Harley-Davidson Xlh Sportster
HARLEY-DAVIDSON XLH SPORTSTER
cycle world ROAD TEST
THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE per se seems more often than not the victim of unrestricted badmouth. Close acquaintance with an H-D XLH Sportster for the purposes of gathering data for this road test indicates much of this irrational invective is based on ignorance, bad judgment and, more likely, pure jealousy.
The rider who belittles this American-as-apple-pie product, while chanting the praises of some brand from across one or the other of the oceans, probably never has been on a Harley, never has put such a machine to the test of a tour or the trial of a dragway. The suspicion is that the owner/rider of the bike from overseas is loud and vehement in his criticism of H-D because he holds a strong desire himself to straddle that great iron beast, if his pocketbook would permit.
In construction, the XLH brings to mind such things as Case, which plowed the land between Colorado and Pennsylvania, and Caterpillar, which has split every mountain from the Olympic Peninsula to Key West. The XLH is made strong to be strong, but it's no tractor.
In finish, this Harley-Davidson is the garish twowheeled counterpart to the chromium doodaddery of Detroit automotive styling. Orange paint, with black crackle and white striping, headlight encased in an abrupt, angular, cast aluminum housing, saddle of vinyl in black and white, makes this machine as loud as a hand-painted necktie even when the ignition is switched off.
To state that appearances are deceiving would be an understatement. This giant sprinter in Halloween costume need make no apology for its performance.
Mighty heart of this engined athlete is the H-D ohv V-Twin, which displaces 53.9 cu. in. in the XLH. The rated 58 bhp at 6800 rpm — judged by the need for the rider to simply hang on in acceleration runs — is a fairly honest figure. The XLH's claimed torque delivery, 52 lb. ft. at 3800 rpm, also seems to be no fairy tale. Indeed, torque is the H-D's major contribution to the rider's sheer excitement. The torque peak, at 3800 rpm, occurs at just over 65 mph in top gear. That gives the rider the flat end of the curve over which to develop full bhp at 6800 rpm. Stated another way, the H-D XLH engine pulls like a battlewagon to well over 100 mph.
And, bottom end torque also is readily available. How much is to be had was discovered only by mischance. At the dragstrip, the XLH gear stuck in top gear (the only mechanical fault noted during the test interval) just before an acceleration run was to be conducted. Mild anger and more than a little frustration at this turn of events resulted in a top-gear-only quarter-mile jaunt for elapsed time. From a standing start, in top gear, the H-D XLH was clocked at 19.9 sec., with a trap speed of 81.74 mph. This phenomenal run was accomplished with only a minimum of clutch slippage off the line. The magnificently muscular engine simply wound itself from 1000 to approximately 4800 rpm in that quarter mile, while loaded with something approaching 700 lb., counting leathers, helmet, goggles, boots and a big lunch. The accompanying acceleration graph shows what an XLH will do when the test rider is allowed four-gear capability.
What is there to say about Tillotson carburetors? The one fitted to the XLH delivers the proper mixture at high or low rpm, every time it is called upon to do so. Little choking is required for a quick start, even in freezing temperatures and a bit below.
The tried and true H-D battery/coil ignition system also functions without fault, without misfire, through the 1000 to 6800 rpm span. Other electricals, including oil level, generator and high beam indicator lamps, and head, tail and stop lights, make night running a distinct pleasure.
Perhaps the greatest electrical satisfaction is, however, derived from the XLH's electric start feature. Those who have trod smartly on an H-D kick start lever, only to have it tread back even more briskly, perhaps with violence, will realize the advantage of pushbutton starting. Key switch to first position (second position turns on lights), choke full out, right thumb on button, two "gnur-gnurr" starter motor revolutions, and the blast of 53 cu. in. is the unfailing early morning drill. Beautiful! The weight penalty for electric starting is some 40 lb., if battery, starter solenoid and starting motor weights are added. This is a small price to pay for the absence of undue perspiration and lever-nicked shins.
The engine's power is delivered from primary side, through the dry clutch, to the constant mesh four-speed gearbox, and thence to the final drive sprockets and chain. The gearing of the XLH is that of many other machines in the H-D big bore lineup, but it is gearing that wholly complements the massive torque production of the V-Twin. Off the line in first gear, the engine achieves maximum rpm with a hurtling suddenness that makes the rider suspect that propellants other than gasoline have been secretly spilled into the H-D's tank. Second gear can only be described as somewhat less abrupt, but a whole lot faster. Third gear is only partly used up as the blurred timing lights disappear in the rearward distance. Fourth gear is a brilliant climb to the ton and more.
