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/771039
VOL. 54 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 10, 2017 P107 for its full racing team. That would also mark a historic first: the first time the Harley-Davidson factory team hasn't fielded the venerable XR750 since it was intro- duced in 1970. So, it's likely to be new generation Harley XGR versus new generation Indian FTR. That's about as exciting as it gets, because no one really knows how these bikes will perform over the course of an entire racing season on the widely varying venues of the American Flat Track Championship, much less on a TT track in Daytona that is new from the ground up. With these new machines raced by the factory squads, the question that comes to mind is, will a rider/team on the already established Harley XR750 or perhaps the Kawasaki Ninja 650-based flat tracker be able to come away with a championship while the new Harley and Indian go through the inevitable teething period? That's another big story to watch for this season. Most pundits feel that Brad Baker is the most naturally gifted rider in flat track racing today and the fact that Indian somehow managed to hire away a talent like Baker from Harley-Davidson, shows that it's "game on" between the two makers. Baker sounds excited by his new prospects and from this quote you can tell he definitely isn't lacking in the confidence department. "2016 wasn't one for the record books for myself, but it was definitely a season that I can take a lot out of to better and further my career," he said. "I feel like I have been being tested these past three seasons getting me ready for something great. In 2017, I am starting fresh with a new team, new bike, new rules and hopefully new beginnings. I am stronger and more talented than I have ever been before, I cannot wait to get the season underway in Daytona come March." Just a quick primer on the renewal of the Harley vs Indian battle. The original Indian Motorcycle, based in Spring- field, Massachusetts, that won no championships in the first half of the 20th century, has been gone for over 60 years. The last racer to ride an Indian to a national championship was the legendary Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bill Tuman. Tuman, part of the famous Indian Wrecking Crew of the 1940s and '50s that included Tuman, Ernie Beckman and Bobby Hill, was the last single-day winner of the AMA Grand National Championship, the result of his victory at the Springfield Mile in 1953. Starting in 1954 the Grand National Championship Series was born, awarding the championship to the rider who earned the most points over the course of the rac- ing season, versus the winner of a single event. Tuman's '53 Springfield Mile victory was the last AMA National victory for Indian, which means Indian never won a Grand National Series race, even though some riders continued to race Indian Scouts fairly regularly until the late 1950s. The last known Indian race to qualify for an AMA National was Bob Markey, who almost unbelievably put a 1940 Sport Scout into the field in the Laconia National in 1962. He finished 36th. After Indian went belly-up in 1953, there were at least a half-dozen attempts to revive the brand by various parties over the years. But for the first time, with Minnesota-based Polaris acquiring the rights in 2011 and beginning production in 2013, it feels for the first time that the return of the iconic American brand might actually stick this time around. The factory's commitment to return to racing with the all- new FTR750 further cemented that sense. If Indian has success in racing, it will be interest- ing to see if that success carries over to the show- room and how much of a share the motorcycle mar- ket the ambitious company might be able to gain. One thing is for certain, many eyes will be back during Bike Week 2017 and that's mainly due this time around to flat track racing. And for the loyal fans of the genre, it's music to their ears. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives NEW GAME IN 2017