safety bar

[exeric]

I recently found a rear safety bar for my '51FL. It was a nasty dirty mess when I got it off ebay but I could see that it looked like ancient grime from years of hermitage. I would have painted it black if it's condition was as poor as the pictures but it cleaned up beautifully, with only a few scratches and some dullness. It is a testament to how well Harley-Davidson chromed their parts in the 40s and 50s. A word of advice, you have to take the rear wheel out to properly install the safety bar because the left side bolt will not clear the brake drum. Good opportunity to clean everything up in the trunk. It was also a good time to re-attach the Puckett's sales badge that has been a treasured object for me. I lived in Orlando for many years and haunted Puckett's and knew Louis, and Buddy Puckett. My '51 was sold by Puckett's to an Orange County resident and I am the 3rd titled owner. Curious if other H-D dealers had metal sales badges made like this one. I know it was common for car dealers.

safety bar.jpg pucketts.jpg

[1939wl]

Hi Eric,
Wow, that rear safety bar did clean up nice, a great find, but that Pucketts badge with the provenance is a real class act. Looks great!!!
Beautiful 51'.

[BigLakeBob]

REALLY BEAUTIFUL Puckett's badge, but that damn generic license plate needs to hit the recycle bin. You NEED a 51 Florida tag and red glow brites! Maybe there will be one at the upcoming FL meet.

[sswaney]

Eric, Love the Puckett's badge! As for a 51 Florida plate, good luck. I bought one for a friend 3 years ago at Daytona. Pricey plus hard to come by.
Any chance you could post up a picture of the upper fender mount to crash bar location? Seems to be some difference of opinion regarding the hardware/helper spring bracket arrangement.

[Rubone]

Eric, Love the Puckett's badge! As for a 51 Florida plate, good luck. I bought one for a friend 3 years ago at Daytona. Pricey plus hard to come by.
Any chance you could post up a picture of the upper fender mount to crash bar location? Seems to be some difference of opinion regarding the hardware/helper spring bracket arrangement.

Keep in mind the helper spring bracket was an "add on, not part of initial assembly.

[exeric]

This is what I did, Scott. The parts book shows the 2 nuts, 1 bolt, 2 flat washers & lock washer assembly but not the sequence they go in to include the spring bracket. I assumed the thin 5/16" nut was intended to keep the bolt in place so you could assemble the spring bracket and not lose the bolt inside the fender. I don't know if I got it right, but I wouldn't be happy about doing it over again I hope my picture is okay, hard to get a camera in there.

safebarbolts.jpg

[DEEBS47Chief1991]

Beautiful bike Eric. You are lucky to be able to work with the door open. It's 11° here.

[JoJo357]

https://youtu.be/VqomZQMZQCQ?si=bu6barVHqjLzYJ4c <---------


Your 51 FL, She's a doll Eric. I kinda remember You posting a previous picture of your '51, but could You post again?

The dealer badges pop up at collector auctions, and I see them on eBaYonce in awhile. They made license plate dealer also. A lot of dealers just had the sticker types when they started cheapin'~out.

*Hey Deebs, we have a heat wave here~it's 12 degrees. Hahaha.

*M.A.D.*

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[exeric]

I've been playing hooky from working on the Henderson by doing little jobs on the '51FL. Harley-Davidsons are fun bikes to work on because they were so well documented, and have been supported by great crafts-people in the aftermarket industry. Also, a lot of genuine H-D parts survived. I've had a lot of fun over the years going to swap meets, collecting parts, making friends, and always learning something new. That peaked windshield is also a recent addition and really gives it that '50s look. This forum is like an oasis during the day, so thanks for indulging me.

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[duffeycycles]

Nice Pan Eric. The parts book shows 2 bolts that are too short to reach thru the safety bar & the spring bar. You have to use longer bolts.

[sswaney]

Thanks Eric,
Different than my ex-police 51 what ever that means 20251205_071409.jpg

[sswaney]

Dirtier too!

[sswaney]

Keep in mind the helper spring bracket was an "add on, not part of initial assembly.

Obviously not as delivered. Problably changed when it got "Civilianized"?

[sw48]

Eric and Scott, here is a photo of the crash guard area on my unrestored 1948 UL. The bike was originally delivered with a buddy seat but has relatively recently been switched to a solo seat.

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[Rubone]

As I said earlier, the rear safety guard was never part of a factory package, it was always an add on accessory. So they were installed by dealers or owners, not the factory. Same with buddy seats, added at the dealer level. So I don't believe anyone can claim originality of mounting. And Knuckles in particular as the hardware changed throughout the production years.
1951 is a particularly tough year since the war in Korea along with inflation changed the game. Chrome was in short supply, prices were going up, and sales numbers were dropping. In my collection of sales order forms I have 5 different '51 versions, more than any other Panhead year.So if you find a '51 with cad plated rims and handlebars, don't dismiss it as incorrect....