SPORTSTER @ 60
Celebrating six decades of the American unit-construction, four cam, V-twin
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Harley-davidson Sportster, and by means of a celebration in honour of this iconic American middleweight V-twin, there will be a special one-day gathering at The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire on June 24.
The ‘Sportster at 60 Celebration’ promises to be the biggest get-together of Harley Sportsters that this country has ever seen, and as the BMM say in their pre-event publicity, it’s ‘a must for anyone who rides, has ever dreamed of riding a Harley or wants to learn more about them’.
The event will feature static displays, tech talks and a moto gymkhana for those wanting to see how light, manoeuvrable and capable their bikes are. There will also be a wealth of traders present at the event, covering everything from clothing and parts to complete bikes.
As well as all the event bikes, thousands of owners are expected to ride into the grounds of the museum on their own personal Sportsters. The highlight of the show, which is backed by
American-v magazine, will be a collection of bikes from the Warrs Harley-davidson Museum to illustrate the history of the model, including n the following landmark machines:
1952 Model KK (sports version – not a Sportster as such, but certainly the inspiration and direct ancestor of the unit-construction Sportster)
1957 XL Sportster (first production year Sportster, as pictured above)
1960 XLCH (‘Competition Hot’ and Fred Warr’s Ramsgate Sprint bike)
1968 KR750TT (Daytona-issue factory road racer – Cal Rayborn won Daytona in 1968 and ’69 on one of these)
1970 XL Boat Tail (original) 1972 XR750TT (final-year factory team issue road racer – the ‘last hurrah’ before the end of Harley-davidson’s big capacity, four-stroke road racing dominance) 1977 XLCR Cafe Racer (design icon by none other than Willie G Davidson) 1983 XR1000 (original with only 1200 miles, the legendary H-D race chief Dick O’brien’s street-legal flat tracker) 1985 XLX61 (last of the Ironhead Sportsters) 1986 XL883 (First of the Evo Sportsters)
1997 XR750 (factory team-issue dirt-track racing machine) 2010 XR1200 (Warrs’ own ex-jeremy Mcwilliams, British-title winning bike).
There will also be displays of bikes from various Harley specialists, including Shaw Speed & Custom who are well known for their innovative custom machines, many of them built using the Sportster platform.
Having enjoyed one of the world’s longest continuous production runs of any motorcycle – as well as being one of the world’s most versatile machines for customisation – a huge variety of café racers, street trackers, bobbers, choppers, trikes, stock and rare race bikes are expected to be attracted to ‘Sportster at 60’ – both on display and in the bike park.
For the early arrivals, weekend camping is available for the price of £25 per person (advance booking only – that’s a £10 saving on the price at the gate), which includes access to the museum from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning.
Regular day admission is £14 for adults, £9 for kids, £12 for concessions and £39 for a family.
For further information, go to: britishmotormuseum.co.uk