Guys I have a question for you both. I have what research has shown to be a 74 sporty. The number on the motor is 4A*****HA. I cannot find a number on the frame. I have found two stars stamped on the neck with a large gap between the two. Those are the only marks I have found. I also saw where PG was talking about having a magneto. My bike has one and is a kick only XLCH. Any info that can help me figure out what year I have would be greatly appreciated so that I can get it titled in MS.

 

The serial number style you give is what a 1974 would be...... BUT with one problem, addressed in a minute.
This number will be stamped on the right side of the engine where the cylinder bases come together.

Now for the problem:
4A indicates the bike is an XLCH. (kick start only goes with that)
***** indicates the 5 digit serial number.
H stands for Harley Davidson.
The problem lies with that last digit.
A 1974 would have a 4 stamped at the end. NEVER a letter!
You say you have an 'A' there. That is incorrect.
So check that last digit again. I am betting you misread the A and it is actually a 4.

As for the numbers on the frame...... The original frame on a 1974 should have the same number stamped on the head tube as is on the engine. Yours sounds like it is either another year frame, or has someone ground off the number?

Finally, you say your 1974 has a magneto. This is almost impossible.
The timing cover on a 1970 and earlier is quite different than on a 1971 and newer machine.
In 1971 there was a drastic change. The top mounted circuit breaker on an XLH and the top mounted magneto on an XLCH were replaced with a cone timing cover and this housed the new battery powered circuit breaker.

Here is a timing cover from a 1970 or earlier......



And here is a timing cover from a 1971 or newer. If you have a 1974 then it will look like this and does not have a magneto.



pg

 

I ain't either of those gents, but ...

The 4A does indicate an XLCH. A 1974 did not have a magneto from the factory. It had points located behind the timer cover on the cam gear side. The last Sporty magneto left the factory in the 1970 model year. In 1971 they changed the gearcase cam cover and stuck the points in there. A 1974 XLCH engine would be numbered 4A*****H4, not "HA". But, 1970 and later bikes are titled by the frame number, not the engine number. If your frame has no numbers, it might be a pre-1970 frame, and the bike was originally titled by the engine numbers. I take it you got it without a title?

OK, no numbers on the frame: pre-1970 frame, an un-numbered custom frame, or a stolen frame with the numbers ground off/filled in.

Engine numbers: 4A*****HA doesn't match known good HD Sporty serial numbers, unless the "HA" is actually "H4", which means the engine is a 1974 ... except 1974 motors didn't come stock with a magneto.

1970 and later bikes MUST be titled using the frame number. You CANNOT title them using the engine number. Or maybe I ought to say someone someplace might do that for you, but the next cop with at least 1.5 working brain cells is going to impound the bike.

You've got a problem.

Pictures might shed more light on this.

 

Need to add there are/were kits to stick a magneto in the speedometer drive hole on the '71 later motors, but these are rarely seen. Again, a pic would greatly help at least ID the motor. No frame numbers is your big sticking point if the motor is a 1974.

 

Ok yes maybe I did miss read the last digit as being A instead of 4. I may have addressed this earlier but I can't remember. About the magneto. My bike has the early style side cover then because I cranked it shortly after getting it home with no electronics on it at all. No wires, battery or anything. But no I can tell from the pics that it is the early style. So what does that mean about the vin on the motor. I found this number on the right hand side behind the magneto. I actually had to pull it out to get the number.





The only two shots I have of the right side. Sorry for the horrible shots.

 

Hey Poco......
I never heard (or saw) that one! I wish you had more info on that setup.

Now on the old KR I used to ride the magneto was ouunted where the generator sits on a road bike and the hole where a top mounted circuit breaker or a magneto sits on a Sportster was used on the KR for a tachometer drive. The TT Sportster race bikes used the KR setup as well.
pg

 

Nice pics and thanks for posting them. Now my question is answered.
You do have a magneto but that engine is many years away from being a 1974.
The latest this engine could be is 1970. Most likely it is 1969 or earlier. The 'ribs' on the timing cover make me think it is 1967 to 1969.
Also, on any Sportster 1970 and earlier, the engine number is stamped on the left side of the engine and is a different series than what you have described. Your description of the number is that of a 1974 (except for that letter A) but this engine is not a 1974 by any means.

In 1971 the factory started stamping the new series number on the right side of the cases. If your number is stamped on the right side then it is a phony serial number.

I have little doubt that what you have here is a bike assembled from many different parts and with no number on the frame it makes me almost certain that it has seen a grinder close up.

Still, it is a very nice bike. Old Sportsters have been stolen a lot and then assembled out of various parts almost since the day the first one was made. If you can get, or have a clear title to it consider yourself lucky. I would advise you to not make much noise about this one though because it is not what you think it is.
pg

OK, I need to add an edit here. What I said is true, but there is a possibility that someone fitted an old timing cover to a 1974 because they wanted a magneto.
Costly and a bit of trouble to do this, but it is possible.
So, the only way to tell other than the serial number location is to have a look at the primary side of the bike. You do not have a pic of that, but if the clutch cable gos into the aluminum primary cover and the serial number you gave is stamped in the right side case, then you probably do have a 1974 and someone just changed out the timing cover/mag.
The key to the year is a 1971 had a wet clutch as did a 1974. 1970 and earlier used a dry clutch and the primary cover was much different.

 

PG, I remember seeing the kits available back in the mid-late 1970s. I saw one on a bike at the first Easyriders swap meet in Charlotte, NC. I heard rumors that there were problems with the gear drive, but don't know if that meant on the magneto end, or the engine end.

DROFF, it probably means you have a mish-mash of parts used to build the engine. I b'lieve you need to have a check done and make sure the motor isn't hot. If it comes back clean, then you'll have to find out if the frame is a pre-1970, or if it has been ruined by someone grinding off the VIN. Even if the frame is a pre-1970, if you have no good title, or the bill of sale doesn't clearly indicate the frame specifics it is going to make your life difficult. How difficult will be determined by your local state DMV-person's interpretation of Mississippi's laws. Best thing is to check with them and see what they require.

 

PG, is it possible to fit a magneto-type cover to a later engine?

 

Ok yes maybe I did miss read the last digit as being A instead of 4. I may have addressed this earlier but I can't remember. About the magneto. My bike has the early style side cover then because I cranked it shortly after getting it home with no electronics on it at all. No wires, battery or anything. But no I can tell from the pics that it is the early style. So what does that mean about the vin on the motor. I found this number on the right hand side behind the magneto. I actually had to pull it out to get the number.

I just read your text more carefully after looking mostly at the pics. Yes, it sounds like you have a 1974 that has had the old style timing cover used so that that fine magneto could be used.
Your engine number series is that of a 1974 as long as the end digit is a 4.
Your title reflects this I assume too?
So, if your clutch cable gos into the primary cover it is indeed a 1974.
pg