Overseas sales have always been important to Harley-Davidson, which explains the 350cc singles that debuted in 1926. Riders in Great Britain, Europe and Australia, goaded by increased road taxes on larger-capacity machines, were the prime audience, as were fans of lightweight, maneuverable bikes here in the U.S. It also helped that the AMA had just instituted a 21-inch racing division for 350-class machines. For racers or those who wanted spirited road bikes, 12-horsepower overhead-valve 350s were available in limited numbers. These quickly gained the "Peashooter" nickname for their popping exhaust note. Most of the bikes, though, like Norman Hobday's nicely restored B-model, ran 8-hp sidevalve-design engines, the B in this case representing battery ignition as opposed to the magneto-equipped A-models.