Hydra-Glide

Official name given to the first production Harley-Davidson with telescopic front forks. for model year 1949. Although it was no more than manufacturers all around the world were doing at the time, it was a radical step for Harley-Davidson, which had used the same basic design of leading link Springer fork since 1908. The new hydraulically-damped forks, with their long travel, soft springing and a soft, wide 5-inch (12.7-cm) section front tire, added a new dimension of comfort, though diehard traditionalists complained that they lacked the steering precision of the originals. There were also some instances of riders falling off in light turns as the forks could compress sufficiently to allow the end of the crash bar to hit the ground. A factory kit with firmer damping was subsequently produced which cured the fault.