Is the sidecar installed at the factory

[lumpy13]

I've been looking at a 60 Pan with a sidecar. My question is this. Is There any way to determine if the sidecar was installed at the factory. The bike is a 3 speed w/reverse, which wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a hack, but the serial # within the hack body indicates that it is a 63. I was wondering if the mounts on the bike frame would be different from the factory verses being installed at the dealer. Any help from this here newbie to pans would be greatly appreciated.

lumpy13

[panhead]

Models like ELS, FS and FLS had factory fitted sidecar gearing. Original factory sidecars had L an LE designation.

[Cotten]

Lumpy!
You confuse me with:
>>but the serial # within the hack body indicates that it is a 63.<<

Sidecar VINs were stamped into the main frame rail, the one that runs parallel to the bike. A '58 that just came through had it back by the rear casting, just about where a passengers right foot would find it convenient to wear it off. (Later ones had it farther forward.).
And the S designation of bike models was not stamped into their VINs on the left cases. If you have a hack frame that matches the year of the bike, that's close enough for most of us!. Note also that a lot of final assembly was done by dealers up through the 60's, accounting for a lot of variation in all models. If you have the proper adjustable rake fork, dampener, and wiring, I wouldn't sweat the issue.

[lumpy13]

Thanks all, for your replies. To Cotton: I looked all over the hack frame to no avail, but it was rusty/dirty and I didn't know where to look for it. A distinct serial # was on the floor of the hack though, one that would match a harley #. But I thought the proper place would be on the frame. The bike is 300 miles away and it's not something I can readily check, and the seller is out of town for several more days before I can contact him again. The bike does have the steering dampner, but I don't recall an adjustable rake....would it be located behind the headlight tins?? Also, was it common for a pan NOT to have the oil filter inline coming off of the oil tank? As far as the hack "body" being a "63" doesn't bother me because I thought that the body could have been changed possibly from a package body or maybe due to damage. Thanks again for any info,
lumpy13

[RUBONE]

Lumpy, Adjustable rake forks are easy to tell by looking at the bottom tree. If there is a big bolt or two bolts running crosswise to the tubes it is adjustable. The steering damper is an option but WOULD have been installed by the factory if they put the car on! The serial # is on the top of the sidecar frame tube closest to the bike and just before the big casting where the rear mount is. In '60 the headlight should not have tins but should have the cast aluminum nacelle. The oil filter was also an option and may or may not be there.Most had them but some low end packages did not.
Robbie