I'd been riding all sorts of motorcycles - big and small - Harley and import for years before I bought my first handshift Harley. I'd ridden motorcycles that shifted with my right foot and others that shifted with my left foot. Some were four speed and others were five speed. So I figured it was time to tray a handshifted motorcycle, and that mean an old Harley - like a Shovelhead or Panhead. I think it might have been in 1990 or 1991 when I found a 1978 factory Harley Davidson police handshift bike in the local classified ads.

Handshift Harley Police Bike

The Harley police Shovelhead looked like it had been used a fair amount by the local Bridgeport, Connecticut police department and I think the seller might have been the third owner. I don't know how he got it through DMV to register it, because it still had the police markings on the saddlebags. I liked the way ot looked and discovered the pleasure of the solo sprung seat. It also featured a left side handshifter - something I had no idea how to operate.

I didn't know that Harley still offered factory handshift option in 1978 and later found out it was the last year and limited only to Harley police models. To make a long story short, I got the seller to show me how to ride the foot clutch (I ended up ripping up his neighbor's yard with the rear tire) and managed to get down the block and back without stalling it too much (thank goodness for electric starters). I did learn how to deal with jerky starts coming off a dead stop.

We did the deal and I trailered it home. Then I spent a lot of time learning about hand shifters and foot clutches. The toughest part was learning how to ride away from a dead stop when facing up hill. It took lots of practice to lean the bike and balance it with my right foot on the ground with my left foot on the clutch. If sure stalled that engine a lot learning the right way to pull away from those situations.

This Old Harley Police Bike Looks Like Mine

I ended up having to rebuild most of the old Harley police bike - the Shovelhead engine, the 4-speed handshift transmission, the suspension, and the brakes. I rode that old Harley police bike for a few years before selling it to another handshift novice who a few months later asked for his money back!

What My 1978 Harley Police Bike Looked Like New

Since then I have been fortunate enough to have owned and ridden many older handshift Harley and Indian motorcycles. Today I prefer the handshift motorcycles to the more traditional footshifted ones. At least when I am not in a hurry to get somewhere.

1977 Harley Confederate Edition

Rare Harley Confederate Edition Gas Tank Emblem

One of Only 44 Harley Confederate FL Shovelhead Motorcycles

To build sales and demand for its motorcycles, Harley-Davidson tried all sorts of limited edition motorcycle models over the years. And the Motor Company proudly displays and promotes most of them in the history books and museum. But one limited edition of Harley-Davidson is often left out - the Confederate Edition Harley-Davidson.

Only about 350 Harley Confederate Sportsters Were Ever Made

Harley Confederate Edition Shovelhead

Some consider this rare model a last ditch attempt to sell motorcycles in the AMF years. But regardless of the reasons behind this rare Harley, the production numbers were low - reported to be 44 Harley Confederate FLHs, 228 Harley Confederate Super Glides, 299 Harley Confederate Sportster XLs, 45 Sportster XLCHs, and 15 Sportster XLTs.

Harley Confederate Edition Shovelhead FL

What happened to this rare edition of Harley? Has it been hidden away due to political correctness? We hear there is a man in Virginia who is working on a National Registry of Harley Confederate dition motorcycles.