There were some times in the late 1960s and early 1970s that Harley-Davidson wanted to win everything. They wanted the road races, dirt tracks, scrambles, desert . . . and yes, the drags and Bonneville. They basically did it with the same unitized engine design in the KR, XR and XLCH. The XLCH was not a success to the HD race engineers . . . but, it was the privateers that made this engine win races. They called upon men like Warner Riley, George Smith and Leo Payne to come visit them in Milwaukee and show them their tricks . . . Smith and Payne are gone now . . . but, Riley is still around.
Warner Riley was at the BUB Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats last month. I got the chance to speak with him in the S&S pits. He was working with several of my friends on Jim Fishers Sportster. He is a gentle but razor sharp fellow.
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ReplyDeleteBrilliant stuff man, thanks a lot for putting that up, my brain hurts.
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