re-titled old bike

[Reko2]

I have a 37 hd ul that was re-titled in 82 with an assemled title.
The story the seller gave, is it was an Indiana Police motorcyle and did not require a ser#. The bike was purchased at auction and rebuilt in 1982 then issued the new title and engine case stamped with and Indiana builders ser#. Has anyone heard of this? The bike has the stock frame, engine and tranny but newer tins(47 style). Will I be able participate in AMCA events with it titled as an 82?

[Paps]

In my view and in short..........No. Paps

[Jim M]

No better way to get everyone on this site to respond then to put out a message about re-numbered cases. In short I agree with Paps.

I will also add that it is common to see state issued VIN numbers on some of these old bikes. It ruins the bikes value, but hey it has two wheels and runs so enjoy it.

this reminds me of a guy in town who was showing a big twin flathead, chrome repro name plates two tone dark brown and light tan on the tanks and fenders. He had a for sale sign saying it was a 1943 UL all original including paint. The sign had a big long explanation on it saying how rare it was and a price tag of $18,000. After laughing to myself, I walked over and bent down to look at the number boss (usually the first thing I do). What to my wondering eyes should appear but an obvious number job. And a really bad one at that. About a week later, I saw the same bike at another bike show with a new beaming owner. I talked to him acting like I had never seen this bike before. Of course he thought he had just purchased an original 43 UL and had to tell me about how rare it was. I sure hope he didn't pay the 18K for it..... I didn't have the heart to tell him.

Jim

[c.o.]

I agree with Jim. It's too bad that the numbers had to be fiddled with, it sort of ruins things as far as trying to appear original. I always hate to hear about someone being the brunt of a pathetic numbers story. I always hope that the fella didn't end up paying the current high-end market price....But it is still probably a cool old bike and should still be hitting the road to be enjoyed!!! Do you have any pics to share???

[Reko2]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies, I was hoping someone had heard of Harley building bikes without ser#s for govt. agencies. Anyway it is a good old motor and fun to ride. The stamped ser#'s appear to be done at the state DMV and the title is good. I hope to put many miles on it. But what's the AMCA's take on riding an re-built/re-titled bike on road runs ect.
Bob

[Jim M]

All complete bikes from harley were assigned a VIN number and were stamped at the factory (including bikes built for the government). Harley also had spare cases that were sent to dealers and the government with blank number bosses. These were for replacement purposes. You wil find that many of those are now being used to build a complete bike and are being stamped with non-factory numbers such as what you likely have..

I am not sure about the road runs etc.. but I would imagine that they are happy to have you as long as the bike is legal. I will let others that know chime in here...

Jim

[AdminGuy]

HD did supply blank cases to dealers for them to restamp. As did other manu.
Rare to see now adays.

Ride it! Welcome aboard! See you on the road.

[VPH-D]

The practice of supplying blank cases was long gone by the mid 70s.It probably ceased in the early 60s [too early for me to know first hand] You were required to send in the old cases, or at least the broken top portion of the left case in order to receive replacement cases. there was also a special form to use for crankcase orders. The only blank cases I have ever seen were WLA cases.
VPH-D

[HarleyCreation]

I have had 3-4 bikes/motors like this.

Years ago I built a WL out of "PREVIOUSLY JUNKED PARTS" and got a new title from the DMV that had that plastered on it it great big letters.

Then I had a Panhead once that had Knucklehead-year stamped cases. Go figure.

And I still have an ULH motor with with some weird extra California(?) serial number stamped on it.

Adds history but doesn't do a thing for serious collector value.

[Reko2]

Thanks guys,
I guess I won't worry about it's lineage and just ride it. It's all about the fun anyway. See ya down the road.
Bob

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by Reko2
Thanks guys,
I guess I won't worry about it's lineage and just ride it. It's all about the fun anyway. See ya down the road.
Bob

Yup, fun is what it's supposed to be all about.

And a 1937 UL is an extremely attractive motorcycle even if the case numbers have been fiddled with.

[INLINE4NUT]

Up here in Maine Ive seen alot of funky #s and the MCs are real some actually are real nice the only problem other than AMC meets is if you try and sell them out of state then it can become sticky Also if you ride out of strate to like Mass it can get down rite NASTY! that being said ENJOY your MC !!!!

[trebornostaw]

ore

oregon will issue a number on a blue metalic sticker on an assembled vehicle.i t is usually on the frame, but can be on the cycle engine. lotsa choppers had these vins. prior to my time here , 73, they stamped on state vin numbers.

[tomsum]

My 40ish WL has no numbers on the engine boss and had a blue metallic sticker glued on with a set of numbers from Nebraska that promptly came off when I cleaned the engine. Perhaps a WLA replacement as it has '42 casting numbers.