Difference in frames? 78-80 special vs 80-84 special?

[realgone]

Hi there folks,
I tried a quick search, but wasn't able to find what I'm looking for.

Can anyone tell me what the differences in the frame are between the first gen specials of 1978-1980 and the second gen specials of 1980-1984?

I was looking at the mikesxs ID chart, and I see that the side panels are different, and if I recall correctly the first gen seat is on side hinges and the second gen is a front tab.

What I am specifically interested in is the hideous (imho) aluminum grab rail that follows the curve of the rear of the seat on the 1980-1984 specials. It looks like it's integral. Is that just the design, or is it a structural member of the rear frame? Once it's removed, is everything underneath more or less the same? Is the rear of the frames between the two pretty much the same?

Thanks in advance!

 

[xjwmx]

It unbolts and comes off but it holds the taillight. It doesn't look bad to me, at least not "hideous." With it off, you'd need to get a washer about 1/2" thick to take up the space where it was on the shock mounts.

 

[realgone]

hideous may have been harsh

thanks for the reply! something about the rear of those bikes looks weird to me. the way the seat and the sidecovers and the rear grab rail fit together seems a little too traingular and cramped looking. i love the way the earlier specials look, but have a shot at a later special. it'll get a bit of a mild custom treatment, but i had been planning around an early model.
I just want to see how much of the plan would need to be changed if i use a later model.
anyone else?

 

[nj1639]

With some ingenuity the later Specials can be changed up. I didn't care for the grab rail and the 'flying brick' taillight. Like xjwmx said above - the grab rail holds the taillight and if you remove the rail it leaves a large gap at the end of the seat which exposes the seat rail. I found a '79 Special seat covers the gap and the seat rail and then found a suitable taillight to mount lower on the fender where the later Specials have the license mount. A Standard seat would follow the lines of the seat rail but then you have the angle of the Specials' sidecovers that would then be gapped away from the seat.
The frames are basically the same for all the Specials.....some minor mounting tabs changed.