1964 Harley-Davidson 250 Sprint H. Photos by the author.
As Milwaukee settled into a long, cold winter late in 1959, the Harley suits were worried. Honda had just introduced half-a-dozen small bikes, ranging from the 50cc Super Cub to the 305 Dream Touring?with an overhead camshaft and electric starter, no less. All Harley was offering was the latest version of its 1948 125 two-stroke single, now the 165cc Super 10. What to do"
Maybe find some European import that could be rebadged" Like the 250cc models from Aermacchi, an Italian company that was building both motorcycles and airplanes. It had a very sexy 250 single called the Ala d?Oro?or Gold Wing?which was essentially a race bike with lights. Aermacchi had been building airplanes until Italy surrendered during World War II, and since the Allies forbade it from continuing in that line of work, Aermacchi started making three-wheeled trucks and motorcycles after the war, before being allowed to start up the aircraft business again. Harley bought half the motorcycle company in 1960 and began importing the 250s, in a less racy version that was initially called the Wisconsin. Marketing types thought this was not wise. Would someone in California or Florida want to ride a Wisconsin" The name was soon changed to Sprint. Nevertheless many Harley dealers were not terribly happy to have these foreign-made bikes cluttering up their showroom floors.
What was this Sprint" By most non-Harley standards, it was a pr...