Harley-Davidson Sportster

The Harley-Davidson Sportster is an American motorcycle model line built by Harley-Davidson, introduced in 1957 as a smaller, sportier alternative to the company's larger touring and cruiser models, built around a V-twin engine in a lighter, more compact frame intended to compete with faster British motorcycles then popular in the American market. Built continuously with periodic engine and chassis updates for well over six decades, making it one of the longest continuously produced motorcycle model lines in the world, the Sportster became a common entry point into the Harley-Davidson brand for new riders as well as a popular basis for custom motorcycle builds because of its simple, easily modified V-twin architecture. Its extended production run has made it one of the best documented and most recognizable American motorcycle lines of the postwar era.