CYCLE WORLD'S test XLH, with a portly all-up weight of 680 lb., including instruments and electricals poundage, was nonetheless capable of consistent e.t.s well below 14 sec. With California-state-approved mufflers of the straightthrough, perforated cylindrical baffle variety, the quick time recorded for the quarter-mile was a very respectable 13.860 sec., with a terminal speed of 98.68 mph. Absolute top speed in showroom trim was tallied at 114.31 mph. However, when these silencers were exchanged for a set of straight pipes, the H-D bettered these marks to 13.684 sec. e.t., and 100.11 mph through the lights. With unrestricted exhaust, top speed climbed closer to 115 mph.
Gear changes upward with the British-style right-foot lever are precise, never doubtful. Stops are positive, easily recognizable even to the rider who is otherwise occupied in an all-on acceleration effort. Downshifting, likewise, is a trouble free operation.
All this action is suspended between a hydraulically damped telescopic fork forward, and swinging arms with cowled coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers at the rear. Straightforward, functional, traditional, unimaginative are the static terms that initially come to mind for this suspension, as it displays nothing new, no departures. The adjectives come from another dictionary when the rider takes command and begins to roll. Damping is altogether ample, if somewhat harsh, but the firmness is akin to the seat-of-the-pants road awareness that a well set-up racing automobile generates for its driver. Precision is what the XLH gives the rider in all steering situations. This suspension builds rider confidence and invites the quick taking of bends in the road. An engineer never doubts his thundering locomotive will make the switchback curve at the bottom of the hill; the XLH rider is embued with the same sort of calm.
The rear springs are three-position adjustable — offcam stiff, stiffer and stiffer. Mid-position is satisfactory for two-up riding; perhaps a pair of 280-lb. professional football tackles would require the top stop. Adjustment is made with a special spanner, oddly not supplied with the machine, but available from H-D dealers.
Brakes are an out-and-out necessity with a machine/ rider combination which approaches 30 percent of a ton. The XLH's 8-in. drums respond well in moderate speed situations, are ample in stop and go traffic, and can meet and accommodate almost any road riding situation. The rear brake crank control rod and pedal system permits smooth, full application. The front lever, cable and crank system offers like response. However, in repeated all-on braking — such as encountered in a joyous thrash through the crookedest road a rider can find — the XLH brakes lose their effectiveness as heat builds up. In full, straighton panic stops, the fade comes on gradually, but becomes all too pronounced by the fourth effort. For a machine that is this heavy, for a machine that goes this fast, HarleyDavidson could well put some design engineers to work in preparation of an XLH braking system that demonstrates some additional effectiveness under duress.
CW's test XLH was fitted with over $90 worth of optional equipment, some of which was a rarity among motorcycles — accurate, easily readable instrumentation. This extra-cost speedometer/odometer/tachometer combination is worth the just-under-$50 price. The speedometer, albeit somewhat pessimistic, maintained an almost constant error curve, and thus, once calibrated against the clocks, was a useful instrument in the law-bound metropolitan traffic arena. It is scarcely worthwhile to comment on the necessity of a tachometer for a machine that develops its full, brute horsepower and top rpm limit with awesome rapidity in the lower gears.
A word on that small 2.2-gallon gasoline tank seems appropriate. The word small perhaps should be preceded by the word "absurdly." Engines of 53.9-cu. in. piston displacement -should not be so thoroughly hamstrung in terms of operational radius. That Coke-bottle-sized fuel tank means that service station stops must be made every 80 miles or so. Fortunately, the standard tank on the XLH is a 4.0-gal. unit, much more useful to the motorcycle commuter, or weekend touring enthusiast. The mini-tank obviously is for the dude who does his impressing at drive-in restaurants, and seldom makes his way to the open road.
The Harley-Davidson options catalog and additional dollars permit those so inclined to add special seats and seat covers; small, medium or large saddlebags; windshields wide or narrow; bumpers; twin and fishtail type exhaust systems; heel/toe shift levers; passenger footpegs and grips; a veritable firmament of lamps, head and tail; mufflers; alloy rims (on the test XLH); and a variety of chromium plated bits and pieces. To the enthusiast it must be said that each and every item listed herein is attracted by the pull of gravity, and the H-D XLH engine must overcome the inertia of each and every extra item whenever the machine moves away from a dead stop. There are some machines which seem to demand some measure of lily-gilding. The XLH Sportster, in CW's opinion, isn't one of them. Why make a trackman carry a sack of sand?
There it is, muscles in trick-or-treat getup, an ironman among motorcycles, the main purpose of which is to generate the absolute in excitement for people who enjoy the ultimate thrills to be found in a big-inch machine.
The Sportster owes its existence to those HarleyDavidson fanciers who desire more than davenport comfort in tours from Mesa, Ariz., to Bangor, Me. What the XLH, this shorthaul superbike, does best is to carry a knowledgeable rider over a road course as rapidly as possible for an hour, little more, for the delight of the man in his powerful means of transport. ■
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
XLH
SPECIFICATIONS
$1753
PERFORMANCE
