Random info on the XLCR
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"In an attempt to capitalize on the cafe-racing trend that was sweeping the country in the mid-Seventies, Harley-Davidson ventured back into the world of customs to bring out the XLCR. Styled by William "Willie G." Davidson, it applied a small "bikini" fairing, skimpy front fender, angular fuel tank, solo seat with fiberglass tail section, triple disk brakes, and special "Siamese" two-into-two exhaust headers to a standard Sportster and then cloaked the affair in black. Problem was that although the XLCR was claimed to be "the most powerful production cycle Harley-Davidson has ever built," that wasn't saying much; Japanese competitors were quite a bit faster and cheaper to boot. Furthermore, the typical Harley buyer seemed to take little interest in joining the road-racing crowd, so sales never took off, and what was in fact a very interesting motorcycle (and quite soon a very collectible motorcycle) faded away after only two years."
Taken from "Harley-Davidson Chronicle" by Doug Mitchel. Publications International, 1997
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Interesting numbers:
Harley produced 1,923 XLCRs in 1977, 1,201 in 1978 and either 9 or 10 in 1979 (depending on who you ask) for a total number produced of 3,133 or 3,134 . Compare this to the total number of Harleys made in those same 3 years - 142,587. That works out to being 1/45th (2.2%) of the Harleys produced in those years.
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Quotable Quote
“These are my personal opinions as a collector/enthusiast, but they do also come from my working experience running the AMA’s Vintage Motorcycle Days for about five years."
"Classic machines have features or characteristics that make it revolutionary, trend setting, memorable or new. They are not necessarily old, but will continue to be remarkable as it ages, and not become just another old bike... I would say ’That’s a classic’ about a 1995 Ducatin916, the Harley-Davidson XLCR (café racer), the original boat-tail H_D Super Guide or John Britten’s Britten V-Twin.
In the top 4 "Classic" bikes? High praise for the XLCR from a man who KNOWS bikes, Mark Mederski. (Executive Director Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum)
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