Letter on the right motor mount.

Identification information of frames and transmissions
UPSROD
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#16

Post by UPSROD »

Could just be a owner installed, hidden ID marking that would go undetected until stolen!
Bigincher
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#17

Post by Bigincher »

UPSROD wrote:Could just be a owner installed, hidden ID marking that would go undetected until stolen!
Could be. But who do you know named "Cross"? or PacMan...?
UPSROD
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#18

Post by UPSROD »

I have heard weirder bullshit nicknames then those!!!
Bigincher
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#19

Post by Bigincher »

UPSROD wrote:I have heard weirder bullshit nicknames then those!!!
Oh yeah, me too.

I just think they're probably factory stamps. Looking forward to comments from Eric (SBT).
Every frame I've seen from the late-40s on all have a stamp of some kind on either the left or the right side.
Speeding Big Twin
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#20

Post by Speeding Big Twin »

Thanks for the photos, Tom. I agree about the possibility that they may be inspector marks. If so then each inspector may have been known by the stamp he used. The frame with two Cs makes me wonder if it was checked on more than one occasion and I see a similar thing on some transmissions, with some having two characters that may have been done separately. Other trans cases have a single character accompanied by a tandem 40 that is similar to the tandem stamp used for 1940 belly numbers:

frame-40.jpg
I’d be surprised if any of the characters on the frames indicated an owner because I’d think it would be better to have that in areas visible with the machine assembled. One of my mates stamped his initials on several parts of the alternator Shovelhead he bought new but all of it is visible with the bike together, one idea being to deter theft. If someone did take it they’d have to remove the initials and repair that section because that area is on display. He knows his markings wouldn’t stop a serious thief but hidden ID won’t do anything to deter anyone because at first they wouldn’t know it’s there and I can't see why it would bother them later on if they saw it.

Regarding the alleged P that is said to be on some 1949 frames, it may be hidden or it may not be. On HTT in 2008 one person said he and some others knew the location of the P but that he wouldn’t tell anyone else. The inference was that it was visible on an assembled machine and that he had seen at least one. On CAI in 2011 the subject surfaced again, with the membership being told that the location was not going to be divulged. Again the inference was that he had seen at least one 1949 frame with P. However, by November 2012 on CAI two things had changed and in his own words the P was a rumour. Firstly, the rumour was that the P now could not be seen when the bike was together because it was stamped on either the foot brake tab or kickstand tab. Second, he had not seen one himself and had only been told about it.

Another alleged location came from someone who said P was stamped on one of the footboard frame mounts and that it was apparently not visible unless the chaincase is removed. This sounded like he was referring to the frame mount that accommodated the rear stud for the left footboard but there was no evidence supplied and a further attempt to contact that person brought no response.

It’s intriguing that Palmer’s SE reveals the position of the engine P but for the frame P he only says it is stamped in a non-visible area. I’m not sure how that is meant to help anyone and it makes me wonder if he has in fact confirmed that there really was an authentic P on some 1949 frames.
Eric
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Bigincher
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Re: Letter on the right motor mount.

#21

Post by Bigincher »

Thanks Eric. I see what you mean about the frame-stamped letter P.
There is still no real proof, and so it remains a rumor, and nothing more. Just BS.
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