My Four Year Project

As long as there is no one big enough to challenge the Factory, I think they will just go on messing with people. But unlikely they will mess with a one of bike builder. Bad PR as you state Pa but it has to get out to be bad. If the Factory is getting to ridiculous with their demands and threats I would think that it would be in the best interest of the big guys, S&S, Custom Chrome, Drag, VTwin and others to get together and try suing HD as a group to stop it. One of the local independent shops near me had a word in his original name for over 20 years, HD decided they didn't like and he had to change it. I have also heard, unless they changed their attitude that independent shops could put up signage that said Parts for Harley Davidson Motorcycles but not Harley Davidson Motorcycle Parts. Even if you were selling real HD parts you could not use the latter. For years HD didn't really care all that much about it and is a one of the reasons they were been able to grow. More shops selling parts and working on HD bikes, more people ridding and buying those bikes. Some of them get older and a more financially stable and they go buy new HD's. Those new HD's and the older riders start to make it more respectable to own and ride HD's. Soon the outlaw associated with mystique ridding starts to fade a bit and more people get into it. Doctors, Lawyers, CEO's and more start ridding. HD is out of the red and growing. Then the Dot Com bubble starts and cable TV jumps on the band wagon and boom HD becomes huge and everyone wants a new HD or a clone. HD gets bigger and bigger. Now the HD image is respectable and they want nothing to do with the custom end of motorcycling which was a good part of their revenue for years. The bean counters figure they are loosing revenue the lawyers see a way for them to make money, and the lawyers are the ones that will make the most money. So the new people that probably have never ridden a bike let alone an HD that work there start to go after people. Well the Dot Com bubble burst, and people don't have as much money to spend on something that would be recreational for them, there are more bikes than ever on the floors of the dealers, so maybe it is headed the other way. Maybe some day HD will need the revenue from those people they didn't want anything to do with. I have been ridding HD's over 40 years (man I'm old) and will continue to until there is now way I can. And all I can say is, I wont forget how I have been treated at a few of the dealers, not all but some.

Sorry, long rambling rant over.

Plus the post has been hijacked by this subject.


Jim

AGAIN, AWSOME JOB ON THE BUILD ZOOMINGM3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The discussion of concern has hi jacked the topic but the concern is legit. Let's hear more about the bikes details. A sound bite of the engine running would be cool. Has the oil been changed recently ? What did it look like, if it has ? Any filings found ? Pa

I don't know how to do the sound bites either. I think they need placed somewhere on the web and a link provided to it. JKE.....Didn't you do sound bites before ? Pa

Pa,
Not much explanation other than
to say that you need a server. My site is it's own server so it is possible to post sound files there. I haven't done any sound. I would have to check with my web Guru as to how to go about it. I'm pretty sure that it is similair to the IMG tag used for posting images.

I have a Harley logo on my snow blower???

Hey Zoom, I really like that Knuckle you have built, reminded me of a two tone 61 Knuckle a friend built many years ago which the colors were similar..Great job on your bike...

What caught my eye was the rear fender which I had a question about,you posted that it came from V-Twin..Did or is the hinged rear section with the pigs snout covering the tail light come from V-Twin also, as I could not find it in the on line v-twin catolog....

Thanks,

Tom (06)

ZoomingM3

Thanks for the P/N 50-0180, I went to the on line catolog and used it and on a part search it came up as a discontinued Item and refered to 50-0156 without the pigs snout as the update.

These have always been rare as that style tail gate goes back to the VL rear fender around 1933 or earlier I belive, and they work best with the old style bullet tail light with the round cylinder glass for the license plate light. I think early K models used this type tail light set up also but without the fender shroud covering it.

Thanks again for the info, I will do a little more reaserch..

Tom (06)

The "Pig Snout" cover and the complete tail lamp are reproduced by Bud Hopkins. I don't have his info handy but he is listed in the AMCA Directory

I think you are forgetting something.
It used to be that a motorcycle had to have the (makers) name on each side of the tank.
So, I think you could put the Harley-Davidson name anywhere you want to put it, except on the tanks. By putting it on the tanks, you are saying this is a Harley-Davidson.

Jan Willem

both my arms...I have the HD logo on both...along with a Panhead motor...I think they can fight...don't think they can win....Skip

Nice build Zoom, it's amazing what a guy can do by bolting all the right parts together....I'd say because it's an 82" motor it's more FL than EL,but WOW.....I just went through the title process in Minnesota and they had a cop there in case they needed to arrest me...and I had original cases with HD numbers....they wanted to know where all the other numbers were...I weaseled out with no reciepts,except the motor work which I found: got a title now, cost me $500 and a 300 mile trip....worth it I'd say.....my 2 cents...the Harley dealer will sell you any emblems you want, exactly where do they think you're gonna put them? I don't think they care if you put them on a Honda as long as they can get some more money out of you....Harley-Davidson is not in the motorcycle business,they are in the MONEY business....Sorry,Willie....peace,Paul

Hey fellas !!! Check out the topic over on JKEs' sight ! Click on the link below to go there. I enjoyed the story very much but I posted this here because of some of the storys' content kind of deals with the fear of the tank decals on this bike. Interesting to say the least. Pa

http://knucklenutz.com/tech/viewtopic.php?t=632

ZoomingM3: Good looking ride. Thanks for the update and this one was worth the wait. I like the persistance and drive you have to get this done. The color is great and I would like to hear from you on the 18 inch wheels. We might try the same on our ULH. Again thanks for the pictures they are very nice.

Hey fellas !!! Check out the topic over on JKEs' sight ! Click on the link below to go there. I enjoyed the story very much but I posted this here because of some of the storys' content kind of deals with the fear of the tank decals on this bike. Interesting to say the least. Pa

http://knucklenutz.com/tech/viewtopic.php?t=632

I never found that topic. The one you posted takes you to a Muskie fishing expedition. There was no heading for kit build regulations. Next time.....copy the url from the page your looking at and paste it here on your post. Then, all we have to do is click on your highlighted url, and it takes us right to it.
Thank yew

[quote=

http://knucklenutz.com/tech/viewtopic.php?t=632[/quote]
I never found that topic. The one you posted takes you to a Muskie fishing expedition. There was no heading for kit build regulations. Next time.....copy the url from the page your looking at and paste it here on your post. Then, all we have to do is click on your highlighted url, and it takes us right to it.
Thank yew [/quote]

I think Pa may have been refering to mention of Harley Davidson decal on outboard motor.

Yep ! The decal. Pa

I bit hard...ran.... out a lot of line. Hooked good

What's your take on that boat motor decal Plumber ? Did you notice who was in the boat ? Pa

I have a Delta® bench drill press. I had an extra Hilti ® sticker laying around. I removed the Delta sticker and put the Hilti sticker on the drill press. I did such a flawless fake, that once in awhile, someone will ask, "I didn't know Hilti made drill presses ?"
I think this Musky wrangler feels so secure about the performance of his outboard, that it has the dependability of a Harley-Davidson®, and he stickered it so.
Or, considering who the actual fisherman is...I'd presume that the outboard is a X stamped crankcase made up in the skull & bones deptartment, and all they told him "Go!"... so he's out there wear-testing the proto-type.

Did you notice who was in the boat ?

"Musky's in da' boat -brah..."
http://knucklenutz.com/tech/viewtopic.php?t=632[/b]

Zoom
That's good to hear. Hopefully Winter will leave us and Spring will arrive soon.