Posted 12 years ago
rubencgarcia
(1 item)
Not sure who make this cast iron toy Harley but it stands alone with pride. Heavy metal bike could be a Hubley but I'm not sure. The wheels are metal and have raised letters that read Harley Davidson.
Here's what I know; Hubley was given exclusive rights to manufacture HD toys in the late 1920's. In your piece, the casting appears rather crude. Hubley used fine sand to cast its toys resulting in a smoother, finer surface. Also of note, it seems all HD cast iron motorcycles came with a rider (maybe yours was lost). Third, not all Hubley harleys were marked HD, but it seems most if not all were marked Hubley. There are other 'clues' you can look for that I can't see in the pictures; the seams should be tight if its a Hubley and all the filing of the seams would have been done by hand - no grinding marks should be present. Is it a Hubley? I don't know. But I think you have a mighty fine piece that I would be proud to have in my HD collection!
Hello Jackieblue,
Thanks for the information and I agree that this HD cast toy is not as fine as some of the Hubley toys I had viewed when I was researching its orgin and that most of the cycles had Harley Davidson or HD on the gas tank and rubber tires. This one of mine has Harley Davidson on the cast iron tires instead and no sign or marking identifing Hubley as the maker. The seams aren't as tight or as fine either so I'm sure what I have is a fare attempt and the makings of a knock off with no clue of who might of been the maker of such pieces. Thank you for sharing your knowledge it was good reading.
The seams are a good clue,are there any welds or screws holding it together?That is a sure sign of a reproduction,also is it smooth or rough when you rub your hand over it?fakes are rough,hope this helps.
Not an original, but still a neat decorator piece.