Did Harley-Davidson Ever Make A Scooter? The Story Of The Short-Lived Topper

When people talk about Harley-Davidson motorcycles, they tend to talk about choppers, cruisers, bobbers, and good old-fashioned, American-made Milwaukee power. They may even talk about the company’s place in pop culture history. But, suffice it to say, when the conversation turns to gushing over the company’s products, motor scooters are not included in the conversation. That may be because even some diehard H-D fans don’t realize that scooters are, in fact, a part of its storied history.
Scooters are, of course, not a major part of Harley-Davidson’s history, as the iconic bike maker has dedicated the bulk of its 120-plus years of existence to designing and manufacturing some of the best-loved motorycycles to have ever graced the blacktop. True to that fact, the Harley design team has delivered just a single scooter build, and nearly 60 years have passed since one rolled off of the production line. Harley-Davidson’s lone venture into the scooter market, named the Topper, was sent to showroom floors in 1960.
The pint-sized scooter no doubt looked odd sitting next to its bigger, bolder brethren in those showrooms. Likewise, the bike’s single-cylinder, 165cc 2-stroke engine (complete with a lawn mower-styled hand-pull recoil starter!) was likely not what most riders were looking for from a brand renowned for delivering motorcycle muscle. But despite that, the Topper was well-reviewed when it hit the streets, and for a while, it seemed primed to make waves in the growing American scooter scene.