1949 Model 125

There were few changes for 1949, since the 1948 was about three months late hitting the market, and the production line kept running. This brings up the matter of "running changes". H-D seldom threw anything away - old parts were used until they ran out, and then the new parts were used. This is particularly true for 1948-1949 production - most of the changes were running changes, and did not break cleanly at the start of the model year.

The 1948 "left" and "right" seat springs are a good example - the "lefts" were used until they ran out. We think this occurred around the beginning of 1949 production, but a few left-over "lefts" could have found their way on early 1949 models.

The 1948 gas tanks had the front mounting tabs welded inside the tunnel. The illustraion in the 1949 Spare Parts catalog (November 1948) shows the tabs welded to the outside of the tank. However, we believe that the 1948-style tank was used through the end of 1949 production.

1949 models had an extra grease fitting on the front brake backing plate to grease the speedo drive gear. The clutch spring plate gained 6 retaining tabs but lost 2 holes. The "octopus" style lining on the clutch plates were used on the 1948 and 1949.

In May 1949, Flight Red and Azure Blue paint were offered at extra charge. See 1949 Colors for more details.

Chrome handlebars became an option starting in May 1949.

Note: The photograph at the left is the same one as the 1948.