On a solo ride into the hills to give the 2001 Sportster 883 a nice run out on a sometimes sunny day, I decided to pop in on Bill Grundy at the Trading Post. A chance to view again those fabulous customs he's responsible for and try to take a few photos of them, and the rare classics he has. As usual though the poor man was obviously snowed under, and apart from standing around like a prune long enough for him to spot me and give me his usual 'O'right kid!' I knew today, again like usual, I'd not get the chance to take many photos. C'est la vie!

All was not lost, the day was still sunny, I still had a 883 to evaluate/play with and besides, there was a rather nice lemon yellow unrestored 1968 XLCH 883 Sporty sat outside the shop I'd never seen before. It turned out to belong to a sound guy called Gordon, a Mancunian member of the Harley Riders Club of Great Britain with a biking heritage stretching back as least as far as the bike he'd ridden up here.

We met up again a few days later in Castlefield, Manchester near Bauer Milletts Harley-Davidson (but even nearer the White Lion). With him were his two of his mates, and fellow club members: Pete 'Leatherman', hand crafter of fine leather accessories and owner of a wonderfully well used, shabby and dead right 1975 FX 1200 Shovel and Shev aboard another sorted classic Sporty - a 1970 electric start XLH 883.

Any preconceptions I may have dragged along with me about sweet-natured enthusiasts gently looking after fragile museum pieces were rapidly trampled underfoot - and jumped up and down on until they stopped moving -as Gordon, Tony and Pete fired up and fucked off up the street like the Rockers they were, leaving me flailing pathetically behind on a woefully inadequate modern offering

Sitting down between photos we chatted, and then Tony Pete and me listened while Gordon let loose: not at all unusual, I was led to understand.

Arriving on that 'modern offering', a bright yellow 2001 XLH883, a terrific 'then-and-now' photo opportunity beckoned and afterward I was eager to hear how Gordon rated this 'new and improved' 883. He was neither kind nor indeed reticent about speaking his mind. To Gordon the earlier Sportsters almost glow with care and class. Hard wearing, quality materials were utilised, and the machines were designed and put together with an eye for detail and as well as anybody could be expected to do so given the era in which they came off of the line.

To his traditional eye, the modern 883 in comparison stood as a particularly blatant example of modern production line thinking, using the poorest and cheapest materials Harley could get away with: a nother cheap consumer leisure item among many more. In effect a mass-produced toy and one which Gordon would certainly not expect to be around in 33 years time.

Not too impressed then, I gathered, but his comments certainly offered me real food for thought. He hadn't told me anything I didn't already suspect deep down - it's just over the years, I'd rather conveniently forgotten. It is sometimes all to easy to, if not fully believe the hype, but at least go along with it for an easy life.

On the other hand, neither did or do I buy into some rose-tinted view of the past, where dedicated craftsmen worked carefully under benevolent management all pulling for the good of the 'product'. The laws of capital worked just as blindly then as they do now, if good materials were used, it's quite possible that they had to be because there was no other economical or political option. And certainly the sheer numbers of motorcycles being manufactured had an effect too. Harley-Davidson's output today would've been inconceivable and, to all intents and purposes, totally impossible in 1968.

Gordon's XLCH was first registered in Del Ray, California in 1968 by someone who really knew what they wanted and was prepared to spend a bit extra to get it. Over the standard 1968 spec the Sporty boasts a 'Primrose Yellow' colour option, which Gordon believes was available as a Harley-D extra for an extra $30, against the standard colours for that year of 'HiFi Red' over 'HiFi Blue'. Oh bugger, because Am-V's source claim that the 1968 XLCHs were all offered with black wrinkle centre tank panels with white strips either side together with Black, or Jet Fire Orange as standard colour ways and offered Sparkling Burgundy or Sparkling Blue as the options. Aargh.

Gordon also argues that the neat leather single saddle too was another option as Harley-Davidson had apparently stopped providing single seats in 1965. However the 'single seats' Sportsters bore between 1960 and 1965 were those horrible foam filled chunky semi-single saddles and his lovely leather item looks much more like the elegant items bolted to pre-1960 Sporties. Another option apparently - at least from our source, which derives from factory order blanks - is the very neat speedo/tacho kit offered as 'Deluxe Equipment' and which Gordon and Tony certainly had their differences over. And finally (I think) the Keeley-Hays alloy 'Clincher' rimmed wheels were another option, again apparently not being offered as standard Sportster equipment until 1970. All this means of course is … if there's anyone out there who can offer us the absolutely definitive answer to these colour conundrums and conjecture please get in touch and we'll sort it out. I also feel a Sportster retrospective coming on pretty soon, much like Andy's Dyna exercise. Still, back to the plot …

Imported in 1990 by 'a guy in Devon' who was eventually forced to sell it to a bike shop in Worcester, because 'his girlfriend didn't like the solo seat', which is one good reason Gordon told me he immediately wanted it.

