mauser90807

To all you walking/talking encyclopedias of worthless trivia, let's see who gets this one.

In 1977, Harley-Davidson produced what politically incorrect model that had become one of its most controversial?

More clues:

They wore metallic gray paint (DuPont Imron 44437 Ice Blue Metallic), decals (H-D part no. 61651-77 and 61650-77) on the tank, while the front fender sported decal (H-D part no. 59100-77).

They were built across the model range in irregular numbers including 44 FLH Electra Glides, 228 Super Glides (all FXEs with the 3.5-gallon “bread loaf” tank borrowed from H-D’s Italian Aermacchi cousins), 299 XLH Sportsters, 45 XLCH Sportsters and 15 XLT Sportsters.

They were produced in one batch only, and forgotten almost immediately.

In 12 years of researching the model, Steve Edmondson (Edmonson.com) has been unable to locate a single review or magazine ad.

While it’s been suggested Harley-Davidson pulled it for political reasons, poor sales were probably the true motivation.

With just 631 produced, it was clearly a limited production, yet how is it that only 23 models are accounted for today? It’s very likely that dealerships changed the sheet metal to more broadly acceptable motifs to better move product, and/or that owners changed the paint in light of a changing political climate. It’s also possible that Harley-Davidson itself bought up surviving examples to get them off the market.

The real reason this model is so unknown — never appearing in a single official Harley history, and Harley-Davidson refused to even acknowledge its existence until just recently.

As it is, they’re simply a casualty of war, a forgotten foot soldier in Harley’s mid-1970s bid to re-engage the market it almost lost, and a model The Motor Company would apparently just as soon forget.

I'll be back Friday or Saturday afternoon with the answer.

Let's see who REALLY knows thier Harley trivia!

Am looking for the original type that bolts onto the back of the air cleaner backing plate