'62 frame id help

[charbo]

Hi All,

I’ve been an member since last year and this is my first post. I’m working on a ’62 FLH and would appreciate some help figuring out if the frame is an original.

Per, Mr. Palmer’s book “How To Restore Your Harley-Davidson” all ’48-’64 steering head castings have “XE 35F”. Also Mr. Palmer states that ’52 later top motor, seat T and tank mounts are stamped on the right side with the year followed by a letter representing the month.

Here’s what my frame has:

Steering head – cast number 47591-58. Not XE 35F.
Steering head – stamped letter followed by four stamped digits. No reference made to a stamped code by Mr. Palmer.

Rear upper casting for shocks and fender struts (left and right) – cast number 47651-58
Rear lower casting for swingarm (left and right) – cast number 47645-58

Top motor, seat T and tank mounts – stamped with “F1”. Note the month letter (June) is followed by the year.

What I can tell from the HD Service Manual’s frame diagram, HD Parts Book, vendor parts books and Mr. Palmer’s book everything else about the frame looks to be correct.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

charbo

[Perry Ruiter]

According to an article I have frames got a number starting in 1962. A or B followed by 3 or 4 digits (for 62 and 63). This is in a small font (much smaller than the 70's frame numbers) ... Perry

[charbo]

Thanks for the imfo Perry.

My frame has an “A” followed by 4 digits. The characters are 1/8” tall. Since my frame is stamped with the “F1” I figure it was a ’61 frame used in ’62. If that’s the case I assume they would have stamped the frame with the’62 and later style code your article refers to.

Also the fork lock is a Briggs & Stratton (per the key) with the stainless steel cover. It’s like the frame fits the bill to be an original, but at the same time there are questionable areas, like the steering head casting number and the order of the month and year stamp.

I did a title search, but they only have microfilm back to a given title number so the trail ended at 1985 for the bike. The previous owner told me the bike was a daily rider for a guy in the Air Force who owned it until ’96 and that he modernized the bike to make it more user friendly. This was the reason he gave me for it having 12 volts and electric start. The ’65+ style oil tank and battery box were crammed into the step-down frame along with a metal strap welded on to support the oil tank’s upper left corner. Luckily the strap wasn’t welded that great and I was able to break it off with a hammer and chisel.

One last thing. I found a crack on the weld where the tube and the lower left swingarm casting meet at the top. It goes all the way around weld. If frame is an original then I’ll see if I can get it repaired. If it’s not then I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Thanks again, charbo

[VPH-D]

The F1 means June of 1961. The frame was built for the 1962 model year. The A and four digits on the frame are numbers cross indexed to the engine serial number, trans case, and at some point, the lower tree. Your engine serial number is probably low in the number range for '62.
VPH-D

[charbo]

Thanks VPH-D,

I knew the “F” was for June, see my original post, just didn’t know if the month and year order mattered.

As for the stamped numbers I looked at the lower tree and the ’64 earlier style transmission case I got with the bike, and they all have a stamped code starting with “A” followed by four digits. Do you know if there is a set pattern used to index them back to the serial number or is it random? This is what I’ve got (the numbers have been changed to protect the innocent):

Serial number: 62FLH21xx
Frame: A 2113
Lower tree: A 1328
Trans: A 1453

Notice how the first two digits of the frame number match the first two digits of the serial number (21). And the last two digits of the frame number match the first two digits of the lower fork brace (13). However, none of the numbers match to the transmission case.

charbo

[VPH-D]

I'm sure there was a set pattern the factory used, but I have no idea what it was. It seems to me that I saw 70s era bikes with the letter 'L'. The cross index numbers were available to law enforcement personnel to help identify stolen bikes and parts. I think most people are unaware that the numbers mean something.
VPH-D

[dstrieter]

Charbo -

You might want to try calling Harley Davidson customer service at 414-343-4056. In my case (for a 63 FL), I provided them with my VIN and they gave me a "birth" date. Then he told me where to look for the Trans #, Fork stem bracket #, Frame stamp #, and Crankcase Production # and they were able to look through the hand written ledger (that I understand only goes back to 1962) and determine that all components on my bike were original to the bike as it was assembled (made me ONE HAPPY GUY). They WON'T tell YOU the numbers, only verify the numbers YOU provide to them. He also sent me a certification letter attesting that the numbers were original component as manufactured with the VIN.

My numbers ran like this:
Fork: BXXXX
Trans: AXXXX
Frame: BXXXX

My opinion is any matching whole or partial numbers would be a coincidence. None came close to matching on mine.

I delt with a gentleman named Peter Simet at HD who was VERY helpfull, although you need to be PATIENT, as the ledger is hand written and neither chronologically nor numerically arranged and therefore does take some time for him to look things up.

Hope this helps......Dale

63 KCPD AMCA 12775

[charbo]

Thanks, for the number Dale.

I gave them a call and left a message. Hopefully they'll call me back.

Thanks everyone for the help. I'll let you know how it turns out.

charbo

[charbo]

HD Support got back with me and said my VIN was good; however, they were unable to verify any of the other sub-numbers (engine case mfg, trans, frame or lower tree). They said my bike is an early ’62 with a birth date of July 31, 1961 and it’s common for them not to be able to find the sub-numbers. He said they have better luck with late model ‘62’s and on.

I figure since my frame is stamped June ’61 and the bike was built in July ‘61 and all the other numbers follow the standard practices of that time I’ll say it’s all original until proven otherwise.

Has anyone every heard of a bike having its trans, frame and lower tree replaced and the replacement parts being stamped to look like it is all original? I guess I’m asking has anyone ever heard of someone going through that kind of trouble for a regular bike, not one being restored for judging purposes? Wouldn’t most people just worry about the VIN on the engine since that’s all that really counts as far as the states were concerned?

Any way thanks for all the help.

Richard