For decades, Harley-Davidson has marketed their motorcycles with the company’s history as their selling point. While the new lines have strayed from that well-worn path a bit, it is nostalgia that plays an oversized role in the company’s offerings. The motorcycle you see here seems to have been ordered with Harley’s rich history in mind well before the days of Willie G’s retro styling took center stage. Take a look at this 1969 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide for sale on eBay in Epping, New Hampshire. From the fifties style seat to the thirties color scheme, this bike appears to have been ordered by someone who revered that history down to the official corporate colors. With just four days to go, this bike has been bid up to $13,605. Where do you think this retro beauty will top out at?
As mentioned in a previous story, I am toying with the idea of buying a motorcycle. Considering I stopped riding in college, and that was a long time ago, I guess it is good that my wallet cannot satisfy all of the urges my brain thinks up. At any rate, I have always loved Harley-Davidsons, Indians, and opposed twin BMWs. While my financial situation is a big obstacle to actually getting a bike, it can’t stop me from purchasing motorcycle history books at the used bookstore. Take that inflation!
Looking back through what I consider to be the golden years of Harley and Indian in these books, you cannot escape the impression that the last years of the solid frames were some of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made. If form follows function, then the function of an American motorcycle took on its most spectacular form from around 1936 through 1948. That was the year that the telescoping front forks appeared for the first time. They were a definite technological improvement. However, I find them to be too bulky in appearance and distract from the lines of the bike.
It was also around 1948 that Harley seemed to notice the effect that the movies were having on motorcycling, and it was not all good. In an attempt to counter that negative image, a subtle shift started to emerge in marketing their bikes. Moving in the opposite direction of the choppers on the silver screen, Harley’s styling began to chase the customer who needed a motorcycle for recreation and didn’t know it yet. Big fenders, big front ends, and big two up seats became a big part of Harley’s styling efforts.
It must have worked to a certain extent. Elvis was known for riding this type of Harley, but Sonny Barger would never be caught dead on one in the late sixties when the bike you see here was built. A close look at the pictures reveals a lot of traditional touches on this motorcycle. It has the Hydra Glide front suspension, a kick start, an engine that would look at home in a thirties frame, and a two-tone fuel tank paint job to match. It even left the factory painted in Harley colors. Slap a 2022 engine in the frame, take away the kick starter, paint the bags, and this motorcycle would look right at home on the floor of any new Harley-Davidson dealership. All it would lack is an inflated price tag.
At a current bid of $13,605, an inflated price tag is something that this Harley lacks. There appears to be no reserve on this auction either. The seller advertises this as a running and driving motorcycle that has been in the owner’s possession for over five years. It has received the care needed to make sure everything works, and is ready to motor off to Daytona for some sun and sand. Too bad the bidding will close before you get a chance to drive it down for this week’s Biketoberfest celebrations.
In all, this is a solid bike with just the right styling cues to fit in in the current Harley scene but enough of the old to make it stand out like the diamond that it is.
Do you have a favorite era and brand of motorcycle? What styling elements appeal to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
There is little to recommend these things other than nostalgia. Whatever cool factor these things had has disappeared as their market aged and died. Overweight, underpowered, with a rider to match.
How do you really feel about Harleys Christoper? I, for one, love them, and this bike would fit in well with my highly dependable 15 and 21 year old big Harleys. As a 6’ tall, 155 pound runner/swimmer/bike rider, I don’t consider myself overweight or underpowered. Air cooled big twins aren’t for everyone, but for many of us, they sure bring a lot of joy.
A used Kawasaki 1500cc is more dependable and far cheaper.
The HD symbolism is not worth the extra dollars.
I’ve never riden a Harley so I’m biased towards a 1500 Kawasaki.
Bob
I have one of these ’69s. yup: it’s slow;100 mph when the motor is fresh, 80 MPH now that the motor has 40K on it, fat, oil leaking and rusty with bad paint. It fires up every time I ask it to. Pull up to a gathering of bikes and what bike do people gather around? My old ride. Go figure
Actually, they were much lighter than today’s bikes and made far more torque at much lower rpm than the puny Japanese and British bikes of the day.
LOTS of bikes (read Harleys) in that geog location. (Epping, Weirs Beach, Laconia).
“…favorite era …”
yea, this is it, just pre AMF (12 yrs of ownership). The ’69 XLCH from yesterday is actually THE bike for me (different color, mods in my post). Here
is nother g r e a t one tho. Just hada settle on an affordable Japanese appliance as per availability/cost/etc..
Yep last of the old Harley’s 1969 the year AMF took over and well you know the rest . I still have my 1968 FLH lightly customized have had it since 1979 .matter of fact it’s going on the lift for a refresh being its been asleep for 20 years .Old guys rule I’m 65 average a biker and not fat and professional of it .So junior Swift how long have you been riding ?Cool is in the eye of the beholder god bless freedom of speech ✌😎 ride safe
I thought AMF took over in 1970 with the ‘cone motor’ shovelheads.
Rode a 1966 ( first year for shovel ) for 20 years, Sturgis twice and many other trips plus daily use. It was a great bike and yes older machines need more adjustments on the road, chain etc but are just as modern as anything else being built at the time. I loved every minute of it.
I’m 66 I started on Rupp, rode Japanese for a few years and bought myself an Iron Head Sporty with the English style shifter, the bike was miserable and cantankerous, left it’s mark everywhere it went, things rattled off of it but you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face with a brick
I moved up to an 84 FXRP 1st year for a 5sp and rubber mount on the FX chassis and through natural progression I’m a Bagger now.
I want my cruise control, stereo, heated grips, ABS, Fuel Injection yeah she’s got a weight problem but bring it to the twisties and she’s as graceful as a ballerina
I see the kick starter. Did it have an electric start also?
