SPORTSTER@60 the evolution of the sportster
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t is hard to think of the 1957 Sportster being the bike that replaced the venerable WL45 – the Liberator – with its Springer forks, rigid back end, sidevalve engine and separate gearbox, but then technically it isn’t. In 1952, the Model K succeeded the WL, and introduced much of the technology that we associate with the XL-series, but while it introduced hydraulic suspension front and back – way ahead of the big twin – it retained it’s sidevalve top end, albeit a sleeker version that looked almost modern. It matched the smooth shell of the unit construction crankcases, and if the new middleweight had been designed to take on the its old rival, Indian’s 750 Scout, it could have been the right model, but the Scout didn’t go back into civilian production after the war, and the competition was OHV British parallel twins, and it couldn’t cut it. Not even an increase from 45ci to the 1954 KH’s 55ci could hold back the tide from the ‘Export or Die’ British motorcycle industry, although you’ve got to give Harley-Davidson credit for the massive advances in chassis design between the two sidevalves – and even the styling, which was a world away from anything they had produced before, and it’s not as though swing-arm suspension was commonplace from their main British rivals. In 1957 that all changed, and retaining the 55ci capacity but converting it to overhead valves – and giving it a name, which wasn’t common practice for Harley at the time – a legend was born: the Sportster.
WL45 1937-51
It has gone on to become the longest production run of any motorcycle, and its engine has outlasted the WL45, which continued in production right up until 1971, being used in Servicars, complete with an electric start! And they say the Americans don’t understand irony. No less surprisingly, the Model-K actually enjoyed a long life right up the end of the 1960s on the racetrack, making the most of a loophole that allowed 750 sidevalves to race against 500cc OHV motor and enjoying huge success. But this is the story of the Sportster and its spin-offs, and we’re telling it in pictures to give them as much space as possible, focusing on landmark models and evolving technologies, as well as styling elements that continue to set the bike apart today.
Model-K 1952-56
Sportster 1957-2017+
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
1956 KHK: The last of the K-series production bikes, with the $25 Buddy Seat option.
1957 XL: the first of the OHV Sportsters: a K-series with a new motor and badge.
1958 XLCH: The 1957 might have been the first, but the off-road XLCH is the most recognisable today, with the peanut tank off the 1948 Model-5 and even a bobbed rear mudguard.
1959 XLH: To show the differences in roles, the road model got a new front mudguard and headlamp nacelle ‌
1959 XLCH: ... and the off-road model retained the lighter front mudguard, a new rear mudguard that has come be known as a Sportster mudguard, a high level exhaust and lights – the headlamp hung beneath a new bracket.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
1961 XLCH: both models were fitted with a new Dualseat as standard in 1961 with the Solo Seat and Buddy Seat as options.
1960 XLH: With a Buddy Seat and a pair of saddlebags in white or black plastic – from the accessories catalogue, the XLH was considered to be a capable highway cruiser. Spotlights and a windshield were available too.
1967 XLC: With the loss of the Good Year Grasshopper tyres and some cosmetic changes – including a new console with a tacho and speedo and the new oil tank that was introduced in 1966, the XLCH started to look more like a hot street bike. 1964 XLCH: Both models get improved braking with a new full width front hub.
1967 XLH: a new aluminium nacelle brought the headlamp tighter into the forks, but more importantly, the primary drive case was completely redesigned to take a starter motor: the first on a Sportster.
1970 XLH: The 1970s started surreally, with the main highway cruiser gaining a massive seat – looking particularly odd behind the XLH tank, which had always been an option: the ‘Boat Tail’ had arrived and it looked even bigger on the XL than on the Super Glide.
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
1970 XR750: the arrival of Harley’s OHV race bike lead to the demise of the sidevalve KR – R for racing – and no longer protected by favourable rules, Harley-Davidson took on the British and Japanese 750s on equal terms. It fared very badly at Daytona, but was the bike on which Cal Rayborn amazed British crowds and confounded the pundits at the Trans-Atlantic Series in 1972, winning half of the six races held over Easter Weekend at three complex short courses, and setting a new lap record at Brands Hatch.
1971: Magneto ignition swapped for coil and points: timing case changed. 1971 XLH: The boat tail, looking slightly more sensible behind the traditional XLH tank, returned for 1971 but the bigger story was the switch from a magneto – used on all Sportsters to date – to coil and points, and the introduction of a new timing cover that will be familiar to everyone.
1972 XL: You wouldn’t know to look at it, but this was the first year of the 1000cc engine, and is an XLH with a normal seat again: it looks a lot like the XLCH with the small tank and modest seat but the oil tank and the starter motor are the big giveaways.
1973 XLC: Looking like an XLH with a disc brake front end – new for 1973 on both versions – this bike has the ’66-on XLC oil tank and no starter motor. It does have the beginnings of the AMF-era graphic style.