Thankfully, apart from being well (and I mean well) looked after - look at the screw heads on the cases - the bike has remained virtually untouched. The Californian climate being gentle away from the coast the bike never needed a re-spray and so gathered that wonderful patina of use along the way. The top of the tank is nicely faded from sunshine, the marks and scratches are, in the most part, old and perfectly acceptable. Metal polish has never touched the casings, and never will if Gordon has his way - and quite right too.

To all those sceptics out there, Gordon swears by the XLCH's reliability, both he and Tony use their Sportsters hard and often. On a trip over to France last year Gordon's other bike, a pretty recent Buell, proved erm, unreliable. Rather than give up and arrive bikeless he got himself and it trailered home, grabbed the 33 year old Sporty and ragged it over to France to try and catch the pack up.

Tony's 1970 XLH883 boasts a few of the model year improvements that Harley were able to offer. As an XLH, it ran conventional points ignition - mounted in a distributor above the timing cover - in place of the XLCH's magento, and had been running an electric start for some years - in fact the kicker had been removed by 1968. It, too, sports a tacho along with the speedo in a single housing much like Gordon's XLCH, but whether that was an option or standard for a 1970 caused a right rumpus on the bench as I sat in the gravel with a camera in my hand.

Also standard fitting for this year are the set of Keeley-Hays alloy 'Clincher' rimmed wheels … probably.

Definitely non-standard modifications to an otherwise totally stock motorcycle are the Barnett levers and possibly more importantly the Barnett clutch plates.

The motorcycle stayed in the 'States until 1989 when it was bought by a guy called John Hassell and imported for 'pocket-money' - significantly just before it 'became fashionable' and everyone else started doing it. Brian, a lad from Flixton was the next owner before it passed into the hands of Gordon's boss and thence Tony. Again, like Gordon's XLCH, Tony's XLH bears very, very little sign of Muppet-like ham-fisted tampering, if any. Mercifully left more or less alone, it too is well used and has that authentic patina that 'Concours' restorers apparently attempt to completely irradicate as if ashamed of a machine's history.

Both Sportsters, 30 years on, are still ridden often and with complete confidence by a couple of guys who really know how to ride, are experienced and comfortable with what a modern rider would call 'dodgy brakes and tyres' and take no prisoners. As a result these Sportsters still do what they were originally designed to do: go hard and fast and ooze class doing it. If motorcycles could smile, this pair of old bastards would be grinning ear to ear.

Specifications
Make and Model:	1968 XLCH 883 Sportster
Owner:	Gordon
Engine:	Air-cooled 45° V-twin. Magento ignition
Modifications:	"Untouched" - P Cam, Fairbanks Morely Lifters
Displacement:	53ci (883cc)
Bore & Stroke:	76 x 97mm
Torque:	96.0 @ 3000rpm
Fuel System:	Single Tillotson
Exhaust System:	Staggered shorty duals
Primary Drive:	Triple-row (triplex) chain
Final Drive:	Chain
Brakes: Front: Rear:	Single leading shoe drum brake drum brake
Wheels:	Keeley-Hays 1970 Clincher rims - available from 1965 as an option, but 1970 models offered them as standard. Front 19inch, rear 18inch.
Instruments:	Mechanical Speedo with odometer, and Tacho

Specifications
Make and Model:	1970 XLH 883 Sportster
Owner:	Tony "Shev" Shevlin
Engine:	Air-cooled 45° V-twin.
Modifications:	Standard apart from Barnett clutch.
Displacement:	53ci (883cc)
Bore & Stroke:	76 x 97mm
Torque:	96.0 @ 3000rpm
Fuel System:	Single Tillotson
Exhaust System:	Staggered shorty duals
Fuel Capacity:	12.5 litres (includes reserve)
Primary Drive:	Triple-row (triplex) chain
Final Drive:	Chain
Brakes: Front: Rear:	Single leading shoe drum brake drum brake
Wheels:	Keeley-Hays 1970 Clincher rims - available from 1965 as an option, but 1970 models offered them as standard.
Instruments:	Mechanical Speedo with odometer, and Tacho

... but there's a post script which was wholly unexpected. Since shooting this feature Shev's sold the black XLH, replacing it with a 2001 Sportster Sport which, and I quote: "bloody pulls yer arms off, love it ...".

If you ever see a couple of Sportsters outside a pub - one old, one new - and you hear the sound of raised voices inside arguing the toss over the relative merits of tradition and evolution, nip in and give Gordon and Shev our regards. There is always that chance, of course, that Gordon's given the Buell a stay of execution, in which case keep an eye on your mirrors as you leave ... Andy