1993-2000 Harley-Davidson MT350E

An unusual bike for the Harley brand, but this was back in its heyday when the Milwaukee company was booming and expanding in every direction. Over in Europe, the NATO countries had asked for a motorcycle to be used by the military, and the MT500 and MT350 were the result. These were rugged, rudimentary, dual-purpose motorcycles powered by Austrian-made Rotax engines in an Italian SWM frame, and put together with pieces from half-a-dozen members of the European Union. Armstrong-CCM Motorcycles in England built a number of these for use by troops in the 1982 Falklands War, and in 1987 sold the design and production rights to Harley-Davidson.

Apparently Harley thought it would be patriotic to produce this NATO-approved motorbike in the U.S., and since the company had recently gone public and its coffers were bulging, it could well afford this minor expenditure—though the figure that was paid to Armstrong appears to be top secret. At the Pennsylvania factory, a separate production line was set up after R&D spent a couple of years improving the 350 version, adding disc brakes and an electric starter, though the left-side kickstarter was maintained. Electrifying the 500 would have required major frame modifications, so that model was never produced.

CLICK HERE to read entire article