1966 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra-Glide

The 1966 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra-Glide motorcycle's smoother-running, more powerful Shovelhead engine replaced the Panhead.

The 1966 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra-Glide featured 60 horsepower.

In 1965, Harley-Davidson introduced an electric-start version of the big FL series, dubbing it the Electra-Glide. Still powered by the Panhead engine, the big Harley was now carrying not only the additional weight of the inevitable factory- and owner-installed accessories (made more plentiful by a switch from 6-volt electrics to 12), but also the pounds added by the new starting hardware.

Though the Panhead had served well during its lengthy tenure, owners were begging for more power. For 1966, Harley released an updated version of the 74-cubic-inch V-twin.

By mating new aluminum "Shovelhead" cylinder heads to the iron barrels, horsepower increased by five: the FLH now claiming 60, the lower-powered FL 54.

The smoother-running, more powerful Shovelhead engine was a welcome relief. Weight of the FLs had crept up to nearly 800 pounds, and the extra power was appreciated by owners.

Yet, despite the greater power and escalating heft, FLs were still slowed by drum brakes front and rear; it wouldn't be until 1972 that a front disc would appear.

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1920 Harley-Davidson 20-J

The 1920 Harley-Davidson 20-J sported the olive paint Harley switched to with its 1917 models. Styling changes were few during those years, the most notable occurring in 1920 when the headlight and horn switched places. V-twins still displaced the same 61 cubic inches (1,000-cc) as before, though a 74-cubic-inch (1,200-cc) model joined the line for 1921

The 1920 Harley-Davidson 20-J introduced a number of styling changes. See more motorcycle pictures.

Introduced in 1919 was the Sport, a 35.6 cubic-inch twin with horizontally opposed "fore and aft" cylinders. It was intended to compete with Indian's highly successful V-twin Scout, but it failed to win over many customers and was dropped in 1923.

The 1920 Harley-Davidson 20-J helped Harle y dominate the race circuit.

During this same period Harley-Davidson sponsored an extremely successful racing team, which become known as the "wrecking crew" for the way it demolished its opponents. Racing models were devoid of such luxuries as sprung seats and even brakes, and some boasted special overhead-valve engines with two or four valves per cylinder. The 1922 JD racer was fitted with a conventional F-head engine, and like most Harley competition bikes of the era, carried bolder tank lettering for promotional purposes.

1994 Ducati 916

After chalking up numerous victories on racetracks around the world, the 1994 Ducati 916 motorcycle set out to make its mark on the street.

Lightweight, exotic, and water-cooled, the 1994 Ducati 916 was a serious challenge to other motorcycles.

Though its engine spotted two cylinders and 100 cc's to most liter-class competitors, the 916 was a serious threat to Japanese rivals. Displacing 916 cc's and boasting an 11:1 compression ratio, Ducati's traditional V-twin with unique desmodromic valve actuation pumped 105 horsepower to the rear
wheel.

While that hardly made the 916 the most powerful bike in its class, a combination of composite materials, compact design, and weight-saving engineering certainly made it one of the lightest; at 438 pounds, the 916 could best be described as svelte.

Since just 400 were planned to be exported to the United States, the 916 became an instant collectible. But those fortunate enough to snare one were also rewarded with a graceful and exotic expression of a state-of-the-art superbike -- Italian style.

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1959 Harley-Davidson XLCH Sportster

The 1959 Harley-Davidson XLCH Sportster was aimed at Sportster fans who wanted more performance. See more motorcycle pictures.

Intended as a performance-oriented on/off road machine (rumor had it the "C" stood for "Competition," though Harley never said one way or the other), it differed from its milder XLH sibling by sporting magneto ignition, high-mounted exhaust pipe, "peanut" fuel tank, "bobbed" rear fender, and semi-knobby tires.

The 1959 Harley-Davidson XLCH Sportster offered a high-mounted exhaust pipe.

Tank badges were also different, being of a design shared by some of Harley's contemporary racing bikes. The XLCH also debuted the "eyebrow" headlight cover that remains a Sportster trademark to this day.

By contrast, the touring-oriented XLH looked (and was) heavier, with fuller fenders, large headlight nacelle, larger fuel and oil tanks, and low exhaust. Harley-Davidson maintained these two Sportster models through the 1960s, during which time they proved very successful, both on the racetrack and in the showroom.

1956 Harley-Davidson KHK

In an effort to compete with the popularity of the vertical twins arriving from Europe, the 1956 Harley-Davidson KHK motorcycle was built with a more advanced design and a larger V-twin, giving riders greater performance.

The 1956 Harley-Davidson KHK featured lower handlebars, less chrome trim, and more-performance oriented camshafts.

Introduced in 1952 to replace the aging WL, the K series incorporated a couple of Harley "firsts." Aside from the little S-125, which was actually a DKW of Germany design, the K introduced unit construction to the marque, and was the first of its street machines to boast rear suspension.

Though the K was powered by a 45-cubic-inch flathead like the WL, it was of a more advanced design and housed the transmission in the same case as the engine. Telescopic forks replaced the WL's leading-link arrangement, while a swingarm rear suspension was cushioned by enclosed coil-over shocks.

By 1954, the K series became the KH as the V-twin grew to 55 cubic inches (about 900 ccs), providing riders greater performance in an effort to compete with the onslaught of vertical twins arriving from Europe.

A "K" suffix added to the model name indicated the machine was equipped with lower handlebars, less chrome trim, and more performance-oriented camshafts.

But the K and KH were really stopgap measures until the overhead-valve Sportster could be readied, which would happen for 1957.

Therefore, this 1956 KHK was the last of the breed, and aside from the three-wheeled Servi-Car, represents the final flathead motorcycles Harley-Davidson would ever produce.

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