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The First Harley-Davidson I Rode

Randall K. Wilson

Junior Member
On reading a number of books on H-D History I thought back to the day I rode my first Harley. It belonged to a gent I worked with. I was a Millwright Apprentice at the time and he rode it to the Trade school we were attending back then. At that time I rode an affordable 1977 Honda 550K in line four cylinder.

However my co-worker friend rode in to school one night on a brand new 1978 XLCR Cafe Racer 1000 CC.

He offered me a chance to jump on and take it for a ride, which I did with much delight. Oh was it much different from what I was used to. Being somewhat concerned and showing respect for this gent I just rode it around the school parking lot (which was huge), and then we went on to class. Even back then I remember that the styling was much different than other H-D models.

Ironically with in a few months his XLCR was wrecked and I don't think the owner ever got it put back together...and that is a long story in itself.

At the time I rode this Harley I never thought of how this model would have somewhat of a distinct history years later. According to one source I have this model was only made in 1977, 1978, and 1979.

Did anyone on our Forum ever own a XLCR ? I just wonder how many of these models were made all total?
 
I wasn't even born then, but I'm always interested in Harley history, so rather then work I did a quick search and came up with only 3,123 of these were made in just 2 years for production, 77 and 78, no 79 from what I could tell or they killed it early in the year.

Here is the link to the info 1977 H-D XLCR - Classic Bikes - Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. Very cool looking bike, wouldn't mind doing one of those as a project.
 
I wasn't even born then, but I'm always interested in Harley history, so rather then work I did a quick search and came up with only 3,123 of these were made in just 2 years for production, 77 and 78, no 79 from what I could tell or they killed it early in the year.

Here is the link to the info 1977 H-D XLCR - Classic Bikes - Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. Very cool looking bike, wouldn't mind doing one of those as a project.

Thanks so much for sending the link. It sheds much light on the subject....hey, keep an eye out for the boss?:bigsmiley10:
 
For me it was 1971....my buddy's Dad was a motorcycle cop....had a big Electra-Glide, (it seemed so HUGE at the time, as I remember, but then I owned a Honda Dream at the time!), and he invited me to take it for a spin. Can you IMAGINE any cop doing that now-a-days...oh those were simpler times!


I was never the same after that first white knuckled ride!

I can see that scenario back in 1971 right now...the Honda Dream "305"?...I remember as a young lad back in the middle 60's, I would loved to have owned one of those...in RED. However for me it was just look, but don't touch.

Speaking of white nuckled rides...I have a friend and his Dad rode big HAWGs, way back. His son was I dare say back then was in his 20's and really not interested in riding and in some ways kind of afraid of motorcycles for that matter. Anyway his Dad kept badgering him to take his big Harley for a ride....The son, who wasn't a very big man and probably weighed less than 150lbs. finally did. When he got back from his short jaunt he was shaking like a leaf. :sd You know kind of like he had seen a ghost or something. Later when his Dad would encourage him to ride it again, he always had this same stock answer..."no Dad, I ain't got enough A$$ to hold that thing up....":dknow

I look back and think it's a wonder my friend didn't have a wreck and get hurt. And you know my pal is 56 now and he has never been back on a motorcycle to this day.
 
i'm new to Harley's,so for me it was the end of August 2006.i parked my crotch rocket out side the local HD dealer & took their 883L demo for a ride.my first thought was "what the heck-its like an old tractor",but after a few miles it was more like "hey i'm riding a Harley Davidson & its absolutley fantastic". by then it was raining & i was soaked to the skin but i didn't care,couldn't stop grinning.
got back to the dealer & bought my first Harley,an orange 883R.traded that for my nighty & i'm still grinning.
i just love these old tractors :bigsmiley24:
 
I can see that scenario back in 1971 right now...the Honda Dream "305"?...I remember as a young lad back in the middle 60's, I would loved to have owned one of those...in RED. However for me it was just look, but don't touch.
QUOTE]

My black Honda Dream WAS in fact the "305", (and that was a relatively big bike in the days of many scooters on the road LITERALLY being SCOOTERS, with plenty of bikes in the 60CC to 125CC range!).
In fact, before the "Dream", I had a Bridgestone, sold through Sears, of all things...a 60CC full fledged motorcycle. Oh the memories......14 years old...(3 years below the legal driving age), jump starting it by running along side down hill and jumping on, then dropping it into gear, (the only means of starting, the kick, had broken off before I bought it), then riding all over town like a nut! But you know what...those first days of riding something bigger than my previous mini-bikes, (remember THOSE!), brought me a thrill not completely unlike the one I get when I swing my tired old legs over the seat of the Ultra and get rolling. The big difference being the size of the toy and the fact I'm 40 years older....but when I ride, those years, just for a few minutes, seem to melt away, and I'm back on my Bridgestone or my Dream, (which was a COLOSSAL "upgrade" when I got it, as I am sure the guys my age can imagine!), and I feel like a young guy again, without a care in the world, and I guess ultimately that IS what it's all about! (Not the "Hokie Pokie", as I used to believe!)

