the production of Ks in 54 and what your calling later in the run numbers?
JerryR

Jerry,

Your 54 KH 10xx with belly numbers 554-3221 is a real head-scratcher.

Let's observe a 1954 non-trapdoor engine and its markings. For this, we'll use my 1954 KH 2189.

Left Case Serial Number

my1954-left-case-serial.jpg (112.61 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

Belly Numbers

my1954-belly-numbers.jpg (119.07 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

Left Case Casting Number and Date Code

my1954-left-case-casting.jpg (419.98 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

The belly numbers, 554-1979, precede the serial number by about 200. This is as expected, as some engine case sets were matched (line-bored, etc.) during the last months of the previous year.

The big surprise here is the date code on the left side crankcase - it is "6 3", which translates to June 1953. The Guess-O-Meter says my bike was shipped around June 1954. WAIT-A-MINUTE – were the engine cases really cast a whole year in advance?

Bruce Palmer (http://www.howtorestoreyourharleydavidson.com) says "The casting date codes reference the date of manufacture at the company making the piece, and not the production year of the motorcycle. …the codes always precede the motorcycle's build date by several weeks or months (and occasionally two or three years if a surplus of pieces were made in advance – noticeably in the mid-1950s to late 1960s pieces)".

Harley was still in "batch mode", as "just-in-time manufacturing" was years in the future. Since it appears that Harley had a large financial stake in Eck Foundries, they might have had Eck produce Harley castings when orders were slow for other Eck business. Whatever, it appears that engine cases for almost the entire 1954 season were in stock at the beginning of the 1954 model year. So it's not surprising that many/most 1954s did NOT have the trapdoor.

Someone came up with the trapdoor idea, and Harley decided to make some. Perhaps that someone was in the Engineering Department. Perhaps the trapdoor was developed for the KR racers – the racers would certainly benefit from the ease of maintenance and ability to easily tune the transmission for a certain track. Perhaps the someone was someone like Dick O'Brien and Puckett Motors in Orlando?


Jerry, does your case have any casting dates or other marks? My suspicion is that they were cast pretty close to when they were used. And the sporadic release throughout 1954 may have been to someone like O'Brien. Then towards the end of the year, they were built/released in larger quantities as the supply of the older non-trapdoor units dwindled, and new production for the 1955 model year began.

For your belly numbers, I can see no way that these could follow the normal sequence. My guess is that Harley assigned a starting number like 3000 for the trapdoor motors. If, as I suspect, these were special motors for special people, this new sequence would not intrude upon the regular production process.

We really need to record the belly numbers, and any casting dates, for the 1954 trapdoor motors. In addition, we should get (even if we don’t publish it) the full serial number of any 1954 trapdoors. At one time, the factory kept records on every bike produced – from the serial number, they could tell you the belly numbers and which dealer the bike was shipped to. I don’t know if these records still exist. If they do, they probably don’t give out the information to anyone except law enforcement. But if there was ever a chance, we'd need to have the full serial numbers.


Here are photos of my other engine castings. None have any date codes or other marks. Palmer says that some date codes were in places which were machined off later in the production process – perhaps my right engine case is an example, or perhaps it never had one. The Circle-E seen on some aluminum castings is the hallmark for Eck Foundries, but I don’t think these appeared until later years.

Right Case Casting Number

my1954-right-case-casting.jpg (146.7 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

Cam Cover Casting Number

my1954-cam-cover-casting.jpg (56.43 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

Primary Cover Casting Number

my1954-primary-casting.jpg (53.15 KiB) Viewed 15622 times

Dave

[55panman]

You say you should try to get number info from the factory. I heard years ago that factory records had been destroyed in a fire in the 60's or 70's.

