c1959 Harley-Davidson 'Hummer' 165cc Motorcycle

Description

The Hummer was a single-cylinder motorcycle built by Harley-Davidson in the 1950s, part of a family of entry-level bikes that included the S, ST, Hummer and Super Ten. Essentially the German DKW design built under licence (BSA's Bantam was the British equivalent), the bikes were intended to compete with the many small capacity European brands flooding the American market in the early post-war period. The original S of 1947 had a two-stroke125cc engine but was replaced in 1953 with a larger 165cc motor, although the Hummer (again with a 125cc capacity) returned in the late 1950s, a name often incorrectly applied to all Harley singles of the era. Relatively few of these Harleys were made and only small numbers survive today, making the example on offer here a real rarity.