The short-lived Harley XR1200 was a particular bike. If you’ve ever thrown a leg over one your self, you already know what we imply; an 80-plus horsepower Sportster with manufacturing unit flat monitor model and a chassis that’s constructed for twisty roads.
But for those who’re really accustomed to the XR1200, you’ll additionally know its tragic story. This rowdy avenue tracker was ever so barely forward of its time, and H-D killed it after just a few brief years as a consequence of poor efficiency on the showroom ground. If solely they’d held out for the present avenue scrambler craze…
We’ve all the time felt that the Harley XR1200 by no means received an opportunity to see its full potential—and the oldsters at Macco Motors in Málaga, Spain really feel the identical method. Their newest creation, a 2010 Harley-Davidson XR1200X dubbed ‘The Revenant,’ reveals us what might have been if the Bar and Shield had caught to their weapons just a bit whereas longer.
The buyer’s request for this construct was pretty easy. They needed a tough-looking bike that was constructed for the town, however additionally they needed a wholesome dose of scrambler model labored into the design. And they requested that the two-up functionality of the donor machine be maintained, which meant a rear seat and a second set of pegs would must be labored into the design.
If you’ve adopted our protection of Macco’s previous tasks, you’ll be accustomed to their penchant for constructing super-clean twin-shock bikes. A tidy tail part could make or break bikes like these, so naturally, that’s the place builders Jose García and Miguel Porras began.
The XR was stripped down, and the subframe was chopped behind the shock mounts. A brand new hand-formed part of tube metal was welded as a replacement, which shortened the lengthy flat monitor tail part of the unique bike by greater than a foot.
The chop gave the Harley a clear look, however Jose knew he’d need to get inventive if he nonetheless needed to shoehorn a pillion onto the again. His answer was a chic one—consisting of a custom-shaped split-level seat wrapped in Alcantara to present the pilot some further help, whereas additionally leaving simply sufficient area for a passenger to squeeze in and grasp on tight.
The remainder of the tail part was completed with an LED taillight and matching flip alerts, which had been cleanly labored right into a {custom} plate bracket utilizing machined adaptors. Jose elected to cover the pillion part underneath a chunk of detachable hand-formed bodywork. So if it weren’t for the presence of the inventory passenger pegs, you’d by no means guess you had been a two-up machine.
With the rear finish sorted, it was time to give attention to cleansing up the remainder of the bike. The huge, outsized mufflers had been the very first thing to go. In their place, Macco merely welded on some open finish caps (so sure, you’ll hear this XR coming lengthy earlier than you see it).
As for the lights and controls, a Biltwell Tracker handlebar was fitted, after which capped off with Rizoma alloy grips, and bar finish mirrors with built-in alerts. All of the unique controls had been eliminated as nicely and changed with Motogadget switches. The wiring for all of this was then routed down via the handlebars and right into a Motogadget breakout field for the cleanest look doable.
Macco as soon as once more tapped the oldsters at Motogadget by using their analog Motoscope speedo. This was rerouted underneath the suitable aspect of the gas tank with a {custom} machined bracket, preserving the bars large open and unobstructed.
The construct nonetheless wanted somewhat scrambler flare, so Jose went to work finding out the wheels and tires. A set of 18” spoked wheels had been assembled from the OEM Harley catalog, and shod with Continental’s iconic TKC80 tires—giving the XR a correct set of enamel ought to it ever truly depart the consolation of paved metropolis streets.
This XR isn’t your typical Sporty, in that it comes with a set of twin floating disk brakes up entrance, which Macco fitted by way of a set of custom-machined adaptors. Out again, the single-piston Nissin caliper was upgraded to a four-piston Brembo setup for model factors and added stopping energy.
As for the suspension, you could have observed this XR was handled to an upgraded set of Öhlins piggyback rear shocks. These late-model XR-X’s profit from an upgraded set of totally adjustable Showa forks from the manufacturing unit, so Jose retained the inventory models, however had them anodized gold to match the Swedish bling within the rear. A set of Flo MX-style footpegs double down on the all-terrain vibe, with all of the foot controls and linkage painted gloss black to match.
Last however not least, it was time to finalize the XR’s bodywork. Macco saved the manufacturing unit gas tank, oil tank cowl, and entrance fender, however added a race-style stomach pan from Free Spirits Parts. Each piece was handled to a base of ‘Hockenheim Silver,’ which is definitely a BMW manufacturing unit colour reserved just for their M2 Competition fashions.
Jose explains that this colour modifications from almost white to a darkish grey relying on how the solar is shining, and makes the many of the XR’s pure strains. The extra striping you see is a mixture of pearlescent purple and blue—the latter of which additionally modifications within the mild from a gloss black to a deep indigo.
In old-world European folklore, the time period ‘revenant’ describes one who has returned from the useless to hang-out the dwelling. While nothing will carry the Harley XR1200 again from past the grave, we’ll sleep higher figuring out Macco’s squeaky-clean Sportster is on the market, haunting these answerable for killing the American avenue tracker simply earlier than the daybreak of hooligan highway racing.
Macco Motors | Images by Roberto Martin
Source: www.bikeexif.com