Harley-Davidson XLCR
Cafe Racer

1977 - 1979, 1000cc air-cooled 45-degree V-twin  

... and why you might rather die

Vibration: As bad as anything we've ever ridden.

Weight: Heavy frame. Heavy cast wheels. Heavy engine.

Air filter: Ugly (but practical). Gets in the way of your right leg.

Clutch: Helps develop that left hand, wrist and forearm.

Theft: This is an easy cash cow for the usual lowlifes.

Indicators: Button each side. Hold down each to work. Doh!

Centre stand: Harley-Davidson doesn't know what these are.

Cornering: Gentle curves rather than sharp turns, please.

Handling: With care.

Wheels: They do nothing for unsprung weight.

Starting: Big battery drain, so keep it charged. No kicker.

Oil: Emulsifies easily. Check often. Change often.

Gearbox: Clonky, agricultural, but reasonably predictable.

Brakes: Weak sliding calipers on stainless discs. Oops.

Discs: They quickly show their age and show plough lines.

Finish: Awful on the frame, better on the tin. Wax often. Hope.

▲ "Caviar on wheels?" That soon sounded a little fishy, and clearly HD was hoping to hook a lot of sales, especially in the European market. That didn't happen. The Cafe Racer Sportster was famously a sales flop. But the company was perhaps right when their ad material suggested that "Only one man could have done this," as opposed to a committee. Willie G Davidson was that man. It was a nice try, but maybe a little too late. Or possibly too early. Regardless, the bikes are wanted now.

▲ French firm Mecatwin used to offer an Evo XLCR homage. We think the bike is no longer in production, but here's what it looked like.  Features include an 883 or 1200cc Evo engine (c/w belt final drive), decent brakes, superior suspension, far better build quality, and a fat back tyre (that we're not actually that crazy about). Think Harley-Davidson should produce them? We do. But look what happened last time they tried it (see main text).

▲ ... alternately, here's an XLCR Evolution Chrysalis conversion kit. We think this is now out of production too (at the time of writing), but it was offered in two stages: A bodywork kit, and a bodywork/braking kit. No pricing details, but we're looking into it. If we find out, you'll find out. contact@mecatwin.com

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Around 3,000 of these oddball Harley-Davidsons were manufactured between 1977 and 1979 (nearer 2,000 according to some). Willie G Davidson, grandson of co-founder William A Davidson, was the driving force behind this project.

The XLCR was conceived when AMF (American Machine Foundry) owned and controlled Harley-Davidson (1969 - 1981).

The bike was basically an XLH Sportster dressed in a new cafe racer style outfit and painted Bible black.

Despite its (claimed) 61bhp, it wasn't so much a wolf in sheep's clothing as a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Riding the XLCR

Way back when, we test rode one of these and it was pretty awful. Like most Ironhead Sportsters (we've owned two), it was way too heavy (at around 515lbs).

Handling was, at best, ponderous. The clutch turned your left hand into a bench vice. It was relatively slow at around 95 - 100mph and vibrated painfully above sixty (and agonisingly so beyond that). The riding position was cramped. And the brakes (with their sliding calipers) were practically non-existent.

At one point, at around 40mph, we actually stood on the rear footbrake pedal and damned if the bike didn't seem to speed up.

If you actually bought one, and lived with one, you'd soon find that the Siamese exhaust headers would make maintenance a little harder. The black chrome on the silencers ensured a rapidly decaying finish. The generator wasn't up to much either and could leave you stranded. And you could forget about carrying a pillion.

XLCR prices and value

However, there was something piquant about these bikes that made them interesting if not desirable. Perhaps it was their sheer audacity,  their lack of apology, their brazen effrontery.

Or perhaps it was because they broke the established HD mould and, for a moment, made us all wonder.

And typically, because Harley-Davidson sold so few back then, the XLCR Cafe Racer is rare now. And rareness, of course, often equates to high demand.

In reality, you could live with one of these XLCRs easily enough provided you don't ride too fast, too far, too enthusiastically, and/or try and stop too quick. And it's hard to see how you could lose much, if any, money as long as you buy reasonably wisely.

So what are they worth? Well, we can't answer that because whatever we say today will be out of date tomorrow. And these days (2015), prices for these bikes, as with most classics, are volatile.

But if it helps, Bonhams flogged a very clean example at Stafford, UK in October 2010 for £14,087 inc. premium. In January 2014, Bonhams sold one in Las Vegas, USA for $16,100 (£10,629). That's a drop of around £3,400. But there's often a big differential between UK and US prices, with the US being the cheaper market (depending on what's happened to the pound/dollar exchange rate, of course).

Meanwhile, an XLCR was recently up for sale in Antwerp, Belgium for  €13,500. Clean bike. All complete. Ready to roll.

And we've seen them here and there in the UK over the past few years (2009 - 2014) for between £7,250 and £11,500; asking prices.

In general, if you're a Harley collector, or just a cool dude or dudess and like to pose in black leather in cosmetics adverts, this is the bike for you.

Or maybe like us you're just a little perverse and enjoy life's maverick motorcycles.

Just don't expect too much, performance-wise from an XLCR, and you won't be disappointed.

Links

2014 Sportster Iron

Evo Sportster 883 & 1100