Harley Davidson ABC
Erster Buchstabe
bestimmt die Motoren Serie:
G
- Servicar three wheeler, 1932 to 1972
E - Overhead valve 61 cubic
inch "big twin" (Engine/trans separated)
F - Overhead valve 74 or 80
cubic inch "big twin"
K - Side valve 45 and 55 cubic
inch sports bike that replaced the WL in
1953 and was replaced by the sportster in
1957. It had many design
features that were carried over to the
Sportster.
U - Side valve 74 or 80 cubic
inch "big twin"
V - Side valve 74 cubic inch
made prior to 1936
W - Side valve 45 cubic inch
made 1934 to 1952
X - Sports and special
construction. Applied to 1918-1922 opposed twin
Sport, 1944 military opposed twin, and 1957
to present Sportster.
There were others, such as the
J series (a very nice looking bike that was
about
the hottest thing around in the 20's) but you're
not likely to see them in daily use anymore.
Zweiter
Buschstabe:
L
- high compression. Omitted on low compression
early models, and not
indicative of compression on current models.
Restliche Bezeichnungen:
Model descriptions, eg WG -
Wide Glide. Some generalizations:
A
- Military (Army) version (except GA, Servicar
without tow bar)
B - Battery start (early
models), Belt drive (some later models).
C - Classic, Competition,
Custom, various others meanings.
D - Dyna, the newest frame and
engine mount design.
E - Electric start
F - Foot shift (when the
standard was hand-shift)
H - varied between High
performance and Heavy duty. The early FLH for
example produced 5 more HP than the FL and
was used primarily for
touring and sidecar applications.
LR- Low Rider (though many Low
Riders don't include LR in the model ID)
P - Police version
R - Rubber mounted engine (some
models) racing version (other models) e.g.
the FXR is a lowrider with rubber mounted
engine, WLR is the flat
track racer that was very hard to beat in
the 30's, 40's, and 50's.
ST- Soft Tail
S - (without following T)
Sports version eg FLHS is an FLHT without the
touring package.
T - Touring
WG - Wide Glide
Sportsters:
Models beginning with X are Sportsters. These
descend from the K series, 1952-56. The XL
series started in 1957. They are "unit
construction" (engine & transmission share a
common case). X was in the normal series,
following the U and V used for flathead Big
Twins. L stood for high compression (7.5:1 in
1957). In 1958 came the XLH with H meaning
Higher-power or High-compression (9:1) or Hot.
Also in 1958 was the XLCH: The C in XLCH was
intended to mean "Competition", but the late Hal
Robinson used to claim the CH on his bike stood
for "Charley Horse" because it was highly
modified and had enough initial ignition advance
to kick back rather severely.
The Sportster engines were
originally actually 53.9ci. (883cc) but were
designated as 55ci. This was upgraded (in 1970?)
to 61ci (1000cc), redesigned in '73 but still
61" and stayed relatively unchanged untill the
74" evo version. The 883 and 61" were both
produced the first year of the 883. Options for
Sportsters abounded but these same letters have
been used since 1958 in various combinations,
plus the XLCR (a "cafe racer" style, with bikini
fairing) and the XLT (Touring, with bigger tank,
thicker seat, and hard bags straight off the
FLHS), both produced 1977-1978 only.
Big Twins:
Models beginning with F are Big Twins. These all
descend from the 61E in 1936. Knuckleheads
1936-47, Panheads 1948-65, Shovelheads
1966-84/85, and Evolutions 1984/5-present. The
Evolution (block head) was introduced in '84 on
the Soft Tail and Tourglide Ultra, with the last
Shovel built in mid '85. Until 1978, these were
mostly 74's (~1200cc). In 1978, the 80ci
(~1340cc) was introduced.
In 1971 was the first FX
model, with an F engine and assorted Sportster
(X) parts, notably forks - these were initially
Super Glides. In 1974, FXE was Electric start.
In calendar 1977 came the FXS Low Rider, with
shortened shocks and scooped seating position.
Also in 1978, the FX Super Glides got belt final
drive. 1979 brought 80ci Shovelheads and the
FXEF Super Glide Fat Bob (not Boy), for bobbed
fenders and fat tank. In 1980, FXWG (Wide Glide)
andthe FXB Sturgis with belt drive (primary and
secondary).
