Although the 1977 Harley-Davidson XLCR motorcycle was an attractive machine, competition from Japanese bikes was too fierce for the XLCR to be highly successful in the American marketplace.
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In an attempt to capitalize on the café-racing trend that was sweeping the country in the mid-1970s, Harley-Davidson ventured back into the world of customs to bring out the XLCR.
It applied a small "bikini" fairing, skimpy front fender, angular fuel tank, solo seat with fiberglass tail section, triple disc brakes, and special "siamesed" two-into-two exhaust headers to a standard 1000-cc Sportster, and then cloaked the whole affair in black.
The problem was that although the XLCR was claimed to be "the most powerful production cycle Harley-Davidson has ever built," that wasn't saying much; Japanese competitors were quite a bit quicker and cheaper to boot.
Furthermore, the typical Harley buyer seemed to take little interest in joining the road-racing crowd, so sales never took off.
What was in fact a very interesting motorcycle (and quite soon, a very collectible motorcycle) faded away after only two years.
Continue to the next page to see more 1977 Harley-Davidson XLCR motorcycle pictures.
For more great motorcycle articles and pictures, check out:
- Classic Motorcycles
- How Motorcycles Work
- Harley-Davidson Motorcycles
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