H-D Production IoE V-twins 1909-1929

[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...?

[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.

[Rubone]

I just thought of these. I can scan specific info as well.

[Steve Swan]

left twist grip retards timing and opens the compression release on cam cover

Thanks Duffey!

[TechNoir]

Yes, I meant the hand brake on the bars, not a brake on the front wheel.

John

[duffeycycles]

That is a bit confusing to us. Front Brake started in '28.
But hand brake option was much earlier

[exeric]

It is my understanding that 1920 is the last year of the separate front and rear brake in the USA (the front brake was an option in the USA) and in 1921 there was a rocker pedal so you could only use one at a time.

Also, as I mentioned a few pages previously, the UK models had the front brake and the front stand as standard whereas the front brake and front stand were an option in the USA. The rear rack was standard in the UK too, was it standard or an option in the USA?

John, are you referring to the hand brake, or export brake, as it was known here in the U.S?

[duffeycycles]

left twist grip retards timing and opens the compression release on cam cover

[Steve Swan]

Bracket is front sidecar mount....backwards? The levers & rods are for compression release etc

yes, i see the lug pointing backwards now. and i see the rod going to compression release on gear cover. i've studied pics on earlier models, trying to see how the release is actuated, by hand somewhere on the frame? not like the 25-onward toe actuated models. did this rod/lever feature end with the '24 models?

[duffeycycles]

Bracket is front sidecar mount....backwards? The levers & rods are for compression release etc

[Steve Swan]

After posting these pics of a 23, i won't post for a couple days or so.1923 LH.jpg1923.jpg

i don't have any decent pics of a 1924 model.

starting 1925 through 29, i have quite a few pics.

[Steve Swan]

and i only have this pic of what is stated a 22.1922.jpg

on the frame, front down tube, what is purpose of that bracket held by 4 bolts and what appears a little lever with rod(s)....?

[Steve Swan]

Thanks John and Tommo for posting fine factory pictures. Very interesting info on the variations of tank toolboxes.

Here are what pics i have of what are stated as 1921. 1921 LH.jpg1921.jpg

if nothing else, this thread will have a collection of brochures and pictures of the factory's production twins in one thread.

[T. Cotten]

For Tom, the beryllium copper looks like 1 mm thick nominal, say 0.037"

Unfortunately, Steve,

The cam strips are only .020"

Thanks for looking,

....Cotten

[Rubone]

Years back I had a nice OP tank top toolbox that I bought in a farm/estate sale thinking it would be a good first aid box candidate, but the latch system pointed out the age and the original finish made me pass it on to someone needing it.