Aside from his larger possessions, Dad didn't keep much junk around the house. Every room in the house, save for the basement, was pretty void of needless possessions. There was no newspaper collection or room packed with empty boxes, but rather just some personal effects that had been left over. In each room we found some magazines from the 60's and 70's along with small items like belt buckles or old stamps. All in all, we filled less than 2 boxes full of items.
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| Nothing really changes. |
I think that things like catalogues and sales ads provide an interesting blast of nostalgia to everyone. It's always fun when someone online posts an old sales ad from Toys r Us or Best Buy that really illustrate the trends at the time and what looked like very low prices. Buried within Dad's repair and service manuals was a catalogue for Harley Davidson from 1963. Within its pages are tons of accessories for not only the bike but the rider as well.
A few things are interesting about this particular catalogue. First, the marketing arm of Harley Davidson really has not changed all that much in the 50+ years since this catalogue came out. The words "power" and "owning the road" appear here as frequently as they do on the modern website.
The next thing I noticed was the styling. Almost every item in this book focuses on the styling of the bike itself. Like any good accessory maker, Harley has always been a reflection of the values of the time. In this case, everything was a rocket ship.
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| To the moon! |
The whole idea of the "streamline" design, or making something appear in motion without it actually being in motion, dates back to the late 30's and early 40's when Harley introduced the "EL" or "Knucklehead" bike. The pulled back design of the bike is one that endures and inspires to this day. As the space race was becoming a thing in the 50's, the rocket ship theme became etched into the design of cars and bikes. This was clearly reflected by the continued and refined use of the "fishtail" exhaust.
The catalogue offers numerous styles of exhaust systems, of which two stand out the most. The fishtail style they offer along with the megaphone system both reflect their time perfectly. They look as though they are about to take off. Digging further into this catalogue shows the same streamline, "blast off" style repeated over and over again.
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| Even the saddlebags and seats are ready for blast off. |
For some reason this style always appealed to me. Growing up with Dad's 1960 bike imprinted an enduring love for the fishtail design on me. One of the earliest memories I have is my mom holding my hand while she pointed out the fishtail exhaust on the bike before we took one of our once a year trips. These are special to me and was a feature I was looking forward to on my own bike.
The aftermarket dilemma
As mentioned previously in this blog, I replaced the stock mufflers on my bike with a set of Kerker supertrapp mufflers. I really enjoy the sound these mufflers produce. Loud enough to be heard and seen, but not obnoxious. One benefit to these mufflers was that they had removable exhaust tips. Changing to a different tip would be no problem!
...Or so I thought. Aftermarket accessory makers come and go quickly. In a highly competitive field filled with cheap chinese knock-off products, it is not difficult to see why. Kerker itself was bought out by a local company which now only sells one type of muffler with the Kerker branding. Needless to say my desired fishtail exhaust tips were no longer available.
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| They still exist...barely. |
After trolling EBay for about a month solid I finally came back with a positive hit! A guy was selling his used exhaust system on EBay which included fishtail tips! There was just one problem. These pipes were meant for a heritage springer and not a road king. If only he were just selling the tips! I did not want to pay the $100 asking price plus $60 shipping for pipes I didn't need and couldn't use.
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| The original slash cut tips. Also a great look! |
Patiently I waited for about two weeks, watching this auction. When it became clear that no one wanted these used pipes I emailed the seller with a proposition. He agreed to sell the tips only for $50 plus $10 shipping. I was very pleased. I sent him the money and waited....and waited....and finally, today, they arrived! Time to put 'em on!
They are used, after all.
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| Not too bad, but lots of pitted rust. |
Upon arrival my initial inspection of the tips revealed a common problem; surface rust. There was a fair amount of it, but it was nothing terribly bad. I went to the garage to size them up against the current tips. I simply assumed that they would fit without actually knowing. Really, I took a $60 gamble.
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| Removing the carbon on the inner ring for a better fit was a dirty job. |
Luckily it paid off and it was clear they would fit perfectly! My wife and I grabbed some old bumper polish and hit the shop in the basement to clean up the tails!
The amount of surface rust was quickly rubbed out and a fair amount of polish and elbow grease assured these old classics were brought back to a glimmer! It took us around 40 minutes to fully clean and buff the tips and I'm sure you'll agree it was worth it!
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| I can't wait to get them on! |
Installation was surprisingly easy. It would have been a smart move to remove the saddlebags before removing the tips, but I did not have time for rational solutions. Each tip is held by three allen head screws. One on the top (hence saddlebag removal) and one on each side that sits at an angle. Fortunately, all of the screws broke loose with ease allowing me to quickly remove the slash cut tips.
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| The allen head screw that was most difficult to get to. |
Placing the tips took a bit more effort. The left side went on with ease, requiring no modifications or frustration. Each screw found its way back into the hole and threaded with ease.
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| The exposed packing of the muffler. |
The right side took a bit longer than anticipated. The tip itself did not want to slide on. Despite everything being identical, for whatever reason it simply would not go. I decided it would need some persuading to work properly. I found a 2x4 piece of wood and a solid hammer.
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| A wood block and a persuader. |
Using these tools I gently, but thoroughly hit the hammer into the block of wood against the fishtail. After two hits the tail slipped into place allowing me to insert the screws.
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| Don't forget the loctite or you'll lose parts! |
The two side screws were easy. I applied blue loctite to the screws and ran them in. The final top screw would not line up. I removed the saddlebag and after much fidgeting, I was able to get the screw to line up. All in all the job took about 25 minutes.
I'm very pleased with the way they look. The bike is classic enough where they do not look out of place and actually add some much needed chrome to the rear. Although they do not sound as good as I had hoped, they still have their own unique whine. I can't wait to hit the road and give them a real test!
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| Can't wait to see it in sunlight! |
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