Leo Payne’s 1957 Harley-Davidson Drag Bike

Photo by Preston Ray (www.PrestonRay.com)

When an ordinary Harley-Davidson Sportster arrived at AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mike Wilson’s Iowa dealership in 1957, there was no way of knowing it would become a legendary motorcycle.

Or that the man Wilson would sell it to, Leo Payne, would become a legendary racer with a Hall of Fame career.

But that’s what ultimately happened to that Sportster, which in more than 20 years of fierce competition claimed everything from local wins to national records.

Buoyed by his local success—thanks in part to Wilson’s tuning prowess—Payne kept improving his machine and his skills. By the mid-1960s, when he headed for California to take on national-caliber riders, the Sportster was a nitro-burning monster that could run quarter miles in the nines. It had also earned a nickname—the “Turnip Eater”—for its appetite for Triumphs.

Soon, Payne wanted more than just national race wins. He wanted to race historic high marks, and he aimed his Harley at a new challenge: land speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Because the machine had been built for drag racing and had only one gear, though, Payne had to make a few adjustments for this new type of competition.

To get under way, Payne would hold onto the door handle of a car that would tow him up to about 75 mph. Then he’d let go, engage the clutch, aim at the timing lights and accelerate up to cruising speed. The technique worked. Payne was able to set a record of 202.379 mph on the salt in 1970 to become the first non-streamliner to go more than 200 mph.

Payne retired the machine in the mid-’70s, but his motorcycle’s incredible journey wasn’t over.

The legendary Harley came full circle when Wilson bought it back 34 years after he sold it—upon Payne’s death in 1991. As tribute to his longtime friend, Wilson restored the bike and donated it to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, where it is currently on display.