Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

r 14 1973, th e factor y's wi thdrawal from the .. H ard St uff " rendered th em u n necessary , because yo u j us t don 't need th em for even di rt m ile races a nd thei r now- IOO-m ph averages. Reason is the same as why a fifth speed wo u ld be sup erfl u o us o n th e XR IOOO-the engine's h uge reserves of torq ue. The revcou n ter 's red lin e a t 6200 rp m inv ites you to try to spin th e en gin e up that far, yet peak power is produ ced (o n th e standard engine) a t 5600 revs a nd maximum torq ue is at 4400 rpm. Stock Sportsrer ca ms but wi th eccen tric roc ker adj ust ers in th e XR h eads, ea ch sent by th e factory ou t to J erry Branch in Los Angeles for porting and finish in g before being shipped back to Mil waukee for fin al engine assem bly-give power from practicall y anywh ere you wa nt it: the re's just go bs o f pok e fro m 2000 rpm u pwa rds, a nd th e XR will actually p u ll cleanly aw ay from as low as 1500 revs in top gear. There's absolutel y no point in even a pproaching th e redline in th e gears - j us t sh ortshift and let the massive torq ue p u ll you a lo n g surp rising ly q ui ckl y, to th e accompaniment of th e fabu lous (bu t quite legal) boom in g ex ha us t not e. Th e XRIOOO Har ley will let you ri de it in th e way th at suits yo ur mood of the day, if not ever unob trusively. It's a lso a sa fe bike to have fun with, because for th e first tim e o n any Harley I'v e ever ridden, the brak es ar e tru ly excelle nt. I was beginn ing to think I'd never be able to sav th at a bo u t a Milwaukee motorcycle':" but now a t last H arl ey has tu rn ed the corner in th is vital a rea, The XR 's' twin I IW fro nt discs provide smooth, ' pr ogressive stopping p ower of a type th at up to now h as been associa ted wi th I tal ian mach ines. J ust squ eeze th e lever a nd it sto p s, wit h very li ttl e fro nt en d dive even when one of Florida 's n umerous oc tagenarians provid es pa ni c stop test ing by p u lli ng out in fro nt of yo u from a side turnin g in a ru st in g '63 Mercury. It 's o ne of the most dramatic-s-and unexpected - areas in which th e XRIOOO exce ls. The steeper h ead angle in com pa rison to o ther street H arl eys gives quick steering and exce lle nt ha ndlin-g ove r sm oo th surfaces, especiall y with th e box section swingarm a nd grippy Dunlop Sport Elite tires. Even the bu m ps on the Daytona ba nking didn't appear to unsettle Ch urch 's bike when I ca me up behind h im in practice o ne day, bu t o n th e road bike I tried wit h the same sus pe nsion (p ractica lly no cha nges ca n be mad e to BoTT Stock class machi nes ) it was a different sto ry. T he rock ha rd rea r su spension to sses you up in the a ir over any rou gh surfaces such as rai l-tracks o r road co n stru ction ridges, and though th e rebound da m p in g wa s reaso nab le, th e springing certa in ly wasn't: some p la ying aro u n d with sp ring rat es by a prospective o wne r would appear to be in ord er h ere. Anoth er q uirk of th e Harley is th at it lea n s slightly to the left wh en a t rest, a nd a t really low speeds you have to consciously steer corres pon dingly right to correct thi s imba la nce, apparent ly caused by the shifting of the relatively h eavy ex haust system from the right to the lefi si de as o n th e raci ng XR s exce p t th e chassis a nd engi ne loca - tion belong to th e Sports ter, whi ch has th e p ipes o n th e right. It 's n ot an y rea l kind of p robl em , m or e a cur io us idi osyncracy. Ridin g th e XR I000 in sta nda rd fo rm can be su m med up in just o ne word: FUN. It 's the sort of bike yo u'd find yo urself invent ing reasons to go for a ride with , prefera bly a lo ng the curviest p iece of ro ad yo u ca n di scover. Hustlin g the H arl ey through th e tw ists a nd turns in th e Florida su nshi ne wi th th at co mfo rta b le . relax ed ri d ing Posi tion a nd co m fy seat , short -sh ift ing away from tra ffic lights a nd letting th a t oo m fy en gine pu ll yo u a lo ng is wh at bike-riding shou ld be a ll a bo u t. And wh en I tried th e stree