harleyKmodel

I started work on the Buddy Seat article, by going through The Legend Begins (TLB) to see what came stock, and what was optional - on a new bike. TLB is a great source of information (and you can order it from your local Harley dealer). It's not perfect, but it's the best single reference we've got.

The nascent article is here http://www.harleykmodel.com/technical/seats-buddy/index.html. Comments please! There's tons of more work to do. Lots of photos to incorporate. I found a 1965 Buddy seat in my stash, and I'll have to clean it up and photograph it. And the 1966-later ones mystify me right now, I'll have to cogitate on them some more.


1) Jerry R. - could you send me scans of the buddy seat pages from your 1967 parts catalog?

2) Dave C. - You da man on the 60's models. Any words of wisdom? Especially 1966 and later?

3) Does anyone ANYONE have a 1969 or 1971 Parts Catalog ??? I'd desperately love scans of the buddy seat pages.

Hi Dave,
I can provide scans of the 67 & 71 PBs but probably not until this weekend, if you need it sooner maybe someone else can provide it. On another note does a 69 Parts Book exist?
JerryR

Dave,

Give me a few days to pull some photos together.

DaveC

Yard Dog wrote:Great topic that needs clarification and if possible, consensus. Look at the inside back cover of the 59 parts book. It has a picture and description of the new for 59 buddy seat. Regarding the second version of the earlier buddy seat ( Royalite covered ) , there are two variants. As with the Royalite covered solo saddles, the buddy seats were made with both a rolled edge and a blunt cut edge. I have received conflicting opinions from very knowledgeable enthusiasts as to the time line on these changes. When I stop riding my 57 and maybe do a proper restoration on it I would like to use the correct seat.

Jack,

I spoke to Michael Paquette (Worsham Castle) tonight, and he said that the "offical" cutover from leather to Royalite was 1952. Before 1952, they were leather with an open-seam edge. 1952 and later were Royalite (vinyl) with a rolled edge. However, he has seen leather both ways and Royalite both ways. He said that this was mostly experimentation - after WWII, plastics were brand new, and Milsco*, like everyone else, was trying to adapt old production lines (and old production workers) to the new materials.

Harley must have had a stockpile of KH buddy seats, or a huge contract with Milsco, since the Royalite didn't kick in on them until 1955.

Neither Worsham Castle nor Heather's Leathers do vinyl. Some years back, Wayne at Heather's** told me he had tried and tried, but every one split on him, and he stopped trying.

Michael suggested The Saddle Shop in Florida for vinyl work. He said they are pricey, but very good.

*Milsco has been making seats for Harley since 1934
** Yes, VIRGINIA, there really is a Heather.

if you need one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171660579010?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

JerrryR wrote:Hi Dave,
On another note does a 69 Parts Book exist?
JerryR

no.
but i have the 69 sup.

books are
57
59
63
65
67
70
71
76
78
then who cares
when there was no book there were supplements.

dr dick wrote:

JerrryR wrote:Hi Dave,
On another note does a 69 Parts Book exist?
JerryR

no.
but i have the 69 sup.

Can you scan the cover of the 69 supplement? Then we will have finished off the years we cover (52-69).

When I bought my '56 KHK, it had a newer Sportster dual seat. I ran a solo seat for a while, but found it extremely uncomfortable on long (100+ miles) highway trips at highway speeds. The solo seat held me glued to one position. If I leaned into the wind, my head would be in front of the handlebars at ~70 mph.

Now, I have a correct Buddy seat that allows me to slide back and lean into the wind at speed. It is absolutely fine in this application. I am comfortable and feel like I have good control of the KHK -- thanks to the Buddy seat.

BTW, I tried having a passenger on the Buddy seat. Neither she nor I were comfortable. Neither of us are particularly big; so, it is safe to say that the Buddy seat sucks when trying to carry a buddy!