HARLEY QUARTS INFO - Sun Mar 20 2011 09:19 AM
As I was inventorying my cans once again, I have gotten to the Harley quarts. I found some info I thought I'd share as there may be one or two guys (including me) that may not have known this. You all are familiar with the orange "GENUINE OIL" cans with both black and white labels. Everything I have seen dates the black label cans to the 1940's which is true to an extent.
Well, I noticed mine had the narrow folded seam which would date it to the 1950's. I thought I'd do a little research and as a result I found a site of AMA's AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST magazines dating back to 1955. So I dug in...
According to the ads in the mags, the black label can was used up until June 1957. That would explain the seam on my version. The white label can started showing up in ads July 1957.
Now what is weird is that the white and black with bar and shield logo "PRE-LUXE" was introduced in June 1958. No more ads for the "GENUINE OIL". This version ran until mid 1964 when the bar and shied logo was replaced by the PRE-LUXE HARLEY DAVIDSON with elongated triangles above and below the wording.
Now was the white label "GENUINE" only a one year run? Was it sold alongside "PRE-LUXE" but just never made it into magazine ads? There are still questions to be ansered, so if anyone can shed any light, it would be helpful.
Well, I noticed mine had the narrow folded seam which would date it to the 1950's. I thought I'd do a little research and as a result I found a site of AMA's AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST magazines dating back to 1955. So I dug in...
According to the ads in the mags, the black label can was used up until June 1957. That would explain the seam on my version. The white label can started showing up in ads July 1957.
Now what is weird is that the white and black with bar and shield logo "PRE-LUXE" was introduced in June 1958. No more ads for the "GENUINE OIL". This version ran until mid 1964 when the bar and shied logo was replaced by the PRE-LUXE HARLEY DAVIDSON with elongated triangles above and below the wording.
Now was the white label "GENUINE" only a one year run? Was it sold alongside "PRE-LUXE" but just never made it into magazine ads? There are still questions to be ansered, so if anyone can shed any light, it would be helpful.