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1995 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 – The motorcycles on display at the National Motorcycle Museum are largely “stock” as they were built. But just last week, a nicely-equipped 1995 Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster named Lucille was directly donated, which is our featured bike today.
The Sportster replaced the flathead K model line in 1957 and was called the XL in the Harley nomenclature. First came the XLH, then in 1958 the one year only “no lights”, magneto ignition XLCH was offered, of which very few were made. Electric start was soon offered and in 1959 and since then XLCHs have been street legal. But importantly, change to the Sportster came slowly, never radically, and between factory Harley accessories and aftermarket parts, you could turn your Sportster into a wild chopper or fit saddlebags and go touring. Some Sportsters equipped with skids and Goodyear Grasshoppers appeared in enduros, other riders stripped their bikes and went to drag races. Hard core only bought racing XLRTT for TT race, drag race or hillclimb. British big twins are probably the only other bikes as flexible, versatile.
1995 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200
This 1995 Harley-Davidson 1200 Sportster was just donated by Alan “Big AL” Schuetz along with his very personal Black Hills ABATE vest. Alan bought the bike about ten years ago and it now has about 46,000 miles on it. Lucille, he says, is just a name he thought suited the bike. Alan’s bike is one of about eight Sportsters in the museum ranging from mild to wild, which you can view on your next visit or on the museum’s website. We thank Mr. Schuetz for donating his Sportster and encourage you to consider putting one of your machines on display as a loan or donation. More information is on the museum’s website: https:///get-involved/
