1955 hd badges why?

[p aiello]

does anybody know why harley put the badges on the 1955 model year 54 was the 50th aniversary just wonderin
pat

[Paquette]

Harley-Davidson has always been about production and selling motorcycles. If they had 1954 stuff left over in 55 they used it. Remember that the 1954 model year started in July 1953 and the 1955 model year in July 1954.

[Johnny]

The real question is : "If 1954 was their 50th anniversary, how could 1958 have been their 55th anniversary?"

[p aiello]

if they were leftover from 54 why didn't they use them in 54 and they don't say 50 th aniversary on them maybe they were thinking colector addition and missed the boat in 55 ?
pat

[VPH-D]

The 1954 fender badge is different from the 1955 badge.
VPH-D

[jwl]

Been thinking about the fender emblem question and it seems to me that if HD started in 03 like they say they did then 1952 would have been their 50th year in business. Why they waited until 54 to mark their 50th is beyond me. As to the question, why they used an emblem in 55 also, the only reason I can think of is that they had a bunch of fenders with 3 little holes in the front that they just come up with a new emblem to mark the first year of the hi-performance H model and have a way to plug the holes. I have absolutely no evidence that any of this is true but one guess is as good as another.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by jwl
Been thinking about the fender emblem question and it seems to me that if HD started in 03 like they say they did then 1952 would have been their 50th year in business. Why they waited until 54 to mark their 50th is beyond me. As to the question, why they used an emblem in 55 also, the only reason I can think of is that they had a bunch of fenders with 3 little holes in the front that they just come up with a new emblem to mark the first year of the hi-performance H model and have a way to plug the holes. I have absolutely no evidence that any of this is true but one guess is as good as another.

Plugging holes in leftover fenders sounds like something Harley-Davidson would do.

Unless in 1955 H-D was quietly celebrating it's correct 50th year of production, which we know today began in 1905 and not in 1903 as commonly believed.

[partshunt]

Harley Aniversary: So far, my thinking is that the older Harley family used 54 as the fiftieth "factory production" aniversary. So that 1954 was thier year and they didnt consider thier 03 "home brew" backyard version of 03. However, Willie and the boys thinking the "family name", celebrated 2003 as the aniverdsary becaouse that was when the family name built the first bike or two that year. There seems to be two areas of thinking there otherwise, 2004 would be the magic year. To confuse things more, 05 would really be the starting year production wise and go from there forever. Mabe cuz Indian goes back to thier beginning in 01, the new generation Harley people had to back things closer to the Indian start year. Maybe the Harley/Indian was is still there in the back rooms, ha ha

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by partshunt
Harley Aniversary: So far, my thinking is that the older Harley family used 54 as the fiftieth "factory production" aniversary. So that 1954 was thier year and they didnt consider thier 03 "home brew" backyard version of 03. However, Willie and the boys thinking the "family name", celebrated 2003 as the aniverdsary becaouse that was when the family name built the first bike or two that year. There seems to be two areas of thinking there otherwise, 2004 would be the magic year. To confuse things more, 05 would really be the starting year production wise and go from there forever. Mabe cuz Indian goes back to thier beginning in 01, the new generation Harley people had to back things closer to the Indian start year. Maybe the Harley/Indian was is still there in the back rooms, ha ha

The true sequence of events (what was built and sold when) was badly messed up at a very early date. It has taken almost a hundred years to figure that out and then offer a plausible true chronology.

You are right on the money that the trouble originated because Indian could claim 1901 and that the "Harley people had to back things closer to the Indian start year."

But it wasn't the "new" generation that done it, but Harley's first advertising manager back in 1908!

It started THAT early, which also explains why it took so long to figure it out!

[c.o.]

There's a fella right now that has an add on George's World Wide Antique Cycle Trader that has a 50th Anniversary badge collection for sale. He has both the '54 and '55 versions.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by c.o.
There's a fella right now that has an add on George's World Wide Antique Cycle Trader that has a 50th Anniversary badge collection for sale. He has both the '54 and '55 versions.

Went to the site, but don't see a photo.

I'd like to take a closer look at the 1955 version.

Anybody have photo/link to the 1955 Anniversary medallion?