The first Shovelhead Electra Glide rolled out for 1966, and Elvis Presley bought one before the year even started. Sixty years later, a clean one parked on the grass at a car show still pulls a crowd. That’s the test we used for this list.
These eight V-twins are our picks, and the verdict is our opinion. We chose bikes that make people walk over from the car rows, whether for the chrome, the engineering or the story. The facts behind each one are sourced below.
1. 1966 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra Glide Shovelhead
The 1966 FLH introduced Harley’s new Shovelhead engine, with a more efficient combustion chamber. Riders named it after the shape of its cast-aluminum rocker covers. The 74-cubic-inch twin made about 60 hp at 5,400 rpm, roughly 10 percent more than the 1965 engine.
Harley built 5,625 Shovelhead FLHs in that first year, according to ScottyMoore.net. The list price was $1,610. On October 12, 1965, Elvis bought a Hi-Fi Blue and Birch White 1966 Shovelhead Electra Glide from Taylor Harley-Davidson in Memphis. In our view, that first-year Shovelhead Electra Glide is the one to bring to a show.
2. 1972–1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado
Moto Guzzi stroked its V-twin to 844 cc for the Eldorado, a 90-degree, pushrod engine with shaft drive. Importer Premier Motor Corporation aimed it straight at Harley’s police contracts. In fact, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol both bought Guzzis.
According to Rider, the Eldorado weighed under 600 pounds, against nearly 800 for a Harley FLH. It also cost about $2,000, compared with $2,500 for the Harley. Guzzi dropped it late in 1974 for the 850T. We think the sideways cylinders and wide fenders make it one of the best-looking bikes at any show.
3. 1981 Yamaha XV750 Virago
Yamaha built the first Virago around a 75-degree, 750 cc V-twin. That angle left room for the carburetors between the cylinders. The engine also served as a stressed part of a tubeless pressed-steel spine frame.
Cycle World tested one in 1981 at 498 pounds with half a tank. It ran the quarter-mile in 13.6 seconds and returned 53 mpg on the test loop. Meanwhile, a single horizontal rear shock hid under the seat, and the bike cost $2,998. Our take: an early Virago with its original spine frame looks cleaner than many of the cruisers that followed.
4. 1982 Hesketh V1000
Lord Hesketh had given James Hunt his Formula 1 debut in 1973. Later, he set out to revive British motorcycle building with a large touring twin. Weslake Research and Development supplied the engine, a 992 cc, air-cooled 90-degree V-twin.
Each cylinder had its own overhead camshaft and four valves, and the twin made 86 bhp, according to Silodrome. However, early bikes suffered gearbox and rear-cylinder problems. Fewer than 200 sold before the doors closed in 1984. As a result, we’d call a V1000 at a show a genuine event.
5. 1998 Aprilia RSV Mille
Aprilia’s first superbike used a 998 cc, liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin. A 60-degree twin normally shakes, so Aprilia added its AVDC twin countershaft system. Cycle World’s 1998 test found vibration “never intrusive” all the way to the 10,500 rpm redline.
The bike also had an aluminum frame, Brembo brakes and a pneumatic clutch that eased spring pressure off the throttle, as Cycle World reported. Visordown lists 128 claimed bhp and a 150-bike SP homologation run in 1998. In our opinion, an original triangular-headlight Mille draws more looks than most superbikes of its day.
6. 1998 Honda VTR1000F Super Hawk
Honda’s big V-twin sport bike displaced 996 cc. Instead of a single front radiator, it carried two side-mounted ones. The engine also served as a stressed member in a “pivotless” twin-spar frame.
Its 48 mm flat-slide CV carburetors were the largest ever used on a production motorcycle, according to Motorcycle.com. The expected U.S. retail price was about $8,900. Because those side radiators and huge carbs are right out in the open, we think a stock Super Hawk tells its own story at a show.
7. 1999 Suzuki SV650
Suzuki launched the SV650 in early 1999 with a 645 cc, liquid-cooled 90-degree V-twin. Each cylinder had four valves, and power was around 69 bhp at 9,000 rpm. An aluminum trellis frame followed the style of Suzuki’s TL1000S.
The naked bike weighed 165 kg dry, according to Classic Bike Hub. At launch it cost £4,274 on the road, while the half-faired SV650S cost £4,574. The writer even raced an SV650S in the MiniTwins series at Brands Hatch in 2004. In our view, a first-generation SV in stock trim shows how good a simple twin can look.
8. 2002 Harley-Davidson V-Rod
Harley developed the V-Rod’s engine with Porsche. The 60-degree, 1,131 cc twin brought water cooling and dual overhead cams to the Harley lineup for the first time. It made 115 hp and 74 lb-ft.
The bike also broke with tradition through aluminum body panels and a perimeter frame, according to RideApart. A drag-racing V-Rod Destroyer later ran a 6.991-second quarter-mile in 2007. By 2017 the engine had grown to 1,247 cc, and Harley dropped the V-Rod for 2018. Our take: its aluminum bodywork looks as unusual next to a row of Shovelheads today as it did in 2002.
The Shovelhead that opened this list ran from 1966 until 1984, when Harley replaced it with the Evolution engine, as Bike-urious notes. That long run is one reason so many turn up at shows today.
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