1975 HARLEY XLCH SPORTSTER

1000cc | 61bhp | 660mm seat height

Dealer £4000-£6000 Private £2500-£5000 This one £3000, dealer sale The 1975 Sportster was the first with a left-hand gearshift. It’s an American legend, but even in the mid-1970s, it was considered crude and not particularly effective. When AMF took over Harley in the early 1970s, quality control (never a strong point) took a dive. The Sportster vibrates like hell, has dreadful brakes, doesn’t handle and isn’t that quick (110mph but anything over 75 is unpleasant). On the other hand, it is a design icon, parts are abundant, you can use it as a blank canvas and old Harleys always find buyers.

Buyer beware

It’s known for lousy electrics, a stupidly small eight-litre tank and many will have been the basis of a prior project, so you may need to spend money undoing someone else’s handiwork.