Harley Designation Letters Explained

X- Sportsters. These descend from the K series, 1952-56
XL - Series started in 1957. They are "unit construction" (engine & transmission share a common case)
L- High compression (7.5:1 in 1957)
H- Starting in 1958 came the XLH, meaning Higher-power or High-compression (9:1) or Hot .
C- Also in 1958 was the XLCH. The C was intended to mean "Competition".
CR - Cafe racer style, with bikini fairing.
LT - Touring, with bigger tank, thicker seat, and hard bags.


The first letter of the model designator reveals the engine series :
G- Servicar three wheeler, 1932 to 1972
E- Overhead valve 61 cubic inch "big twin" (Engine/trans separated)
F - Overhead valve 74,80 or 88 cubic inch "big twin"
FL - 80 to 88 cubic inches and a fat front tire.
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.

The second letter of the model designator reveals the Front end (except sportsters)
X- Narrow tire and sport forks.
L- Wide front tire and Hydra-Glide front forks.
(FX originally meant "Factory Experimental" The first one was the Super Glide FX)

The third letter of the model designator reveals the frame style:
D- "Dyna" frame (with the rubber mounted motor)
HT - "Highway Touring" frame
ST - "Softail®" frame

The next letter(s) indicates the model bike within the frame family :
A- Military (Army) version (except GA, Servicar without tow bar)
B- Battery start (early models), Belt drive (early 80's) Black paint.(1995-6 model, the Bad Boy)
C- Classic, Competition, Custom, various others meanings.
D- Dyna, the newest frame and engine mount design.
DG - Disc Glide
E- Electric start
F- Foot shift (when the standard was hand-shift) and now "Fat Boy®"
H- varied between High performance and Heavy duty.
I- Signifies Fuel Injection.
L- Big fat front tire
LR - Low Rider (though many Low Riders don't include LR in the model ID)
N- Nostalgia
P- Police version
R- Rubber mounted engine (some models) racing version (other models)
ST - Soft Tail, Softail®l
S- Springer
S- (without following T) Sports version
T- Touring
WG - Wide Glide
X- Sportster or sportster-type front end and Skinny front tire.



DYNA Glide - FX - Superglide, FXB - Sturgis Belt, FXD - Dyna Super Glide, FXDG - Dyna Glide/Sturgis, FXDL - Dyna Low Rider, FXDS-CON - Dyna Convertible, FXDWG - Dyna Wide Glide, FXDX - Dyna Super Glide Sport, FXDXT - Super Glide "T" Sport, FXE - Superglide Electric Start, FXEF - Fatbob, FXLR - FX Lower Rider - Evolution,

FXR - Rubber Mount Super Glide - FXRC in limited numbers/Custom low rider- FXRDG - Disc Glide, FXRP - Police or pursuit, FXRS - FXR Sport, FXRS-CON - FXR Sport Convertible, FXRS-SP - Low Rider Sport Edition, FXRT - FXR Touring, FXS - Low Rider/Shovelhead, FXSB - Low Rider Belt,

Softail - FXST - Softail Standard, FXSTB - Night Train, FXSTBI - Night Train fuel injected, FXSTC - Softail Custom, FXSTD - Softail Deuce, FXSTS - Springer Softail, FLST - Heritage Softail, FLSTC - Heritage Softail Classic, FLSTF - Fat Boy, FLSTN - Nostalgia, FLSTS - Heritage Springer Softail.

Touring FL - FLH - 4-Speed Dresser, FLHS - 4-Speed Electra Glide, FLT with windshield and less goodies S = Sport, FLHR - Road King. FLHRCI - Road King Classic, FLHS- Electra Glide Sport, FLHT - Electra Glide Standard, FLHTC - Electra Glide Classic, FLHTCUI - Electra Glide Ultra Classic, FLT- Rubber Mount Dresser , FLTC - Rubber Mount Dresser Classic, FLTCU - Rubber Mount Dresser Classic Ultra, FLTR - Road Glide, FLTRI - Road Glide w/ Genuine Access, FLTRSEI - Screamin Eagle Road Glide,

VRSC - (V-TWIN Racing Street Custom) , VRSCA: 1st model of the V-ROD family.

Sportsters - XL - 4-Speed Sportster, XL883 - Sportster Hugger, XL883C - Sportster 883 Custom, XL1100 - Sportster 1100, XL1200 - Sportster 1200, XL1200C - Sportster 1200 Custom, XL1200S - Sportster 1200 Sport, XLCH - 4-Speed Sportster, Kick start, XLCR - Cafe Racer 1000, XLH - 4-Speed Sportster, Electric Start, XLH883 - 883 Hugger, XLH1200 - 1200, XLH1200S - Sport, XLS - 4-Speed Sportster Roadster, XLX - 4-Speed 1000cc Ironhead, XR1000 - XLH with XLR Heads.

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HERE'S A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE ABOVE.

FL 4-Speed Dresser
FLH 4-Speed Electra Glide
FLHR Road King
FLHRCI Road King Classic
FLHS Electra Glide Sport
FLHT Electra Glide Standard
FLHTC Electra Glide Classic
FLHTCUI Electra Glide Ultra Classic
FLST Heritage Softail
FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic
FLSTF Fat Boy
FLSTN Nostalgia
FLSTS Heritage Springer Softail
FLT Rubber Mount Dresser
FLTC Rubber Mount Dresser Classic
FLTCU Rubber Mount Dresser Classic Ultra
FLTR Road Glide
FLTRI Road Glide w/ Genuine Access
FLTRSEI Screamin Eagle Road Glide

FX Superglide, Kickstart
FXB Sturgis Belt
FXD Dyna Super Glide
FXDG Dyna Glide/Sturgis
FXDL Dyna Low Rider
FXDS-CON Dyna Convertible
FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide
FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport
FXDXT Super Glide "T" Sport
FXE Superglide Electric Start
FXEF Fatbob
FXLR FX Lower Rider/Evolution
FXR Rubber Mount Super Glide
FXRS FXR Sport
FXRS-CON FXR Sport Convertible
FXRS-SP Low Rider Sport Edition
FXRT FXR Touring
FXS Low Rider/Shovelhead
FXSB Lowrider Belt
FXST Softail
FXSTB Night Train
FXSTC Softail Custom
FXSTD Softail Deuce
FXSTS Springer Softail
FXWG Wide Glide

XL 4-Speed Sportster
XL883 Sportster Hugger
XL883C Sportster 883 Custom
XL1100 Sportster 1100
XL1200 Sportster 1200
XL1200C Sportster 1200 Custom
XL1200S Sportster 1200 Sport
XLCH 4-Speed Sportster, Kickstart
XLH 4-Speed Sportster, Electric Start
XLH883 883 Hugger
XLH1200 1200
XLH1200S Sport
XLS 4-Speed Sportster Roadster
XLX 4-Speed 1000cc Ironhead
XR1000 XLH with XLR Heads