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Harley looks to past for Seventy-Two

MILWAUKEE, USA – The Harley-Davidson Seventy-Two is a nod to the past and how the custom culture of cruising street Route 72 continues to influence the bike maker’s work.

The Seventy-Two, with its candy red paint and narrow whitewall tyres with steel-laced chrome wheels, harks back to a period when motorcycles were long and lean although, with this new generation, Harley hopes to make a fresh statement – not just in California – but around the world.

Frank Savage, Harley-Davidson Manager of Industrial Design, said: “In creating the Seventy-Two, we were also inspired by the vibe of the early chopper era.

“Those bikes were colourful and chromed, but also narrow and stripped down to the essentials. You look at period examples and they are almost as simple as a bicycle. It’s a custom style that’s very particular to America and that California scene.”

VINTAGE SPARKLE

Harley-Davidson brings the sparkle back on the Seventy-Two with its Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint. Metal flake, an iconic design element of the ‘70s, appeared in everything from dune buggy gel coat to vinyl diner upholstery, and on custom motorcycles.

“The final touch to the Hard Candy Big Red Flake paint is a logo on the tank top and pinstripe scallop details on both fenders,” says Savage.

Harley-Davidson Seventy-Two

LONE RIDER: The compact Seventy-Two has a single seat to best show off its fancy brightwork.

“Each was originally created by hand, and we recreated that art in a decal for production, so they still have the appearance of hand-applied graphics in that they are not exactly perfect. The graphics are then covered with a final clear coat application.”

A solo seat leaves much of the chopped rear fender – and the rear tyre – exposed on the Seventy-Two. The powertrain is finished in Grey powdercoat with chrome covers and a new round air cleaner with a dished cover. A classic Sportster 7.9 litres “peanut” fuel tank adds a final period touch to the motorcycle.

Key features of the 2012 Harley-Davidson Seventy-Two™ include:

•    Air-cooled Evolution 1200cc V-Twin engine with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), rated at 96Nm peak torque at 3500rpm.
•    Ten-inch mini-ape handlebars mounted on a two-inch high riser.
•    Dished round air cleaner cover with center screw mount; eight-inch diameter.
•    Dual staggered exhaust with chrome mufflers.
•    Handlebar-mounted speedometer with chrome cup.
•    Chrome rear fender struts.
•    Chrome coil-over pre-load adjustable rear shocks.
•    Forward foot controls.
•    Colour choices include Hard Candy Big Red Flake with period pinstripe details on fenders and fuel tank, Denim Black, and Big Blue Pearl.

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