From the beginning of their very first motorcycle, Harley Davidson has continued to deliver some terrific motorcycles that have continued to fascinate and thrill consumers for many, many years. After the introduction of the Harley's XL Sportster in 1957, Harley Davidson developed a more sporting version known as the XLCH in 1959. The "CH" was supposedly standing for competition hot. These motorcycles were stripped-down models that were oriented toward on-road and off-road work with magneto ignition, high exhaust pipes, solo seat, smaller "peanut" tank, and lighter overall weight. It also featured the now-famous "eyebrow" headlight cover that remains a Sportster trademark. Harley-Davidson also offered the XLH, which was a dressed-up and touring influenced version that was outsold by its sportier sibling. Power rose steadily over the next few years, which earned the fleet Sportster the nickname of "King of the Drags," which is an unofficial title it would hold until the late 1960s. Of course, this was at a time when most of their competitors were British 650-cc twins, which spotted considerable displacement to the 883-cc Sportster and in drag racing, size does matter a great deal. Aside from a new tank badge and paint scheme, the 1963 Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide did not offer many changes, which the successful formula of previous FL models did. However, Harley Davidson had tried something different for the 1961 models, when the age-old "waste spark" ignition was traded for a more modern ignition, but more complicated system employing two sets of points and coils. Unfortunately, the experiment only lasted through 1964 after which the waste-spark setup returned. This motorcycle was a fairly stripped example of the big FL, as most were fitted with saddlebags and two-passenger buddy seat and the addition to the windshield, which were all being requisites of the well-dressed touring motorcycle. The chrome trim on the fenders added a new classy touch to the Harley-Davidson FL Duo-Glide. The 1963 Harley-Davidson Topper motorcycle was among the casualties when the very short lived scooter craze subsided and the Japanese brands began to take an ever-growing share of the American motorcycle market. It had a 165-cc two-stroke single that started with a recoil starter, which is like one on a lawn mower, this caused them to capitalize on the late-1950s popularity of scooters, which drove through a variable-ratio automatic transmission called Scootaway Drive. Up front was a simple leading-link fork, and there were small drum brakes on both wheels while beneath the hinged seat was a large storage space, but if that was not enough a luggage rack was available. For those not content with carrying only two people and luggage, a sidecar was offered on the fully loaded models with the rig proving to be agonizingly slow. Other accessories included a passenger's backrest and windshield, but despite carrying the revered Harley-Davidson name, the Topper did not sell particularly well in a market and quickly become dominated by Japanese machines. It was not long before the scooter craze subsided, taking the Topper as one of its early casualties.
There are some truly classic motorcycles on the market that add a thrilling blend of precision, style, and performance. Harley Davidson has had over one hundred years of developing motorcycles to help them in continuing to please consumer. The 1957 Harley-Davidson XL Sportster is among more than one hundred fifty classic motorcycles from around the world that has become a collectible by many avid motorcycle enthusiasts. The 1966 Harley-Davidson Sprint motorcycle was an Italian-American hybrid that filled a gap in Harley's line. Introduced in 1961 as a result of a cooperative venture between Harley-Davidson and Aermacchi of Italy, the Sprint was powered by a 250-cc horizontal four-stroke single. Despite being decidedly unlike Harley's traditional products of the time, the Sprint was quite popular with buyers. Little had changed by 1966, although styling had become somewhat more modern. Both street and on and off-road Scrambler models were offered by that time, and modified versions enjoyed a fair degree of competition success. Displacement increased to 350 cc for 1969 on the street-going Sprint, which is now called the SS, while the Scrambler version did not get the larger engine until 1972. Both models disappeared after 1974 to be replaced by two-stroke machines, also built by Aermacchi. The 1948 Harley-Davidson FL is among the many classic motorcycles from America's iconic motorcycle marque, because it was big and brawny, loud and proud, and made Harley-Davidson is America on two wheels. It is no coincidence that the history of Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson, founded in 1903, parallels that of the 20th Century, the American Century. Racers, cops, soldiers, stars, lawyers, and loners all seem to have found themselves on a Harley by experiencing the magic in these profiles and pictures of very special Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Harley Davidson began building motorcycles with the 1905 Harley-Davidson, then they followed up with the 1909 Harley-Davidson V-Twin. During the 1910s, Harley Davidson designed four motorcycles, which were the 1912 X8A, 1915 11F, 1916 J, and the 1918 18-J. Then in the 1920s, Harley Davidson only manufactured three motorcycles, which were the 1920 20-J, 1925 JD, and the 1927 BA. During the 1930s and the 1940s, Harley Davidson continued with their great motorcycles with the introduction of ten fantastic motorcycles. These motorcycles were the 1931 Model D, 1934 VLD, 1936 EL, 1938 UL, 1942 WLA and XA, 1947 Servi-Car, 1948 FL, 1948 S-125, 1948 WL, and the 1949 FL Hydra-Glide. Harley designed nine motorcycles during the 1950s. These motorcycles were the 1951 Police Special, 1952 FL Hydra-Glide, 1954 FL Hydra-Glide, 1955 FL Hydra-Glide, 1956 KHK, 1957 XL Sportster, 1958 FL Duo-Glide, 1959 Police Special, and the 1959 XLCH Sportster. During the 1960s, Harley Davidson came out with the 1963 Topper and FL Duo-Glide, 1964 XLCH Sportster, 1965 FL Electra-Glide, 1966 FLH Electra-Glide and Sprint, and the 1967 XLH Sportster. During the 1970s, Harley Davidson developed the the 1971 XLH Sportster and FX Super Glide, 1973 FL Electra-Glide, 1975 XL-1000, XR-750, and the SS-250, 1977 XLCR, 1978 FXS, FLHS Electra-Glide and the XL-1000 Sportster. Since the 1970s, Harley Davidson has developed closed to forty other wonderful additions to the Harley Davidson collection.
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