t racer with th e performance ki t fitted, th ough low-speed idle was irregular and tootling aro u nd town something yo u 'd be better off not do in g, the fire-ea ting characteristics o f the 95- h p en gine in a bike weighin g arou nd 480 p o unds meant rubberla ying was the order o f th e day. Quick - go buy a n XRIOOO before so meone bans the m because they're too much fun ! And th ere's th e rub. For h av in g fun with th e XR 1000 is in the sa me sort of fin ancia l ca tegory as hol idaying in the Ba h am as in w in ter or ea ting ca via r for br eakfast: it's expens ive. H arley ha s li sted th e sta ndard model at $6,995. Initial p roduction p lan s ca ll for 1000 bikes to be bu ilt before th e end o f th e com pa ny's 1983 model yea r a t the begi n ning of J ul y, bu t T homsen stresses that there are no p lans ' to lim it p rod uc tio n to try to mak e th e bik e 'excl usive.' H ar ley will build wh a t the mark et wa nts , and pro vided deal ers are prepared to let p otentia l cu sto me rs try th e bike o ut o n a test ru n beforeh and , it wo n ' t only be committed H -D fa ns wh o' ll end up bu ying one. 'For th e XRIOOO delivers more or less what it promises - and th at' s ha rd for a stree t version of any racer todo , esp ecia lly w hen the progenitor is as famo us a m achine as th e XR 750. In truth , th e bikes share p recious lit tle in common : th e all-important a lloy heads with th e Bra nch trea tment", is a bo u t a ll. Iro n barrels with their massive fin n ing replace th e alloy ones on the ra cer , a n d valve sizes, co nrod len gths, ca ms a n d so forth are a ll specia lly designed for the XR 1000, differin g from th ose fo u nd o n th e kin g of dirt. The relation ship between th e two bikes is o ne o f co nce p t: the same people though t th em u p , the same peo p le develo pe d the m, u sin g th e same basic engi nee ri n g ph ilosop hy. All th a t rema in s n ow for th e XR IOOOto become o ne of the wo rld's grea t bik es is for H arl ey to rethin k . so me o f th e few d isappointin g areas : get a proper XR fuel tank, p ainted in trad ition al H -D racin g co lors , on th e bike; replace th ose craz y gri ps with so me th ing yo ur hand won 't slip o n a n d a t th e sa me time try to im prove th e run o f th e th rottle ca bles; provide a deq ua te h eat sh ie ld in g o n th e ex ha ust withou t sacrifici ng the styling; a nd wi th a ll that p lus a neutral light th ey'll have a moto rcycle p eop le will lin e up to bu y- even at seven gra nd . I kn ow-if I co u ld on ly p ersuade th e ed itor to pay me. wh at I'm really wo rth, I'd be o ne o f th em ! • Specifications Engine ... •.. ........... •.. OHV 4-strOke pushrod 45° V-tWin Bore x stroke . . .. . . . . . . . • •.• .• .. . .. . . • .•••. . . •• 81 X 98'.8mnr Capacity , 99sec Power .... •.•.. •....• .•.•.. •. •... .•.• 70.6 bhp @ 5,6001'pm Maximllm torque ........ ..•.•. •• •••.• 48 Ib./ft. @ 4,400 ~ Carburetors .. . ..• ..• . . . . . • • . • 2 x 36mm VHB DelI'()i(os with, accelerator ~um~ Compression ratio • . .•.. . .. . .. . . .•. . . 9:1 (10.5:1 kit availabltij Ignition .... . . • •. .. •.. •.• •••. • . • • . •. .• .• . • . . •.•.• • . El8ctronic Altemator (182w) with battery (12v) Electrical power Primary drive : . . ,. Triplex chain Gerabox ... , . •. •.• . •. . : , . . .. .•... . •... .• .. •• • .. 4-speed Front j;uspension , . . • ..• . '.' . . • Telescopic forks, 7" travel· Swingarmwith twin shocks, 4" .trave! Rear Suspension ., Wheels/tires ., . . . , Front 100.190 x 19V Dunlop Sport Elite IRear 130/90 x 16V Dunlop Sport Elite (18" available) Front 2 x 11 Va "disciRear 11 Va" disc Brakes ' Wheelbase .. . . . . .. .. ....• , .. . . . .. .• . . . . • , .....• . .. . .. . . 59. 3'~ Weight . .. . . • . .. . • . •. • . . . .. .. . .. .. 492 Ibs. with oil but no fuel Lubrication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Dry surnp Starter : , Electric (no kick start) Calculated top speed at 6,200 rpm redline ... • • •.... . 115 mPh Sugguted retail price • •. •• . • .•.••. .. . . .• .• . . • . • •••. • . $6 •

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