Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1541594
itself in more heavily regulated competition, securing 22 wins and 62 podiums en route to a pair of AFT Production Twins titles. With all due respect to Rob - inson, the XG750R earned itself an even bigger prize in landing the uber-talented Bauman. Un - like Robinson, Bauman came to the bike with almost zero prior Harley-Davidson history. Heading into the 2025 season, Bauman ranked second to only Kenny Roberts for most career Grand National Championship main-event victories without an H-D win on their résumé. Despite his front-running track record, Bauman was seek - ing answers. Having reunited with Dave Zanotti and Michelle Disalvo for '25 but not entirely satisfied with the KTMs he rode, overseen by either Zanotti in '23 or Kenny Coolbeth in '24, he was open to suggestions. And a suggestion came from Robinson's team owner, Jerry Stinchfield. as he walked away from the double opener with a pair of second-place finishes, even if Daniels—as feared—dominated the proceedings. Things weren't quite as smooth for Robinson and the Mission Roof Systems outfit, but a fifth and a sixth were far from a disaster. But it wasn't until the follow - ing round in Senoia, Georgia, at Yamaha's home venue of all places, that the Harley-Davidson XG750R formally announced itself as a genuine threat for the 2025 season. With a dose of black humor, Robinson mirrored his own words from Harley-Davidson's 2017 team announcement in the 2025 Mission Roof Systems' release, where he reasserted his goal to become the first rider to win on the XG750R nearly a decade after he did so originally. And, for a time, he looked good to settle that unfinished business at the Senoia Short Bauman said, "About this time last year, I talked to Jerry, and he was like, 'Well, if you ever want to try the XG, Brandon's probably going to race one. We're going to test it, and if you want to see how it goes, come on by.'" Bauman sampled Robinson's XG750R for three laps just to A/B test it with Zanotti's KTM. That was enough to spur a full day's exploration of the Harley. "We were just trying to figure out what our best opportunity was to get on something that could compete with Dallas and Esten - son. Everyone was stressed out. It was like, 'Man, they're probably going to win every race.' We were trying to pick the best piece we could to fight with. After a single day, we were like, 'I think this is it,' and we just went from there." All in all, the Daytona Short Track I and II season opener had to be considered a success. Certainly, things came togeth - er even quicker than expected for Rick Ware Racing's Bauman, (Left) The Estenson Yamaha MT-07 was the only production- based bike that could somewhat compete against the race-bred Indian. The XG750R was well off the pace. (Right) In 2025, the Yamaha MT-07, with six wins, edged out the XG750R for the SuperTwins title. VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P83