9 Patriotic Harley Paint Jobs
Harley-Davidson is as American as baseball, apple pie, and the bald eagle, so it stands to reason it would look good wrapped in the stars and stripes. Obviously, this sort of paint job didn't start with Easy Rider, but it certainly took afterwards.
1. Easy Rider's Captain America
The movie Easy Rider changed a lot of things in the film and motorcycle culture, introducing bikers as protagonist and proving an independent film could make as much money as a Hollywood production. The stars of that movie are the bikes as much as they are Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper who rode them, and Cliff Vaughs' Captain America bike became the template every chopper builder followed for years. Even for guys who weren't building a custom long bike, or riding an American Harley, the stars and stripes tank was inspiration. It popped up on mopeds, Hondas, BMWs, and minibikes, not to mention bicycles. Pictured (clockwise from upper left) are the movie bike, a recreation, the supposed movie bike sold at action several years ago, and the authorized modern tribute.
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2. All American Sportster
This is just a random picture found online, but it just screams America, doesn't it? This image should be on the back of the $100 bill. A man, his Sportster, and his redheaded roller girl, ready to rock and roll.
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3. 1970's Stars and Stripes Chopper
This chopper, which looks to be a Shovelhead, has all the details to suggest it was built in the late 1960's or early 1970's. Could it predate Easy Rider? There really is no way to tell. It features a larger tank, with a slightly different pattern of stars, plus a springer as opposed to a hydraulic fork, a 2-into-1 exhaust, and a moped front brake hub. In a lot of ways it is a better bike than the Captain America chopper, and not just because of the models on it.
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4. The Original 1971 Super Glide
There is a lot to like about the original 1971 Super Glide, despite the oddball boat tail. Part of the draw is the factory applied white paint with red and blue accents. There could be no better color scheme for this most American of American motorcycles, with its best of all parts, mix and match, hot rod, construction from the factory.
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5. 2006 Super Glide 35th Anniversary Edition
If you love the style and paint scheme on the 1971 Super Glide, but prefer modern brakes and a twin cam motor, the 2006 Super Glide 35th anniversary edition is the bike for you. They built a new stripped down Super Glide, based on the excellent Dyna chassis, with the modern twin cam 88 and disc brakes, and got rid of the ugly boat tail rear fender. The accurate throwback paint job will have people doing a double take when you ride by.
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6. WKQX Q101.1 Chicago Custom Choppers Free Speech Bike
It seems odd that more about this bike is not available online, but it appears to be a promotional theme chopper, built by Chicago Custom Choppers for Q101.1 WKQX in 2004. The whole bike is in red, white and blue, with the 1st amendment set into the tank on a plaque, and the Bill of Rights painted across the fat rear fender. It is hard to tell if it is still for sale at Gateway Classic Cars, but the listing is here with more pictures.
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7. American V-Rod
The Harley-Davidson V-Rod has been a bit of a sales flop; it just does not command the attention like the classic air cooled bikes. This example, with the blue leather, star spangled seat, and full american flag airbrushed body work certainly does the job though. This bike is so well done it looks as if Wonder Woman or Captain America rode it right out of the comic book pages.
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8. America Overload
This touring bike and sidecar rig has plenty of room to display old glory. The paint work splashes across the fairing, fenders, tank and sidecar, and looks great everywhere. The airbrush artist was so good, there are even folds of the flag fabric painted into the body work as it is actually draped in it.
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9. Boss Hoss Trike
The only way to get more American than the stars and stripes sidecar is with this trike, which is technically not a Harley-Davidson, but who cares. The V8 powered Boss Hoss bikes and trikes are as American as it gets, and if you don't agree, you should just go back to Canada.
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