54 FLE

[jibhead]

was at a small bike show at the weekend and there was a 54 FLE , not being a being up on my panheads ,i had never known such a beast existed.

[the village idiot]

hi, just to let you know there is at least one more out there, mine is a 54fle.

[RUBONE]

I also have a '54 FLE. The FLE designation was a lower state of tune than the regular FL for those customers needing a machine that performed very well at lower speeds. It was called the "traffic combination" and essentially mimicked the EL performance characteristics in a 74 inch engine. The FLE was heavily marketed to police departments and other commercial users.They existed for a few years but were phased out when the FLH came into being with the older FL designation becoming the lower state of tune and FLH the higher.
FLEs have mild cams (marked 61), a smaller venturi in the carb, low compression pistons, and lower overall gearing. Otherwise they are identical to the regular models.
Robbie

[jibhead]

thanks for the info guys

[boxtriker]

small planet i was there at sandford as well the rat 45 did it for me the chap should be along on the forum anytime soon with the info on that 54 pan but it was nice not to have the only one on show that day

[jibhead]

boxtriker , funny very small world, thats my 45 'rat' elsie.

[FlatHeadSix]

Jib
How can that be a "rat"?, it looks like it won 1st place!

mike

[jibhead]

we have different ideas what a rat is over here flatheadsix, basically the judges thought that elsie was the scruffiest, unhinged bike in the show ,mismatched parts ,tape,zip ties etc.
more than one person aired the same thoughts as you,including the PA!

[George Greer]

I think it looks just fine!!

George

[Bosheff]

What's the deal with the duct tape around the front fork....bosheff

[jibhead]

when riding on wet roads and or in the rain ,it stops the water from flicking up off the wheel and soaking you. works very well and we have quite a lot of rain here

[Bosheff]

Good trick. Thanks for the come back....bosheff

[Cotten]

Folks,

I agree, Americans have really queered the meaning of 'Rat' in recent decades.

"Rat Class" isn't even part of local shows any more, as nearly every machine is a cookie-cutter-catalog-dealership-doll.

Now, Americans think a Rat has to have dead animal parts:
More heritage lost to popular culture!

....Cotten