Tony Long with his Harley Café Racer.
Bike: Harley-Davidson XLCR
Owner: Tony Long
Hometown: Woodland Hills, Calif.
Occupation: Owner of Iron Head Motors, an XLCR parts supply/restoration business.
Etc: Bought his first XLCR in 1979. Now owns three.
Tony Long readily admits to a love-hate relationship with the Harley-Davidson XLCR, but it's clear he leans more heavily toward the former than the latter. “The strength of the motorcycle is that no matter where you go on it, it draws a crowd,”' Long says. “But they're very, very difficult to ride for a long period of time. They vibrate so badly, they'll put your hands to sleep.”
Long knows plenty about the good and bad sides of the Harley Café Racer, having helped restore hundreds through his business, Iron Head Motors of Woodland Hills, Calif. He is president and co-founder of the XLCR Club, which aims to “assure a place in history for these unique motorcycles.”
“They came out of a place where nobody wanted them, but now they generate a lot of interest,'' Long says. “You've got an older crowd who recognize and realize the historical value in these motorcycles, then you've got a new crowd who see something so unique that it captures their imagination.”
Tony's love for the Harley-Davidson XLCR spans 26 years.
Motorcycle Classics
is America's premier magazine for collectors and enthusiasts, dreamers and restorers, newcomers and life long motorheads who love the sound and the beauty of classic bikes. Every issue delivers exciting and evocative articles and photographs of the most brilliant, unusual and popular motorcycles ever made!
