1946 Chief Motor Number Question

[rmmccon]

What does the "R" mean?

[pisten-bully]

Mine is blank on that boss. Hope someone chimes in here with an answer, maybe it's "R" for "Restamp"???

[exeric]

That boss was for an oil tank breather elbow that was no longer used by 1939. I doubt that is a factory stamp.

[bernhardt]

Does anybody know the production numbers for 1946? I'm curious about how many battery, magneto, and bonneville chiefs were built in the first year of production in the post Dupont era. And, has anybody seen an order form? Its not in the Hatfield book.

Thanks,

[Bill Huth]

Maybe the bike was originally a sidecar machine, and this was to let the engine building department know to set it up with a reverse tranny? Just a guess. I have seen it before, but do not know the real meaning. I have seen a few cases with a center punched dot on the rear boss that is normally blank and have always wondered why it is there. I've always wondered if it was a check mark, as in passed inspection or something. I have Sport Scout reverse trannys that have an "R" or a "4" stamped on the tower. This is because the Sport Scout 4 speed and Reverse trannys share the same case and tower, and are externally identical. But and R on the crankcase is just a guess. Maybe someone will know.