H-D Production IoE V-twins 1909-1929

[Tommo]

I think anybody should be very careful when holding up restored bikes as a benchmark as to what a specific year should look like.
The exhausts on both the 1922 and 1923 that you posted Steve are not at all like what the factory fitted in the day.
The 22 has no cut out door on the muffler and the 23 tail pipe is slash cut on the end and totally the wrong profile.
I don't put exhaust cut outs in the systems I make for 1925 to 28 Harleys because that is the way I like it but I make sure anyone photographing my bikes are aware of this and don't take it as factory.
My point here is that restored bikes can be very misleading and cause a lot of grief to the person looking to do a perfectly factory restoration.

[Steve Swan]

I think anybody should be very careful when holding up restored bikes as a benchmark as to what a specific year should look like.
The exhausts on both the 1922 and 1923 that you posted Steve are not at all like what the factory fitted in the day.
The 22 has no cut out door on the muffler and the 23 tail pipe is slash cut on the end and totally the wrong profile.
I don't put exhaust cut outs in the systems I make for 1925 to 28 Harleys because that is the way I like it but I make sure anyone photographing my bikes are aware of this and don't take it as factory.
My point here is that restored bikes can be very misleading and cause a lot of grief to the person looking to do a perfectly factory restoration.

Tommo, i very much totally appreciate what you are saying regarding the hazards of using a restored motorcycle as a benchmark for determining/assuming originality. my feeling on any restored motorcycle, no matter how faithful the execution in keeping with original, the bike is not original. not to misunderstand what i am saying, i do appreciate the pains-taking effort and the time required to make every detail of the bike as close to original as possible.

the reason i started this thread is because i knew essentially nothing about H-D V-twins and knew there was at least 21 model years of twins, so i started collecting off the internet the best possible pictures of each year model i could find. i quickly realized looking at these pics of different years, i had no clue what i really was looking at, if these bikes were actually the year purported and what was correct or incorrect.

it just hit me one evening, i had all these pics and thought perhaps it would be nice to have a thread where all the different years could be seen in one place. i was hoping when i started the thread, people would post pics of better examples such as unmolested original machines. and certainly hope fellows will post original factory information, as you, Robbie and John have been doing.

all that being said, i realize some of these pics of these restored machines, undoubtedly some of you fellows know the owners and may possibly be reluctant to scrutinize in writing what is not correct on these bikes.

i just thought it would be fun to see the 21 year evolution from the first to the last IoE H-D twins. starting 1925, and especially beginning 1926, i have alot more pics of unmolested machines and factory photos.

like i said, i don't have any decent pics of the 24 model and as a teaser, i believe this is a pic of an original 25 model, correct me if this is not a 25 model. aloso ineresting, i JUST NOW noticed, the bike has no tool box...
if you click on it 3 times, it enlarges delightfully!1925 1.jpg

one thing that is bugging the heck out of me is if the vin pad/boss the engine number is stamped on was painted with the rest of the case or left raw. looking at the pic of this 25 and of pics of my Dad's 27, it appears the pad is raw. i painted my vin pad but am wondering if i should leave it or remove the paint...?

[Robert Luland]

Steve, first off that's not a 22 and has to have the poorest excuse for an exhaust system I seen. What people will pay for in this business is beyond me. 22/23 Were Brewster green. All most black. All mufflers 1920-23 had a cut out door on the side unlike it's predecessor which technically were on top of the muffler. It was put there so the rider could nail it with the side of his foot. What was different was the tail pipe. 1020-21 Had the same pipe as the earlier tail pipes but a little shorter with all the bends around the tire but had the slash cuts down the side and the end plugged. 22/23 was straight out of the muffler and strait down at a 45 degree angle with the side slash cuts and plugged end.
Bob L

[Steve Swan]

Bob, what year is it?

[Robert Luland]

1922 my friend. No hinge on the rear fender. It's a JD by the front fender. Why it's painted that way I don't know. The thing on the front is the side car hook up turned to the back. Bob L

[exeric]

Like Bob said, '22, and '23 were Brewster Green which I think is one of the best (if not the best) looking colors for J era Harleys. I've always wondered why H-D went back to baby puke green in '24

[Tommo]

Olive Drab was an option in 1922 and 23.
According to Herb Longden, the service manager for the NZ importers Jones Brothers, they came into NZ about 50/50.
Half Brewster Green and the other half Olive Drab.

[exeric]

I meant no disrespect to Olive Drab, or Military Drab as Excelsior & Henderson called it. Actually, quite the opposite because I love the color and was happy to paint my 1919 Henderson Military Drab.

[Steve Swan]

Exquisite, Eric !

[Tommo]

Bobs comment gave the impression that Brewster Green was the only colour for 1922 and 23.
My post was intended to point out that it wasn't the only colour during those years and that an Olive Drab painted bike was also correct during that time span.
Nice Henderson Eric

[Robert Luland]

Like I said. I don't know why it's painted that way, now I know. Thanks Pete

[Chris Haynes]

1909.

[Chris Haynes]

1912 First Chain Drive

[Chris Haynes]

[Chris Haynes]

1913