Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems 1936–1965 | Riding Vintage

Vintage Harley-Davidson Reference Materials

Vintage Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems (1936–1965)

Browse vintage Harley paint schemes, factory Harley-Davidson paint colors by year, tank emblems, striping and finish changes across nine chronological guides covering 1936 through 1965.

Vintage Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems (1936–1965) is a chronological reference to factory paint colors, vintage Harley paint schemes, tank emblems, striping, tank-panel layouts and other finish details. The nine guides below divide the collection into year ranges so restorers and collectors can move directly to the paint, emblem and finish information for the motorcycle being researched.

These guides are built as historical factory-reference pages for comparing Harley-Davidson paint colors, tank emblems, striping, tank-panel layouts and finish changes by year. For restoration work, use the year-specific information alongside surviving paint evidence from the motorcycle being researched, especially where modern formulas, commercial color matches or individual-machine records are not available.

Identification path: use the Harley VIN Decoder to interpret the appropriate pre-1970 engine number or serial number, then consult the Harley-Davidson Model Reference for the models offered in that year. The paint references below provide the separate color, striping, paint-scheme and tank-emblem information; those details are not encoded in the VIN.

9 paint and emblem guides

Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems by Year

1936–1939 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for late V-Series and early Knucklehead models, organized year by year.

1940–1946 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Knucklehead and wartime models, with year-by-year finish details.

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1947–1950 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for late Knucklehead and early Panhead models, organized by year.

1951–1954 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and K Model motorcycles, with year-by-year reference details.

1955–1956 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and K Model motorcycles, organized by production year.

1957–1958 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and Sportster motorcycles, organized by production year.

1959–1960 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and Sportster motorcycles, organized by production year.

1961–1962 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and Sportster motorcycles, organized by production year.

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1963–1965 Harley-Davidson Paint Colors & Tank Emblems

Factory paint colors and tank emblems for Panhead and Sportster motorcycles, organized by production year.