This is one of the most visible cosmetic parts of the bike when motoring down the road. When new, these stamped plates came in two flavors: the Initial Production Series bikes--where they wear the serial number of that bike--and the final production models shown as Hanlon Quality USA. No matter which badge your bike has, they are nice to keep clean and--after so many years--stripped of the clearcoat and polished to their former glory.
I don't who else has taken the time to study one of these but, only today did I notice the initials DT and DJ in the insignia. First knee-jerk thought was Dan and Dave's initials but, from the patent records, they're Daniel L and David P. Not a match. Anyone have any idea what the history of the initials and the overall design was?
When I get a tarnished one, the normal procedure for me is to carefully apply paint stripper to the upper surface with a Q-tip. After a few minutes, the clearcoat gives up and can be rinsed away with soapy water. After that, any handy metal polish and an old toothbrush will usually remove the tarnishing and restore a beautiful shine to the part. This one came from spending at least some of its life in a beach community and you can see the remaining corrosion, even after much polishing.
Finally: Does anyone know who ended up with stashes of these badges after the factory shutdown? I'm pretty sure I've asked Marty in the past and she said they didn't have them. I know other decals and insignias turn up in various collections and for sale from time-to-time. Strangely enough: I've never seen these badges for sale anywhere. Since I'm going through the cosmetic overhaul of a bike right now, I'm interested in buying some.