1911 8A ‘Silent Grey Fellow,’ an Underrated Bargain
This Rare Harley Is a Great Value Compared to Its Twin-Cylinder Brethren
Early Harley-Davidson motorcycles have skyrocketed in value in recent years. So much so that you’ll have a hard time finding any sort of bargain on vintage H-D iron. Twin-cylinder Harleys bring big bucks these days, selling in the mid-$200,000 range. So what’s a vintage Harley lover to do? Look to the twin’s “little” brother: the single-cylinder models.
Harley-Davidson officially debuted the twin-cylinder engine in 1911, and it featured a number of improvements over single-cylinder models. Not to mention it’s much rarer.
But while values for the twin-cylinder have already appreciated tremendously in recent years, there’s still room for single-cylinders to grow. Bikes like this 8A are still extremely durable, and their engines run smoothly and quietly. They also represent some of the finest early motorcycles built by anyone.
We caught this particular, nicely-restored 1911 8A on eBay, where it was selling for a very reasonable $50,000. It has every bit of vintage Harley charm, but for a fraction of the price.
This 8A was fully restored and used as a show piece at a resort hotel for the last eight years. During that time, the Harley wasn’t used on the3 road, so the seller has it listed as a display bike. But, considering the fact that it was running before it was parked, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get that old single-cylinder running like a top again.
The savings for a little mechanical work is pretty significant as well. We’ve seen quite a few single-cylinders from this period going for $15 to $20k more than this one. It just goes to show you that no matter how hot the collector motorcycle market gets, there’s always some sort of underappreciated bargain out there.
