Harley-Davidson XG750R flat tracker

Harley-Davidson celebrates the legacy of the XR750 and continuing its 100-plus-year motorsports history with the XG750R

The Harley-Davidson™ Factory Flat Track Racing Team will charge the track on March 14 as the 2020 American Flat Track (AFT) SuperTwins presented by Vance & Hines series opens its 18-race season at the Daytona TT at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Harley-Davidson will field a three-rider team led by new crew chief Ricky Howerton. Howerton will be racing Harley-Davidson® XG750R competition motorcycles prepared by Factory Team partner Vance & Hines Motorsports.

The Harley-Davidson® Factory Team motorcycles will feature a new livery in 2020 featuring Jet Fire Orange, the historic color of Harley-Davidson competition motorcycles, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the legendary Harley-Davidson® XR750 flat tracker. Initially developed and tuned by a team led by Harley-Davidson racing manager Dick O'Brien, the XR750 motorcycle won 36 AMA Grand National championships between 1972 and 2015.

“The 2020 Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track Racing Team represents a continuous legacy of competition that goes back to the earliest days of motorcycle racing,” said Jon Bekefy, GM of Brand Marketing for Harley-Davidson. “With 2020 also being the 50th anniversary of the legendary XR750, this year we will celebrate the great eras in Harley-Davidson racing as we look forward to competing at the highest level of the sport with the Harley-Davidson XG750R.”

Celebrating 50 Years of Competition, Continuing the Legacy

For 2020, the Harley-Davidson Factory Flat Track team will continue to field Harley-Davidson’s production-based tradition for factory flat track campaigns. The updated Harley-Davidson® XG750R flat tracker, powered by the liquid-cooled, fuel-injected and race-tuned 750cc Harley-Davidson® Revolution X™ V-Twin is based on the production engine originally designed for the Harley-Davidson Street 750 motorcycle.

Born in 1970 with the advent of the new AMA Racing equivalency formula, the XR750 was created by Harley-Davidson’s Race Team Manager Dick O’Brian and team to replace the highly successful outgoing KR750.

Using a Harley-Davidson® Sportster-based engine, the XR750 utilized modified cast-iron heads and cylinders, a magneto instead of generator, and improved oiling. In 1972 a new, more powerful all-aluminum alloy XR750 engine was introduced. 

The perfected machine dominated flat track racing for decades to come. Between 1972 and 2008, the XR750 would go on to win 28 of 37 AMA Grand National Championships. The XR750 racked up more wins than any other motorcycle in AMA racing history and earned the description of being the “most successful race bike of all time.”

In addition, the XR750 became a cultural icon with legendary stuntman Evel Knievel at the handlebars. Evel Knievel began jumping an XR750 at the height of his career from 1970 to 1976, and alongside the exploits of the racing versions of the XR750 inspired a generation to ride.