Presented by Guarded Crown, is the Harley-Davidson MT500, maintained in immaculate condition throughout the last two decades, with 33 original miles. It is not known how many of the original 500 examples remain, we only see them come up for sale relatively rarely.

The origins of the Harley-Davidson MT500 are spanned over three countries and 3 decades. The first examples of the model were put into production in the early 1980’s, as the italian-designed SWM XN Tornado, powered by an Austrian-built Rotax 504cc single-cylinder engine. Eventually, SWM would not be able to afford the continued production of the MT500, and a British motorcycle company by the name of Armstrong-CCM purchased the rights to the design. Armstrong-CCM then went on to make a few changes to the original design, which led to the creation of the Armstrong MT500, sold in limited numbers to the British, Canadian, and Jordanian Militaries. 

In the late 1980’s, Harley-Davidson made the purchase of the design. The company added their own branding to the MT500, and offered it to the US military as a modernized version of the classical WLA from World War II. 

The Harley-Davidson MT500 had very similar specifications to the two earlier bikes that it had been based on. The power of the bike is right about 32 bhp at a rpm of 6,200 with 28 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. Military combat vehicles are not often designed for speed, they are commonly designed for their lack of complication, roughness, and dependability, with the MT500 resembling all three.  

Executives at Harley-Davidson had planned to use the MT500 to facilitate the winning of contracts with various branches of the US military to supply motorcycles. Ultimately, the MT500 would not be adopted by as many branches as intended. The examples that exist today are now sought after by collectors, and are on the rarer side of Harley-Davidson production models.