The WR is an interesting bike in Harley’s storied history. Designed specifically for Class C competition, it featured a 738cc V-twin with several upgrades. Sold as a stripper-spec racing machine, it did not have lights or brakes, and was sold to assist privateer efforts to avoid putting money into a factory team. It was incredibly successful – by 1948, it had won 19 of 23 national championship races. The WR only weighed about 350 pounds, enough for the 40 horsepower engine to really move the bike.
This example (VIN: 46WR1013) “has been raced five times on clay & asphalt, and won three of the five races against seasoned contenders. It is arguably one of the fastest WR’s running today. The engine was meticulously balanced, blueprinted, & assembled by Departure Bike Works in Richmond, Virginia.”
The seller gets into plenty of details, noting that “this motorcycle weighs exactly 399 pounds with fuel & oil on board, and it is almost perfectly 50/50 balanced weighing 200 pounds at the front wheel & 199 pounds at the rear wheel. This balance is a big part of why this machine handles so well. Motorcycle sells with a stack of aluminum sprockets, so that you may fine tune it to your riding style. I race it on the 3/8-mile clay at a ratio of 1:7.1 with a 55-tooth rear sprocket, & keep the 51-tooth sprocket on the spare wheel with 1:5.7 ratio for asphalt 1/2-mile racing. This bike took checkered flags set up exactly this way. I will give buyer my race data sheets, along with engine build invoices. I built this WR racer to sponsor an incredible rider who had no motorcycle to race. It is track ready today, and needs nothing but fuel & oil (it likes to consume a lot of both). There is nothing done sloppy on the motorcycle. It is extremely well-built, and prepared to win races. I’m going to focus that rider on board track style racers, & don’t want to see the WR sit idle.”
Find this WR for sale in Franklin, Tennessee with bidding up to $19,999 here on eBay.