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For Sale: 2000 Harley Davidson MT500
Price: 15,000 o.b.o
Miles: 889
Location: Washington D.C area near Joint Base Andrews
Note: willing to trailer MT500 to anywhere within 500 miles if you pay for gas.
Condition:
Reason for selling,
We have owned this bike for over ten years, and I have loved taking it on small trips and to shows. A couple of years ago, my TBI from deployments started affecting my balance and continued degeneration of my fine motor skills (also forcing my retirement from the navy). As I can no longer ride nor work on the bike, I am selling it.
Great resources for future owner:
For historical context I COPIED FROM SILODROME for a similar bike: https://silodrome.com/harley-davidson-mt500-military-motorcycle-2/#:~:text=The MT500: A Design That,Rotax 504cc single-cylinder engine.)
This is a Harley-Davidson MT500 and if you’ve never heard of it before, that may be because just 500 or so were made before production was ceased – making it one of the rarest Harley production bikes in history.
It’s not known how many of the original 500 remain, we only see them come up for sale relatively rarely, and given the recent release of the Harley-Davidson Pan America adventure bike the interest in earlier Harley dual sport motorcycles seems to be increasing.
When SWM encountered financial difficulties British motorcycle company Armstrong-CCM bought the rights to the design, made a small number of changes, and created the Armstrong MT500 which was sold in small numbers to the British, Canadian, and Jordanian militaries.
By the late 1980s Harley-Davidson had bought the design, added some of their own branding, and offered it to the US military as (essentially) a modern version of the classic Harley-Davidson WLA from WWII.
Power is somewhat modest at just 32 bhp at 6,200 rpm with 28 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm, however the relatively low weight of 161 kgs (355 lbs) helping things along. Military vehicles are rarely designed for speed after all, they’re designed for simplicity, ruggedness, and reliability and the MT500 had all three of those in spades.
The chassis is a simple tubular steel affair that uses the engine as a stressed member for additional rigidity. Telescopic forks are fitted up front and there are twin shock absorbers in the rear. Much of the MT500’s bodywork is made from plastic for reasons of low weight and easy maintenance – including the fuel tank, side covers, front and rear fenders, and headlight cowl.
Reasonably small drum brakes were fitted front and back on earlier bikes, these are fine for off road use but when on road riders tend to find you need to use both brakes in unison to ensure adequate stopping power. Later bikes, …have front and rear disc brakes.
Some examples of the bike were offered with plastic side panniers for carrying documents or supplies, and a front-mounted plastic rifle case was also used occasionally.
Price: 15,000 o.b.o
Miles: 889
Location: Washington D.C area near Joint Base Andrews
Note: willing to trailer MT500 to anywhere within 500 miles if you pay for gas.
Condition:
- Rare U.S. Model with rifle case and panniers
- New Dellorto PHF 36 Kit carb (original included
- NOT RUNNING due issue with tension on throttle control.
- New air box and air filter, fuel line, battery, and spark plug
- Small scratches on rifle case due to rider and gear stored.
- As seen, overall excellent condition and low miles. Please ask questions
Reason for selling,
We have owned this bike for over ten years, and I have loved taking it on small trips and to shows. A couple of years ago, my TBI from deployments started affecting my balance and continued degeneration of my fine motor skills (also forcing my retirement from the navy). As I can no longer ride nor work on the bike, I am selling it.
Great resources for future owner:
- http://www.mtridersclub.co.uk/
- https://www.milweb.net/features/mt350.php
- Parts from: https://www.forcemotorcycles.com/
- Parts from:http://sportaxracing.co.uk/
For historical context I COPIED FROM SILODROME for a similar bike: https://silodrome.com/harley-davidson-mt500-military-motorcycle-2/#:~:text=The MT500: A Design That,Rotax 504cc single-cylinder engine.)
This is a Harley-Davidson MT500 and if you’ve never heard of it before, that may be because just 500 or so were made before production was ceased – making it one of the rarest Harley production bikes in history.
It’s not known how many of the original 500 remain, we only see them come up for sale relatively rarely, and given the recent release of the Harley-Davidson Pan America adventure bike the interest in earlier Harley dual sport motorcycles seems to be increasing.
Fast Facts – The Harley-Davidson MT500
- The Harley-Davidson MT500 is a direct evolution of the earlier Armstrong MT500, a British military dual sport motorcycle. The Armstrong MT500 itself was an evolution of the earlier SWM XN Tornado and it used the same 500cc Rotax engine.
- Executives at Harley-Davidson were hoping to use the MT500 to win contracts with various branches of the US military to supply motorcycles – potentially tens of thousands of them, which would have greatly helped the company’s finances.
- Ultimately the MT500 wouldn’t see widespread adoption, and the requirement that diesel be the common battlefield fuel brought the project to an end.
- The surviving examples of the Harley-Davidson MT500 are now sought after by collectors and enthusiasts, and they remain one of the rarer HD production models.
The MT500: A Design That Went Around The World
The origins of the Harley-Davidson MT500 actually span three countries and three decades. The model started out in the early 1980s as the Italian-designed SWM XN Tornado which was powered by an Austrian-built Rotax 504cc single-cylinder engine.When SWM encountered financial difficulties British motorcycle company Armstrong-CCM bought the rights to the design, made a small number of changes, and created the Armstrong MT500 which was sold in small numbers to the British, Canadian, and Jordanian militaries.
By the late 1980s Harley-Davidson had bought the design, added some of their own branding, and offered it to the US military as (essentially) a modern version of the classic Harley-Davidson WLA from WWII.
The Harley-Davidson MT500: Specifications
The specifications of the Harley-Davidson MT500 are largely the same as the two earlier bikes that it’s based on. It’s powered by the Austrian-built Rotax 504cc single cylinder air-cooled engine with a single overhead cam, four valves, and a built-in 5-speed transmission.Power is somewhat modest at just 32 bhp at 6,200 rpm with 28 lb ft of torque at 5,500 rpm, however the relatively low weight of 161 kgs (355 lbs) helping things along. Military vehicles are rarely designed for speed after all, they’re designed for simplicity, ruggedness, and reliability and the MT500 had all three of those in spades.
The chassis is a simple tubular steel affair that uses the engine as a stressed member for additional rigidity. Telescopic forks are fitted up front and there are twin shock absorbers in the rear. Much of the MT500’s bodywork is made from plastic for reasons of low weight and easy maintenance – including the fuel tank, side covers, front and rear fenders, and headlight cowl.
Reasonably small drum brakes were fitted front and back on earlier bikes, these are fine for off road use but when on road riders tend to find you need to use both brakes in unison to ensure adequate stopping power. Later bikes, …have front and rear disc brakes.
Some examples of the bike were offered with plastic side panniers for carrying documents or supplies, and a front-mounted plastic rifle case was also used occasionally.
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