I posted this information is another Forum, but I thought some of you that might now venture out of the Sportster Forum might also find it interesting..

It's a part of Harley's history that many (especially those new to the Harley community) never hear much about, and I reading about these small 'dirt bike' type motorcycles Harley produced....

Small Harleys - Hummers and Aermacchis



[/align]Aermacchi-built AMF H-D single-cylinder bike[/align][/align][/align]
See also: Harley-Davidson Hummer
See also: Harley-Davidson Topper
As part of war reparations, Harley-Davidson acquired the design of a small German motorcycle, the DKW RT125 which they adapted, manufactured, and sold from 1947 to 1966. Various models were made, including the Hummer from 1955 to 1959, but they are all colloquially referred to as "Hummers" at present. BSA in the United Kingdom took the same design as the foundation of their BSA Bantam.

In 1960, Harley-Davidson consolidated the Model 165 and Hummer lines into the Super-10, introduced the Topper scooter, and bought fifty percent of Aeronautica Macchi's motorcycle division.[10] Importation of Aermacchi's 250 cc horizontal single began the following year. The bike bore Harley-Davidson badges and was marketed as the Harley-Davidson Sprint.[11][12]

After the Pacer and Scat models were discontinued at the end of 1965, the Bobcat became the last of Harley-Davidson's American-made two-stroke motorcycles. The Bobcat was manufactured only in the 1966 model year.[13]

Harley-Davidson's entry in the lightweight two-stroke market for 1967 was the M-65, built by Aermacchi and offered in base form with a normal tank and as the M-65S with a smaller peanut tank.
The company re-entered the 125 cc two-stroke market in 1968 with the introduction of the Aermacchi-built Rapido, a 125 cc bike to replace the American-made 2-stroke bikes.[14]

The engine of the Sprint was increased to 350 cc in 1969 and would remain that size until 1974, when it was replaced by the 250 cc two-stroke SX.[15]

Harley-Davidson purchased full control of Aermacchi's motorcycle production in 1974 and continued making two-stroke motorcycles there until 1978, when they sold the facility to [URL=http://en.wikipedia.

 

Thanks for this man. Very interesting. I'd ride one.

 

My dad talks often of the 250 Harley he had when he was younger. Not sure the exact model.

 

Interesting.

 

I had the 125 back in 75....it sucked.....it was ugly, unreliable and underpoweredbut I was dirt poor, my wife was pregnantand I needed a cheap ride to work so I traded it for a 750-4 Honda and all was good!

 

whe i was 13 my dad bought me a harley sx125 two stroke. it was on/off road but man did it blow in the dirt, no power at all. it had high and low range sprockets on the rear wheel. ran good but no *****. it was blue and had "MADE IN ITALY" stamped all over it. i remember the points would get dirty if you ran the bike in dusty conditions. i pushed that thing home several times....i sold it for 350 bucks . and the guy that bought it sold it for 2500. go figure, the bike barley had enough power to take off in 1st gear. by the time you hit 4th it would slow down and loose power till you down shifted to 3rd. in a way i wish i still had it. precision harley in pawtucket still has one in the ware house ...still on the shipping pallet.