Vins and packages.

[Robert Luland]

I hear people from time to time say there bike came with this accessory package or another. I have always wondered if there is a source some were to cross reference the vin or does the factory still have this information and if so is it available. Input, Input, Input. Bob and Katie the super beagle.

[Chris Haynes]

I hear people from time to time say there bike came with this accessory package or another. I have always wondered if there is a source some were to cross reference the vin or does the factory still have this information and if so is it available. Input, Input, Input. Bob and Katie the super beagle.

It is on the Factory order Blanks. I have a lot of them on my VintageAmericanMotorcycles website below.

[Rubone]

Bob,
As far as I know and all I have researched over the years the only way to tell which package a particular bike came with is to find it in original condition, as sold, with that package. Otherwise, it is restore as you like with whatever package you like, as long as the package items jive with what was available. The factory does not have build records and did not ever keep them, unlike the English companies whose records tell you who the ordering dealer was as well as what it came with. For the last 20 years or so H-D has been trying to buy documentation for its archives because more of it is in private hands then in theirs. The only thing important to them in the early days was staying alive, not preserving history. Now, do not confuse build records with linebore or VIN records which only told them what cases originally came with which motor number. Emphasis on the ORIGINALLY! Case in point in the "Official Licensed Product" Book THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION , there is a picture of a '54 Panhead with optional paint that they state they Do Not Know if it was available but the original owner told them it came that way. However if you look in the '54 accessory catalog it goes into detail on the new Special paint job offered on the '54 models. They don't even know that what they did existed!
Robbie

[INLINE4NUT]

Lets not forget the dealers also had added trinkets to MCs, To the day our local dealer sold his place his son was famous for addons !! And if a rider came in bought a stripper and wanted to jazz it up a little ...it was done one piece at the time !! Other than the sheets people like Chris have saved I doubt there is a definitive answer records were shakey at best.

[Chris Haynes]

Also in some years chrome items were ordered individually, not in packages.