Lot 265: 1959 Harley-Davidson 74ci FL Duo Glide

By the late 1940s the ‘Knucklehead’ - Harley-Davidson’s first overhead-valve twin-cylinder roadster - was beginning to show its age, prompting the Milwaukee firm to engage in a wholesale revision of the engine for 1948, the new top end giving rise to the unofficial nickname ‘Panhead’. While the engine’s bottom end remained fundamentally unchanged, the top end gained aluminium cylinder heads and those distinctive pan-shaped rocker covers. Oil lines were internalised and hydraulic valve lifters adopted, an innovation that greatly reduced tappet noise and simplified maintenance. Maximum power went up to 50bhp in the 74ci FL model, but the main advantage of the many improvements was greater reliability, a factor that could only extend the Harley’s appeal.
The Panhead featured a new ‘wishbone’ frame incorporating bowed front down-tubes, and in 1949 gained an hydraulically damped telescopic front fork, becoming the ‘Hydra-Glide’, though this name was originally applied only to the fork and did not become an official model title until 1952. Harley’s big news for ’55 was the introduction of a new high-performance FL variant denoted, as usual, by an ‘H’ suffix. For the FLH, the Panhead motor was redesigned around stronger cases, producing 60 horsepower thanks, mainly, to a hike in compression ratio. The advent of rear suspension in 1958 saw the Panhead renamed ‘Duo Glide’, while with the addition of an electric starter in 1965 it became the immortal ‘Electra Glide’.

The present owner purchased this Duo Glide at the Stafford motorcycle auction in April 1990. In June 2001 the machine was treated to a complete ‘last nut and bolt’ restoration by The Milwaukee Motorcycle Company, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent at a total cost of £18,000 (bills and photographs available), the present colour scheme of red and white being adopted at that time. Very rare, the ‘angel bags’ are an original feature, while sensible modern upgrades include 12-volt electrics and electronic ignition, making the bike easier to start and more usable in modern traffic. The ’Glide has been preserved in a heated garage since restoration and thus the post-rebuild mileage is negligible. Described as ‘ready to go’, the machine is offered with current MoT, Swansea V5 registration document and VMCC dating letter.