Bike of the Month for April
Harley-Davidson FXR2
When Harley introduced the original FXR Super Glide II in 1983, it still used the Shovelhead engine. The engine might have been ancient history, but the new frame was a revolution. It rubber mounted the engine (hence the R in FXR), to produce an exceptionally smooth, almost vibration-free ride, but more surprisingly, it handled well. With an exposed, triangulated frame, it didn't look like any Harley frame that had come before. With decent ride-height, surprising lean angles, and steering head angles that were sharp (by Harley standards), it could really get around corners. Eventually, it was replaced by the stiffer FXD Dyna chassis, but it remained a favorite of the customizers and aftermarket people. The last FXR was built in 1994. Now, five years later, it's back. How can this be? In Harley's York, Pennsylvania plant, they have a small dedicated assembly line that made lightweight Rotax engined bikes for the British military. When the contract went to someone else, Harley was stuck with an assembly line that was only capable of building about 500 bikes a year. That would hardly make a dent in the backlog of orders for the Big Twins, so they decided to use it as a specialty bike assembly line. Any future limited edition bikes would be built on this line. Since this is probably the last year of the Blockhead (Evolution) engine, it only made sense to resurrect the frame it was designed to power, as well as tap into that market for FXR frames for the custombike crowds. When Harley is done with this batch of bikes, there will be no more FXRs.
March 1999's Winner Kawasaki Estrella Custom
February 1999's Winner Laverda 750S Formula
January 1999's Winner Kawasaki SW650
December 1998's Winner Harley-Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer
November 1998's Winner BMW R1100S
October 1998's Winner Triumph Speed Triple
September 1998's Winner Moto Guzzi V10 Centauro Sport
August 1998's Winner Harley-Davidson FXDX Super Glide Sport
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