Highlights
・Nice recent rebuild and restoration
・Performance upgrades
・Ready to ride
・MOT & road tax exempt
The Background
Styled by William G Davidson, the company's Design Director, the XLCR 'Café Racer' was born in 1976.
It combined the iron-barrelled 1,000cc Sportster engine with a chassis incorporating an XR750-style box-section swinging arm, cast alloy wheels, triple disc brakes, bikini fairing, and solo seat to give it that mean Café Racer look and style.
The advertisements talked of a 120mph top speed, and how this was the most powerful production bike Harley had ever built. But even then, it was the Café Racer’s mean and moody all-black looks that set the bike apart.
Almost every part of the bike was pure black: the bikini fairing, the fuel tank, the tapered flat-track style seat unit, the side panels and mudguards, the frame, the exhaust system and most of the big 45-degree V-twin engine itself. The effect was stunning, and unlike anything Harley had done before.
Production numbers for this model are less than 3,000 so we’re dealing with a really rare bike here.
The History
Imported into the UK from the USA in 1986 and, according to the receipts available, a considerable amount of work on the bike was done including a gearbox rebuild and various other works in the late 90’s.
The mileage was recorded in November 1999 as 33,701, after which it was effectively in storage and has now been fitted with a new speedometer which shows zero mileage.
After that period, the current owner bought it 2 years ago. He acquired it through a friend of a friend who had had the bike for many years intending to repair and restore it but never getting round to it.
The current owner basically then took the whole bike apart and set about restoring it from the ground up.
The Paperwork
The V5 is present and there are various receipts for work done and parts bought over the years. There is the original import documentation together with a number of MOT certificates from the 90’s.
The bike comes with 2 keys and a manual.
The Condition
Take a good look through the pictures and you’ll see a very nicely prepared bike.
The paintwork is thought to be original and has aged to gain a lovely patina and is in great condition.
All the black parts on the bike are still nice and black and it’s a lovely looking bike that wears its age well.
The Mechanics
Over the last two years the bike has been the subject of an extensive rebuild.
The current owner has fitted factory "P" performance cams, a more efficient Harley Davidson Keihen CV type carburetor with a Dyno-Jet kit, and a K&N performance air filter with a smoothflow air intake, all of which improves the original engine’s power output, but more importantly ensures smooth running whilst retaining the original factory look.
The brakes were completely rebuilt, with new drilled discs and pads, rebuilt calipers, seals and master cylinders. New sprockets and chain have been fitted along with electronic ignition and a new coil and starter motor.
The wiring loom is new, also fitted are new high quality adjustable aluminium bodied shock absorbers that are valved to suit the bike replacing the original inefficient Showa units, and a front fork brace was added.
A new screen was sourced and fitted, along with new tyres, switchgear, clutch and brake levers and clocks. Strangely the XLCRs were never fitted with an oil filter so one has been cleverly added to ensure the long life of the engine.
All the removed and replaced items have been kept and are included in the sale and fitted parts are all genuine items.
Mechanically sound, the bike is reported to start well and run beautifully, pulling strongly through all the gears, with nothing needing to be done except adding petrol.
The Appeal
This is a rare opportunity to purchase a nicely prepared and well-sorted iconic XLCR Harley Davidson ‘Café Racer ready to ride and enjoy.
With a starring role alongside Michael Douglas in Black Rain the XLCR is super cool and with less than 3,000 ever being made and most rebuilt to standard Sportster spec by dealers, they remain extremely sought after and a very rare sight on the road today.
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