1957 XL Sportster: Iron horse with a name
The original XL Sportster’s name was significant on the model’s launch in 1957. Sportster was an evocative title for a high-performance motorbike, just as it still is today. And to emblazon it in capital letters across the crankcase was a real statement of intent.
Especially as in those days Harley didn’t really do names. Admittedly, the factory had released a V-twin called the Sport back in 1919, and more recently the bigger Hydra-Glide and little 125cc Hummer had been given names, too. But generally Harley had stuck to differentiating its models with letters. The XL Sportster stood out further by having two of those rather than the normal one.
The ‘X’ was Milwaukee’s way of confirming that this model had a new-generation engine, with pushrod-operated overhead valves rather than the side-valves of the familiar K-series V-twins. The extra ‘L’ had traditionally been used to signify a slightly higher level of tune, but that didn’t really apply to the sole Sportster model, which shared its KH predecessor’s 883cc (or 54ci) capacity but reached it via a bigger bore and shorter stroke.
That allowed bigger valves, and could have led to higher revs and more power. But Harley stuck to cast iron rather than the cooler-running aluminium for the new cylinder heads (perhaps because the bigger Panhead V-twin had experienced some issues with aluminium heads), and the XL’s maximum output of about 40bhp meant it was only a couple of horses up on the side-valve KHK.
The Sportster had plenty of appeal, even so, with its two-tone red and black tank, raised bars, sprung saddle, and hydraulic suspension at both ends. Despite its name it was respectably practical, too, with generous fenders, a 16-litre gas tank and a big headlight as standard, plus options including a screen and saddlebags.
More to the point, it was pretty fast – good for a genuine 100mph, just about – handled well, and proved reliable. The US press were impressed, with Cycle magazine enthusing about ‘terrific acceleration all through the speed range… High cruising speeds can be sustained indefinitely without effort from the ruggedly constructed engine’.
Predictably, that first Sportster was a big hit, selling almost twice as many units in 1957 as the KH and KHK had done the previous year. A two-wheeled legend had been born.