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Im trying to find information on a 1959 Harley Sportster . The plate on the engine and the registration says 59XLH1143 which is only nine numbers can not find any thing on the net as of this date
I know that older vehicles didnt always have the 17 character VIN. I don’t recall what year they started using them. The same could apply to Harley. I also know that Harley’s have a VIN on the frame and an engine S/N.
has been the subject of continuous product development and improvement for 57 years. Indeed, that makes it one of the longest continuously produced motorcycle models in the world.Only 1,983 Sportsters — model designation XL — were built in that first full year of production,(1957) but the improved performance the OHV engine offered over the side valve flathead KH meant the midsize bikes in the range would soon all be Sportsters—by 1958, the KH, KHK and KHR were gone.
In 1958, the standard XL was joined in the product line by the XLH, XLC and XLCH models with a higher compression ratio—(9:1) the XLC being a racing version and the XLCH the off-road version. By 1959, the XLCH became the fully equipped street-legal hot-rod and the XLH came equipped with high lift intake cams.
Yours is 1143 off the line in 1959 in Milwaukee.
Still confused?
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