1984 brought the Softtail
FXST, with the look of an old hardtail but some
suspension for comfort.
In 1991 came the FXD Dyna
Glide series, starting with another Sturgis
model. This brought many frame and engine
mounting changes, a relocated oil tank and moved
crossover pipe.
Touring:
In 1980, the FLT designation was introduced for
the Tour Glide. This model introduced the
vibration-isolation mounted engine (rubberglide)
and also a slightly different frame from other
FLs and a fixed fairing. FXR (originally called
Super Glide II) arrived in late 1981. The R had
rubbermount engine and 5-speed tranny, as
opposed to rigid-mount and 4-speed in other
models. FXRS maybe meant Sport, with cast wheels
and a small sissy bar. The Sport Glide FXRT
(Touring) arrived in 1983, with the fixed
fairing and air adjustable anti-dive forks.
The only really reliable
letters now are at the beginning of the model:
X=Sportster, F=Big Twin, FL=Big Twin with big
forks, FX=Big Twin with Sportster-style
(smaller) forks, FXST=Softtail, FXD=Dyna Glide.
At times, different models have even shared the
same letter-designation; witness the FLHTC
Electra Glide Classic/Ultra Classic Electra
Glide in 1993 models.
Designations
THE BASICS FROM THE PAST
E the basic version
of the big twin
EL the E with more power
F basic, enlarget from 61 to 74 big
twin
FL the F with more power
FLH still more power built as pan
shovel and evo
K sidevalve middleweight circa '52
KK tuned version of K
KH the K stroked from 45 to 54
KHK tuned version of the KH
XL basic sportster
XLC stripped Calif. model
XLH higher performance XL '58
XLCH high performance XL (w/ kicker)
FX original Super Glide form F and X
parts
FXE original Super Glide form F and X
parts
with electric start
SPORTSTERS
XLR hot stripped XL
XR-750 iron and alloy 750 racing only
XLCR road race style XLH
XR-1000 alloy XR top end and dual carbs
on the XLH cases
XLT XLH with larger tank
XLX stripped XLH
XLS fancy XLH
XLH most current Sporty 883 and 1200
XL '96 1200C (Custom) and 1200S
(sport) Sportsters
LOW RIDERS
FXS the original
Low Rider
FXEF the first Fat Bob F=Fat
FXWG FL forks w/o covers and 21"
front wheel aka Wide Glide
FXB original sturgis B=belt drive
FXR Super Glide II original rubber
mount
FXRP P=police equip.
FXRS FXR with cast wheels, extra
trim aka Low Glide
FXSB Low Rider with belts
FXRDG FXRS with solid disk rear wheel
FXRT R=Rubber mount T=touring aka
Sport Glide
FXRC Low Glide Custom w/ wire wheels
FXRT/P FXRT P=police equip.
FXRD FXRT w/ trunk aka Grand Touring
FXRS-SP Low Rider Sport edition
FXRS-CONV Low Rider w/ detachable
windshield and bags
FXDB Dyna Glide, latest chassis ('91
Sturgis) two-point engine mounting
FXDC FXDB with goodies C=Custom (NO
21" front wheel)
FXD Dyna Super Glide
FXDS-CONV Dyna Glide w/ detachable
windshield and bags
FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide
FXDL Dyna Low Rider
SOFTAILS
FXST original Softail
FXSTC Softail Custom
FXSTS Springer Softail
FXSTSB Springer Softail Badboy
FLST Softail with 16" front wheel
FLSTC Heritage Softail
FLSTF Fatboy
FLSTN Fatboy/Heritage with different
goodies(N for Nostalgia)
ELECTRA GLIDES
FLT Tour Glide,
has frame-mounted fairing
FLTC FLT with extras (C for Classic)
FLTC U FLT with even more extras (U for
Ultra)
FLTC U I FLTC U with fuel injection (I
for Injection)
FLHT Electra Glide, has fork-mounted
fairing
FLHS FLT with windshield and less
goodies S = Sport
FLHTC FLHT with extras (C for Classic)
FLHTC U FLHT with even more extras (U
for Ultra)
FLHTC U I FLTC U with fuel injection (I
for Injection)
FLHR Road King, factory customized
FLHT
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