Pepper Red was one of three new colors for 1961 on Harley’s unique scooter, and they all had contrasting Birch White, no matter if you chose this color, Strato Blue, or Granada Green. This 1961 Harley-Davidson Topper can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Van Wert, Ohio, and they’re asking $6,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Sam61 for the Topper tip!
We’ve seen Harley’s unique scooter, the Topper, nine times here on Barn Finds over the years, and oddly enough, I wrote up eight of those, plus this one. You could say that I’m a fan, even though I’ve never owned one. Yet. We all know that this isn’t a motorcycle that you’d take on the freeway, and yes, if you get hit by a Chevy Suburban, you won’t have to worry about too much after that.
I just wanted to get those things out of the way, as they almost always come up on posts showing small vehicles or motorcycles. Between 1960 and 1965, big, bruiser bike-builder Harley-Davidson offered the Topper, a kinder, gentler ride for some of its customers. Made of steel and fiberglass – the Topper, not the customers – these tiny tot two-wheelers are always interesting to see, and to think about the era when they were available. The Wild One hit the big screen almost a full decade previously, but the public still looked sideways at motorcyclists, in general.
Honda and other Japanese imports put an end to the stereotype of people on motorcycles being violent and randomly terrorizing towns, and Harley-Davidson thought they had a winner on its hands with the Topper. How could you not smile when you see mom, dad, sis, or junior riding around the neighborhood on one of these back in the 60s? It was Harley’s first scooter, but it was also their last one. Hagerty is at $6,300 for a #2 excellent-condition example, and this one looks really nice, being a former museum resident.
I’ve never owned a scooter, but this is what I would want. Cushman has several interesting models, but a Topper tops the bunch for me. The engine is a 164-cc two-stroke single with around 9 horsepower, backed by what should be a CVT, which Harley-Davidson referred to as a Scootaway Drive. The early ones were somewhat problematic due to heat issues, and mud and other junk would get into the drive system. A sealed system was introduced in 1961, but we don’t know what this one has. The seller says this one was in a museum and has recently been “recommissioned” and is fun to ride. I believe it, I’d love to have one. Have any of you owned a Harley? A Harley-Davidson Topper, that is…
A Topper? Well, after buying a Honda Spree for my 2nd boy then taking it back and using it as a commuter to get from the RV to the convenience store at the resort, I could ride one of these without having to wear a paper sack on my head. It would be quite a conversation piece.
I remember seeing these in the Harley shop years ago. Of course, back then, I saw HD golf carts there too. I was knee high to a grasshopper back then but I remember what I saw. Interesting that I saw golf carts outside of the shop but I never saw a scooter.
Lots of Vespas, and the Shriners rode Cushmans…
I remember blasting around the golf ⛳️ course on a Cushman geo. Lots of fun, we had an old 3 wheeler, and a real nice big, new, and expensive 4 wheel version. Cool thing about Cushmans they were manual transmission vehicles.
“You ride?” “Yeah, got me a Harley!” “Well then I guess we’ll see you at the local dealership and get you in the local chapter!” Hehehehe “Well, you didn’t ask me what kind of Harley I had..”
“ ..but the public still looked sideways at motorcyclists..” was the attitude received in my own personal encounter as an acne face teenage when I went to pick up a girl for a ride on my HONDA 50. Her dad met me at the front porch and snarled “Kathy doesn’t ride with scooter trash!” then stomped back in and slammed the door.
As we all know HD has tried the “smaller bike” approach so many times that it’s always old news even when it’s not, and the Topper here is a prime example. In practically every shop the sales staff hated them and tried to get a new rider to at least go with a Sportster as a beginner bike much to the chagrin of many.
Good to see a few of these survived and yes Scotty you’ve been a defender of these cool little dudes as long as I can remember.👍🏻
WHEEEEE, I remember as a kid in Milwaukee, the Shriners would ride these in death defying figure 8s, and whatnot, that we simply had to replicate in the alley on our bikes when we got home. Now that I think of it, it was pretty lame, but the Shriners do great things, and a mere “Cushman” was out of the question, it had to be a HD Topper. It was a genuine Harley, made at the original Juneau St. plant, even though it was as unconventional a Harley as we had ever seen. Okay for parades, or late at night, but a dud as far as sales, like the Aermacchis a bit later, it was a risky gamble with similar results. I read, these typically cost about $400 new, and only about 3,000 were sold, and only about 100 known today. One for the “SG” gallery, for sure.