XR1200 Street Tracker from Romain Leclerc of Pirates Moto Crew…
The Harley-Davidson XR750 remains the most successful racing motorcycle of all time. Introduced in 1970, it won 29 of 37 AMA Grand National Championships in its first 40 years of existence, taking home more wins than any other race bike in history. Just a year ago, we watched Slammin’ Sammy Halbert battle for the lead on an XR750 at Daytona…against machines 54 years newer!
The original “Iron XR750” engine was Frankensteined from an 883cc Sportster XLR outlaw racebike, with displacement decreased to meet new GNC rulebook changes for 1970. Tuner Bill Werner, who worked in Harley’s factory race shop, was the main man behind the development of the XR.
“I had the sole task of converting them to dual carburetor kits. I welded up all the heads on the factory conversions, taking a front head and making two front heads and a dual-carb conversion out of it. I had to plug an exhaust port and move it from one side to the other to make the rear head.” -Bill Werner, Cycle World
Later engines were converted to aluminum heads, but the layout of dual carbs and left exit high-mount exhaust became a hallmark of the XR. These days, it isn’t too uncommon to see street-legal Sportster-based tributes to the XR750, but very few share this engine architecture.
Recently we heard from Romain Leclerc (@nvmero), a French film director who’s part of tight-knit community of enthusiasts known as Pirates Moto Crew:
“As a teenager, I used to BMX with a group of friends called Les Pirates. Years later, that same energy from our BMX days carried over into motorcycling and customs. Most of us embarked on project bikes and one of mine was this Harley.”
The donor is a ’97 Sportster XR1200, which was a bit of a mess when Romain bought it: supermoto wheels, enduro headlights, and dual carbs mounted sometime in the early 2000s…everything would have to be rebuilt.
“The legendary XR750 from the seventies was the reference for the build. There are many orange flat track Sportsters out there, but this one goes the extra mile paying a tribute to the original XR with its two Dell’Orto carbs sideways, with the exhausts on the left.”
Romain’s friend Christophe Clergeat (Atelier C&C) took on the challenge of rebuilding the engine. Like the original XR750, two front cylinders are mounted, but the rear one required significant machining. Romain says it took them nearly a year just to get their hands on the right Andrews cams, and the assembly required a lot of trial and error, reworking inlet manifolds and exhaust routing, etc.
However, all the hard work was worth it. The engine now boasts new internals, forged pistons and rods, an oil cooler, custom-machined rocker boxes, a Dyna 2000i programmable ignition, and those twin Dell’Orto carbs slanted sideways in true XR750 fashion.
Romain handled most of the rest of the build. Highlights include 19-inch aluminum wheels, chain drive conversion, inverted Paioli forks with Brembo brake, custom-built 15-inch YSS rear shocks, custom number plate with headlight, and Motogadget goodies like an M-unit, speedo, and LED indicators.
Though many XR750 tributes run orange fiberglass tanks and bodywork, the reality is that authentic XR750 race bikes have come in a multitude of shapes and colors over the years.
“I had a wide-and-low profile tank for a typical flat tracker look but it wasn’t in good shape. I slapped on a temporary tank and realized I loved the mismatched raw look of it, so I gave it a finish and it ended up being the definitive one.”
The raw tank gives the bike of a bit of an outlaw look, like an old race bike converted for the street. Best of all, this XR750-inspired Sportster is no show pony, but Romain’s daily rider — a street-legal celebration of one of the most legendary racing motorcycles of all time.
“The XR1200 is full of character and so much fun to ride! You get used to the leg position with the carburetors in no time, it handles perfectly. The Brembo front brake stops the bike better than the stock setup.”
Hats off to Romain, Christophe, Eliot Pillet (who helped with the paint), and the whole Pirates Moto Crew for bringing this vision like these to reality. Make sure to watch the incredible video directed by Gustav Gentieu (@vandal_free) and Romain of the build, and below, you’ll find our full uncut interview with Romain about the bike. Enjoy!
XR1200 Sportster Street Tracker: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
I’m Romain Leclerc, film director based in France, motorcycle racing and custom enthusiast. As a teenager, I used to BMX with a group of friends called Les Pirates. Years later, that same energy from our BMX days carried over into motorcycling and customs. Most of us embarked on project bikes and one of mine was this Harley.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?
It was originally a 1997 Harley Davidson Sportster S.
• Why was this bike built?
Some of us at @syndicatpirate embarked on projects bikes to take to the Wheels and Waves event, which was really just an excuse for a deadline and our annual motorcycle trip with the guys.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
In 2018, I was searching for a Harley to build a flat track bike, and I found a project bike with two carbs. The bike was a strange hybrid with supermoto wheels and enduro headlights. Almost everything had to be rebuilt. The legendary XR750 from the seventies was the reference for the build. There are many orange flat track Sportsters out there, but this one goes the extra mile paying a tribute to the original XR with its two Dell’Orto carbs sideways, with the exhausts on the left.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
The engine was a proper mechanical challenge and it’s Christophe (Atelier C&C) that took over this part. There was a lot of work to untangle the job done on the very messy build that was originally made in the 2000s, but we kept certain elements, such as the exhaust pipes and inlet manifolds that were reworked.
In order to have air intakes on the right and exhaust on the left, two front cylinders are mounted. Internals for the front cylinder are stock, but for the rear cylinder’s oil circuit and pushrods angles are off, for instance. The cylinder head was aluminium fed and machined and there was a lot of assembling/disassembling to perfect the system.
At the time, builds with two front cylinders were a thing so there were references for cams at Zippers and Andrews. I think we waited more than a year before being able to put our hands on the proper cams. Rocker covers were machined as well.
The bike was given a Dyna 2000i that is mandatory to fine tune the ignition. Christophe fitted an oil cooler, new forged pistons and rods, and many other new internals like valves and seats…
On the cosmetic side it’s pretty basic stuff such as a number plate that I made and a flat track seat. Two 19-inch aluminium rims on HD hubs and chain conversion.
On the stock frame, Paioli inverted forks were mounted along with custom-made 15-inch YSS shocks for the rear. I had a wide-and-low profile tank for a typical flat tracker look but it wasn’t in good shape. I slapped on a temporary tank and realized I loved the mismatched raw look of it, so I gave it a finish and it ended up being the definitive one. The bike is equipped with a Motogadget M-unit and speedometer with LED turn signals.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
I daily ride the bike and it was tuned for reliability over performance. The XR1200 is full of character and so much fun to ride! You get used to the leg position with the carburetors in no time, it handles perfectly. The Brembo front brake stops the bike better than the stock setup.
• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Christophe Clergeat whose knowledge and experience made this project possible, and Eliot Pillet for the help with the paint job.
Follow the Builder
Instagram: @syndicatpirate
Photos by Romain Leclerc: @nvmero | nvmero.com
Video by Gustav Gentieu: @vandal_free & Romain Leclerc
Very cool!