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what did H-D produce for WWII? 45's and what else? what is XA or XLA? was there a big twin made for the military? how about in canada?
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After the attack on Pearl Harbor 12/7/41 HD went almost exclusively to military production with the WLA ( Army) WLN ( Navy) and the WLC ( Canada) I do not believe any Big Twins ( this would be the Knucklehead) were made for the military. HD also produced bikes for the Russian army). Permission from the US government was needed to purchase civilian bikes. Production #'s for the OHV Knuck were: 1942 1,743 units, 1943 203 units, 1944 535 units. They also produced the XA which was a shaft drive model meant for desert use although none were ever used in combat. -
To elaborate a little more, the XA was an opposed (BMW) style flathead twin. Around 2000 produced? I'm pretty sure I saw a pic of a knucklehead trike for military use but there seems to be no evidence that they were actually produced. I think Indian also toyed with a trike based on the chief, also not produced.Comment
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At least a few of the Knucklehead trikes were produced during the war era. The Wheels Through Time museum in Maggie Valey, NC has one.Comment
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isn't a UL a big twin? i know someone with a 45UL, but i guess that must be post-war.
where do you find the production numbers for all of the years that the comapny has been producing bikes?Comment
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The OHV models, Knuckle, Pan, Shovel heads are considered Big Twins. The production numbers came through research for a book I am writing.Comment
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just a quick note- all U,UL,UH,ULH,UA model motorcycles are also considered big twins they're 74"-80". the army had a UA military flathead (1940), & also there were some military knuckles also. as far as the XA's they made about a 1000 plus a lot of spares to build quite a few moreComment
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There were military knuckleheads. The ELC ( "C" meaning Canadian ) and the ELA, ("A" for American). Bruce Palmer and Peter Reeves could tell you all you would ever want to know about those bikes.Comment
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