Thursday, December 9, 2010

My '65 and More About Sissies


Another shot of my '65 survivor. Vilmino commented in the previous post that it's a S.I.E. sissy bar.

One cool thing I found out right after buying this bike is that the rear fender is an old knucklehead front fender. It's been molded smooth but I first noticed they left the holes where the original fender's supports were riveted, then I spotted it's three piece construction on the inside.



A combination one piece fender strut/sissy bar is a clean way to set up a swing arm bike. Makes for pretty good lines too.

The last owner had it since 1970 so the bike probably took on this form fairly early on. The oil tank must have been swapped out later, as the original tank (chromed), along with the stock battery box came in a box of extra parts.


Mark Schauwecker sent in a similar constructed sissy bar. He says it's NOS and has Munch Choppers Chicago stamped on the inside. He got it from a friend who bought out an old dealer (Banta's in Lancaster, Ohio), in '91.