In the first half of June 2023, Wheels Through Time’s Matt Walksler started taking anyone viewing the museum’s YouTube channel into the heart of an extremely rare Harley-Davidson race bike. Now, those familiar with the museum might well ask the question, “what else is new?” This bike, though, is an excellent answer to the question “what’s rarer than rare?”
It’s a 1942 Harley-Davidson FLTT, with an ultra-rare 80 cubic inch racing engine that’s basically got every single trick that the factory mechanics of the time could throw at it. From ported cylinders, shortened pistons, polished connecting rods, and lightened flywheels, virtually everything that could be done was done to make this bike go faster according to what was known at the time. Reducing friction, shaving off incremental amounts of weight wherever possible, and strengthening parts under heavy stress were all in evidence inside these engine cases.
