Q
uickshifting, ABS, GPS,
launch control, maps and
modes, lean angle sen
-
sors, etc. If you think that the
lineup of motorcycles available
today is too busy with all their
gizmos and wizardry, then turn
back the clock to revisit the days
of simpler two-wheelers. Could
we interest you in an air-cooled,
four-stroke single with tele
-
scopic forks, drum brakes and a
kickstart lever?
Such a machine was the 1973
Harley-Davidson SX 350 Sprint.
A quick once-over on this Italian-
made H-D reveals that there
is not a whole lot in the way
of high-tech—wait! There is an
electric starter on the little four-
banger! Punch it, and the little
Harley comes to life!
And that's when the trouble
began. Cycle News tested the
little thumper in its April 3 issue
of 1973, the same year that The
Edgar Winter Group gave us the
rock classic "Frankenstein" and
the top-grossing movie was The
Exorcist. Unfortunately, not even
a fully ordained man of the cloth
could've chased the demons
from this H-D thumper.
Motorcycle magazine tests
of the 1970s were often mean,
abrasive, and unforgiving, often
to the point of ridicule. Staffers
weren't in the game for the love
of money or fame; they were
motorcyclists first, journalists
second and they didn't suffer
poor motorcycles. To be fair to
the Motor Company, very few
bikes met the high standards
of magazine testers, though it
isn't exactly clear what those
standards were because nearly
all motorcycles of this era were
found to be lacking in some (or
many areas). Weak brakes, ex
-
cessive weight, and not enough
power (or perhaps too much of
the wrong kind of power) were
common themes in these road
tests.
So, Harley-Davidson shouldn't
have been waiting for a glowing
review of any of its motorcycles.
But after reading what CN tes
-
ters had to say about the SX 350,
they were likely wishing that they
had never even returned editor
Art Friedman's phone call.
How bad could it be? "Dis
-
comfort," "evil-handling," and "far
too heavy" are just a few of the
CNIIARCHIVES
P108
BY KENT TAYLOR
HARLEY-DAVIDSON SX 350
How bad could it be?
The Harley-
Davidson SX 350
wasn't one of the
company's finest
moments.
