The 1948Harley - DavidsonWL bike , a perdurable street model that looked very similar to Harley ’s Big Twin flatheads of the era , was produced through 1951 .
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Harley - Davidson ’s first flathead V - twin appeared in 1929 as the Model D. Its 45 - cubic - inch engine was smaller than the company ’s existing 61- and 74 - cubic - column inch F - oral sex V - twins , which then became experience as " Big Twins . "
The latter switched to a flathead design the following class , but those larger railway locomotive were neither as reliable nor as long - lived as the understressed " Forty - five . "
Though the Forty - five was no powerhouse , it proved to be a versatile locomotive engine that remained in yield for more than four decades .
During that sentence it served duty not only in street motorcycle , but also in three - wheeled Servi - Cars ( 1933 - 1973 ) , military WLAs of the 1940s , and WR racing cycle of the forties and 1950s .
By 1948 , the Forty - five was powering a street example called the WL . It looked very alike to Harley ’s Big Twin flatheads of the era , the most obtrusive visual difference being that WLs had their drive chains on the right side of the cycle , while Big Twins had them on the left .
Though 1948 would show to be the final year for Big Twin flatheads , the WL lasted through 1951 , after which it was supercede by the K - series carrying a redesign 45 - cubic - inch flathead V - twin with unit mental synthesis ( motor and contagion in one grammatical case ) .
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1948 Harley-Davidson WL Pictures
Like its larger stable companion , the 45 - cubic - column inch 1948Harley - DavidsonWL motorcycle carried a armored combat vehicle - climb instrument dialog box . The WL street model also had its drive chains on the right side of the motorcycle , and its mitt - chemise / foot - clutcharrangement was reversed so that first gearing was closest to the passenger .
