1978 Harley Davidson MX250 

I got sponsored on (2) 78 models that nobody could touch me on a straightaway. I had to sit on the gas tank to keep the front wheel down on the starting line and I was only 17 at the time. The suspension was terrible so we stuck an S/W under it. If you actually opened it up it would straighten your arms out. The power was incredible!! I could dig trench's

Wow, you don't ever see a Harley Davidson dritbike. Truly a gem.

I remember when these came out. I was 15 and motocross was everything!

Never give up the passion of selling original or restored old dirt bikes like these. I 100% admire your business and passion on keeping these older bikes alive! Im 45 years old and remember most of these models running or some are before my memory but keep it going, never stop brother!

Man, that rare Harley 250 sounds very healthy and runs clean.

Seeing u Rip through town like that reminds me when I was a kid... except in my case there were always sirens and flashing lights behind me!

My Buddy races his every year at Mid Ohio vin days !

I was born in 1993… this is the first I have seen anything about a Harley Davidson dirt bike. I am impressed!

That is a work of art, and I hope it stays in the museum. I didn't realize that this video is two years old. I wonder how much she went for?

GORGEOUS!!! You guys need smellavision. The waft of Belray MC1 or Castrol R hanging in the air. Tube tops,daisy dukes and the feeling of freedom. What a life we've led. GO KAPLAN AMERICA!!!

WOW! To hear you say Rocket Rex blew my mind! I still have an autographed picture from Rocket Rex when my brother and I worked as flag boys at Corona Race Track in Corona California in the mid 70's! I was only 15 years old! The picture is of him flying through the air with 1 leg kicked out! Original freestyler! lol God Bless America!

Now this is truly a treat. Just the sound of that, brings me back to when I was a kid. It's back when mid-range was King in the 2-stroke Arena. Who else remembers that sound besides me? This is why I watch this channel. And who remembers that kid from the Bad News Bears riding that silver Harley-Davidson dirt bike???

Paint on bottom of the frame is damaged from placing it on a stand. Woooow what a great bike thank you

That Harley dirt bike definitely as its own sound and it sounds good.

Awesome! I had a '75 SX250,converted to monoshock,Mikuni carb,DG pipe,hauled ass for an old piston port!

I'm 59 years old i remember those 250s. I bought a custom BSA hardtail with Z bars and springers instead of the Harley 250. Now i wish i would've gotten both! lol thank you for finding and showing this gem.

I love this show better than the Jay Leno show but I would love to see Jay Leno visit the museum!

My dad owns two '77 cafe racers. Also, my uncle was given the chance to race one of these Harley 250's for a local Harley dealer but he passed. He stuck with the Yamaha yz465. These Harleys are a nice piece of history!

Has to be 1 of the best sounding 2 smokes Ive ever heard. Very cool.

That thing sounds so crisp when you wind it out! Music to the ears Kap!

Really stepped up the editing and sound work. Dual camera, great sound.... awesome! Just dont forget the opening next time.... that fires me up......

"Hands down" one of AMF's finest achievements☆☆☆☆☆

LOL, I cant stop digging through your vids,,, Ive been watching for 2-3 years but the fact we're the same age, and have the memories of these late 70's and on dirt bikes, and their riders, and sponsors, and the aftermarket providers we couldn't afford as teenagers,,, hahahaha, love it Ken... power to your quest...

i remember when these came out i know alot of the guys i grew up with bashed this bike until they seen it run this dirt bike was no slouch its a shame harley didnt decide to pursue motocross etc they were always into flat track and drag bikes thanks so much for showing this beautiful example what an awesome vintage dirt bike

Cucumber vs. Pickle. I really like that analogy. That is a great thought.

I did a little more research. There was a 1975 model that had modified forks for rear shocks. Most interesting the front forks were Showas, but the rear shocks/ forks were Kayaba. It also had a rear disc brake. Only 90 of the 1975 models ( which I believe we're referred to as prototypes) we're ever made.

God bless, I love bike's since I was 9, xr 75. Congratulations on 29years sober. I'm in recovery now and getting back into bike's as a heathy hobby. Look forward to getting to the museum soon and hopefully often. 🙏 God bless

I was 10 years old when I saw this bike on display in Flagstaff, AZ in a showroom in '77... I fell in love with it and made it my plan to own one one day - haven't got it yet, but I will soon.

