knucklehead spoke nipples

[lesliewhit]

Does anyone know what finish would be on the spoke nipples on a 46 el ?Palmers book says parkerized but someone has told me otherwise.

[PPP]

Cadnimum spokes and nipples with a black rim. Black hub with parkerized star and screws. Parkerized for military? Check out the pictures in the book. Good Luck.

[Jim M]

46 Knuckle Spoke Nipples

Good Question. Palmer has been known to be "unclear" about things. If you look in Palmers book on page 452 there is a 46U with cad plated spoke nipples. Also if you look at May 1946 Enthusiast page 15 there is a mid to late 46 knucklehead (chrome air cleaner cover and painted name plates) with cad plated spoke nipples. Also, although not real clear, there is a picture of a 46 knuckle on page 569 (upper right corner) which appears to me to have cad plated nipples. I know also that some WL models had parkerized spoke nipples in 46. It is most likely that harley used both parkerized and cad on the big twin models but I don't have any proof. During the war (1943-45) spoke nipples on the civilian bikes were cad why would it change in 46? If you are still in doubt look for authentic pictures of 46 models and decide for yourself.

I just finished a 46 FL to stock condition just this last month without parkerized nipples (I hope I am right). I will post the pictures here sometime soon. I would love to see your 46 el.

Jim

[Matt n. Olsen]

spoke nipples

Early 46 wls had parkerized spoke nipples, because they were left over stock from all of the wlas that were built. The reason that 46 big twins did not have parkerized nipples is because they use different nipples than wls.