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

[kingfish254]

I love the Troxel saddle. It's amazing that this is 96 years old!!!! There is a rip on the rear right, but otherwise the seat is in great shape. I also dig the little "9-9" lock that is on the spring. Has anyone ever seen one of these locks anywhere?

 

[kingfish254]

Found this interesting British article from Cycling Magazine 18th April, 1918
I can imagine over the years that many "serious" cyclists have looked down on many of the bikes and trends that we love here at RRB.

 

[bikesnbuses]

AWESOME man!!!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

That seat is awesome!

Luke.

 

[kingfish254]

Found this neat Harley ad from 1919

 

[kingfish254]

Found another reference photo

 

[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

Found this neat Harley ad from 1919

That ad says it all..."Gee.Wish I had one". almost 100 years later people are still saying that. That's when you know a bike is special.

 

[kingfish254]

That ad says it all..."Gee.Wish I had one". almost 100 years later people are still saying that. That's when you know a bike is special.

Funny you should say that. Mine is a model "718" also known as "The Special"

 

[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

Funny you should say that. Mine is a model "718" also known as "The Special"

so did you confirm it is or isn't HD?

 

[kingfish254]

No definitive proof that it is a HD, but also no definitive proof that it isn't.

 

[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

No definitive proof that it is a HD, but also no definitive proof that it isn't.

than it is as far as I'm concerned

 

[ilikebikes]

Nice bike dude!

 

[kingfish254]

Here is some more 1918 Harley info for your entertainment.

 

[kingfish254]

1920s Harley Motorcycle Shop with HD Bikes too.

 

[B607]

Those Harley's in that line would probably be worth millions in that condition. Pretty awesome. Gary

 

[1beaglebaby]

Gutarlcarl has a pretty good idea!
Maybe a woodgrain job on frame with cream tires might look pretty cool! Good luck!

 

[kingfish254]

It will definitely have cream tires, but I don't think I'm feeling the woodgrain frame vibe for this one.

 

[kingfish254]

I still plan to carefully remove layers of paint on the forks and fenders and frame, but it is looking like this was not a Davis Framed Harley originally. It is a 1918 Davis frame and would be a proper frame to build a Harley with, but the "tells" that indicate it was not originally a Harley are

1. Fork - A 1918 HD would have had a triple clad fork rather than the Davis honeycomb fork
2. Headbadge hole/holes - While there were later HD bottle cap badges the ones in 1918 would have been attached with screws.

While I can find an olive drab paint on the BB, I haven't found it anywhere else. There was another 1918 Davis frame that would have shared this color and had these forks and bottle cap badge. That was a National. So more than likely I have a 1918 National (made by Davis) with a HD chainring. I am disappointed, but not completely surprised. It's still a wicked cool bike.

My Plans:
Remove the paint layers to see if it uncovers any more of the story of the bike.
Since there is not really any original paint other than the BB, my idea is to bring it down to bare metal, then paint of decal a HD badge, and add the typical HD boxed in pinstriping to the bare metal and end up with a bare metal Harley-esque tribute bike.

EDIT: I can't pretend that I found this information on my own. I reached out to the Davis expert over on the CABE, Hoofhearted. Patric has been a wealth of knowledge as well as the huge Davis thread they have over there.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Bonine bike?

 

[kingfish254]

No, I got cool plans for my Hawthorne 5 bar for BONINE.