Brief History of the Harley-Davidson Sportster

With one Sportster out of our shop and another in progress, it seems only right to share a brief history on these popular bikes. Sportsters have officially been part of the motorcycle culture since 1957, but they got their start much earlier, when American troops stationed overseas during WWII started taking an interest in foreign bikes.

By the 1950's the imports were replacing HD's W series--which were much heavier bikes. Harley-Davidson saw an opportunity and released what they called the K series.

The K was a big change from the W series. It came with new features, such as telescoping forks, swing-arm suspension, and an encased motor.

Extinction of the K

Although this new series was an improvement, the K was doomed to extinction. It still couldn't compete with foreign bikes.

They upgraded the design in 1955 to increase the displacement, and added some more visual interest.

In 1957 the first Sportster XL was introduced, a Frankenstein creation pieced from it's predecessors, as well as new parts and ideas. This new bike looked a lot like the K, but could finally outcompete the imports.

Plus, it came with a cool nickname, "The Ironhead", because Harley Davidson decided to use iron for the cylinder heads rather than the more common alloys used in other bikes.

Evolution of the Sportster

With the LX being a success, HD wasted no time in improving the design. 1958 saw the introduction of the XL. Next came the XLCH, with the now iconic peanut tank design.

• 1972---Sportsters displacement was beefed up to 1000cc

• 1974--First left-side shifters appeared.

• 1977--Permanent left side shifters were incorporated in design

• 1986--Sportster Big Twin Evo engine introduced

• 1988--Sportster Hugger was introduced to attract women riders.

• 1991--Sportsters received 5-speed transmissions

• 1993--Chain drive was replaced by belt drive

• 2000--Four-piston calipers added to design

In 2004 the Sportster underwent a major design overhaul. Harley ugraded the style and price of the Sportster in honor of their 100th anniversary.

This is just a sampling of the changes and features of the HD Sportster, which holds the record for the longest running motorcycle model in history.