So, the other day, I got thinking about Harley-Davidson bikes. Someone, I think it was my neighbor’s kid, asked me if Harley made anything, you know, manageable. He’s not exactly tall, and let’s be honest, most Harleys look like they could anchor a ship.
That got me curious. I’ve been around bikes for years, mostly older Triumphs and BSAs back in the day, but Harleys always seemed like a different beast. Big, loud, heavy. So, what is the smallest thing they’ve put their name on recently? I decided to poke around a bit, just out of curiosity.
First thing I did was hop online. Typed in some stuff. You get bombarded with pictures of those classic big V-twins. Took some digging. I remembered hearing about some smaller bikes they aimed at new riders or maybe overseas markets a while back. Yeah, the ‘Street’ series. The 500 and the 750.
My Little Investigation
I actually went down to a dealership a town over. Not to buy, just to look. It’s always an experience walking in there. Everything’s so polished. Big bikes everywhere. Felt a bit out of place looking for the ‘small’ one.
- Walked around the floor.
- Saw mostly the big touring bikes and Softails.
- Asked a sales guy, felt kinda silly, “You got any of those little Street models left?”
He pointed me towards the used section. They had a Street 750 there. Looked okay. Definitely smaller than the others, lower seat. But you know, it still had that Harley feel. It wasn’t a tiny little thing like a Honda Rebel 250 or something. Still felt solid, substantial. Heavier than it looked.
Funny thing is, finding info felt harder than it should be. It reminded me of trying to find a specific bolt size for my old lawnmower last summer. Everyone at the hardware store just shrugged. Had to go to three different places before some old timer knew exactly what I needed and pulled it out of a dusty bin in the back. Sometimes the simple questions have complicated answers, or maybe people just aren’t interested if it’s not the main thing.
Seems like Harley stopped making those Street models for the US market anyway. So, finding the ‘smallest’ new Harley now? That’s a different question. Maybe those X440 or X350 things they launched in Asia? But you can’t just walk in and buy one here. It’s always something, isn’t it?
What’s the Point Then?
So, after all that looking around, the ‘smallest Harley’ isn’t quite as straightforward as you’d think. They did make smaller displacement bikes, the Street series, which were definitely more approachable. You can still find them used. But it wasn’t like they made a 125cc bike with a Harley badge on it, not really, unless you count some weird old stuff from way back when they owned Aermacchi.
End of the day, a Harley is still kinda gonna be a Harley, even the smaller ones. They have a certain presence. Small is relative, I guess. It was an interesting little rabbit hole to go down though. Made me appreciate the sheer variety of bikes out there.