What a great thread this is!

I look forward to hearing the memories of the other members...come on fellas......share!

You had those cool bike? I'm jealous...I was just a RUPP minibike wannabe. Heck I couldn't even keep a bicycle in my ole hood (had three stolen). Yeah I remember guys like you buzzing around as we stood on the curb gawking green with envy. I think our favorite, young cycle guy was Gary Reedy. He had a red BSA Hornet and it had a sound all of it's own. We new it was Gary coming long before we saw him, just by the sound that dude made. Gary, bless his heart was killed in Nam. His baby son never got to know his father.

Indeed Gary was a very nice guy and would stop and let up kids look at his BSA up close. It was a treat at the time. Naw I never had anything two wheel motorized until years later. I guess that makes me appreciate my RK even that much more.

Whatever happen to your Honda Dream 305....do you remember? It seems they only came in Black, Red and White?
 
I don't remember ever seeing one in white, though they were out there, but there were plenty of red ones and even more black ones like mine.
Mine was a '63, if I remember correctly, bone stock and looking almost mint, and I bought it in '67 for $200 plus my Bridgestone from a guy in the neighborhood. (Can you IMAGINE that kind of deal today??)
I suppose if you convert the deal into today's dollars, it may not be as killer as it sounds, but it was the deal of a lifetime for me at the time. (in my relatively short lifetime at that time.)
I remember that bike like it was yesterday.....the beauty of it's lines, the smooth ride, the fact that it was a REAL MOTORCYCLE, according to some of the older guys who looked at it when I rode around the neighborhood.
I wish I had kept it, but then don't we all wish we had kept the bikes and cars we had back in the 60's and early 70's? I won't list them all, but if I had kept them, I could probably retire off the sales today! I know many of us have that same situation! (We should start another thread regarding this! Let's look back with regrets about the muscle cars and bikes we wish were still under cover in the garage!)
I wound up selling that "Dream" ,(I think I got about $300 for it, which I was elated about!), for a similar vintage CB77, (which I clearly remember using my entire $300 to buy), much more conducive to customizing, and as soon as I can I'll post a pic of it that I still have. (The CB77 wound up getting destroyed in a fiery crash described in a post in the "Riding in the rain" thread.)

Oh, these walks down "Memory Lane"!

Man were you a "horse trader", or what... I had forgetten about the bridgestone being sold at Sears, but it brings back memories now.

According to the Internet Inflation calculator, what cost $200.00 back in 1967 now cost $1,229.37 in 2007.

I know what you mean, I look at what these muscle cars are going for and it make me shutter. It just seems like yesterday I was at Shadeland Dodge on the eastside of Indianapolis. This was the early fall of 1970, the 1971 new Dodges were coming in. This dealer had 5 new left over 1970 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum, 375 gross horsepower bucket seats, and torqueflite transmissions with shifters on the floor. He wanted to move these cars to make room for the 1971's coming in. On the window of those new unsold Charger R/T's (five differnt colors) a salesman put a price in big numbers across the windshield $2,900.00 on all five Chargers.

I wanted one so bad I could taste it. I could afford the car, but when I called my insurance company they wanted $1,300.00 a year for insurance. (I was high risk from a couple wrecks I had). So I decided to just pass. Bad timing on my part. I later made up for it by having owned three Corvettes. I have a Red Convertible presently, (which is for sale by the way).

I got the fever for a 2nd cycle. yikes :small3d026:
 
Randall, let's see some pics of the vette you have for sale.:D

OK, I'm hoping from this effort you will get the image you ask for...Let me know? RKW
IMG_5340.jpg
 
Randall, beautiful car!
Details!
How much??

Mr. RichardS, I didn't know if we were supposed to discuss the sale of things on the forum? Spamming?

IF the Town Fathers (glider etc) will give me the "nod". I would be glad to "sing" like a bird....

Would the Town Fathers of our Forum please respond?:worthy:worthy:worthy
 
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