strap tank harley pops up at Oley!

[silentgreyfello]

Heard from a guy that was there that a cobbled-together homemade motorbike with a strap-tank motor in it showed up at Oley. Rumor has it that it layed there for 4 hours before a guy from Florida knew what it was and bought it for 6k! Apparently the Harley-Davidson on the cases was ground off. I would love to see some photos if anyone has some.

[c.o.]

Oh, photos would be cool! Hopefully Rob and Lucy made it to Oley!!!

[LouieMCman]

I heard through the grapevine that it's Dale Axlerods from FL. Damn this internet thing is great.........

[exeric]

When I first read Silentgreyfellow's post, I thought of either Dale Axelrod, or Dave Clemons. Whenever I see them at a car, tractor, or bike meet here in Florida, I figure the good stuff is gone.

[silentgreyfello]

Dale got it. Good for him! Someone said 1906. PHOTOS ANYONE?

[EricOlson]

I think Matt Olsen may have some pictures of it over at his sight. http://oldbikesinsd.blogspot.com/

[c.o.]

Thanks for scaring that up Eric. Mmmm... eight bolt.

[jurassic]

It was a really good time. I think finding 1823 probably made the meet. As far as I know there were only 12 eight bolt motors known to exist, and now there's 13. My list showed that the earliest VIN number of known eight bolt engines was 1835, so this 1823 engine is now the earliest known eight bolt, and also the earliest known harley VIN number because six bolt engines dont have VIN numbers. Its also interesting to note that the 1823 engine had the VIN number stamped in 5 different places on the outside of the engine, which is like other eight bolts. So the question is , when did the first eight bolts come out of the factory? If we can figure that out then we will know what year this engine is.

[silentgreyfello]

Lonnie, with the number 1823, can it be assumed it is still 1907, or are you thinking late '06? It seems to me that the logical point from one model year to the next 1906-7 would be the break point of 6 bolt to 8, and also the introduction of the ealry sager fork. Perhaps the numbering started in 1907 with 1800? It is kind of odd that it would start anywhere near that number, though, when the total production prior to 1907 was well under 100 units from the beginning, even by HD's often embellished count. The other oddity is why they would grind off the "Harley-Davidson Milwaukee" from the cases. Is it possible that Harley also sold motors for others to build motorbikes? I know the Comet motor in JP's bike is very similar, but not exact.

[c.o.]

I believe early on H-D sold engines for whatever application you wanted to use them for. I just don't know for sure how long they did this though. The lack of lettering has me a little puzzled. I guess it's time to hit the books!!! Man, that was a great find. It just goes to show that there could be more stuff that has yet to be uncovered.

[silentgreyfello]

It just goes to show that there could be more stuff that has yet to be uncovered.

No doubt about that! That's what keeps us turning over rocks I guess. I find it hilarious when someone will say "one of only 4 in existence" or whatever. It may be a small world when it comes to antique motorcycles, but not as small as one would think.

[jurassic]

I dont think the "Comet " motor theory holds any water. For starters if you look at pictures of a comet, the comet engine really looks nothing like a harley engine. the 1823 engine looks exactly like a harley engine in every way, including the location of the 5 VIN numbers and the size and font of those numbers. Over the years I have seen several different makes of engines that were in rebadged chassis, or used for different applications, and all of them had the lettering removed professionally. Either by machining off the lettering or taking off the lettering prior to casting. When Dale brought 1823 back to his space we laid it sideways on the table and got a good look at where the lettering use to be, and you could definatly see evidence of where the lettering had been removed. And it wasn't machined off, it had been removed by hand as there were very small waves in the aluminum. I believe that when harley sold engines they left Harley Davidson on the cases.

[rwm]

Oh, photos would be cool! Hopefully Rob and Lucy made it to Oley!!!

kind of funny. lucy and i would always leave are things at dales space. she would watch his stuff as he went out looking. well for 2 years i have been working out of town that weekend so no photos sorry.
did harley make the first motors they used or did they buy them from evenrude?

[jurassic]

It doesn't seem logical that the factory would start their VIN numbers with 1800, but lets say they did. That means that from VIN number 1800 to the lastest known 8 bolt VIN number, which is 2278, about 478 machines were produced for 1907 and 1908 combined. Does that sound right?

[c.o.]

kind of funny. lucy and i would always leave are things at dales space. she would watch his stuff as he went out looking. well for 2 years i have been working out of town that weekend so no photos sorry.
did harley make the first motors they used or did they buy them from evenrude?

No problem Rob. I guess you and Lucy get a pass in the photo department. Evinrude engines appear somewhat similar to the early H-D powerplants but I don't think they got their motors from Oley. Didn't Perry Mack have something to do with early design? I'm guessing that it's time to take a spin through Herbs' book again.

It doesn't seem logical that the factory would start their VIN numbers with 1800, but lets say they did. That means that from VIN number 1800 to the lastest known 8 bolt VIN number, which is 2278, about 478 machines were produced for 1907 and 1908 combined. Does that sound right?

I had a look through early reports and it seems that it was closer to 600 machines produced between '07 and '08. It's good to hear you got a good look at this latest piece. The photos don't really show the ground off letters very well.