1957 Harley XL Sportster Ironhead
Charlie from Douglas, Massachusetts, United States made available to us these photographs of this 1957 Harley XL Sportster Ironhead.
Charlie: "This bike is a 1957 Harley Davidson Sportster. The frame is a late sixties one, used because it has a longer swing arm for a better ride. It has a 1965 front end and gauges, the speedometer face is loose and the tachometer works sometimes. Both gauges need to be rebuilt. The paint still shines but has nicks and scratches.
This bike was built and owned by Johnny Setaro who owned Johnny's Cycle in Worcester, Massachussets. The motor is a 900 bored out, Barracuda cams, S&S carb, Branch Flowmetrics heads and intake, Sifton pushrods, S&S rods, balanced lower end, and a Barnett clutch. There is one weld repair on the right side case where the kicker cover bolts on."
Charlie: "Everything is chromed except for a few nuts and bolts that were lost or broken. The chrome is all nice as you can see in the pictures, except the aluminum rocker boxes where it flaking, and the clutch cover which has turned yellow in part."
Charlie: "This is a kick start bike and she has no provision for electric start. She has a 12 volt generator for the lights, and a magneto for the ignition. The magneto has a key to lock it off, and there is a lock on the rear wheel axle"
(October 2008)
