MILWAUKEE (July 23, 2005) – Even 35 years after its introduction, the 1971 Harley-Davidson FX Super Glide remains one of the definitive motorcycles in Motor Company history. Distinguished by its long “boat tail” fiberglass rear fender section, the FX Super Glide combined the Big Twin FL chassis with a narrow XL Sportster fork to create an entirely new category of motorcycles:
The Super Glide was one of the first complete motorcycles styled by Harley-Davidson Senior Vice President and Chief Styling Officer Willie G. Davidson, who joined the Company as a designer in 1963. It was inspired in part by home-built custom bikes he had seen prowling the streets of Los Angeles.
The entire front end from an XL Sportster, including the narrow, 19-inch front wheel and small headlight, was grafted to the FL chassis with a 74-cubic inch displacement Shovelhead engine. This creation was capped with a long fiberglass rear fender holding a recessed tail light.
The tank sides featured a new, extended version of the Bar and Shield graphic. On the top of the tank was applied the red, white and blue “Number One” logo that would come to symbolize Harley-Davidson during the era.
Davidson had earlier designed the Number One logo for a poster celebrating a racing championship. “We had the dressed-out baggers, which had their own beauty,” Davidson recalls, “and there was the Sportster. Though these were significant models, there was a missing piece. I realized riders of the day had a growing desire for a factory custom.”
“The goal was to achieve a dragster look: big rear tire and big engine with a lighter, smaller-looking fork and front wheel assembly,” said Davidson. “It was extreme, and it was meant to be.”
The FX name was derived by using the first letter of FL and the first letter of XL, to symbolize the merging of components from the Big Twin and the Sportster, according to Harley-Davidson Archives Collections Manager Tom Bolfert. The name FX Super Glide also stood for “factory experimental,” though the model was intended to stay in the product line for some time.
“The 1971 FX was the seed for the entire FX line-up that today comprises a major portion of our overall volume,” Davidson said. The stylistic influence of the FX Super Glide was confirmed by its inclusion in 1998 in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum exhibit, “The Art of the Motorcycle.”
Here's the original again, but below Bob T. supplied us with actual ads and brochures from 1973. Note the fender change. That fender is very similar to today's dyna fender. Also note the first factory attempt at an actual Peanut or Mustang tank.
