My dad’s the GREATEST…and so is my new HARLEY-DAVIDSON TOPPER (Apr, 1960)
My dad’s the GREATEST…and so is my new HARLEY-DAVIDSON TOPPER
Like father, like son… happy with the new Topper.
What a ride — gentle as a billowy summer cloud … with dual suspension and large foam rubber saddle. Dependability — plenty of get-up-and-go. Automatic Scoot-away transmission—no shifting or clutching needed.
Dad is sold on safety features like the large diameter wheels and sure-stop front and rear drum brakes. Tells everyone about Topper economy — up to 100 miles to the gallon.Mom’s a Topper fan, too! She likes its good looks: sharp, clean lines molded in tough beautiful fiberglass… two-tone color styling … chrome-plated instrument panel.
See your Harley-Davidson dealer. He will arrange a fun-filled demonstration ride. Or send in the coupon for literature.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CO.
Dept. P, Milwaukee 1, Wisconsin
We had one of these when I was a teenager in the 70′s. My dad had had it since he was a teenager. I remember it as being a pretty sweet little scooter. It was destroyed when our house and garage burned down while we were on vacation in ’77.
But does it sound like a Harley when started up?
According to Wikipedia, they had a 10ci, 9 HP 2-stroke with a rope starter. That last point would have been a deal-killer for me.
(I’ve driven geekier looking scoots and mopeds, but that front tractor wheel is really gives them a run for their money.)
I came across my H-D Topper back in the mid 70′s as a “barn find”. My uncle had some relatives that on a visit on some holiday, I along with my parents went to visit them. I was in my late teens and was nosing around an old barn they had on the edge of their property on the outskirts of Greensboro, NC. I spotted an old tarp draped over something. When I pulled it back it reveled a Topper scooter!! I immediately inquired about the scoot to realize it been in the barn for ten years and had belonged to the son of the relatives. It was all there, complete! I recalled it had a pull rope to start the thing and I pulled it to find the engine turned freely! A little conversation and $50 bucks later and it was loaded up to head for my house. I didn’t have to do much. I took it all apart, cleaned all the parts, including the carburetor bowls and fuel tank. Took a few pulls on the rope and she roared to life again!! It would run up to around fifty mph and was smooth as could be with plenty of power for a single cylinder engine! Best I can recall I sold it for a couple of hundred bucks after riding it for the summer on our back roads with out a tag. That was one of things you wish you would have kept. It was in mint condition! Oh well. It was a great memory nonetheless!
> But does it sound like a Harley when started up?
No, not really
.
http://www.youtube.com/…
http://www.youtube.com/…
> This is one Harley you would not want to take to a biker bar.
I dunno. Stereotypical Hollywood headkicking-psychopath-biker bar, no. But most ACTUAL bikers are pretty mellow, and definitely interested in unusual machinery. I’d bet a small amount of money on more than one giant bearded dude asking if he could have a go on it.
That’s probably true. I unwittingly entered the side door of a biker bar in Marin County about 10 years ago, driving a rented Hyundai, with my wife and 4 year old son along. It got really quiet – like a classic western movie bar-room entrance scene – but really that was just inside my head. I had to shout over the music to the barmaid, asking for directions, and she waved me off to a “Papa Bear” type. He gave me a very nice and concise route back onto our route and to our hotel.
A very mellow experience overall. I credit the volume of the music in the bar to “short pipe” induced deafness.
Great old ad – gotta love those old Harley Toppers – at least when they were running.