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"If black truly is beautiful, then the XLCR was sublime. So dark, it practically drank in the light, the Café Racer was another of Willie G Davidson's variations on an old theme, in this case reworking the basic 1,000cc Sportster which had first appeared in 1972. When it arrived for the 1977 model year, the XLCR looked revolutionary – the most unashamedly different Harley-Davidson yet." – Mac McDiarmid, The Ultimate Harley-Davidson'.

Harley-Davidson had been building the Sportster model for years but by the mid-1970s it had become obvious that something better would be required to compete with the hottest new road bikes from Europe and Japan. Styled by William G Davidson, the company's Design Director, Harley's riposte was the XLCR 'Café Racer', which combined the iron-barreled Sportster engine with a chassis incorporating an XR750-style box-section swinging arm, cast alloy wheels and triple disc brakes. With its matte black-finished engine cases, matching exhaust system and sleek glassfibre bodywork, the XLCR looked lean and mean. Trouble was, The XLCR still couldn't cut it with the opposition and traditional Harley owners didn't know what to make of it. Sales were disappointing and the model was dropped after only two years in production.

Back in '77, Bike magazine reckoned that the XLCR was essentially "about style and image more than any other machine on the market" and there can be little doubt that turning up on one of these today would get you more attention than any modern sports bike. Only some 3,000-or-so were made and today the rare and stylish XLCR is highly prized by collectors.

This example was purchased by our vendor from a United States auction in September 2001 (copy purchase paperwork on file). Nothing else is known of the history of this XLCR, which currently displays a total of 8,728 miles on the odometer.

Offered unregistered and without documents aside from the 2001 copy purchase paperwork. Following a period of inactivity, this motorcycle will require recommissioning and/or restoration to a greater or lesser extent before returning to the road and thus is sold strictly as viewed. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves with regard to this motorcycle's completeness, history, authenticity, originality and mechanical condition prior to bidding.
Offered with key