1974 harley davidson mini bike chopper for sale

It’s from the first year of production and it carries its original classic paint scheme. The 1973 Harley-Davidson X-90 you see here is an original and unrestored example with just 2,890 miles on the odometer. There was a time not that may years ago when you would struggle to give them away but this has all changed now, people are seeking out original X-90s to restore and people have started collecting them. Over the course of the X-90’s 1973/1974/1975 production run fewer than 17,000 were sold to the public, and only a small number of these have survived to the modern day.ĭespite their relative lack of popularity back when they were new the Shortster has become a bit of a cult classic thanks to its interesting history and quirky looks. The model was kickstart only and power was sent to the rear wheel via a standard four-speed transmission with a wet multi-plate clutch.Īlthough fun to ride, priced competitively and road legal in many US states, the Harley-Davidson X-90 didn’t sell in high numbers, particularly when compared with the minibikes being sold by Honda. The X-90 was developed in Italy by Aermacchi engineers, two-stroke motorcycle engines were popular at the time and so the engine they used in the model was a 90cc single-cylinder two-stroke, with a bore x stroke of 48mm x 50mm and 8 hp. Find the Harley motorcycle that is right for you, learn to ride, schedule a test ride or shop for motorcycle parts. Honda was selling as many Monkey Bikes as they could build and many other manufacturers wanted to get in on the action including Aermacchi and Harley. Honda had released the original Monkey Bike in the mid-1960s, it was a miniature motorcycle that could be ridden by children and adults alike, it had an affordable MSRP, and it was easy to control. In the years after WWII they diversified into motorcycle production, a path also followed by MV Agusta. The Harley-Davidson X90 was originally developed as an Aermacchi in Italy however Harley owned 50% of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer and they had been re-badging their smaller capacity motorcycles as Harleys in the US for years.Īermacchi had started out building licensed copies of Nieuport fighter aircraft just before WWI, the company became one of Italy’s biggest aircraft manufacturers by the time of the Second World War. Funnily enough the same mistakes were being made on the other side of the Atlantic in Britain and Italy, resulting in the Japanese motorcycle industry taking over the world. The 1970s are remembered as a time that wasn’t great for Harley, “the AMF years” as many call them were hallmarked by largely outdated designs and a failure to adequately challenge the big four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. The Harley-Davidson X90, commonly referred to as the “Shortster” was a mini Harley two-stroke built by an Italian company that started out making fighter aircraft during the First World War.

1974 harley davidson mini bike chopper for sale