1927 Harley-Davidson 74ci Model JD Engine no. 27J6244

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company has never been one to take chances and throw wholly untested motorcycles into the market. Instead they have traditionally been a conservative company of careful evolution. The year 1925 stood as a breakthrough year as they left behind the loop frames that served them well since 1903, and brought many other modernizations to their family of motorcycles. The next few years saw only incremental improvements to their tried and true, inlet over exhaust, F-head engine configuration. Hailed as the most significant innovation for 1927, Harley-Davidson introduced a new distributor-less ignition system that used a circuit breaker. While one spark plug fired on compression, the second plug was also firing but during the exhaust stroke producing a "wasted spark". It remained a hallmark into the 1959 model year.

This 1927 Harley-Davidson JD features the robust 74 cubic inch V-twin signature engine with a 3-speed transmission, and has electric lights. Reconditioned from a very solid motorcycle, it is expertly finished in the owner's preference of Harley's new 1928 color scheme of Azure Blue. Restored by American Motorcycle Restoration of Missouri, the JD would make an excellent motorcycle to participate in vintage touring and occasional recreational use. The vendor reports that it will fire on the first kick, and that it is in excellent mechanical condition and ready to travel the roads again as it did 85 years ago. Any cosmetic improvements could be easily accomplished.