[JerrryR]

Hi All,
Three things from this thread that I want to discuss:
First, SportsterPaul, your frame is not one of the welded reraked -52 neck castings, it is a good looking -52A casting that I believe first surfaced about your date code of J3. I am aware of at least one more with the same date code. Look at the casting number on the web on the right side of your frame neck casting and you will see it ends in -52A. I am not confusing this casting number with the frame part number which coincidently is I believe the PN 47014-52A shown in the 54 and 56 parts books. I have checked and as best as I can measure I believe the early and later factory rerake weld jobs give the frame the same profile as the -52A neck casting. The correct K frame for your 52-53 K motor would be one with the unmolested, no rerake, -52 neck castings of which there are 5 different versions depending on how finely you want to dissect this. If your not going for a judged restoration then none of this matters. From the pictures I would say your frame is original and not repaired. The spot or tack welds connecting the backbone to the neck casting are appropriate.

Second I am absolutely convinced that these reraked -52 neck casting frames were the work of the factory. First the welds are all consistent, they look the same. I have two H3 date coded 54 frames with the reraked later weld job in my barn as we speak. One is on my 18XX VIN KHK and the other is on my friends 14XX VIN KH. In addition I have seen at least another 10 examples of the same reraked -52 neck casting and they all look the same. In all my searching/investigating of these K frames I have only encountered one that had a date code appropriate for a 54K that had a neck casting that was not a reraked -52 or a 52A, it was the 3I frame that I discussed in another post earlier in this thread. Patrick when I get back home from vacation I will try to take some good measurements of the early 52-53 K frames and compare them to the 54-55 K frames to see if I can detect any clearance differences.

The third thing that I want to talk about is the relationship between VINS, belly numbers and trap doors but it's getting late and I'm tired so to be continued.
Have a good night,
JerryR

[thefrenchowl]

Thanks for your insights Jerry...

More stuff:

My 54 KHK 2540 has paired belly numbers 554-2558, quite high...

Photos of my K frame, casting number -52 (that's the one I still have, the taller of the 2 I had at one time):

General aspect:



Casting mould (parting line?) defect on both sides:





Welds along the web, both sides:





No code:



Patrick

[thefrenchowl]

And the K moded KH bottom tripple tree that goes with my 54 KHK 2540:





Patrick

[thefrenchowl]

Another -52 neck, on an early KRTT, sand blasted, that shows none of the defects on my frame... ???





Top of the casting had split hence Jim Haubert's repair job and retubing, quite neat...

Patrick

[hennesse]

To add some fuel to the trapdoor fire:

I called Dean Hummer last night. Dean was the Omaha dealer for whom the Harley Hummer was named. Dean recalls that he received a 1954 KH demonstrator at the beginning of the year, and that it had a trapdoor. He also had a (1954?) KHRM, and it also had a trapdoor. That's all he can remember. Dean is 88 years old, and still rides his motorcycle, albeit a modern one. When I congratulated him for being "alive and kicking", he said that these days he prefers push-button starting over the kicking kind. His current project is a 1965 Electra-Glide which he sold brand new, then bought back for $100 after the owner wrecked it.

[Yard Dog]

Patrick,

Thanks for the pics of the K necks. Good stuff !

Maybe I've had too much coffee this morning , but could that taller K frame with the welded neck web be an early factory attempt at adjusting the rake or was it an isolated effort by someone for more engine clearance (possibly OHV w/stroker plates) ? My knowledge of Big Twins is limited but I remember reading a narrative about factory bent backbone frames as a temporary solution to a rake/trail problem sometime in the 40's.

Jack

[thefrenchowl]

My theory veers towards the OHV version...

The factory was busy from the inset of the K project with the future, they knew it would have to be an OHV version at some stage.

The growth of the K frame might be related to the OHV having to fit an existing set up, or only ever so slightly modified...

But then, my 2 frames are with no date codes, so both from 1952/53???

I only know for sure that the KL (Short height cause short stroke/big bore, single camshaft in the Vee) was abandoned in 1954 when the "Tall height OHV long stroke small bore version on top of side valve bottom end" started, what was to be named the Sportster in good time...

Patrick