1930 Harley-Davidson VL Combination,

Frame no. 3474109 Engine no. 30VL10916

• VL is the sport version of the V models
• Army green color
• 74ci Side-valve high compression engine

Introduced for the 1930 model year, the Harley-Davidson V series was the first of the Big Twins to have sidevalve engines. In the prior year, the company brought out a brand new 45ci motorcycle which also adopted the sidevalve engine. Harley-Davidson was always about F-head engines ever since their first motorcycle hit the roads twenty five years earlier. Ever the conservative company, they were probably influenced by the success of Indian with their own flathead engines and the demands by public pressure.

Everything about the motorcycle was new. Virtually nothing was shared from the old models. The new V models were lower thanks to new frames and the engines very tractable. That same softness however brought complaints from riders that the bikes lacked spunk. Additionally, there were reliability problems that actually halted production after only 6 weeks. The major issue was the installation of light flywheels to help perk up the engine performance. A change to larger flywheels actually required larger crankcases which the company was able to retrofit. Larger crankcases however also required new frames. While Harley-Davidson salvaged their reputation during this recall, the dealers had to absorb the labor costs for the retrofits.

Harley-Davidson faced challenges other than engineering issues from their new venture into sidevalve engines in the 45 and 74 models. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression. Projected production had to be lowered as many people and community services just couldn't afford to spend on such a commodity. The company persevered by pulling back and helping their employees and dealers survive. They were also well funded and able to survive the economic downturn.

The new Harley-Davidson was a handsome motorcycle, low and stylish with its traditional livery of Olive Green with vermilion striping. The 74ci sidevalve came in four variants. Two were lower compression engines destined for sidecar and commercial work. Another was the VL, which had a high compression engine and Dow metal pistons and was considered the Sport Solo version. The motorcycles were smooth running and well-balanced despite being a bit on the slow side. Unique for the introductory year of the 74 were twin bullet headlights and a round toolbox mounted ahead of the fork springs.
Although it did not originally come with a sidecar, the VL we have for sale here features a Harley Davidson sidecar. The odometer shows a bit over 38,000 miles.