The first time I saw the Street 750 in person at the 2014 press launch in Austin, Harley had already turned one into a flat tracker. It sat prominently at the head of the room where we had our tech discussion for the new Street 750. At the time, Harley was still trying to convince ESPN to add flat track racing as an official medal event and Harley had its factory-sponsored flat track pro Brad Baker rip off some demo laps on it to demonstrate the bike’s potential. At last year’s X Games, Harley reiterated its intentions to develop a flat track racer based on the Revolution X 60-degree V-Twin of the XG750. The platform has been getting some real-world testing courtesy of See See Motorcycle’s Thor Drake who won the SuperHooligan races at SuperPrestigio of the Americas last fall on the Harley Street 750 tracker he built. After this weekend’s Harley-Davidson Lone Star Half-Mile, it appears that those intentions are creeping ever closer to reality.
Harley has been converting the Street 750 into a flat tracker since the motorcycle debuted in Austin back in 2014.
The newest member of Harley’s factory flat track racing team, Davis Fisher, competed this weekend in the GNC1 class on a bike with a prototype engine. The motorcycle was ushered to and from the track blanketed and was kept in a cordoned-off section of the pits between races where Schoony’s beard kept vigil over it. We only got glimpses of the engine along with one grainy nighttime photograph, but it appeared to run the more compact, black cylinder heads of the 60-degree V-Twin from the Street 750. It looks like a small radiator is concealed behind the shrouds on either side of the tank with a coolant line routed parallel to the downtube on the left side of the motorcycle. Fisher, who was competing in his first race on a Twin after moving up from GNC2 last year, seemed to get better on the motorcycle as the evening progressed, finishing fifth in his heat race and fourth in the semis as he just got nudged out of the Main.
It’s a lousy, grainy shot, but it’s a peek at the new engine Harley had young gun Davis Fisher shakedown at the Lone Star Half-Mile over the weekend.
Harley’s tried-and-true flat tracker, the XR750, is in its mid-40s. When we talked to Craig Lager last year at the X Games, Harley-Davidson’s factory team crew chief said the XR750 engine they were running was basically the same one they’ve been using for over 30 years. It’s up to expert tuners like Lager to get the most out of the engine, calculating optimal air/fuel ratios, spent gases, and tweaking suspension settings to suit not only the rider, but the track as well. Lager even takes variables like elevation and humidity into consideration when dialing Harley’s flat trackers in. And while the XR750 has been a formidable opponent for the longest time, Bryan Smith and the Kawasaki keep edging it out at the line in the miles, so the time is nigh for the release of a predecessor that can turn the tide in The Motor Company’s favor.
Harley’s intentions for the Street 750 were evident upon introduction. It was showcased at the front of a room filled with journalists in the form of one sweet looking flat tracker, one we believe will soon be tearing up dirt ovals across the country.