c1942 Harley-Davidson XA 750cc Motorcycle

Description

At the request of the US Army as an alternative to the larger WLA, Harley-Davidson built a near-copy of the more nimble BMW, with horizontally-opposed twin cylinders, twin carburettors, shaft-drive, a foot-operated four-speed gearchange and a hand-operated clutch. However the bike proved an expensive alternative to the simpler WLA and was soon dropped - unlike the German version, issues with reliability didn't help and an attempt to build a civilian offshoot came to nothing. With just 1,011 built in the period 1942-1943, the XA was never produced in large numbers and surviving examples rarely come on the open market. Most were intended for use in North Africa and as such, many of the surviving examples are finished in drab desert livery.