While Harley-Davidson is a model that’s extensively revered these days, the producer hit a quite tough patch in its historical past in the course of the Seventies and early Eighties. During this era, Japanese sportsbikes had been turning into widespread within the US as a result of their decrease price and better efficiency than the all-American traditional, and it did not assist that the corporate had lately been taken over by the AMF company — a enterprise identified for producing such diverse items as nuclear launch methods, bowling gear, and cigarettes.

Under AMF administration, Harley Davidson’s fame took an extra dive with the 1980 Sportster 1000. Weighing in at 529 lbs, the 997-cc V-twin engine had an influence output of solely 55 HP — a ludicrously low determine for a liter bike, even in 1980.

The Sportster was plagued with reliability and construct high quality points, which had been usually exacerbated by questionable design decisions. While homeowners had been irritated by minor points resembling extreme vibration and electrical gremlins, the starter motor was notoriously unreliable, and would fail to show the engine over.

As the 1980 mannequin didn’t have a kick begin, riders had been compelled to both await rescue by the facet of the highway or bump-start their bikes by operating alongside them after which partaking the clutch. Add a excessive price ticket to the package deal, and you’ve got one of the unappealing Harley-Davidson bikes in existence.