Hall of Famer: Cal Rayborn’s 1970 Harley-Davidson XR750

In 1970, the Harley-Davidson Motor Company created a new generation race machine: the iron-barreled V-twin XR750.
Based on the company’s Sportster streetbike engine, the machine was clearly a stopgap measure as engineers worked on a new race bike. That new bike would come out in 1972 and feature an alloy engine.

The early iron-cylinder XRs had a reputation for being heavy and slow, but not in the hands of Hall of Famer Cal Rayborn. It was in the spring of 1972 when Rayborn turned in perhaps his most famous performance, and it was aboard an iron XR.

Rayborn was a Harley-Davidson factory rider, and against the wishes of the factory, he accepted an invitation to take part in the TransAtlantic Match Races in England, where some of America’s best road racers competed against British riders. With the factory declining to back him, Rayborn rode an old iron-cylinder XR racer owned by Harley-Davidson employee Walt Faulk.

It was Rayborn’s first appearance in England. On the outdated bike and with no experience on the tracks, Rayborn went out and won three of the six rounds, and finished second in the other three, tying Brit Ray Pickrell as the top scorer.

Rayborn’s heroics weren’t enough to give the U.S. team a victory over the British, but he became an instant hero in Britain. More importantly, it marked the beginning of the recognition by the rest of the world that American riders—long thought only to be masters of oval dirt tracks—could be top contenders in international road racing as well.

In fact, Rayborn’s performance aboard the iron XR was a precursor to the era of America’s dominance in world championship road racing of the late-1970s and 1980s.
This 1970 Harley-Davidson XR750 road racer is owned by the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and on display at the museum on the campus of the AMA in Pickerington, Ohio.