Saturday evening post

[HarleyCreation]

What are you guys talking about?

Don't these fringed & skirted Brookfield ("Otrusina") Buddy Seats officially exist?

I have one. Barry has another.

Do we have a 3rd in the house?

Here we go:

Here's a nice 1951 article reprinted from "Buzzzz mag" about Joe Otrusina (Brookfield) leather works. Says he came from the Old Country and started his business around 1948. Began by making bags and seat for his JD.

From the sound of it, Otrusina invented the FAT (thick) Buddy Seat.

Shows inside and outside views of his shop. Made bags in all shapes and sizes. Says Joe was a friendly guy. Stop and visit him.

Another unsung hero many of us have never heard of before. At least I never heard of him. And on my bike there's a matching set of his Buddy Seat and long fringed saddlebags (lost one).

http://books.google.com/books?id=6hf...+leather+works

http://books.google.com/books?id=6hf...ed=0CAkQ6AEwAA

[c.o.]

Gasp!

A Chummee skirt on a Buddy seat?

How AMCA "incorrect" can you get!

All such history must be destroyed before someone realizes it was real.

...Cotten

Quick let's get the photo evidence off of here before it becomes part of the gospel!!

[c.o.]

Herb, sorry to here such a story about your friend.

Glad to hear you still have the Pan! Tell me do you plan on resurrecting the old girl?

[T. Cotten]

Gasp!

A Chummee skirt on a Buddy seat?

How AMCA "incorrect" can you get!

All such history must be destroyed before someone realizes it was real.

...Cotten

[HarleyCreation]

This thread has wandered off a bit as so many do but that's what I like about his forum! There's a lot to be learned here for sure. Herb, I can imagine that losing that bag was a kick in the guts. That's the kind of stuff that one always seems to refect back to. Did you say you still have that Pan?

Yes, the thread has deviated, but it is still about leather-dressed (pre-fiberglass) Panheads, which is what the Tex bike was about and nothing more.

Kick in the gut was right. I haven't thought about losing that saddlebag for years, which being weathered and sagging to match its mate was unique.

A few days after losing it a pal of mine, Jeffery, and I rode back up there to look some more. I had a wild notion it could be in the ditch hidden in the weeds. It wasn't.

Jeffery had a stock 1968 FLH just bought because he liked my stock Panhead. Not many did as those were still Limey and chopper daze. We rode up from Racine to NW of Milwaukee where I lost it and cruised up and down the road. No luck. But it was a fine summer day and a good ride.

We stopped and ate our provisions and drank apple wine (he was on a "Boonesfarm" kick) in a cool old German pioneer graveyard on top of a commanding hill. In the hazy distance of that beautiful rolling moraine countryside we could see the fairytale like church & monastery on Holy Hill a few miles away. I mention that because it fit my own sad tragic mood about losing that precious saddlebag because I knew it could never be replaced. A true lost love.

That took place in 1975, I think.

Jeffery soon sold his 68FLH (electric-start only) for a 67FLH with electric AND kickstart. That was a hot setup. But it brought him no luck. Jeffery crashed it on a gravel road in northern Wisconsin the next summer and in crutches with a broken leg started prescribing his own painkillers. You can guess the rest. Jeffery was a good pal. He liked to ride. At his funeral I pinned a little Panhead badge to his collar. He still has it.

[HarleyCreation]

Wow! Talk about good timing. I just picked up this seat and was trying to identify it! This IS the best forum!

Your saddle looks very close to mine with the same long fringes and short curlies. Probably same Brookfield make. Mine only white, now silent gray.

Your leather is in good shape. Mine was more cracked and I later covered it with a piece of split leather dyed brown.

[HarleyCreation]

What year is that 58 Duo Glide on the post card?
Joe

Joe,

You need more sleep and no mistake!

:-)

[HarleyCreation]

Dave

That looks like they could be the short fringe set of bags I have. Very similar to my seat too. This is probably the firm.

Great info on that postcard. I have never heard of Joseph Otrusina before, but now have a card on him. That is some Old World sounding name and maybe he brought some skills over with him. Gotta be a good story there.

Notice both the name and address change on the postcard. Either he moved and changed names, or sold out. Apparently Otrusina Leather Works predated 1958, but how much older?

[/QUOTE]

[c.o.]

This thread has wandered off a bit as so many do but that's what I like about his forum! There's a lot to be learned here for sure. Herb, I can imagine that losing that bag was a kick in the guts. That's the kind of stuff that one always seems to refect back to. Did you say you still have that Pan?

Barry....... very cool scoop! That seat is a gem!!!

Wow! Talk about good timing. I just picked up this seat and was trying to identify it! This IS the best forum!

[Slojo]

What year is that 58 Duo Glide on the post card?
Joe

[BNSONS]

brookfield bags



Dave

[HarleyCreation]

Herb,
Hard to tell from your pic but they look like well weathered Brookfield bags. They came in different sizes and long or short fringe either color matched or white. I have a couple of different ones kicking around here. The big ones are really big and look best on a Duo-Glide.
Robbie

I have encountered "Brookfield" bags that were virtually identical to "Lyons" bags.
Since both names are also Chicago suburbs, I wonder if both were the same producer, who changed names when they re-located.

....Cotten

Thanks for the info. These saddlebags were big but not overly big for an early Pan. They looked about right to my eyes and were a good fit to the rest of the bike. In the left one I carried my rain-gear and tire & chain repair stuff. The right one I left empty unless traveling. Of course since I was the only one with saddlebags at first, I got to carry the beer.

Frankly, I had never heard of "Brookfield" or "Lyons" saddlebags before. Goes to show how little I know about my own bike and that later stuff. But I have many interviews from guys from the Harley factory who knew Panheads. Good stuff if I ever work my way up to that era. Gotta live long enough, I guess.

These must have been white originally. And yes, they were well-weathered when I got them. They were probably some old dude's take-offs. They came out of West Bend, Wis. An ex-dealer gave a kid a bunch of old Harley stuff, including shop tools which I did not get. I loved that weathered saggy look. It fit the rest of the bike which was not much chromed and had all original used patina parts. I re-painted, but did not chrome or re-chrome anything. After my chopper "daze" I became anti-chrome and moved towards earth tones and flat black. I embarked on my own private Harley-land nostalgia trip long before the Heritage Softail came along.

I also had a pair of short-fringed saddlebags that were same size and similar in contruction. I used one of those to replace the lost right-side bag. But like I said, it was not the same and I never did recover from the loss and the broken heart that came with it.

Did "Brookfield" or "Lyons" bags have wood bracing inside of them when new? Do we know anything about the years and history of company? Were they in fact made in or near Chicago? I couldn't find anything on the internet.

[T. Cotten]

I have encountered "Brookfield" bags that were virtually identical to "Lyons" bags.
Since both names are also Chicago suburbs, I wonder if both were the same producer, who changed names when they re-located.

....Cotten

[Rubone]

Herb,
Hard to tell from your pic but they look like well weathered Brookfield bags. They came in different sizes and long or short fringe either color matched or white. I have a couple of different ones kicking around here. The big ones are really big and look best on a Duo-Glide.
Robbie