It has been confined for almost half a century (and it has not been due to a pandemic) this Harley-Davidson SX175. To tell the truth, it is from 1976, so they could have waited a couple more years to try to sell it. Perhaps the fact that it has 50 years of history would have helped its sale, right?
Ironies aside, we will never cease to be surprised when a rarity of this type appears, and the same question always comes to mind: why? What drives someone (or several people) to keep a motorcycle in its box for so long? Because in the case of this SX175 we do not believe that it was the idea of its revaluation.
Harley-Davidson SX175 from 1976: Almost 50 years without going out for a ride
To put the model in context, we have drawn on the wisdom of National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, the one that unfortunately closed permanently last summer. Among the frames exhibited in its facilities was, precisely, a SX175. It would probably be auctioned along with the rest of the motorcycles, as well as more than 6,000 thematic objects, a few weeks after the museum closed. A real shame.
In any case, and returning to this SX175, it was launched on the market in 1974 as a reaction to the successful Yamaha DT-1 of 1968. In those years the Yankee brand owned 50% of the shares of the Italian firm Aermacchi. The latter was entrusted with the design and manufacturing, with the idea of entering the segment of low-displacement Offroad frames.
However, somehow it was already late commercially speaking, even though it shared a component with its older sister, the SX250. Precisely in the year of this specific example, 1976, some relevant changes were made, such as including a two-seater seat. Previously, more focused on MX, it had a single-seater type seat.
Technically we are looking at a mount equipped with a single-cylinder engine of 174.1cc, air-cooled and fed by a 27mm Dell’Orto carburetor. This had a kick start and was associated with a 5-speed gearbox. It managed to offer a maximum power of 17 hp for a final weight of just 112 kilograms.
The chassis part was equipped with a double steel cradle chassis, 32 mm Marzocchi fork and a pair of lateral shock absorbers acting on the rear axle. For braking, two 140 mm drums were used fitted into 3.00 x 19 front and 3.50 x 18 tires. In short, a simple, versatile and efficient motorcycle when it came to enjoying Offroad.
The copy that brings us here today is for sale on the online portal Ebay. Specifically in Newark, New Jersey, with a starting price of 5,000 dollars and only 2 miles on your odometer. The seller himself comments that: “This is, I would bet, the only 1976 Harley-Davidson SX175 still in its original box.”. Of course there is a minimum reservation price and for more information you can consult directly here.
