1918 Harley Davis-son - Mar 16 Not HD Frame, but a Davis National

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kingfish254 said:
Been experimenting this week with different methods to remove the spray paint and keep the layer(s) underneath. The one that ended up working the best was Goof Off, rags, fingernails and rubbing.

There is some awesome info over on the CABE on these Harleys and other Davis made bikes. For instance, there are supposedly some knockoff chainrings out there are are cut rather than stamped out. One of the telltale signs of a true HD ring is the chamfered/beveled edge on the inside if the ring below the teeth.

View attachment 1345


I started on the BB to try and find some color. The bottom layer does have a drab greenish look that could possibly be HD green, but I can't find this color elsewhere on the frame. But with the bike being 96 years old it could have had a repaint (or two). Who knows.
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Here is what it looked like yesterday after I finished with the top tube and down tube. Mostly a black hardcoat and a lot of bare metal too. Some indications of a blueish-green color like tarnished copper too.
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After this I removed the ring and took a wire wheel to the face of it.
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What a great project! I found a Harley Bicycle restoration article at this link:
http://www.nostalgic.net/restoration-of-a-1918-harley-davidson-bicycle-part-1

God luck with the restoration.
 
Thanks! Believe me, I have looked over that article MANY times in the past month!
 
kingfish254 said:
Found this neat Harley ad from 1919
1918_Harley_Davidson_00_zpsf4a4b605.jpg
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Interesting. I believe this ad was probably one of the first of the "Madison Ave." types of advertising, the "you need this" perspective where you're not cool and "with it" unless you own the latest gadget. This got started in earnest in the twenties.

Anyway, cool ad. I'd love to have a poster of this.
 
tanksalot said:
I had the same head badge hole in a Pilgrim badged bike.( I have no idea who made it though.) Nice find & Chain ring ..
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I'm not sure who else used the bottle cap style headbadges other than Davis on their Dayton bikes and some other brands they made bikes for.
 
BikeNerd said:
Interesting. I believe this ad was probably one of the first of the "Madison Ave." types of advertising, the "you need this" perspective where you're not cool and "with it" unless you own the latest gadget. This got started in earnest in the twenties.

Anyway, cool ad. I'd love to have a poster of this.
Click to expand...

I found the image online somewhere. I also like the line in the ad that says. "Bring Dad with you" hoping that Dad would by a motorcycle while he was there.
 
Found this cool pic from the Harley museum.
harley%20museum%20001.jpg
 
And I found this example from a For Sale ad that shows that as I suspected the downtube would have had "Special" lettered on it.
10981542_848502358544907_7966907643430008958_n.jpg
 
I just bought a 1917 Harley Davidson Frame, head set, fork and bottom bracket cups for $108.oo it should be here Mon 4-27-15
I'd post pic's but it is so confusing as to how to post them on this site
 
Does your Harley have the headbadge?
 
KJV said:
Cool,, a Huffman built Harley Davidson. excellent find.too bad the headbadge is gone. cleaning up nicely.
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Actually mine isn't a HD. It's the correct Davis frame that would have been used for an HD, but it was never an actual HD.
 
Thanks man, it's gonna be a fun future project. All of the research has been fun too.
Rather than a full blown clone, I have some ideas around bare metal homage to a HD.
 

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