harleyKmodel

You would be hard pressed to get a quality reproduction that I know of at the moment. I believe harley had several manufacturers of decales back in the day. Even with the original paint example shown, there are differences in the decals.

Did you try Ricks in Illinois? If you do find something acceptable be careful as a lot of modern clear coats can bubble them up.

A few weeks ago I posted a request to borrow an actual original paint 1960 2.25 gallon XL tank. I did get some help in the form of the 1960 layout on a big tank. The 1960 layout is a bit tricky, so my request stands: I would like to buy or borrow and original 2.25 gallon 1960 two-tone XLCH (or similar) tank. I'm happy to post a deposit.

Thanks,
Mark

Otis, I did get some water slide decals from Rick’s and they look a lot better than what I had. Thanks for the tip on the bubbling effect on the newer paint. I think most of those problems come from rushing the process. You should wait until the new paint has been on a few days and degassed before you even attempt it. My painter has my tank and tins for the last 4 months. I relayed all of the information I gathered on the internet and this forum about the bubbling issues to him. I’ll post up some pictures when or if I get them back.

Mark, I went through this with my 62 tank and Murph was able to help me out with some pictures and a few measurements to get me close. I gave up on trying to get it perfect and just get it as close as I can. At the end of the day there’s not that many original paint sportys out there to compare it too or that many people that will know if the paint lines are off a bit. My piece of advice would be not to stress over it since you’re repainting it anyway and it’s not going to be original anymore. Good luck in your attempts to get it perfect, Dean

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the early tanks were clear-coat finished - I think the decals were just slid onto the paint and left "open to the elements" as it were?

[quote= I think the decals were just slid onto the paint and left "open to the elements" as it were?[/quote]

Yes that is correct.

Simon, I’m certainly not an expert on that but I believe you’re correct from what I’ve researched

62 XLCHSPORTY wrote:Does anyone sell the correct color tank decals for a 62 yet? I did a google search and nothing came up. After reading the tech section, I realized I have the Italian ones which are close but the coloring is off quite a bit. I wonder if I take the ones I have to a screen printer along with a picture of an original if they could design something closer in color?

Look at the Technical : Nameplates and Transfers page for the colors of the correct 1961 and 1962 decals.

Try Scott Lange at: [email protected] He's one of the OSKRG founders who brought you this website.

HD started clear coating in calendar 1973 when the assembly plant at York Pennsylvania opened.
Early 1973 bikes, the last bikes built in Milwaukee, were not clear coated.
Late 73 bikes built in York were clear coated and have been clear coated ever since.

ptk46 wrote:HD started clear coating in calendar 1973 when the assembly plant at York Pennsylvania opened.
Early 1973 bikes, the last bikes built in Milwaukee, were not clear coated.
Late 73 bikes built in York were clear coated and have been clear coated ever since.

Ptk46,

Thanks for the education on the clear coats. I live about an hour from the York plant and never knew they opened in 1973…I was only 7 years old at the time