Some bikes are instant classics. Take this 1965 Harley-Davidson FLH Electra Glide, the last of the Harley Panheads.


The ’60s were a revolutionary time for motorcycling, as Japanese brands made great inroads into the U.S. market with small, lightweight bikes offering exceptional performance for their size. But the Glide line was a perfect example of Harley’s policy of evolution, rather than revolution, in developing its bikes.

For ’65, the Glide still came with the venerable 74-cubic-inch (1,200cc) “Panhead” motor, which got that nickname from its pie-pan-shaped rocker-arm covers. Panheads had powered big Harleys for 18 years, including models such as the Hydra Glide and the follow-up Duo Glide. In ’66, though, the company would switch to the more modern Shovelhead design that would carry it all the way into the ’80s.

But while this machine had a motor rooted in the past, it also looked to the future with a feature that earned it the Electra Glide name: an electric starter. This was the first big Harley to feature push-button starting, along with the required 12-volt electrical system. But it also retained a kickstarter for traditionalists.

In keeping with that “something old, something new” approach, the company also offered ’65 Glide buyers a choice of either hand or foot shifting. Harley felt that the foot shift would appeal to new riders and those used to British bikes, while the old-style hand shift would be favored by the company’s hard-core base of loyal riders.

All together, that mix of features makes the 1965 Electra Glide a perfect period piece, an artifact of a company in the process of adapting its products to meet changing demands.