Yep sure does. Hence the name Electra Glide. 1st electric start was ’65, the ’64’s were kick only, named Duo Glide for the front and rear shocks. From ’49 to ’57 were the Hydra Glides for the hydraulic front suspension. But all of the big twin touring bikes are Geezerglides because it’s usually old fat guys that ride them.
Everyone rides them now. They sell more touring bikes than any of the other models.
Of all you Harley lovers out there, who knows what year Harley commissioned Porsche Design to to upgrade their bikes? Thanks for the info, Ger
Harley commissioned Porsche Design to build the V-Rod motor. It was a very different design from the typical Harley.
Harley enlisted Porsche to aid them in adapting their VR1000 racing engine to work on the street, but it was a Harley engine and built in the USA.
I have owned many of these 60s shovels , great rides and in todays times a solid investment . Original paint and Harley orange puts this one over the top !
These are Harleys factory racing colors ! I believe this is called Jett fire orange
The guy selling this bike is top shelf ,very honest and knows his stuff !!!
That being said , no fear of any B/S . Rare today !
Caint loose on this one !
And now we know the rest of the story,,,
The original blunt instrument.
Man, that pizzes me off, I have to log in while making a comment, rendering the comment useless. Are you guys ever going to do anything about that? I’m paying for that inconvenience, btw.
Now, where was I? Oh yeah, it pains me deeply to hear the distain of our only motorcycle( Polaris/Indian,,meh) It is our greatest vehicle and I’m proud to say, made in my hometown. The shovelhead, like all HD motors, was a great motor. I thought ’69 was the 1st AMF, but was corrected on the Sporty post, apparently it was 1970, which makes this bike extremely rare. 1970 was the cusp of the “Asian Invasion”, and the poor Electra-Glide was horribly out of date. We rip on AMF, but if it wasn’t for them, we may have lost Harley altogether. AMFs were built by the same folks that made this, and they were very proud of their work. I know, I was there. I’ve ran the gamut on motorcycles, having several dozen, mostly Asian, and my favorite of all time, was my 1985 FXRT. While vintage Harleys will command these prices, because not many were sold, today deals on say 2000ish Harleys can be had all day. $5-7gs buys a nice HD, and like the author, I’m sorely tempted. Thanks for the bike posts. 2 wheels always generates interest with this here crowd,,
“Log in”?,,ARRRRRGGGHHH
I have bitched about “losing the page” after logging in for a good while now. This shouldn’t be a big deal with a capable web designer/programmer.
Even better would be if BF would recognize your computer (like Amazon and a jillion other sited do), and not require a manual log in.
BTW, to get around it after doing the login, I then open my emailer and click on the links. But if you close out the login page, you’ll again become anonymous.
The problem isn’t the site, it’s your browser. Check your settings. Are you deleting cookies every time you close the browser or rejecting them completely? They are currently set to last 15 days so you shouldn’t need to log in every time. We may extend that time frame but until you get your browser settings figured out, that wont really help you.
These days, “our” motorcycle has a lot of parts made in China, a country that doesn’t like us or what we stand for.
Mainly the electronics are from China or Mexico. Brakes may come from Europe, but still 70 – 80% of a new American made* Harley’s parts are made in the USA.
* Harley does manufacture bikes for other markets and they do not have the high American made content that our bikes have.
This is according to several articles aI found on-the-line.
Anyone who would diss a Shovel Head, has never ridden one, period. How can you comment on something you know nothing about? To all of you Hog Haters; a Toyota Tercel is NOT the ultimate motorized vehicle.
The best sounding Harleys were the Shovelhead with the Panhead close behind.
Like Howard, my home town is Milwaukee. Unlike Howard, I still live in Milwaukee (for now, anyhow).
I work at a Harley dealership too.
My 27 year old son, my 21 year old son, and about 25% of my customers are young people (some of my customers are women too) who are fit and healthy.
So the stereotype of Harley riders being fat old guys (like me lol) is a dying stereotype.
I am seeing an upswing of younger people buying these machines.
Oddly enough, most of the people buying the new Harley designed (PanAmerica) are old people who are looking for a lighter bike.
The featured bike is a beauty, but at the time it was made, it was modern.
Over the years someone customized it to look older, but it was a pretty current design for the time.
The author saying you can bolt a new engine in it (the Milwaukee eight) & have a bike just like what I see on the showroom floor is a bit off base. The new engine would never come close to fitting in this frame, although the sheet metal resembles this design to this day. The headligh nacelle is actually the same, even has the same part number. Everything else is different.
The seat is correct for the era, this is what they came with then. Now it has a retro look, but then it was modern.
That shovel head engine was only a handful of years old when this bike was built, so it would not look right in a 1930’s chassis lol, but a knucklehead from the 1940’s & a panhead from the 1950’s are both steel poetry.
I like this bike a lot. The orange and black paint would have to go if I owned it, but not a big deal.
Attached is a picture of the 2004 Road King I bought off Facebook a couple months ago for $5,000. There are still some bargains out there!
$5k is an excellent deal and too good to be true IMHO.
I remember looking at this model in the showroom and it sure as heck wasn’t going for $5k.
You stole it at $5k, frankly.
Nice buy.
Bob
Jesse Mortensen:
You said, “The problem isn’t the site, it’s your browser”.
Beg to differ with you, sir, but I suspect you’re not understanding the problem.
Situation: I’m reading email, and click on a picture. Now I’m reading the comments and want to leave one along with a picture. I realize that I’m not logged in (which is required to leave a picture). So I scroll to the top, hit log in, enter my credentials, and the screen refreshes, but now to a completely different page. I have to go back to the email, click on the page, and NOW I can enter a comment and a picture. Back to you……