For auction: *NEW* 1978 75th anniversary XLH

First Harley I ever rode on a test day at Motorcycle City over at Farnborough. A 100 mile ride on a 19S Norton 600cc single and well worth it. Bev and I both loved it and nearly signed up for 3 grands worth of HP on the spot. We didn't in the end and it took a couple of years before getting the 1980 XLH we still have and still love.

I think that the original 1980 warranty was a whole 6 months, fortunately we never needed it.
 
Skip said:
T'would be a pretty pairing with your Sturgis certainly. (y)
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Exactly. I have always kept an eye out for one of these........I think they are the nicest Sportster ever made. If this was in Australia, I would be bidding. Though in all honesty, I need another bike like a hole in the head, I have a 1968 Buick to get back on the road

I must be a sucker for black and gold.
 
If it sells for £7k by the time you get it here with all commissions, shipping and import taxes it will double to £14k, which I suppose is still cheap for a new bike, and it will need money spending on re commissioning. Unless you just want to look at it.
 
Shown before, this is a '78XLH with real gold highlights at our first Brighton Super Rally (1979) owned by someones American wife who liked to say "some women wear jewellery, I like to ride it".....

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...by the way, the crated bike - that is dollars, not (as your favourite TV presenter says!) "your finest British pounds"....

(quite a special year in some ways - the last drum brake V-twin Harley, the first twin disc Sportie, the last year of the old K-series frame)

(in my photo, that is owner with white collar, husbie next to her and a 22-yr old me in badged denim jacket)
 
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Raised White Letter Tyres will probably never go completely out of the Zone of Cool ... if they do go out of style from time-to-time....
 
Skip said:
Raised White Letter Tyres will probably never go completely out of the Zone of Cool ... if they do go out of style from time-to-time....
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Used to do that on my new Honda CB72 in '64. Black the tyre sidewalls with boot polish, then pick the letters out in white. Never done it since. Tyre paint might have been a better choice, but boot polish I already had.
Burt Munro did the same with boot polish to hide the cracks in his tyres prior to his speed record at Bonneville salt flats. Long live crazy men!
 
I guess it would be double that by the time it was on the road over here, depending how they tax it coming into the UK. Would it be imported as a new bike or second hand? If it had not been on the road in the USA would it have a valid title for importing and getting a UK registration or would it need to pass a current SVA test and certificate of conformity as a new vehicle?
 
nealebms said:
I guess it would be double that by the time it was on the road over here, depending how they tax it coming into the UK. Would it be imported as a new bike or second hand? If it had not been on the road in the USA would it have a valid title for importing and getting a UK registration or would it need to pass a current SVA test and certificate of conformity as a new vehicle?
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Tax on something that old is only 5 per cent if I remember correctly; unless that's changed since Brexit.

It wouldn't need SVA due to its age.
 
That's an interesting comment, and I'm relating it to the cost at £240 for a pair of possibly 42yr old leather panniers, which have attracted a Customs duty of £35.02p, plus an import VAT of £57.03p, total (without £120 P&P) of £92.05p

£240 x 5% = £12. Which coincidentally was the 'Clearance fee' shown in the Parcelforce invoice.
£240 x 14.6% = £35.04
£240 x 23.7% = £56.88

Customs duty plus Import VAT amounts to just over 38%.

Apply 38% to £8,000 is £3,040 + = £11,040. And who's to say what HM C&E would choose to value it at?

Just checked. 5% is charged on goods into the UK from the EU.
"Gifts" from the USA valued between £135 - £630 2.5%.
wise.com

Import Duty from USA to the UK: How to calculate import tax

Import duty tax rates from USA. Importing goods from USA to the UK? Know how much you might have to pay for custom charges.
wise.com wise.com

It's a rats nest.
 
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