From:Dave Hennessey e-mail:dave@toyhouse.org
Subject:RE: RE: RE: 1929 KJ Streamline VIN Date:Fri Nov 4 13:22:49 2016
Response to:6379
Gregg,

The KJ serial number appears in two places: on the magneto mount, and on the lower crankcase ("oil pan") around the kick starter. They should match. The lower crankcase often got damaged, and was replaced with one from a different KJ motor, or from a DeLuxe. The DeLuxe did not have a serial number on the lower crankcase.

KJ33229 does appear to be a 1930.

I assume you're calling it a 1929 because that's what it says on the title.

Today, VIN numbers and year of manufacture are tightly controlled due to federal laws. DMV procedures are standardized in that respect.

87 years ago, that was not the case. Some states would title the bike (or car) with the year it was sold by the dealer, not the year it was manufactured. That wouldn't fit your situation though. It might have been titled by the calendar year (1929) when it was sold, not the model year (1930). While this seems unbelievable today, they just weren't too careful back then, and remember, this was the beginning of the Great Depression.

The Ballak list could be slightly inaccurate, but it's all we have. Your engine might have replaced, and someone got the serial number changed on the title, but not the year.

The title to my 1930 had the "Model" as "KJ". But the factory never called it that. So I had the DMV change it to "Streamline". Back in 1930, was it erroneously titled as "KJ", and the error persisted through various changes in title over the next 70 years? Who knows?

There are only a few differences between the 1929 and 1930. Things like wheels could have changed over the years, and the factory could have put 19" wheels on some early 1930s or vice versa. They didn't always change things exactly on the model year - during the Depression, they tried to use up whatever parts they had on hand before switching to the new parts.
See: http://hendersonkj.com/ffo/differences.html

What is the casting date on the top of the transmission? The engine cases were usually cast in batches, so this may not tell us much.

What is the year, make, and model on your title? What are the two serial numbers on your bike? Photos of the serial numbers would help.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over this.
Dave









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Sorry the pic did not upload properly. Here it is again.

Gregg

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Another response offered then was that the Ballack list
showed that number as being in the range of 1930 made
bikes.

http://www.hendersonkj.com/ffo/documents/ballak/1/ballak-
1.pdf

No pic attached to your post...