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1954 K-model battery carrier

April 1st was an appropriate day to blow 45 bucks on the wrong year part.

This was listed as "OEM Harley Sportster and K-model 1952-1964 battery carrier OEM P/N: 66224-52C". This bracket would fit, if you use the later- model straps. It is not "correct" for a 1952 K-model. I could have looked in my 1952 parts book and seen this. I bought the book a week earlier and it was sitting on my desk. It is not the seller's problem either. I should have seen that "C" suffix in the part number and known that Harley did not need 4 tries to get a working part for the first-year 1952 bike. The seller might also have a later model parts book that did not show the different setups. In fact, I never did find a "C" suffix part, this is a "-B" part.

Here is the 66224-52B battery carrier. It has a welded bracket that takes a bolt with a cross-pin. The other side takes the same strap as the 1952 part.

Here is a bottom view. This part piggybacks on top of the steel rear motor mount.

The later model battery carrier takes this bolt on its left side. Maybe the J-hook type strap gets bent and trapped so they changed to this setup. It would seem harder to get the battery out with that bracket sticking up.

Here is the correct battery carrier for a 1952, part number 66224-52. It also picks up the back bolts on the motor mount. Holding tight tolerances over a sheet-metal bend is hard, I can see why Harley changed the part. I bought this a few weeks later. I will have a post for that as well. I will sell the wrong one and recover some of the cost.

I looked at all my parts books and I can see why the seller said this was for 1952 K-models. First off, the 1952 book is schwacked. This is on page 6 of the 1952 K-model parts manual. It has the right battery carrier part number but I have never seen a part like this. It looks like it is supposed to have longer bolts with cross pins. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

This is what the battery on page 44 looks like in the parts manual. It shows the actual part. These pictures are of Harley Davidson copyrighted material, so don't I hope the fine intelligent handsome and fun folks in the Harley legal consul department allow this as fair use, since Harley did make these mistakes and we peons are just trying to figure out what is what.

The next parts book after my 1952 parts book is the 1952-56 book.

Note that I only took a picture of the partial page to keep those Harley lawyers in a good mood. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

By this parts manual, the drawing at the front is coherent with the one in the battery page. It does show that later part. The text says the -B part replaces the -A part, but who knows what that -A part is? They never show it, unless there is yet another parts book I don't know about. That is the mystery, what happened to the 66224-52A part? This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

Here is the battery page of the 1956 K-model parts manual. It shows two 66404-52 straps that you need for the 66224-52 part, but also the bolt with cross-pin you need for the -B part. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

Collect the whole set. The 1952-59 book at least deletes the redundant drawing in the motor mount/cases page. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

I think I have all the books but I am not sure. Here is the1953-63 book, This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material. Then only two years later they came out with this book. They changed to 12 volts and the battery setup changed. I won't press my luck with the Harley legal department and show a picture of that. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

Then the 1961-71 book. This covers electric start and the wet clutch and the cone gearcase cover. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

Here is the first parts book I bought, after I got my 1977 Sportster many decades ago. It does cover some 1954 stuff but it is not comprehensive by any means. For the battery stuff, it calls out the 6-volt battery, but does not show the carrier or straps or lid for the early model stuff.

I suspect they don't go back to 1952 since there was no tranmission trap door in the first two years. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

The final iron Sportster parts manual. I guess it must have Evo heads in it. they came out in 1985. You can understand how Harley would come out with a new parts book anytime they made a big change. This picture is of Harley Davidson copyrighted material.

Here is this 1954 bracket alongside the 1952 bracket that is on top of the motor mount. Note I have the 1954 bracket reversed, the vertical tab is on the right side in the parts book, see next pic.

My costs to date:

Date	Descript	Cost	Shipping	Total
Thursday, March 15, 2012	Sprocket cover	$189.49	$11.35	$200.84
Wednesday, March 21, 2012	Engine, uncrating	$2,500.00	$464.56	$2,964.56
Friday, March 23, 2012	Rolling chassis, uncrating	$3,500.00	$669.00	$4,169.00
Sunday, March 25, 2012	Parts manual	$30.00	$0.00	$30.00
Sunday, March 25, 2012	Gas tank	$500.00	$25.00	$525.00
Tuesday, March 27, 2012	Top motor mount	$56.00	$12.00	$68.00
Thursday, March 29, 2012	Shock covers, top	$102.50	$6.50	$109.00
Sunday, April 01, 2012	Battery carrier	$39.99	$5.30	$45.29
		$6,917.98	$1,193.71	$8,111.69

This post is in these categories: K-model_restore Categories Maintenance (2) Chassis (1) Electrical (1) Engine (8) K-model_restore (17)

1954 K-model battery carrier

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