’23 JDH Factory Racer Has $175,000 Price Tag

By Brett Foote - December 14, 2016

Legendary JDH Motorcycle is the Original Superbike and was Once Harley’s Most Expensive and Advanced Machine

The story of Harley-Davidson’s J Series motorcycles goes all the way back to 1915. With a sticker price of $310, the original J was the most expensive and most advanced motorcycle sold by H-D at the time. The first JD hit the market in 1920, featuring a larger, 74-cubic inch F-Head V-Twin.

But it was the JDH that has become a legendary motorcycle in Harley’s rich history. Arguably the very first superbike, the JDH was capable of an astounding (at the time) 85 miles per hour in stock trim, with 100 mph being a real possibility with the right tune.

In the 1920s, this was fast enough to blow away every other bike on the road, and most cars, too. Harley’s revolutionary twin cam design was a big part of the brand’s racing success in that era. However, the technology was not available to the general public until 1928.

If you wanted a twin cam JDH before that, you had to buy a factory racer. And even if you were lucky enough to get one, you still needed to have the funds for the purchase. To put the 1928 JDH sticker price of $335 in perspective, you could buy a Model A Ford that same year for $385.

All of these factors have contributed to the legend of the mighty JDH, as well as the price today. But the real catch is scoring a factory racer from this era, one like this stunning 1923 JDH. This particular bike was used as a hill climber in its glory days. It comes with a good bit of documentation to prove it.

While Harley didn’t release production figures for it’s two cammers, JDHs don’t exactly turn up for sale very often. The ones that do are often beat up. Also, oftentimes they have welded cases as a result of too many redline trips. It’s enough to justify the steep $175,000 price tag of this JDH, which is one of the nicest original superbikes you’ll ever see.