1200 Custom / 1200 Custom Anniversary

This Sportster 1200 Custom nameplate first appeared for the 1996 model year, when Harley-Davidson added it to the XL family as a more custom-oriented 1200cc Sportster with a broader front end and distinctive styling cues. The original run continued through the early 2000s, then the nameplate disappeared for several model years before returning for 2011 as a revived factory-custom Sportster. In its later era, the bike kept the same basic custom cruiser brief but adopted updated chassis and trim details, and Harley-Davidson also used the nameplate for special anniversary editions, including the 110th Anniversary version. Because the badge has appeared in separate production periods, the history should be treated as a discontinuous nameplate rather than one uninterrupted run.