Who knew rock ‘n roll star Elvis Presley was into motorcycles? Just before his death in 1977 he bought a 1976 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide FLH Centennial special edition – and it’s coming up for sale at an auction in the US soon.
The Harley comes complete with the original 1976 California pink title signed by Elvis Presley and registered to his home at 845 Chino Canyon Road, Palm Springs, California. Then it was shipped to Gracelands, Elvis’s famous home.
Following Elvis Presley’s death on 16 August 1977, the motorcycle was reportedly sold to a hotel owner in Wildwood, New Jersey. Later the Harley arrived the Pioneer Museum in Murdo, South Dakota and was on display from 1983-2019, where the motorcycle was the cornerstone of their massive collection.
Unfortunately, Elvis didn’t have time to ride it much and the odometer reads just 1,261 miles. And because subsequent owners wanted to keep the Harley on its original historic title with Presley’s name, it has not been reregistered.
The auctioneer points out that should a new owner wish to drive the vehicle on public roads, he or she must change the title to his or her name, which will require the surrender of the original historic title.
The bike is a limited-edition bicentennial FLH model, one of only 750 bicentennial editions believed to have been built. It has a matching numbers air-cooled four-stroke, 1207cc engine and the same custom-painted blue-and-black colour scheme it wore when Elvis owned it – and the same set of keys.
The Electra Glide comes standard with full-coverage mudguards (fenders), wire-spoked wheels, hard, locking saddlebags, a rear luggage rack and a blackout finish on the engine.
See the Elvis Harley at auction here.
The 2023 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide
Harley-Davidson has just announced the 2023 Electra Glide and it will also be a limited edition, called the ‘Highway King’. Just 1,750 will be released with prices starting at $26,999. More here
