8 1942 HarleyDavidson WLA

The 741cc, 3-speed WLA was, in terms of numbers, Harley-Davidson’s biggest-ever production model. All WLAs are listed as 1942 models, regardless of when they were actually built, but officially figures divide the production into seven different models – Type 1 to Type VII – from September 1941 to August 1945, a total run of 88,000, plus spare parts for another 30,000, all destined for military use. Post-war, many WLAs found their way onto the civilian market, and many of these are still in use today. The WLA ‘Flathead’ engine remained in production until 1973 as the power unit for the H-D Servi-car.

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