A Motorbike Made for War
H-D's past of offering the US military with motorcycles stretches straight to The First World War. The motorcycles that have made up the majority of the armed services inventory have usually been private bikes that have been redesigned for hardy use. World War I watched the utilization of the Harley-Davidson JD, most equipped with side-cars for personnel utilization or gun platforms for enemy engagement.
The Second World War saw the prevalent use of the H-D 45" flathead, although the well known XA model type made short appearances in the scene. Vietnam-era bikes listed Sportsters and full dressers used by military police for patrolling and escort tasks. Fast-forward to the late 80s when the military service needed a hybrid-kind motorcycle that's all-around to be utilized on different terrains. Say hello to the MT 500, today's bike feature.
First put together by SWM of Italy during the start of the 1980s, the bike experienced some success in trail bike racing, receiving some awards and championships in the course of its brief production under that nameplate and endorsed under the model type XN Tornado. Sometime around 84', SWM had gone down, and the manufacturing rights were acquired by CCM Armstrong Motorcycles of Bolton, Lancashire, England. Sometime in the mid-80's this corporation produced the Armstrong MT 500 and the MT 350 and offered somewhere north of 2,000 units to the British military service, Canadian military service, and Jordanian armies.
H-D bought the rights to the machine as well as its manufacture from Armstrong in the later 1980s and commenced making them during the early 1990's. Harley-Davidson produced the bikes in restricted numbers up through 2000, in fact it is said about 2,250 machines were made. In line with Nick Rymond, a noted specialist on this model and owner of Force Motorcycles, an outfit in England who specializes in these and other ex-police machines, Harley engineered the motorcycles in batches on an "as needed" basis. Nick guesses that close to 1,700 units were MT 350s built.
Everything that made these bikes so eye-catching for Harley-Davidson was the Rotax motor unit. These 1 cylinder, four-stroke, overhead-cam machines were believed to be bullet resistant, and many US racers were making use of the Rotax engine for dirt track racing during those times. The motor engines were produced by Bombardier in its Austrian factory and mated with the frame in the York, Pennsylvania, plant as outlined by the info from the Harley-Davidson Museum.
These bikes are with a rating of 32 horse power, and weighing only 380 lbs, can perform a max speed of 90 miles-per-hour with a driver. A Mikuni carburetor feeds the gasoline and a 5-speed transmission puts the action to the streets. The steel-boxed frame provides oil within the tubing, plus the swing-arm rear utilizes twin shocks and an 18" back rim with disc brakes, while upfront the telescopic front forks features a 21" wheel with a disc brake. The ground clearance is 8.6inches, adequate to clear the toughest of ground. The gas tank holds 2.85 gallons of gasoline, and the motorcycle runs a 12-volt electric system.
It seems forces specs have revised after some time, and the thought ended up being to go on to a one-army, one-fuel philosophy, with diesel the fuel of choice. And so, the MT 500 faded into history.
The featured Harley-Davidson is owned by Davey Katz of Connecticut, who got it in a trade with Bridgeport Harley-Davidson for audio visual projects he did for the store in its Hog Room.
The Second World War saw the prevalent use of the H-D 45" flathead, although the well known XA model type made short appearances in the scene. Vietnam-era bikes listed Sportsters and full dressers used by military police for patrolling and escort tasks. Fast-forward to the late 80s when the military service needed a hybrid-kind motorcycle that's all-around to be utilized on different terrains. Say hello to the MT 500, today's bike feature.
First put together by SWM of Italy during the start of the 1980s, the bike experienced some success in trail bike racing, receiving some awards and championships in the course of its brief production under that nameplate and endorsed under the model type XN Tornado. Sometime around 84', SWM had gone down, and the manufacturing rights were acquired by CCM Armstrong Motorcycles of Bolton, Lancashire, England. Sometime in the mid-80's this corporation produced the Armstrong MT 500 and the MT 350 and offered somewhere north of 2,000 units to the British military service, Canadian military service, and Jordanian armies.
H-D bought the rights to the machine as well as its manufacture from Armstrong in the later 1980s and commenced making them during the early 1990's. Harley-Davidson produced the bikes in restricted numbers up through 2000, in fact it is said about 2,250 machines were made. In line with Nick Rymond, a noted specialist on this model and owner of Force Motorcycles, an outfit in England who specializes in these and other ex-police machines, Harley engineered the motorcycles in batches on an "as needed" basis. Nick guesses that close to 1,700 units were MT 350s built.
Everything that made these bikes so eye-catching for Harley-Davidson was the Rotax motor unit. These 1 cylinder, four-stroke, overhead-cam machines were believed to be bullet resistant, and many US racers were making use of the Rotax engine for dirt track racing during those times. The motor engines were produced by Bombardier in its Austrian factory and mated with the frame in the York, Pennsylvania, plant as outlined by the info from the Harley-Davidson Museum.
These bikes are with a rating of 32 horse power, and weighing only 380 lbs, can perform a max speed of 90 miles-per-hour with a driver. A Mikuni carburetor feeds the gasoline and a 5-speed transmission puts the action to the streets. The steel-boxed frame provides oil within the tubing, plus the swing-arm rear utilizes twin shocks and an 18" back rim with disc brakes, while upfront the telescopic front forks features a 21" wheel with a disc brake. The ground clearance is 8.6inches, adequate to clear the toughest of ground. The gas tank holds 2.85 gallons of gasoline, and the motorcycle runs a 12-volt electric system.
It seems forces specs have revised after some time, and the thought ended up being to go on to a one-army, one-fuel philosophy, with diesel the fuel of choice. And so, the MT 500 faded into history.
The featured Harley-Davidson is owned by Davey Katz of Connecticut, who got it in a trade with Bridgeport Harley-Davidson for audio visual projects he did for the store in its Hog Room.