Brandon Holstein, a partner at The Speed Merchant and owner of Brawny Built was one of the lucky recipients. In his case, he got a Street 750 engine and not the rest of the bike because that was about as much of the original bike as he needed for the race bike build he had in mind. This may not be your usual show bike as it was built within the strict rules of AMA flat track racing rules to actually go flat track racing, but it’s still a ground-up custom bike in the best sense of the term and it’s done its share of show floor sitting.
Harley’s newest water-cooled 750cc V-twin is a mildly-tuned engine intended for people looking for a rider-friendly engine in a rider-friendly chassis and that’s exactly what Brandon got, but not what he wanted. First up was a complete disassembly followed by a race-ready build by Brandon and the crew at Mach Modified in Farmingdale, New York, that’s surely putting out some serious power worthy of a bike intended to seriously compete on a flat track.
Oh you know, little things like Mach Modified custom rods and pistons that raise the compression ratio up a couple of points over stock to 13:1 or custom grind cams and ported and polished heads that put it all to good use. And you can’t forget that all of those radical internal changes need more fuel so the single throttle body setup was replaced by a new set of manifolds sporting dual throttle bodies capped by Vance & Hines air cleaners and all managed by a V&N Fuelpak. All those lovely side effects of the combustion process make their presence known through seriously sexy performance headers that Brandon fabbed up before being capped by a pair of Burns Stainless ultra-light mufflers although I don’t think a lot of muffling is going on. Who cares? They look as cool as cool can be.
With an engine that’s hopefully putting out competitive power and it seems to be by the initial testing, Brandon got busy creating a completely new frame from chromoly tubing to not only shed some serious weight, but get the dimensions needed to be able to throw this thing sideways at triple digits and basically handle like a real race bike. I seriously doubt too many Streets have been chucked into a corner sideways at high speeds so a whole new set of rules apply here compared to a guy who just wants to ride a Street to Starbucks for a cuppa. Brandon did his homework and came up with a tight, light yet stout frame that’d make any AMA tech inspector a happy dude.
Up front, a set of RWU forks off an early model Yamaha R6 reworked with K-Tech Suspension internals and held in place by Speed Merchant triple trees handles the load. The rear mono shock by K-Tech mounted high on the left side gets worked over by Brandon’s heavily triangulated chromoly swingarm. A set of light tri-spoke (or six-spoke depending on how you count) one-off wheels by Lyndall Brakes who also supplied the lone rear brake and the rear sprocket. Remember, the Street is not only new but belt drive too which means you just can’t order the correct sprockets from J&P Cycles or Drag Specialties. It’s good to have talented and like-minded friends in the industry and if you don’t believe me just ask Brandon, I’m sure he’ll straighten you out.
Like any custom, bodywork is a key for setting the tone and making a Harley flat track racer without a nod of the design hat to the fabled XR750 would be like the Pope becoming a Scientologist. Brandon came up with his own modified version of the iconic Sporty-style tank to which he attached a Holley billet fuel pump plumbed to an AEM fuel-pressure regulator. Carbs may be simpler, but they have no place anymore on a competitive race bike. He finished off the bodywork process it with a handmade aluminum tail section and side covers. Not clones of the XR750, just the inspiration all within Brandon’s show-ready bodywork.
In the custom bike world, there are no rules and that makes for interesting builds. Brandon’s no stranger to that as his previous builds were regular old Harley air-cooled builds often with a performance edge. But this baby had to meet everything the AMA’s rules demanded and that’s where a whole new set of building requirements came in. He had to stay within the rules but make them his own. Fit and finish along with serious thought and design make this build a winner in my book before it even gets super serious about becoming a winner on the track.
There’s more development work ahead and more racing after that so be sure to keep an eye out if you’re a flat track fan and see where this project goes. Sure would be nice for Brandon to have it take a trip or two to the winner’s circle next season to justify all the hard work he put into it. In the meantime he can give himself a pat on the back for not being afraid to take on such a different and tough project that’s already paid its dues with some decent race finishes and hopefully a lot of good press (and good times) for its benefactors, The Speed Merchant and Brawny Built.
For more info on The Speed Merchant click here and Brawny Built click here or just check ‘em out on Facebook.