Anybody know where I can find a handlebar??

[steve_wood]

My 56 FLH currently has a two-piece chubblehead handlebar. I'm trying to find a correct handlebar, preferably the short speedster (56049-54), but nobody seems to have them. Tried Ebay, J&P, V-Twin, Antique Cycle Supply - all dead ends. In fact nobody seems to have any handlebars at all for the 54 - 57 OHV.

Anybody know where I can find one?

steve

[Fixman]

Tom Faber at Faber Cycle http://www.fabercycle.com/ made me a beautiful set of buckhorn bars for my 57 using original Harley parts. The work was exceptional. It is the only place that I know of where you can get buckhorns. VTwin offers speedster bars, but I have heard that they are not very well made.

Kent

[VintageTwin]

I for one have an excellent set of V-Twin '54-up Speedsters. Here's a pic. Good job V-Twin

f1jp2.jpg

V-Twin Speedster bars are on top. OE buck horns are on bottom.
Check the interior of the V-Twin bars. Satin. Look at how V-Twin's jobber wrapped the ends with electrical tape to protect the roller channels. Hot stuff. Good as OEM. I have both bars to compare.
You might find a set of V-Twin '54-up Speedsters over in Germany @ http://www.wwag.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Their part number is 20-082. Tell Wolfi and Paul I said hello. They had a bin full 8 yrs. ago.

[steve_wood]

Unfortunately, V-Twin is out of stock. I've had a pair on order for over a month and all they can tell me is they don't know when or even if they will ever get more

[VintageTwin]

They'll make more '54-59 Speedster bars. The "we don;t know if and when they will ever be made.." statement is corporate self-defense boilerplate. Leaves them off-the-hook for questions.
Who ever made those bars has it down to OEM spec's +
I only regret they didn't stamp their name or initial on it somewhere wicked.

[51Hog]

Is this the one??
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-ORIG ... enameZWDVW

[VintageTwin]

The two-piece bars were for 1960-up.

My 56 FLH....I'm trying to find a correct handlebar, preferably the short speedster (56049-54)

The parts books shows (56049-54) as a one-piece (with reinforced center sleeve) Speedster (short) handlebar.
The (56054-54) one-piece (with reinforced center sleeve), Buckhorn (long), is shown at the bottom of the pile below.

Tom Faber at Faber Cycle http://www.fabercycle.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; made me a beautiful set of buckhorn bars for my 57 using original Harley parts. The work was exceptional. It is the only place that I know of where you can get buckhorns.

Kent, I looked for the '54-59 handlebars on Tom Faber's site but could only find handlebars up to 1948. Do you have any pics of your buckhorn w/ center sleeve?

[Fixman]

VT, I did not take any pictures of the bars before I installed them, but they seem to be of high quality and Tom uses his stash of NOS harley parts to build them. You will need to call or email him for the particulars. He seems to build after he receives an order, and it does take a couple of months. I have been very pleased with the buckhorns I got for my 57.

Kent

[VintageTwin]

okay, but if you ever get aholt' of a camera, take a pic of the bars installed. We just want to see da' kine (the real thing) repop (replicated) buck-a-roo, (buckhorn) set of bars - no madda (matter) where day (they) are - on da' (the) machine or ona' ground - make no deefrance (difference) to us.

All •pau (paow) (finished) den' (then)..."we peelin' (feeling) lept (left) oudt (out) doe (though) "
• Pau, is finished for the day; Pau hina (hyna) is finshed and going home.
•• The anglo/hawai'ian translates are for cotten.

[Guest]

Ya , I want all the photos I can get for my next book.

[Fixman]

OK VT. If this floats your boat - great!

[VintageTwin]

Looks pretty good........ ...I.I..but I, well I, (back-pedals furiously)... bet it doesn't have that center reinforcing sleeve though. He probably took the opportunity to make them without the sleeve because he specified that you had to use that 56165-49 riser link to hide the plain truth (humor).
It all comes back to me now....Del Mar 2004, there was a blue & white '59 Glide restoration on the concourse green - with nice rep. handlebars like yours, but when I looked under the riser link...yop ...there it was, a straight across handlebar. No sleeve. Had the cable slot, and otherwise nice, but looked like the bars on pg. 86 of the '49-57 parts book. H-m-m they were speedster though. Speedster?? Wait a minute.... ...did Harley use the word Speedster before Porsche?
No one else has repped handlebars without the sleeve then, but still having the 16 pitch (i think) internal end screw threads. Ever, except Tom unless yours has a reinforcing sleeve, what by this time, I hope it doesn't.

[Fixman]

Wrong again VT. It does have the sleeve - I just looked.

Kent

[51Hog]

Awesome lookin' bike Kent.

[Fixman]

Thanks 51Hog. I spent the last three years bringing it back, and now it is done. Time for a new project. If anyone wants a very original 57 Pan, it is for sale. Asking $14K.

Kent