The Sporty was officially kicked off in 1957 when Harley’s K received overhead valves and a new name. At that point, the Sportster was a hot bike, designed to end the ass-kicking that riders on British Triumphs and BSAs were delivering to riders on American bikes. The cranky old Ironhead engine soldiered along relatively unchanged through 1985, when the Evolution unit motor was developed. The Evo powering the 2016 Sporty is fundamentally the same one Harley served up to the world 30 years ago, and the whole bike as a package has stayed remarkably true to its original form. The Sportster didn’t get slower, the rest of the world just got faster since 1957.