You don't need to wait for an electric Harley-Davidson bike to be unveiled to get one without the classic Harley rumble. That's right, for a limited time H-D is selling human-powered bikes, as the manufacturer has commissioned a short run of replica bicycles from its early years.
Enlisting the help of Chicago's Heritage Bicycles, Harley-Davidson has brought back the 1917 Model 7-17 Standard bike. This makes it one of the earliest bicycles built by Harley, which produced pedal-powered bikes from 1917 to 1922 to entice younger customers to the brand. It's not completely identical, since the replica was modified very slightly to suit taller 2018 riders. The idea was to make the bicycles a comfortable ride instead of a static museum piece. That doesn't mean they're not accurate, though.
Heritage Bicycles' Mike Salvatore told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Harley asked us to replicate the original as closely as possible." This includes the detailing such as the stamped H-D logo in the front sprocket, shared by both Harley-Davidson bicycles and motorcycles of the time to give cyclists a bit of the same feeling as Harley's motorcycle customers. The olive green bikes are hand-built, complete with hand-applied pinstripes.
Despite the effort to make these bikes comfortable to ride, we're not sure many will be ridden. Only ten will be built, and they are priced at around $4,200 each. Sales will be handled through the Harley-Davidson Museum, which will take reservations.
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