1972 XR-750: The all conquering king of the dirt, and the most successful race bike of all time, but when you compete in as many races as the XR750 has been in – and make up most of the entries – over the course of 45 years, that’s hardly surprising. And it looked – looks – stunning with twin carbs hanging off the right hand side and twin exhausts off the left, new barrels and heads but early engine cases.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
1976: gearchange swapped to left foot, rear brake to right to meet regulations 1976 XLCH: your eye will rightly be drawn by the funky paint job, but we’re showing you this because it’s the first year of the left foot gearshift / right foot brake on a Sportster. Yes, that really is a gearchange, and yes I looked twice too!
1977 XLT: While Sportster had long since had the accessories available to convert them to highway cruisers, they hadn’t actually created a Touring model until this: a dressed XLH with a Super Glide tank, and a Sportster that shows the new gearchange arrangement, with the shaft coming out of the primary case.
1977 XLCR Café Racer: The Cafe Racer brought with a lot of firsts as well as the sportiest Sportster until the Buell. The frame was new and was based on the XR750 in terms of its rear suspension, so it needed a new oil tank, it had triple discs, cast wheels, a siamesed exhaust and rearset footrests and if someone reading this finds one in a barn, it’s mine. A heroic failure in many respects, and most found their way into the hands of collectors. 1978 XLH: The last of the classic frames – in the case of the XLCH, the last of the kickers – and an odd combination of parts bridging eras, including a drum rear brake on a cast wheel.
1979 XLS: With the XLCR’s frame and exhaust, cast wheels, drag bars on pulled-back risers the XLS hoped to cash in on the success of the FXS, the Low Rider but had a quite different stance.
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
1982 XLH: Back on form with a new frame – oil tank is the giveaway, and a familiar sight to all current and recent model owners: the foundation for the next twenty-five years, albeit with a new engine due.
1981 XLH: Not the Sportster’s finest hour, with a battery shoved sideways into the oil tank and not very prettily: never see one in the metal. It is excused because there was a new frame on the way. 1983 XR1000: Having been frequently accused of failing to capitalise on the success of the XR750, HarleyDavidson brought out the nearest thing to a road-going XR, with the race bike’s top end grafted onto the thencurrent generation’s bottom end. It really needed the heads setting up properly to get the best out of it, and they were a lot more expensive than a regular XL, and certainly more than the contemporary XLX-61.
1983 XLX-61: Removing everything that wasn’t essential and painting it black, this could be considered to be the first dark custom. Some etching on the air cleaner cover lifted the austerity, and it was a major bargain.
1985 XLH: The last of the ironhead Sportsters.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
1986: Evolution Sportster engine launched
1986 XLH1100: the new Evolution-engined Sportsters came in two sizes and trims: the 883 was similar to the XLX-61 in terms of equipment but with an 883cc motor – and an identical bore and stroke to the original 1957 model – but this, it’s big bore brother, was an 1100cc with dual seat and better trim.
1991/2 XLH883: All Sportsters got a 5-speed gearbox in 1991, and all but the base XLH883 switched to belt drive, making the 883 DeLuxe – introduced in 1989 – with its dual seat and belt drive very attractive for a couple of years.
1987 XLH883 Hugger: The first of the low-seat Harleys arrived in 1987 in the form of the Hugger: an 883 Sportster with a lower seat height.
1988 XL1200: The 1100 Sportster didn’t last very long, replaced by a 1200 to give the two sizes we know today.
1995 XLH1200: As good-looking as the original peanut tank was, many owners chose to fit a bigger “King Sportster” tank, which had the same silhouette as the original but was wider. In 1995, Harley introduced its own solution on the XLH1200, holding 12.3 litres it used almost the whole length of the backbone and was used on all subsequent 1200s of that generation. The 883s got the upgrade in 1997.
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
1996 XL1200S Sportster Sport: While the Sport tag only extended as far as the fully adjustable suspension and twin discs, it had a lot of promise (1997 model shown). 1998 XL53C Custom: despite originally being known as a 55ci, 883cc is closer to 53ci and that’s what Harley’s second Sportster custom was: a plainer finish than the 1200, the Fat Boy rear wheel wasn’t slotted and the bars weren’t as high, but it looked good.
1996 XL1200C Sportster Custom: Harley raised their game with a new custom Sportster, pairing up a slotted disc rear wheel and 21-inch laced front, adding a deep dish headlamp and tall bars. (1997 model shown).
2000 XL1200S Sportster Sport: The final upgrade to the Sportster Sport came in 2000 when the 4-pot calipers introduced across the Harley range were fitted: twin 4-pots on the front and another on the back.
1998 XL1200S Sportster Sport: Building on the improved chassis, Harley-Davidson added twin plug heads to their sportiest Sportster for 1998.
