Tank Buffers

[MikeW]

With most of the painting, striping and plating now complete, and after much trial fitting, I'm getting close to final assembly of my 21F restoration. I have only recently stumbled across the reference, in Steve Slocombe's well-thumbed Pocket Valve book, to rubber "tank buffers" and the comment that these were fitted to stop vibration and can be fabricated from an old inner tube. This was all news to me as, when I received the rusted, partly disassembled machine many years ago, there was no sign of such an item in the boxes that came with it. A search of the 1913 to 1921 Parts Book shows, under Fittings for Tanks and Tool Boxes, Part E82/Photo 1540, what looks like a roll of some material which could be rubber.

Can someone out there tell me about tank buffers and especially where and how they were fitted to the tanks, and give me any advice about material?

Thanks again to all who have helped me in the past.

Mike

P.S. On the standard QWERTY keyboard the T and the Y are next to each other. When I checked the text before hitting "Post" I noticed it read that I had received the rusted machine "many tears ago". I was inclined to leave it like that as it wasn't entirely wrong .

[exeric]

Mike, I looked at my parts book picture of EK42 "Tank Buffers" (note plural); but I think that might be a felt ring to absorb gas, and oil spillage at the gas and oil filler spigots. That is only a guess on my part but I have to think that H-D would have shown a more representative image of a strip like material. If you are thinking EK42 is a strip of some material sandwiched between the right and left tanks where they are bolted to the top frame I don't think there was anything. However, something like fish paper wouldn't be a bad idea. Mike, I like that you bring things like this to our attention because it makes people 100+ years later think about what people did 100+ year ago.

[Peter Cooke]

These?

Colony Machine #3588-1 Gas Tank Buffer 1909-1925 Harley-Davidson All 1926-1929 F/J 1930-1936 V/VL – Lowbrow Customs

[MikeW]

Thank you Eric and Peter. To quote in full the only reference I could find in Steve Slocombe's book:

"Rubber Buffers (note the plural) 3505-09 were originally used to fit the tanks and stop vibration, but old pieces of inner tube and friction tape also work today."

Peter's Colony link confirms that such parts existed - and from 1909 - but I'm still puzzled as to their size and shape, and where they were fitted. If the Colony description is correct they had around 35 years of usage so there must be some survivors out there?.

[exeric]

Where the buffers are used is what puzzles me, Mike. The Colony picture looks like a rubber donut and apparently H-D required more than one. I know I'll look like an ass when someone shows how, and where they're used