Of all the motorcycles Harley produced for the military, the Harley-Davidson WLA was by far the most common – though that doesn’t mean it’s easy to find nowadays. Based on the WL (W – a model line of bikes, L – high compression, A – Army), this bike helped create a dramatic rise in Harley’s popularity as surplus bikes were sold to civilians, many of whom were servicemen that had come back from the war and wanted a bike like the ones he rode or saw during wartime.
What can be confusing about these bikes is the VIN. No matter the year of production, any bike built after Pearl Harbor had a serial number starting with 42. I noted above that the “L” designation was Harley’s letter for “High” compression, though in reality the Army used a medium compression variant for higher reliability. Even then, what was medium compression 70 years ago is, as you’d expect, very low now – just 5:1. Because of this, you can actually run this bike on 74 octane. For more on the Harley-Davidson WLA, one of the best sources online is The Liberator.
This specific Harley-Davidson WLA has been professionally restored by WLA expert David Sarafan. The seller suggest it’s ready for a museum or parade duty, and it comes with the classy saddle bags.
Find this Harley-Davidson WLA for sale in Ojai, California with bidding up to $16,859.34 and the reserve not yet met