– a four or five character (numeric) production sequence number
– one-to-four character (alphabetic) model designation – a two character (numeric) model year, last two digits But before that…įrom the early days, up to and including the 1969 model year, Harley-Davidson stamped the serial number of a motorcycle into the left engine case. Department of Transportation mandated a standard 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) scheme, and for motorcycles, mandated the VIN be affixed to the frame. There was no industry standard, so each manufacturer made up their own numbering scheme, and affixed it to the vehicle wherever it wanted. Other books and websites often use “mid-year” to mean “sometime during the year”, but we'll try to reserve the term “mid-year” to really mean “middle”.Īlmost every vehicle ever made has a manufacturer's serial number located somewhere on it. If we really have no idea, we will use “sometime during the year”. In some cases, it is possible to narrow it down further than that, but in most cases it isn't. When we speak of a change occurring during early/mid/late year, we are referring to the model year.
So that first 1960 may have parts manufactured in July or August 1959. The individual parts, particularly basic things like engines and frames, were often made a month or two ahead of time. The first 1960 model year motorcycle that appeared on the dealer's showroom left the factory around September 1, 1959. This is four months – one-third of a year – ahead of the calendar year! Since the beginning of time, car, truck, and motorcycle manufacturers have introduced their shiny new models after summer's over, and people are heading back to work and school.
Then there's the automotive model year, which runs from September 1 to August 31. First, there's the calendar year, which runs from January 1 to December 31. There are two kinds of years we'll be dealing with here. The following descriptions of "numbers" applies specifically to Ks and Sportsters, and in general to all Harley-Davidsons up to 1969. Identifying your K Model or Sportster requires looking at a lot of numbers to determine what year the motorcycle is, and whether many of the parts are original to the bike.
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