1965 paint lay-out

[brian]

I'm re-painting a 1965 FL that has already been re-painted. Does anyone have or know where to get the 2-tone paint lay-out on the tank. Also the width of the stripe.

[upsrod]

Brian,
The stripe is a 1/4" and is spaced a 1/4". I looked at factory photos......Rod

[Chris Haynes]

[billpedalino]

Chris' factory pictures show the real deal. But I think I understand the original intent of Brian's question. It tales a certain amount of atistic ability to place the curve if the design EXACTLY in the correct location. In my opinion, the paint scheme on the '65 FL is one of the simplist and most elegant. However, I've seen '65 FL's with very slight variations in where the rise of the design was placed in the front of the tank and it makes a marked difference in appearance. Harley used excellent graphic designers and they really knew how to place the curves in ways that really enhanced the lines of particular parts and of the overall machines. I guess that you really need to find a factory-painted tank to take measurements from or have a painter with real artistic talent.

I'm having the same problem with a 1966 Sportster tank layout - it's a simple layout, but easy to screw up if your not a graphics layout pro, which I'm certainly not. If anyone can help, I'd also be quite inerested.

[Chris Haynes]

Bill,
I found the best photos for repainting my '65 XLCH tank in the owners manual. Both side and top views. It made life easier.

[T. Cotten]

The most common fault that I see with '65 re-paints is an exaggerated curve at the front of the tank.

Does anyone have clear photos of the 3.5 gal scheme for '65s?
(Somebody posted thumbnails previously.)

....Cotten

[brian]

Thanks for all the info, measurements and photos. I will check them all out.

[MY65HD]

Does anyone have measurments from the emblem mounts or the emblems to the stripes?