Harley-Davidson Model XA

Picture it. United States of America. 1941. The Japanese Imperial Navy strikes a blow at the heart of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and plunges an otherwise neutral country into the depths of war. WWII has already been going on since September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. In the years between 1939 and 1941, Hitler's army amassed several strongholds in its quest to conquer Europe and the world. They were virtually everywhere included North Africa.

This is where Harley-Davidson comes in. The Motor Company was already making their 45 cubic inch solo into a version the Army could use. They called it the WLA. But, the Army needed a motorcycle that would be able to withstand desert heat and not have their chains break in sand. So, they sent out bids to Harley-Davidson and Indian to devise a shaft driven machine capable of taking on the formidable Afrika Korps under the command of General Erwin Rommel.

On Feburary 17, 1941, Walter Davidson, William S. Harley and William H. Davidson went to Washington with their proposal. What they submitted was a basic copy of the BMW that they called the XA.

The XA was a copy of the BMW 45 ci (750 cc) side-valve. It is an opposed twin engine known as a "boxer". It had a square bore-to-stroke ratio at 3-1/16 in. The valves camshaft was a single variety mounted along the top the crankcase. Nearly perfect mechanical balance was achieve by each set of pistons and connecting rods firing opposite of the set.

So, the Army commissioned over 1,000 XAs to be built and delivered by July 1942. Testing was successful and the Army bought them. But they were relegated to MP duty at three bases in the continental United States. Some XAs were used as honor guard escorts such as when President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Some were sold to the Canadian government.

After the war, the Army disposed of the XA as surplus. Most only had 10,000 to 15,000 miles on their odometers.

Today it is estimated that about 300 survived the wrecks, fires and scrap heaps of time. And of those survivors, only a handful still run and are ridden today. Some are in museums around the world. Others in private collections. Perhaps others are yet to be discovered, tucked away in a forgotten barn or unclaimed storage shed.

Do you know where an XA is? If so, let us know.