The Sportster. - Is It the Bike that Saved Harley Davidson?
Ah yes, the old Duo Glide. I bet that was a smooth sled. Much smoother than the Hydra Glide.
Anybody seen the Electra Classic Sportster Glide???
Anybody seen the Electra Classic Sportster Glide???
Last edited by ironheaddave; Feb 12, 2009 at 09:46 PM.
Ultimate HDF Member
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Purely for intellectual sport...
It could be argued that the Sportster beats the FL by just one year, as the FL was a hard-tail until the 1958 Duo-Glide, while the XL models (Sportster) have been fully-suspended since their introduction in 1957. Of course, as others have pointed out, this is really just semantics. (And, frankly, it doesn't make a lick of difference who's "right".)
It could be argued that the Sportster beats the FL by just one year, as the FL was a hard-tail until the 1958 Duo-Glide, while the XL models (Sportster) have been fully-suspended since their introduction in 1957. Of course, as others have pointed out, this is really just semantics. (And, frankly, it doesn't make a lick of difference who's "right".)
Road Master
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From: MN
The Sportster (starting with the "K" model) was introduced to combat the English bikes that ran rings around the big-*** Harleys and Indians in the early '50s. The "K" finally abandoned its side valve heads for OHV and became the Sportster in '57. In my opinion, the bike that really saved H-D was the SuperGlide/FX series at a time when Harley really needed it. A stroke of genius for Willie G., actually paying attention to what was happening on the streets. Until then, chopped and custom bikes were ignored and derided by the Factory's P.R. machine. Look at some of the ads from the mid to late '60s....I mean, how many Harley riders were still riding full-boat dressers while wearing neckties, red pants and milkman hats? Not too many.
Seasoned HDF Member
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From: Sandpoint, Idaho
Come on now, we all know that Honda is the bike that saved Harley. Without the little Hondas that most of you guys started out on you wouldn't have became interested in motorcycles. Then as you matured or joined the yuppie craze you upgraded to Harleys.
Road Master
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From: East Texas
I'd wager that most people who started out on cheap lil jap bikes and ended up on harleys would have preferred to start out on a harley if they could have afforded it at the time.
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You best look at your GPS for you have made a very wrong turn.....
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Stellar HDF Member
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From: Southern California
Gateway bikes
Let's see . . . first bike that I had (that was actually legally licensed for the street) was a Honda CB350 a couple of Triumph Bonnevilles followed, a '70 FLH Shovel Head durring the decade I spent in Detroit one year, another Bonneville, an 80 CID '79 Low Rider (that I truely wish I still had), then a 2002 BMW 1150RT which I still have and just recently a 2010 FLSTC . . . so . . . I s'pose the UJM did some good after all . . .
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2009
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From: Baltimore, MD
Methinks the EVO saved Harley. In both Sportster and big twin forms. Less wrenching appealed to more people which helped sales. My $.02 One could say Willie G. had a thing or two to do with saving Harley also.