The 1948Harley - DavidsonFL motorcycle insert a number of changes to the Harley excogitation , updates that showed the company was n’t repose on its laurels .
At Harley - Davidson , changes come thick and fast in the postwar long time . The year 1948 saw the scuttle of a huge Modern locomotive engine production facility in Wauwatosa , Wisconsin , a few miles west of the Milwaukee facility .
But that year ’s biggest news – at least to fans of Greco-Roman motorcycles – came in the physical body of Harley ’s new FL framework with its " Panhead " V - Twin Falls .
Replacing both the 61 - cubic - inch overhead - valve Knucklehead and the 74 - cubic - inch flathead V - twins , the overhead - valve Panhead was available in the same two displacements and incorporated several melioration .
Beneath its roasting - pan - molded cradle cover ( from which it got its nickname ) dwell aluminum head that were light and supply better cooling than their mould - iron precursor . Hydrauliclifters reduce valve randomness and eliminated most accommodation , while an improved oil circulation organisation resulted in retentive engine life .
There were other changes as well . More chrome trimness pieces give the bikes a fancier expression , and a steering - brain ignition lock was added in case the additional photoflash attracted the unseasonable kind of attending .
A latex - filled saddle was optional , as were eight equipment parcel that allow buyers tailor an Florida to their own tastes .
evidently , these changes were appreciated by the motorcycling public , for Harley - Davidson sold a record 31,163 units in 1948 . But more big news was on the celestial horizon .
More pictures of the 1948 Harley - Davidson FL motorcycle are on the next Sir Frederick Handley Page .
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1948 Harley-Davidson FL Pictures
The 1948 Harley - Davidson FL motorcycle came outfit with serrate exhaust fumes pipage , a feature that would remain on Harley models until the seventies . The bike also feature a " tombstone " taillight .