Wow brought back some old memories. I have an uncle that was heavy into Huskys, and KTM,. He now restores the old KTMs , Huskies. and Marcos. He has quite the collection

I had a Harley Davidson 90z when I was 10yrs old, it was a hand me down bike, my big brother gave to me, my Dad converted over to a dirt bike!! That was my first bike, kx80 was next, now THAT was a helluva upgrade as you can imagine!!!

One of my old school buddies got a1975 175 cc Aermacci / Harley Davidson brand new . It was a 7 speed gearbox with 15 false neutrals . We watched the front wheel spokes break each lap he took around the local flat track . His Dad took it back to the dealer , got a refund and went and bought the firsr alloy tank Honda CR 125 .

I have never hear that cucumber/pickle analogy before. Lol.

Very nice MX 250 Harley ken.sounds awesome. That one will go for some serious money. Good luck with the sale.

Remember watching one of these charging by us up the hill through the stands in the LA Coliseum at the "Superbowl of Motocross"! Certainly was the crowd favorite!

The bike sounds terrific and it looks just stunning. Glad you guys brought up that it was designed and engineered by an Italian company. If my memory serves me right I believe small displacement AMF HD were made in Italy during the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s.

I bought a 1978 sx250 from a lady that’s only got 1900 miles . Didn’t run due to old gas n carb . Cleaned everything up n I ride the heck outa it. Throw the choke lever up no matter how long it sits n fires up second or third kick.

Good on you for gassing it up a bit, sounds like a 76 Elsinore which had the same tiny "muffler". Never seen one in Oz personally.

I'm 60 ! had this bike . Beat the snot out of it . It died ! Bought a Suzuki rm . still have the rm . Harley never had nothing . Now it's a collector item . Still rather ride the rm . I was brought up in Meriden , Conn . Born in 61 stayed in CONN until 18 , 1979 . Live in North Carolina now and have 26 vintage dirt bikes and 3 wheelers .

It looks similar to the 1979 elsinore 25O I once had. WOW BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for the post.

I used to live 20 minutes west if Milwaukee WI and remember many people who rode the small 2 strokes that all had the AMF badge on them. To me, they were definitely worth riding compared to the V-twin street bikes they made. Wicked sound and a ripper

My brother-in-law had this exact bike and I rode it years ago.....very good-pulling bike and surprisingly good suspension. It had some hard use on it but still did a good job.....wonder if he still has it?

Also Don Kudowski (not sure if I spelled it right) was a factory Harley MX rider. My dream bike. You are a lucky man to have such a rare machine.

I knew it sounded too good to be true Harley when you said it was Italian I knew that's why I looked and sounded so great better quality in my opinion than Harley would have done

Started riding motorcycles back in the 60's. First was a Honda 305 Scramble. I thought 2 strokes were so cheezy. Then I road one and it's been a love affair since.

my buddy had one new in 1978. Good bike Ammerachi Italy made them.

One of my neihbors had one ... He rode a few times and its been stored since then ...its mint ...it came with an iron nickleplated cylnder walls too ...i remember him saying ... What a mean bike nothing could hold a candle to it even my elsnor cr 250r 1980 ...it made my bike look silly and i can say the CR was a beast ...so i could only imagine how a beast it really is when warm and rode for a while all warm .. Fuck i love these bikes n this channel is amazing i havnt seen this many old 2 strokes in a long time

I appreciate the way you took it easy on it! You're the man Kap!!

There are military based Harley Davidson dirt bikes with the rotax engine's and rifle carriers... Not sure what year's but I believe 90,s..

I swear, You are such a Good Guy!!… I wish there were more like you!

My buddy had one of these back in 82 it ran like a champ

Classic all the way. It's a shame Harley didn't keep on building dirt bikes. I'd love to see one with liquid cooling and a mono shock on it...

Great Bike ! Thanks for not being afraid to take a few chances riding it. Your Shop looks like a 1st Class operation, unfortunately there are no shortages of idiots leaving comments to the videos.

That thing is killer..also love the throttle cable straight pull like i had on my cr125..got me in trouble a few times..lol..really stunning

I was 7 and & since orange and black -have always been some of my favourite colour combos :)

Beautiful pal!!! Started watching u couple weeks ago. So many old school bikes. I agree with u 💯 the older seats are so much more comfy!

That thing is tough as all get out!! I love it!

A friend of mine bought one brand new, I remember him commenting how it was much more expensive than its 250cc counterparts.

I'm from the UK but I always wounded why Harley wasn't still in MX with Harley been such a big thing it the states

I was racing back when these were new and extensively rode one. They’re ultra rare because nobody bought them. It was hands down one of the top 3 trail bikes I rode during the era but it wasn’t even remotely a MX race bike.

