We're the WR, WLDD, WLDR bikes factory racers akin to the later KR, KHR, XLRTT etc. bikes? Had to be a racer, know the right guy to get one kinda thing? I remember seeing a WLDR at wheels through time, was gorgeous as hell.
Definitely the big names of the time where factory sponsored bikes, Harley VS Indian and all of that. Bikes were also offered, dealerships sponsored some riders. Pretty sure you could buy a bike as a privateer if you had deep pockets.
Yes the K model and then the XL were exactly that,unit construction like the lighter Brits and they even shifted on the right side braked on the left like the Brits.
The XL was a 900 and a street going machine,even after the OHV Sportster arrived the K model race bike was still being produced as a 750.
The racing version of the K model was the KR750. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley-Davidson_KR
I read that The Motor Company had decided not to go head-to-head with the brit. bikes in term of displacement.
A 650cc Sportster couldn't have competed with 500cc British machine, so it would have had no chance against the British 650cc offerings.
One thing the unit construction Harley's did have in common with the British machines was the right hand gear shift lever, the non-construction Harley's were left hand shift.
Apparently a right hand shifter is better for racing counter clockwise on a banked track.
Sportsters were also common at the drag strip. I remember growing up the guy accross the street and down a few houses had an iron head that he raced. He would occasionally take it on short rides around the neighborhood when working on it. Dear lord that thing sounded glorious. It had short drags on it and sounded like thunder. Keep in mind, I was a kid…probably 9-10 years old at the time. I loved it when he would take it out. That Sportster was the first Harley I remember seeing. No doubt I had seen some before that one but that is the first one I remember seeing. It left an impression on me and I have loved Sportsters ever since.
A 650cc Sportster couldn't have competed with 500cc British machine, so it would have had no chance against the British 650cc offerings.
One thing the unit construction Harley's did have in common with the British machines was the right hand gear shift lever, the non-construction Harley's were left hand shift.
Apparently a right hand shifter is better for racing counter clockwise on a banked track.
Just sayin', Harley continued to win at Daytona up to 1965 before Triumph ever won there. HD won again in 1968 and 1969 as well, pretty sure they could hang with the Brits!!!
It was the Japanese bikes that really changed everything.
It was competitive for many years, until the CB750 washed ashore. But, the market for 1911 style pistols is still strong after 112 years. And both Sportster and 1911 are still completely adequate for the job.
John
Incredibly insightful post. Same thing about the pickup truck.
05-11-2023, 09:12 AM
