performer. "Until we had a good
long ride in the dirt with it," wrote
CN, "we would have guessed it
was too good of a streetbike to
be any use off-road." The SX 250
came to life quickly (though the
too-long kickstart lever, appar
-
ently sourced from a Sportster,
was an annoyance) and shifted
smoothly through its five gears.
Like every two-stroke, the little
Harley needed to get revved up,
and the test crew was happy to
oblige, getting into its "kick-in-
the-pants" range between 5000
and 5500 rpm.
Mind you, the Harley only put
out 23 horsepower, so the word
"kick" is relative to whatever else
turned us on in 1975. "Love Will
Keep Us Together" by the Cap
-
tain & Tennille was the number
one song of the year, and the
Ford Pinto was still a big seller,
indicators that most Americans
were satisfied with low-energy
entertainment and even lower-
energy performance.
The SX 250 didn't lose its
luster with the crew when the
road came to an end. Clocking in
at just 254 pounds wet accord
-
ing to the CN report, light for a
1970s two-stroke enduro, the
Harley was "a Hog that whips
through the turns and over the
bumps like a jackrabbit." Photos
show the Harley could pull its
weight uphill. "There is no moun
-
tain the SX can't climb as long
as she is on the pipe." Whoop-
de-doos were no problem. In the
turns, the crew recommended
that the pilot "massively shift
the rider's weight over the front
wheel" for better cornering. For
serious off-road work, the owner
was encouraged to remove the
battery, turn signals and other
street bits, all of which could
reduce the weight of the bike by
about 20 pounds.
The Aermacchi, er, Harley en
-
gineers didn't compromise when
it came to adding value to the
SX 250. Marzocchi forks were
industry-leading suspenders at
the time, and they were standard
equipment on this motorcycle.
No mixing oil and gas, as the
Harley used oil injection, smartly
located in the top frame tube.
There was a quick-change rear
hub, a fork lock and the cylinder
had a chrome bore. Not good
when it is time to bore that same
cylinder, but diamond-hard and
durable until that point.
The SX 250 carried a price tag
of $1130, and Harley-Davidson
dealers were plentiful in the
'70s. A good value for a fine
motorbike, but as the Motor
Company has learned (and has
been many times reminded), a
Harley-Davidson is a chromed-
up or blacked-out V-twin. End of
story. The Aermacchi connection
would only last a couple more
years before the plug was pulled.
Il Viaggio finito.
CN
VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P131
Subscribe to more than 60 years of Cycle News Archives issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives
(Left) Cycle News tested the Harley-
Davidson SX 250 enduro in 1975
and was surprisingly impressed.
(Right) The SX 250 produced only
23 horsepower but had several
other high points.
