$3,995
San Antonio, Texas
Category
-
Engine
-
Posted Over 1 Month
1983 Harley Davidson XR 1000, Collectable Series Vintage Motorcycle 1983 Harley-Davidson XR1000 Engine: 998cc air-cooled OHV 45-degree V-twin Top speed: 112mph in 1/2 mile (period test) Transmission: 4-speed, chain final drive Weight (wet): 500lb (227kg) (approx.) MPG: 46mpg (period test) Price then/now: $6,995/$5,000-$12,000 Back in the early 1980s, Harley-Davidson executives were still a bit nervous about the viability of the company. After all, they were trying to sell old-fashioned pushrod, two-valve, air-cooled V-twin machines in an era of multis with double overhead camshafts, 4-valve heads and liquid cooling. Shortly after Harley bought itself back from AMF in 1981, the decision was made to junk the revolutionary Nova prototype AMF had been developing, which had a V-four engine incorporating all those contemporary innovations. However, something decidedly kick-*** was needed to convince the faithful that this 80-year-old company still had what it takes to whoop the upstarts, and it had to be done on the cheap. What to do? The new heads used slightly larger valves to allow for the increased 998cc displacement, and also offered better support for the valve guides, considering that this was intended to be a high-mile street bike, not a constantly rebuilt race bike. After basic machining in Milwaukee, the heads were all sent to flow-guru Jerry Branch s shop in California. Branch did the porting and polishing, shimmed the double valve springs, and put in titanium collars and keepers. None of this was cheap. One big difference between the iron XL and alloy XR heads was that the valves were set at an included angle of 90 degrees on the stock Sportster versus 68 degrees on the XR. This allowed for a shallower combustion chamber and a flattish-topped piston on the XR, which helped create a shorter route from the spark plug to the combustibles. Performance package Harley claimed 70hp at 5,600rpm, along with 48lb/ft of torque at 4,400rpm. That power traveled along a triplex primary chain to a multiplate wet clutch, through a 4-speed Sportster transmission and out to the back wheel on a 530 chain. By Clement Salvadori