Ken really cool rare Bike! Would love to own it but that bike deserves to stay in the museum .

I remember seeing one new on the showroom floor in HD of Macon back then.

Let it eat! Sounds awesome. Nothing sounds better than a 2 stroke!

Nice! Wish Harley had done more in motocross after the AMF years.

That's awesome piece that beautiful harley Davidson needs to stay in the museum

A couple of my friends used to have Harley dirtbikes . One was a Baja 100 and the other a 125 Rapido . The Baja was a sharp looking Black bike. It was known for its huge rear chain sprocket .

Jim's Harley Davidson in Mendon Ohio has one of those and also one of the best Harley Davidson museums around

sure to bring back the tear up some dirt memories my sachs 125 bored out kick bladder as trail no idling around with a rider

Probably one of the neatest sounding dirt bikes ever

Ken, I think Your Job is the Bee's Knees! Keep up the Awesome Work.

remember the Harley mxer with rear forks instead of shocks?

I was watching the tv show counting cars on history channel, They had found one from a customer. I don't remember what was done but it looked cool, nothing like yours... I wish they keep up with them, I would thing they would have had a great team...

I think Tony D rode a Harley at the St. Pete national motocross race in 78 or 79. I was a kid but I remember seeing a couple factory Harley's in the race because I was actually pulling for them to do well.

First time seeing a harley off roader. Sounds amazing

Unobtainium! Please make shirts with that word on them. God bless Kaplan America!

You should talk about that chrome Christmas Special Z50 you have behind you. One of those fetched $12k at the same auction where the Harley 250's sold for $23k! That price for the Z50 was more of a surprise to me than the Harley.

Zimmerman brothers in Simi Valley have few of these, they host the Hopetown reunion sometimes and open up there collection of bikes to the public.

That's a BEAUTIFUL, BADD ASS bike and you're right it sounds great, nice and crisp!!! Great bike and video, Thanx👍👍

Didn't see many of these at English town nj. Gonna go start my '83 yz490 after watching this . Long over due.

That 2 stroke sound!!😮 luscious.

Ken, you guys seem like really cool down to earth guys. You have some amazing bikes in your collection. Some of which I would absolutely die to own. Really enjoy your videos please keep up the great work and thank you for preserving the Motocross history with these wonderful bikes. Does your museum allow people to come in and look around obviously when the coronavirus clears up some? I would love to see your museum

I didn't know they were bringing that much I guess I should sell mine. I vintage raced it with AHRMA for two years, then rebuilt the motor with NOS OEM parts and never started it again. It is quick

That is an awesome bike! Almost sounds like the 480 💪

I never knew Harley made these, wow magnificent bike

I knew a friend here in va. Who had a NOS one , he used to win trophys at a Harley shows , and remember seeing one at a Harley shop here in Richmond va , man if I only knew , I need to reach out to see if he has that bike still

Every time I see the MX250 I fall in love all over again ~

Buy a Harley, buy the best, ride a mile, walk the rest... Awesome bike!

Only a year late, but I love the dogleg expansion chamber. It sounds gorgeous, I bet they flew in their day. Pity they didn't make more.

I know somebody who had one of those in the back of their garage in the early '90s, I never knew it was that rare

I love it. I would give a hundred bucks to do a couple laps in the parking lot like you did.

Cool bike! I always wondered why Harley didn't keep sell dirt bikes and enduros. I saw a 175 enduro Harley like this in guys back yard many years back.

There was one for sale in OLD BIKE JOURNAL for $10,000 right out of the crate in 1997.

I remember seeing one of these in skip Fordyce riverside, California in the seventies.

The owner of Jim's Harley Davidson has an original MX250. He has quite the personal museum. I recommend taking a look.

Best of both worlds right there

Now that's very special.yet look at the number of thumbs down. It's sad when you think about it.

When I was a kid my buddy’s father had an auto parts distribution business,and got him one of these and he also had a black one that I think was a 125cc

Sick bike. Love it.

That 2 banger sounds great! Love them

Worked at a Honda/Yamaha/Harley dealership from '78 to '83 in OKC...My boss ordered 2 of these, then backed out..he said "they won't sell", can't compete with the CR or the YZ...I almost got to assemble one of these from the crate.....

Killer bike , but I don't think I could ever buy it , cause I don't think I could ride it. But I'm glad you did a video on it , as with all your videos A+ . #livingthedream