Harley-Davidson XR-750

The AMA Grand National Championship Class C rules, introduced in 1933 and revised in 1954, had an equivalency formula limiting flathead, or sidevalve, engines to displacement, while more modern overhead valve (OHV) engines could be a maximum of only . Over time, this displacement advantage kept the older flathead technology on the track and discouraged a broader field of competitors. At least 200 homologated examples of a model had to be built and made available to the public. The flathead Harley-Davidson KR series had dominated Class C racing, but by the late 1960s BSA, Norton and Triumph had little market for 500 cc OHV motorcycles, and there was increasing pressure for a single displacement, without reference to valve configuration. The public was buying and larger displacement British bikes, and they would prove to be competitive, given the chance. With the British marques gaining influence in the AMA, in 1969 new rules were established that there would be one maximum displacement for dirt track racing, 750 cc, with no regard for valve type, though the 500/750 OHV/sidevalve split was kept for the time being in road racing. OHV engines began to dominate racing, in spite of Mert Lawwill's efforts to delay the inevitable on his flathead Harleys, and the KR bikes were a decade out of date and could no longer compete successfully. ==Development==

With limited time and money in 1969, Harley-Davidson's racing manager Dick O'Brien and his team used elements of existing designs to put together a new OHV racer, but rather than start from scratch they decided to modify their existing OHV racer: the Sportster-based XLR magneto-equipped race engine with a bore and a stroke. It was too large to be legal, so a modified version was created using the same basic upper end parts (iron heads and cylinders) but with a drastically shorter stroke and shorter connecting rods to reduce the displacement to the legal limit. While the single camshaft of other Harley-Davidson designs was cheaper to manufacture, and quieter, four cams allowed better performance, such as greater flexibility in adjusting the cam timing, and the short single camshafts are durable, and give the pushrods a straighter path to the rocker arms. ==XRTT road racer==

The road racing version of the XR-750 used an aluminum oil tank, had a fiberglass fuel tank, and a fiberglass fairing which included extra heat shielding to protect the rider's left leg when riding in a tuck position. On the top center of the fuel tank was a leather pad with a round cutout for the left-side fuel filler cap. The XRTT is the final example of a competition motorcycle with drum brakes, superseded by disc brakes on all other racing bikes due to the excessive unsprung weight added by the very large drum brake assembly. The official horsepower was never published, but estimates for the early 1972 engines were in the high range, increasing to an estimated or more by 2008. ==Racing==

Riders on XR-750s have won 29 of the 37 AMA Grand National Championships from 1972 to 2008 inclusive. Besides having more wins than any other bike in AMA racing, it has been called the "most successful race bike of all time", and has a claim to have more wins than any other racing motorcycle in history. In 1989, Lou Gerencer Sr. built a hillclimbing XR-750 with an extended swingarm that made the bike half again as long. Adapted with mechanical fuel injection and nitrous oxide, Gerencer estimated his engine produced over . The overstressed engine did not last long, but held together long enough to win the AMA hillclimb championship. File:The XR 750 Too Close.jpg ==Street XR==

As with the KR, customers began asking for a street-legal XR from its debut. Harley-Davidson was slow to capitalize on this demand, finally introducing the Sportster XR-1000 street bike for the 1983 model year, 13 years after the XR-750 racer. The XR-1000 used XR-750 heads, but kept the Sportster engine, frame and other equipment. The XR1200 has less in common with the XR-750 than the XR-1000 did, but has so far found a warmer reception. Former Harley-Davidson racing team rider, Mert Lawwill, constructs and markets modified Harley-Davidson XR1200 bikes that are street-legal versions of the Harley-Davidson XR-750 that he raced in the Grand National Championship. ==Jumping==

Evel Knievel began jumping the XR-750 at the height of his career between December 1970 and October 1976 (although a failed practice jump was made in January 1977 and captured on film). Prior to the failed practice jump, Knievel jumped either cars or trucks (or a combination of the two) on the XR-750. 's Harley-Davidson XR-750 jump bike The longest jump Knievel made over cars was 129 feet over 19 cars in 1971 and was featured in the movie Evel Knievel starring George Hamilton. The longest jump over buses was first attempted with Knievel crashing at Wembley Stadium in 1975 in an attempt to jump 120 feet over 13 buses. Five months later, Knievel jumped the XR-750 over 14 buses for his personal record, and world record for almost 25 years, Currently, the longest jump on the XR-750 by Bubba Blackwell was successfully made in 1999, when he jumped 15 buses at 157 feet. On August 6, 2015, the daredevil stunt performer Doug Danger at the Sturgis Bike Rally at the Buffalo Chip, broke Knievel's record for most cars jumped on a XR-750 with 22 cars. Knievel attempted this feat of 22 cars in Monroe, Washington on September 1, 1972, and cleared 21 cars but landed on the safety deck covering the 22nd car. Bubba Blackwell attempted the same 22-car jump In 2001 with horrible consequences. He flipped end-over-end when he missed the landing, nearly died and was in a coma for months. Danger accomplished this feat on Evel Knievel's actual vintage 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750. With no modification to the bike other than relocating foot pegs to accommodate Doug's height.{{cite web |url=http://www.cycleworld.com/2015/08/07/doug-danger-breaks-evel-knievels-record-jumps-22-cars-at-sturgis//|last=Bornhop |first=Andrew |title=Doug Danger Breaks Knievel's Record Daredevil jumps 22 cars at Sturgis, on Evel Knievel's 1972 Harley XR750! ==Notes==