Curious about the correct finish on the oil tank mount for a ’56 K model. Some believe it to be a black painted part and others believe it to be a Parkerized part. Regardless, I thought I would begin by stripping my bracket and Parkerizing it which would either be the finished part if parkerizing is the correct finish, or a corrosion-free part that would be in perfect condition to receive paint if that were the correct finish.
I’m eager to hear from the readership as to what they perceive to be the correct finish. I believe there are some original 56K bikes out there, so if you have one, please take a peak and let us know what you see.
Rather than helping to clarify the issue of finish on the subject part, I am going to offer some confusing information instead. As noted above I wanted to Parkerize my oil tank mount so stripped it in a glass bead blaster, and was astonished to find a large amount of copper plating on the bracket! As I was stripping, it was clear that there was black paint and a gray primer coat involved. Thus I suspect it was not a factory finish because 1) I have a devil of a time removing the factory finish in my glass bead blaster,and this came off relatively easily, and 2) the factory finish would be just the baked enamel with no primer.
So I am not about to parkerize this copper plated part (can’t be done as it is nonferrous) but thought it was bizarre that it would be plated in the first place. I believe over the years I’ve seen battery covers for 6 volt Harleys that were painted black, but were in fact copper-plated beneath. I always suspected this was to provide improved corrosion resistance in this tender area of the bike. As above eager to hear if others have seen such items or if they have any additional comments on this subject of copper plated parts in the vicinity of 6 volt batteries.