what type is it ?

[blindbowman]

i am restoreing a 1941 chopper . we know the frame is a 1941-8 .. is there any way to take the numbers off the frame and define what type the frame is ?? Wl WLA WR ...? the frame has been strip to bare metal and all frame numbers are visable ... the cross bar front kick stand mont says the bike is a 1941-8 part 32 ...
the trans is a 1941 3 bolt , the motor is not stock ...i have a 1941-9 G motor for this restore ..

anyone know how to define the type of frame i have ...?

[butch61]

how ya doin

[blindbowman]

hello butch , i am doing better after a heart attic on the 12th of july and two new steins in my heart ....

i can not wait to get back out in my shop ...this setting around is worse then the heart problems ...

the frame is all strip down and ready for powder coat & paint ,, but

as i strip this frame i keep noticeing how close this was to the mass production of the September 1st war time bikes ,now i just dont want to make a misteak and make this bike back into a sweet old school chopper at the cost of covering over a really rare bike frame ..

as far as i can tell at this point this is most likely one of the last WLA 41 pre-liberators off the line ...the frame has a latter 88 number in large on the neck peice ,but i have not found anyone who knows how to tell what type the bike is by the frame numbers ...

i like the chopper and hope to restore it as the chopper it once was ...first built in 1946 and rebuilt in 1967 . stored from 1971 till now

but right now , i am trying to define what type the frame is ..

WL ,WLA ,WR ..?

if its not a WLA ,,,that would make it a WL or a WR or some other type ....it dose have a U or UE in some of the frame numbers , i will try to write the numbers down and post them here ...

any real way to tell what type it is by using the frame numbers ...?

[Badinfluence]

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

[blindbowman]

yes pics do help ... i know its a singal loop frame and has a gray primer regulator if it is stock .. the hand made tank was welded on to the frame in a way it could be removed with out damging the frame or the tank ..

the trany was stock and bolted on correctly . the kick stand bar is stock and had a longer standed added to it ...the frame is stock other then cutting off the side car mounts ...

[Dave63]

Based on the frame, drop-outs, beck and trans/engine pan, it appears to be a 1942 WLA.

Frame & Wheels

The casting numbers won't really pin down much of anything other than letting you know that its a genuine H-D part and was made in some general era. The year code in the casting number is usually the first year that the pattern was put into production, not neccessarily the year it was actually made.

You mentioned 88 UE. Not sure what that would be. 8 usually indicates a month (august) but can indicate a year 1948.

The frame is definitely from a flathead. The 1942 flavor seems to be in that era of design. Subsequently, frames and many other parts were not tagged with the serial number, and cannot generally be dated specifically, without other parts present. A frame could be 1942-1948, and all the same.

U/UL models are a 1209 cc engine.

[butch61]

that's a 45 flattie frame. know idea of year tho

[blindbowman]

let me get a few close up pics . maybe that will help define what it is ..

[blindbowman]

ok i mist a few but i will post what is clear and then go back and get the rest ...correct me if i am wrong but that would make good logic that it would look like a 42 WLA if it is a 41 WLA all 42 WLA were design using the 41 as the basic design ...when i researched the parts numbers ,one of the historical sites stated they would put the year and mounth 418 then the part number 32 .. thats just what is on the kick stand mounting bar ...
and the trans i dated 41... , i know this bike has been owned by one person from 1967 till now

i beleive it is a 1941-8 WLA

can i prove it .. who knows ...?

[Dave63]

I would venture the trans is definitely a 1941, however, the frame I'm not positive about. 41-48 were all the same frame, as I understand it. So the engine and trans numbers that were in it, would be more of a clue.

Just like with older cars with "matching numbers". A GM small block engine doesn't have "1968" on it, rather a series of numbers that tell you it was used from 1967-1970, and would be correct in any year car of those corrosponding years.