The Harley-Davidson Motor Company, affectionately known as The Motor Company by many of its family members (that is, Harley owners), is big on numbers. It’s big on dates, too, especially ordinal-date anniversaries spaced five years apart.
These Harley-Davidson anniversary celebrations, known as Homecomings, recognize the company’s origins, dating back to 1903. Certainly, the 100th anniversary, celebrated in 2003, produced the largest Homecoming gathering ever imagined for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harley’s birthplace and home town since 1903.
Sticking with the five-year formula, plans have materialized for the 120th Homecoming, scheduled for July 13-16, 2023. It most certainly will be a good time to be in Brew Town if you’re a Harley owner of any vintage.
And speaking of vintage, the Sportster model line has an interesting story to tell for 2023, too. Launched in 1957, the Sportster celebrates its 66th “birthday.” Moreover, the Sportster is acknowledged as the oldest model still in production among all brands. But also consider this: The Sportster — if it were a person — now qualifies for the U.S. government’s premier entitlement program, otherwise known as Social Security. In fact, in 2022 the Sportster would have qualified for Medicare. Free service check ups, anyone?
Regardless, and while Harley Nation celebrates The Motor Company’s 120th anniversary in 2023, the XL lineup can take a break on the porch, metaphorically speaking. It’s a well-deserved break, too, because much has happened during the past few decades to set the Sportster apart from all other brands and models.
Among the Sportster’s more notable highlights from the past 66 years are: an absolute motorcycle land speed record set by a Sportster-powered streamliner in 1970 when the late Cal Rayborn piloted the Manning-Riley & Rivera cigar-shaped entry across the Bonneville Salt Flats at 265mph. That same year the XR-750, a highly modified Sportster made for AMA Class C racing, debuted, and in 1972 the Sportster checked in with a full-liter, 1,000cc (61ci) engine, plus the revamped alloy-engine XR-750 for racing. In 1975, per federal mandate, left-side foot shifters were incorporated into the XL’s design, and in 1977 Willie G. Davidson proved that a Sportster could look sporty in the guise of the XLCR.
Another street-going hot rod — the XR1000 — joined the family in 1983, and in 1986 the original Iron Head engine made way for the alloy Evo-generation 883 and 1100 (later 1200) engines. A 5-speed transmission was added in 1991, and Sportster engineers were thinking of good vibrations for 2004 when a rubber-mounted engine/frame combo debuted. Three years later all XL models were treated to electronic fuel injection, and most recently the Sportster name was attached with the new Revolution Max platform and engine.
Will the Sportster legacy reach into the latter half of the 21st Century? Hard to say, but for XL owners the feisty V-twin will certainly rank among American Biker hierarchy for years to come. Happy Birthday, Sportster, your first SS check is in the mail.
