1930 Harley-Davidson VL Motorcycle

Description

Announced in July 1929, the Harley-Davidson VL 'Big Twin' replaced the 'pocket valve' twins in production since 1911 and featured a 74-cid (1200cc) engine developing 30hp at 4000rpm, a 5.0:1 compression ratio and Ricardo removable heads. With a three-speed gearchange, the VL could reach a top speed of 85mph making this one of the fastest bikes of the day. Other notable improvements included bigger tyres, interchangeable wheels with drop-centre rims, longer wheelbase with more ground clearance, drop forged forks and a stronger steel loop frame. The twin headlamps, Klaxon horn and round toolbox were carried over, but the rest of the bike was nearly all new. In total Harley-Davidson manufactured 10,025 V-series in 1930 (including V, VL, VM & VLM) and very few were imported into Australia due to the new import tax announced in 1929. There are just 151 listed in the VL register in America, of which only 78 have the low compression engine (as denoted by the C suffix in the engine number) and one of 17 listed in Australia, making this a real rarity.