Harley-Davidson has been a mainstay in the motorcycle world for decades, and although they have endured several ups and downs throughout their history, they have earned the right to be the brand most closely associated with America.
Today, there are several new players rising up and a few old ones making a comeback, so it is no longer a choice between a Harley and a Harley for consumers. The end user is reaping the benefits from this new level of competition, with all manufacturers, including Harley, coming out with some exceptional new bikes.
In the same breath, there have also been some incredible US made bikes throughout history, some of which even helped win a war.
10 Indian Scout
Up until Polaris revived the old brand, the old Scout was widely regarded as the best ever Indian motorcycle.
It was right at the bleeding edge of motorcycle engineering back then, and their powerful large displacement V-twin engines forced Harley-Davidson to innovate and eventually dominate the V-twin landscape.
9 Harley-Davidson Sportster Iron 883
If any motorcycle sums up Harley-Davidson, it has to be the Sportster. It has shared all the ups and downs with the company, from coming within a whisker of bankruptcy in the 70s to the success of today, the trajectory of the Sportster has been much the same.
Some models are awful, some forgettable, and others incredible. The latest Iron 883 model is arguably one of their best motorcycles, it is able to capture the very essence of what a Harley is and still deliver respectable performance and reliability.
8 Lightning LS-218
The motorcycle world is changing, and electric motorcycles are going to be a big part of the future. One of the most futuristic is the LS-218.
It seemingly came out of nowhere, blitzing all competitors with a sensational top speed of 218mph (hence the name). It is still very expensive and hasn’t got the best range, but that speed…
7 Indian FTR
Since Polaris took over, the brand has just gone from strength to strength. The bikes they make today aren't just a fantastic tribute to the coveted brand, they are actually better than anything that was made before.
The FTR is objectively speaking one of the best looking bikes made in the US at the moment, it has the performance to back up those aggressive looks and a price that is more than just a little competitive.
6 Alta Motors Redshift MXR
In all honesty, what could have been. It has proven very difficult to adapt EV technology to motorcycles, especially dirt bikes, but by all accounts Alta had cracked the code.
Unfortunately for them, they got a little too good and were perceived as a threat, and subsequently got bought out. It is a crying shame that the technology they developed has not made it back to the market, we can only hope to see it once again some day soon.
5 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special
While they might have played the part of the bad guy in the Alta saga, they are very much the underdog in the world of big bore Adventure bikes.
That is what makes their first entry so surprising, nobody expected them to beat BMW at their own game, but here we sit with a Harley that packs just as much modern tech as any of its rivals and is stealing their sales on the global stage.
4 Buell 1190 SX
Everyone had given up on Buell, yet here they come out of nowhere with a sportbike and this thing that looks so good, we can’t help but feel that everything that came before was just irrelevant.
We need to stress the fact that not a lot is known about these bikes, they are still in their first year of limited production, so there will always be an element of risk attached to buying one of these first edition machines. Seems worth it though…
3 Harley-Davidson WLA Flathead
Arguably the best-ever Harley, not because of what it achieved as a war machine, which was pretty incredible in itself, but what it started after the troops came home.
These army surplus bikes laid the foundation for the motorcycle culture in the US, for better or worse, it all started with the Flathead.
2 Zero SR/S
Having been in the business for quite some time, this is now their flagship offering, and it is as good as ever.
Solid performance mated to respectable range and competitive charging times makes this one of the very best electric motorcycles ever, and one of the coolest ever made in America.
1 Harley-Davidson LiveWire
It is desperately hard to separate this from the Zero, but the original LiveWire is such an incredible representation of a changing of the guard it is impossible to ignore.
For decades, it seemed like Harley were content on just raking in all the heritage and cruiser money, now they are making some of the most modern motorcycles money can buy, and the LiveWire concept is arguably the culmination of their commitment to change.