Harley-Davidson Model Explanations
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XR1200
Story by Mark Barnett, Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson Photography & Imaging
The much awaited XR1200 was made available in the fall of 2008 as a 2009 model. It was introduced a year earlier in Europe. This bike is modeled after the factory’s highly successful “Class C” flat track racing bike, the XR750. For forty years, the XR750 has dominated racing on long, smooth dirt tracks, mostly half-mile and mile-long horse racing tracks. We’ve sold just about each one delivered to the dealership. First in line were all the old, ex-flat track racers. Everyone wanted an XR750 converted for street use, but the engine was really race only and most conversions failed.
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The seat is taller on this model, though it is based on the same rubber mounted frame that all the Sportsters use. This model is fitted with much higher spec suspension front and rear, and has a unique for the Sportster line, downdraft fuel-injection unit that makes the bike narrower at the knee and adds horsepower. The huge two-into-one-into-two exhaust allows gas to exit more quickly and also adds power. Meant to ridden more quickly than the cruiser models in the Sportster line up, the XR1200 is also fitted with more powerful brakes and wider tires, a 180mm one in the rear. A light weight aluminum swingarm adds to the racing nature of the bike, lowering unsprung weight and improving handling.
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The XR1200 feels the part on the road, the tank is narrow, the bars wide and swept back just like those on the racing bike. The more refined suspension and extra power encourage anti-social riding behavior and may cause riders to look twice and pull over when passing a horse track. The racing heritage is plainly felt, but in a refined, more practical way than ever before. I would say this is a bike for the closet racer, someone who doesn’t want to ride a crotch rocket, but is not enamored with the cruiser lifestyle. The racing heritage of the XR750 gives the bike street cred and most of all, it is a lot of fun to ride. A close friend bought our first one, put on a lighter, free flowing aftermarket exhaust and claimed the XR1200 gave him the same performance feeling that his flat track racing bikes had done twenty-five years earlier. Overall, a daring step for The Motor Company and one much appreciated by racing enthusiasts worldwide.
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