The Original Wreaking Crew - XR Racing: Can Your Sports Dynasty Do This?

Xr Racing Can Your Sports Dynasty Do This Harleys Racing Program Cropped

Xr Racing Can Your Sports Dynasty Do This The Original Wreaking Crew

The Original Wrecking Crew

In 1968 Harley’s factory team posed for a photo at Daytona, instantly drawing comparisons to a similar shot taken of H-D’s original Wrecking Crew of the ’20s. The original Crew consisted of Bill Ottoway, Maldwyn Jones, Ralph Hepburn, Fred Ludlow, Otto Walker, Ray Weishaar, Jim Davis, and mechanic Hank Syversten. Ottoway was a racing engineer who developed the eight-valve racing engine for Harley-Davidson and made the already fast bikes even faster. The crew dominated flat track and board track throughout the ’20s.

A picture, or better yet advertisement, is worth a thousand words.
In 2009, Harley introduced the XR1200 homage bike to the American public where it met great enthusiasm from the H-D faithful. Unlike the old 750, it has a few more comforts for the road and features a Sportster motor.
In 2009, Harley introduced the XR1200 homage bike to the American public where it met grea

Xr Racing Can Your Sports Dynasty Do This Xr1200 Series

The XR1200 Series:
The Adventure Continues

Last year, the XR’s racing legacy moved forward yet again. The AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 series hit the track during Road America last June. It was a set of five racing events on pavement that ran through September. Vance & Hines was the presenting sponsor. They also supplied the race kits for the class (exhaust, Fuelpak, bodywork, 17-inch front wheel, steering damper, oil cooler relocator, and race decals). V&H cited the XR1200’s proven record as an exciting platform for spec racing in Europe as a big reason for its involvement. Since the complete race kit ran for $3,500, it allowed new talent to compete without the use of a second mortgage or a loan shark. In addition to the supplied kit, teams could also tweak their suspension, controls, brakes, and instrumentation. The restrictions are aimed to emphasize rider talent over throwing money into a heap of performance parts. Here’s when and where you can catch the action for the remaining season:

Xr Racing Can Your Sports Dynasty Do This The Adventure Continues

May 13-15
Infineon Raceway

May 28-30
Miller Motorsports Park

Jun 3-5
Road America

Jun 17-19
Barber Motorsports Park

Jul 8-10
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Aug 12-14
Virginia Int’l Raceway

Sept 2-4
New Jersey Motorsports Park

(An additional September event— To be determined)

Sources

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame (americanmotorcyclist.com) Harley-Davidson Archives

Heroes of Harley-Davidson, edited by Ed Youngblood, published by MBI Publishing Company and Motorbooks, 2003

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company Archive Collection, by Randy Leffingwell and Darwin Holmstrom, published by MBI Publishing Company and Motorbooks, 2008