When the HD Sportster was the Fastest Motorcycle
July 16th, 2007 by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider"
Do you remember when the Harley Davidson Sportster used to be a performance bike? If you’re a twenty or thirty something, you won’t, but the Sportster used to be quite a high performance machine and it was promoted by the Motor Company as the fastest stock motorcycle you could buy. Times change.
Today the Sportster is Harley’s entry level bike, something a little smaller and easier to handle than the bigger models and a bit more affordable. With the recent introduction of the Nightster, old school looks, gaiters on the fork tubes, they seem to be remembering those days when the Sportster meant business. But some of the younger guys don’t get the connection so I thought it might be interesting to show you one of the ads from the ’60s, highlighting two new Bonneville records.
These days it may be hard for Harley to push the performance envelope too far without losing some of the customer base and that may be one of the reasons why Buell is installing a Rotax engine in their new bike. Can Buell bring back some of the performance Harley Davidson was once known for? I bet there are more than a few engineers up in Wisconsin that would like to see that happen.
Large image of the ad below:
Posted in Motorcycle Business, Motorcycle Racing, Motorcycle advertising, Vintage Motorcycles
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15 Responses to “When the HD Sportster was the Fastest Motorcycle”
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July 16th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
153 mph and not a piece of fibreglass/plastic in sight. those really were the days!
July 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I’ve always considered it a bit disingenuous to make claims about a “stock motorcycle” based on the performance of an “open class” bike that has been bored out (as HD did in this ad). However, I do remember that, at the time, we all dreamed of going fast and so we all wanted one. Of course, now we can go that fast, and even much faster, with a truly stock bike (though not with a sportster!)
July 16th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Not the fastest . But still retro after all these years . I have always loved the Sportster .
July 16th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
And such a joy to kickstart one with a Tillotson carb and magneto on a hot summer day!
July 16th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
true, no fiberglass in sight, but that’s just harley messing with you - according to my SCTA rulebook, ps means partially streamlined, a means special construction frame… although the designation now reads aps, rather than ps-a. a modern buell holds the production pushrod 1350cc record at 152.722 mph (as of my 2005 edition, may have moved up since then). that’s the class a “stock” sportster 1200 would run in now.
July 17th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Ah, the days when 50 or so horse power was considered a lot. 650cc and larger were bikes for experienced riders. Times change.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:01 am
Here’s a mind bender: Evel Knievel made the majority of his jumps with a Sportster-based bike.
Tom
July 17th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Trivia . What makes of bikes did Evel use during his career ?
July 17th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
To think that the sportster is still pretty much the same bike (excepting a slight capacity increase) after all these years says a lot about its appeal - or its customer base.
We do expect a lot out of motorcycles now-a-days. Other than the Sportster and a sprinkling of 650 dual purpose bikes you’d have to look long and hard to find a new 40HP bike. Do we really need 100+ horsepower?
-todd
July 18th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Do we really need ice cream ?
July 18th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
let me rephrase; not everyone wants or cares for 100+ horsepower but they’re SOL when they try to find something to buy.
-todd
July 19th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I remember evel jumping on an xr-750 and an “american eagle” (which was just an italian laverda)
July 20th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Evel Knievel actually used a Triumph for stuntwork, as it was lighter. The Sportster was for publicity photoes.
May 31st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
The Sportster is a true classic. I have an 883CC and it is just plain fun to ride. I love my sporty
June 24th, 2008 at 12:42 am
After all these years “sporties” are still the best in it’s class!!!!! All others are copies or variations of the “original sport bike”!!!!