Harley Davidson 1942 U 1209 cc 2 cyl sv 3604

Harley Davidson 1942 “U” 1209 cc side valve V-twin frame & engine # 42U3509

video: https://youtu.be/yo1T_2gkly4

For 1937 the HD engineers redesigned the Big Twin range: frame and cycle parts of the newly introduced OHV ‘Knucklehead’ were used as the basis for the new 1209cc and 1303 cc models U and UH. An important new feature was the introduction (finally!) of dry sump lubrication. The “U” was the 5.0:1 low-compression type; the standard compression was 5:1. Power output of the U was 32.5 hp @ 4,200 rpm and its top speed was 135 km/h. The new models proved themselves as reliable and dependable machines and gave their owners every satisfaction from the start and continued to do so for many years. Improved and updated annually throughout the late 1930s and 1940s, the U and UL models finally disappeared from the range at the end of 1948.

For the U.S. army, the Big Twin was the motorcycle of choice for sidecar service. From 1938 on a relatively low number of U models in low compression version were ordered, mainly with sidecar. When the ¼ ton 4 x 4 Jeep had proven itself during testing in 1941, the army authorities lost interest in sidecar combinations and chose for the Jeep. Nevertheless, throughout the war a number of organisations kept on using the model U, for instance the Navy who employed them for shore patrol. In 1940-41 the South African Union Defence Forces ordered more than a thousand U combinations, fitted with 4-speed gearboxes. They had a compression ratio of 4.5:1 and a top speed of 115 km/h.

Model year 1942 started in August-September 1941, when the USA was not yet involved in the war. So quite a few civilian 1942 models were sold before the Pearl Harbour disaster on December 7, 1941. After that civilians needed a special permission to buy new motorcycles and the major part of the production went to the armed forces and government agencies like police forces. Deluxe options were not produced during the war years and the use of chromium was restricted.

The mighty U we present has been excellently restored a number of years ago and comes with current Dutch registration. Accessories include side lights, front and rear crash bars and leather pannier bags.

A detailed photo report (approx. 30 photos) is available for every motorcycle on our website, which we send upon request.