2002 XL883R: A sportier 883 Sportster joined the range in 2002 complete with a sporty 2-into-1 exhaust, twin front discs low bars and some attitude that would be realised when the big bore upgrade was fitted to its blacked out engine, especially if the lower gearing was retained.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
2003 Anniversary: with the exception of the 883R, which retained its racing orange scheme, all Sportsters were treated to a one-off Anniversary finish for Harley’s centenary – or rather a choice of finishes. The XL883C on the right has the top of the shop Sterling Silver and Vivid Black 2-tone that was limited to the higher status bikes, but there was also a Vivid Black and a Gunmetal Pearl – all three of which had a special anniversary stripe and a special two-piece cloisonné tank badge – or else a red, white or blue pearl finish and a decal. All Sportster engines also got a medallion on the drive side, below the front barrel.
XL1200C
XL883R
XL883
XL883H Hugger
XL1200S Sport
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
2004: All models get a rubber-mounted engine with a revised cooling fin profile, lighter crank and an exhaust with hidden balance pipe – in a new frame 2004 XL883: shown to illustrate the effect of the changes on the least affected model.
2004 XL883C Custom: Even more affected than its plain sibling, the 53C got a name change, switching to cubic centimetres rather than inches, and gaining a new, bigger and more rounded tank. 2004 XL1200R Sportster Roadster: The Sport didn’t make it into 2004, its place taken by the Roadster. It retained the twin discs but had regular suspension and single plug heads: a 1200cc version of the 883R – another casualty of the change – but without the graphics.
2006 XL883L Sportster Low: The revised frame of 2003 had reduced cornering clearance so the Hugger had been dropped, but that changed in 2006 with a new bike, with a new name.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
2007: All models get electronic fuel injection 2007 XL1200L Sportster Low: Harley hit a new Low with their first reduced reach 1200, bringing the black and chrome engine and increased power to shorter riders.
2008 XR1200: Harley-Davidson were keen for us not to refer to this mid-season launch as a Sportster at the time, despite being writ large on a new timing, but while there were some clever tricks in the engine, modern instruments, rearset footrests and the combination of USD forks and a lightweight hollow-cast swingarm were very un-Harleylike, it was still a Sportster, just a quicker and more agile one than experience had lead us to believe was possible. Sadly it didn’t look like an XR, but the motor is often held up as the best they’d made.
XR750
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
2008 XL1200N Nightster: Dark Custom and new finishes came to the Sportster family in 2008 with Nightster. Black rims, stone grey engine and aircleaner and the new graphics were notable, but it was the LED stop/tail lights in the indicator lenses either side of a bobbed mudguard that grabbed the most attention.
2010 XL883N Iron: A change in policy led to Harley dropping the blank canvas XLH883, and in its place we got the Iron as the base entry model. A much more ‘finished’ custom with blacked-out engine, monochrome finishes bobbed rear mudguard and the Nightster’s lighting rig: an instant hit.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
2010 XL1200X Forty-Eight: Another new custom, this time with the 1200cc engine, a pair of 16-inch black-rimmed laced wheels, minimal mudguards and a return to the peanut tank – the only spash of colour on the bike – to make everything else look massive. And FortyEight? The year when the peanut tank was first used on the 125cc Model 5 – aka the Hummer.
2011 XR1200X: The XR1200 got a stablemate in 2011, with a blacked out engine, but more importantly the adjustable suspension that it needed.
2011 XL883L SuperLow: The 883 Low got a makeover in 2011, with new modern tyre fitments, new wheels and a new stance.
2012 XL1200C Custom – Taking its lead from the Forty-Eight, Harley’s 1200 Custom got a major update, swapping its slotted rear disc and 21-inch front for a pair of cast sixteen inch wheels: another heavyweight XL.
SIXTY YEARS OF THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON
2012 XL1200V Seventy-Two: Filling in the gap left by the revised XL1200C and following another path suggested by the success of the Forty Eight, Harley went further than Custom towards the world of Chopper, with a peanut tanked, laced wheeled – skinny 21 up front – metalflaked throwback to the seventies.
2013 XL1200C / CA / CB Custom: Experimenting with Special Editions, Harley created three versions of the XL1200C with different wheel / handlebar / colour / graphic combinations: three models out of one.
SPORTSTER 1957-2017 ... AND COUNTING
2014: All Sportster models get ABS (option on 883 Iron) 2014 XL1200T SuperLow: More than a big bore version of the 883 SuperLow, the 1200cc model is the successor to the 1977 XLT with panniers and a screen
2016 XL883N Iron: major update to 883 Iron
2016 XL1200X Forty-Eight: major update to Forty-Eight
2017: 60th Anniversary of the first XL 2017 XL1200CX: New Roadster with USD forks, uprated suspension and a sporty riding position
60 YEARS OF THE SPORTSTER 1957-2017