The Town & Country Collection Back in the late 1960s, things were looking pretty grim for Harley-Davidson. The decade had been a slog, with both British and upstart Japanese companies taking huge bites out of the company’s U.S. market share. Japanese bikes were cheap, cheerful, reliable and offered good performance for their price points. Britbikes were cool, fast and stylish—maybe not the most reliable, but they had panache. The brass at Juneau Avenue knew the company needed something fresh and exciting to capture young people, and they knew just the man for the job—Willie G. Davidson. The grandson of company co-founder William A. Davidson, Willie G. had toiled in the Harley-Davidson mines as a designer for most of the decade. In 1969, he was promoted to VP of styling, and was ready to take his family’s company into the future. At the time, custom motorcycle culture was on the rise and movies like “Easy Rider,” influenced by Southern California chopper culture, were in the zeitgeist. Wanting to get in on the custom trend and offer buyers a sort of “pre-customized” option, Willie G. concocted the legendary and rather controversial FX Super Glide. Revealed to the world in 1971, the Super Glide was, essentially, a stripped-down FL Big Twin with an XL Sportster front end. Slotting in between Harley-Davidson’s big and small bike lineups, the Super Glide was designed to be a cruiser-weight, custom-like bike with big power and more nimble handling. Its most eye-catching feature, however, was the fiberglass “boat tail” rear end. First offered as an option on the previous model year’s Sportsters, the boat tail was supposed to reference the cafe racers of yore. Sadly, it didn’t take. Harley-Davidson purists didn’t like the look, and actual sport riders scoffed at the bike’s agricultural powerplant, weak brakes and lackluster handling. By the end of ’72, the boat tail was gone, replaced by a more traditional-looking Super Glide. The model featured here is a 1972 FX Super Glide “Night Train” in glossy black livery with patriotic red, white and blue stripes. A very original machine, it’s powered by Harley-Davidson’s 74 CI Shovelhead V-twin. A 4-speed gearbox transfers power to the rear wheel via a chain final drive, and the big Shovelhead breathes in through a single carburetor and out through a stylish 2-into-1 exhaust. It’s kick start only—the FL’s electric starter was removed to save weight. A handsome and stylish classic, this bike will make an excellent addition to any Harley- Davidson collection. 1972 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FX SUPER GLIDE NIGHT TRAIN
