Claude, as always thanks so much for your support and help.Pete has indicated he would be willing to sell me the chassis, etal, to mount Merle's car on, I suspect since the reason has to do with Connie's mobility.I will give you a call, though, be nice to catch up.greg
Just curious but has anyone ever cut a door into a TLE?
You might want to consider my sidecar www.spaldingside.co The FLHT and FLHR is all we do
Originally written by Kroger on 1/5/2008 2:27 PM
You might want to consider my sidecar www.spaldingside.co The FLHT and FLHR is all we do
I sent you an e mail re priceing and installation.thxgreg
Yes, the Liberty is a fiberglass takeoff of the earlier Harley-Davidson "Dutch Shoe" sidecar.
The Liberty is a copy of the 1936-67 model (per their website). As I do research, (Google), I get the impression the "Dutch Shoe" is a reference to the 1924 (maybe29) -1935 model? Not a big issue, but now I am curious.thxgreg
Correct!
The Dutch shoe was circa 1920's and preceded the body style used by Liberty.
Lonnie
Right, the dutch shoe has been referred to in error here a few times. It IS the earlier version as mentioned and NOT the last metal sidecar that Harley produced.
Originally written by claude #3563 on 1/6/2008 3:48 PM
Right, the dutch shoe has been referred to in error here a few times. It IS the earlier version as mentioned and NOT the last metal sidecar that Harley produced.
I respectfully disagree. It's a small point, but I've always heard the term "Dutch Shoe" used to refer to both early and later styles. The later one, copied by Liberty, is not all that different in any case.
It's Ok though. I'm used to being contradicted. Been married for a long time now.
Yeah no biggie at all. I never mentioned it until I saw Lonnie's post because it just isn't a big deal. Didn't mean to be critcal. Take a look at the attached 🙂
Originally written by claude #3563 on 1/7/2008 2:06 AM
Yeah no biggie at all. I never mentioned it until I saw Lonnie's post because it just isn't a big deal. Didn't mean to be critcal. Take a look at the attached 🙂
I've always been fascinated by this area of language. For the sake of argument, perhaps we may both agree that Harley-Davidson never built a sidecar model that was officially designated as the "Dutch Shoe". There is, for example, no parts catalog for the "Dutch Shoe" sidecar. The catalog would have gone by year and part number for the particular model.
If we can agree on that, then what we are looking at is a term that is in the oral tradition of motorcycling language. This can, and does, vary from area to area in the U.S.
A good example of this might be recalled from the tme that I was a kid in Chicago. I owned a 1946 FL. We called these "Big Twins". In the 1950's, in Chicago at least, there was no such term as "Knucklehead". I later owned a 1950 FL. This was also called "The Big Twin", rather than the Panhead. I can assure you that this was true since I frequented most of the motorcycle shops in the area at that time an even worked for four of them, two Indian and two Harley dealers. I never heard the terms Knucklehead or Panhead until I reached California later on. This is a fact that has nothing to do with Harley having copyrighted these names in later years.
One agency for which I worked had a fleet of sidecars, most of the were Harley commercial box type but there were also some of the 1950's steel touring ones. We delivered blueprints with them. Those were often called "Dutch Shoe" or simply "tubs".
I've even heard the later fiberglass TLE's referred fro time to time to as "Cigars". Thankfully, that one apparently hasn't caught on.
Anyway, if you say that there was an arbitrary change from the early steel design that was called "Dutch Shoe" (20's and 30's) to the later steel body (40's and 50's) and that the later ones were never, ever called "Dutch Shoe", that's fine with me. I can only tell you what I remember.
It's important to remember also, that these terms are all in the so-called oral tradition. That will vary from time to time and from area to area. These terms are not what Harley called them when they were first sold, but rather they are names that caught on in various places. In other words, they were coined by people in their everyday lives.
So I have to chuckle a bit when see a web page that states deinitively that certain years only were called by certain names.
It's OK by me. Whatever you say. LOL
Originally written by gregbenner on 12/28/2007 7:03 PM
I have a 2002 RoadKing, that I dont ride too much anymore, but can't really sell since it was a gift from Connie. Sooooo, I am thinking of adding a sidecar to it. I am in no hurry and will try to find a used car, and a friend will install it for me.My question is, other than Harley sidecars (which are clearly a possibility), what other cars would look good and would "fit" on a RoadKing (i.e. size).My only real issue with the Harley sidecar is it seems like it might be a little difficult to access? However, we have never looked closely at one, and Connie has never tried to get in one. It is probably my 1st choice at this point, but would hate to pass up something due to ignorance.Looks are pretty important, would appreciate any and all suggestions.regards, greg
The difficulty of getting in and out of a side car for my GF who has MS is the reason I went to the Spalding sidecar. I did months of research on this site and numerous others looking for something that would work for us and HER special needs. Not only do they look great, their functionality is right on for what we needed it for. AND the quality is bar none. I've posted several pictures in the "Album" thread on this site if you want some more shots of the car.
AND working with Roger Spalding made the whole process just that much BETTER.
o~o
Re: the Dutch Shoe question, I certainly wasn't trying to start any disagreement either.What raised the issue in my mind, was when I referred to Liberty's sidecar as a Dutch Shoe model in a conversation with Pete (Liberty's owner). He didn't disagree, rather there was sort of an ackward silence, then he continued as though he hadn't heard me. Rather than question this, I waited and later "googled" Harley sidecar Dutch Shoe. Not too many hits, but the ones I did get seemd to indicate a pre 1936 car,...hence my post.Anyway, they are are pretty cool in my view.
It's funny about the names that people use for motorcycles and so forth. I can remember several that I'm sure were not universal.
BSA's were often referred to as "Bas***d stopped again", Beezer, or "Bloody sore a**". Vincents, at least in Chicago, were frequently referred to as "Camels" due to the odd, double Dunlop seat that they had.
After The Indian name was put onto Royal Enfield when Indian went out of business (1953/54), those of us who owned one took to calling them "Royal Indian-fields".
Triumphs, in like manner were sometimes called "Trumpets" and the poor Triumph-Ariel dealers had their title summarily shortened to "Triumph venereal". and on it goes.
Whether you have ever heard any of these names depends, I guess, on where you are located.
Well, got to go. Gonna hop on my "Silent Gray Fellow" and take a ride down to the local "stealer" to see what's up. LOL
I have a restored BSA Lightning, I call it a Beezer.I also remember calling Triumphs Trumps (before Donald, I guess)
Then there's Squariel, Snorton Norton, Matchbox, AJay, Hardly Ableson, Moto Gorilla, Fanny B, Puke, Velo, White Refrigerator (BMW Dover White)and Yamika.
