IN THE 1960S, HARLEY-DAVIDSON OWNED HALF OF Aermacchi, Italian maker of small and medium-sized bikes. And Harley wanted a scaled-down Sportster to sell in the USA. This is what the Italians delivered: the Aermacchi Harley-Davidson Sprint 350SS, a blend of late-1960s American cool and Italian flair.
The look is pure Americana. The petrol tank apes Harley’s Sportster and originally would have come in striking shades – Radiant Blue, Midnight Black or Candy Orange, the same as the big Harleys of the day. There’s Harley-style matt black on the fittings and a tiny Sportster headlight. Hardly a touch of vibration from the 350cc single gets through the official Harley ‘Coke bottle’ handlebar grips, and there are H-D levers, switchgear and throttle. It is a single, but has two silencers for visual balance, and would originally have had polished cases and plentiful Harley-Davidson branded footrests and other rubber parts. But apart from that, the Aermacchi is European at heart. There is a Dell’Orto 27mm carb sitting at an angle to the cylinder head, running down into the almost horizontal cylinder, with a tall air filter sticking into a cavity in the bottom of the petrol tank. The ignition switch is from a Fiat 600 and the electrics are CEV and Bosch. The instruments are Veglia. There is almost nothing to the frame. One large tube forms a spine back from the steering head to just above the swingarm pivot and the engine hangs off it, so it’s easy to work on everything. The seat is mounted on the mudguard, which forms the rear subframe. It has a generator, a regulator, and
