Harley-Davidson’s race heritage could have very easily never happened. Arthur Davidson wasn’t fond of the idea of a H-D race team and felt it made very little sense. He was confident his company was more than capable of producing competitive racers, but felt all of the special R&D was largely irrelevant to the bikes on the showroom floor. “We can build all these freak racing machines, eight-valves, auxiliary-forks, lightened moving parts, and everything ‘skinned’ down to racing. But what benefit would it be to us? We don’t sell these freak racers,” he explained. He didn’t deny the potential marketing value of producing record breaking bikes, and luckily this was enough for Walter Davidson to sway his little brother. The rest is history. H-D enjoyed its fair share of racing success – especially on the board track – but everything would change at the end of the 1920’s.
Even in the infancy of two-wheeled motorsport, the activity was never particularly cheap, so when the Great Depression struck motorcycle racing was hit hard. Harley-Davidson was far from immune from effects of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, seeing its sales nearly dry up. The director of the AMA at the time, EC Smith, had the idea of creating a class of racing that would allow enthusiasts to race with a lower cost of entry enabling regular nonprofessionals to partake. This idea would become Class C racing which began at the end of the Depression. Harley tossed its hat in the ring by the third year of the new class, the Milwaukee-based moco unveiled its first showroom race machine in the form of the WR models, basically the W-model that came without lights, mufflers, brakes, and the other components that would be removed for racing. Why make customers pay for parts they don’t need?
There were obviously additional differences between the WR models and the W & WLD. Even the WR and WRTT bikes had some significant differences separating the two. The WR was made for racing “flag ovals” so they featured what was referred to as “the light frame”, a chassis made of stronger steel than the WLD’s frame. The WR was supposedly more than 100lbs lighter than the WLD. The WRTT was built to withstand more abuse, as its competition consisted of deep ruts, jumps, and other obstacles to push riders and their suspension to their limits. The TT actually used a trimmed down version of the chassis used on the WL. Supplementary bracing was then added to the WRTT, though in ’48, Harley would give the TT models a braced version of the WR frame. The TT models also had brakes.
The WR was powered by a 45ci (or 739cc) Flathead that featured a recirculating oil system Harley had introduced several years prior. The Class C racer’s engine was married to a hand-shifted three-speed transmission with foot-activated clutch. The machine also boasted aluminum heads and an Edison-Splitdorf magneto. While I had trouble getting an exact figure of how many WR and WRTT’s were built, but I can confidently say it was very few. One trustworthy source – that did admittedly use the word “reportedly” – said that only 36 WR’s were built in ’42, with – again supposedly – only four of those being in TT trim. This TT example features the 5-gallon factory tank (and oil tank) and includes an additional motor in the sale which helps in starting to justify its price.
The war was over, young men were returning home with money in their pockets, and Harley enjoyed the massive benefits of not only massive and lucrative military contracts, but also from a record influx in sales thanks to the returning vets and booming economy. Ample sales meant ample money for R&D, and ample opportunities to hire the very best, whether it be engineers or racers. As a result, Harley dominated on the W-series platform for the next decade, but the writing on the wall was becoming increasingly obvious. Harley still had an incredibly strong finished to the ’40’s, winning 19 of 23 National events in 1948 and 19 out of 24 in 1949, but Harley’s time was running out. In 1950 Larry Headrick piloted a WR prepared by renowned tuner Tom Sifton to victory at all three AMA national mile races, resulting in a WR sporting a ’No.1′ plate.
It wasn’t too long however before manufacturers overseas caught wind of this and set their sights on the US market. It was a patriotic time in the States, America had just helped save the world and the love for one’s country definitely helped Harleys sales, though overseas some solid bikes were being produced. Though America wasn’t super fond of Japan at the time, the restrictions set on the nation that barred it from developing military aircraft meant its best and brightest engineers went into the automotive sector, leading to Japan’s long history of churning out some incredible motorcycles.
Not only were some great bikes coming from Great Britain, but many American GI’s had actually experienced the noticeably lighter British scoots overseas during the war. On top of all the foreign motorcycle development, Harley hadn’t done too much to improve the WR and it was becoming increasingly long in the tooth. Some of the updates made to it were simple fixes for obvious problems such as a clutch basket that would scrape against the ground when the bike was leaned over due to it being fitted to located on the outside of the sprocket (instead of recessed into the hub).
This combined with a myriad of other factors will lead to Harley releasing the now legendary KR and KRTT machines, which is where today’s lesson ends. Neither example is perfect, but for 80-something-year-old machines, they’re pretty solid. Plus the WRTT example here boasts some of the most awesome patina I’ve ever seen with its original H-D Factory Race paint. As a San Francisco-native I personally am most fond of the machines piloted by Joe Petrali (a fellow SF-native), but these old Harley racers are still thoroughly cool. I love the angle at which the big rear-fender is mounted and the incline the chain is at, these bikes just exude this flavor from yesteryear that is undeniably really special.
This 1940 Flathead WLD racer was rebuilt by Harbor Vintage, a Jonesville, Vermont-based American scoot specialist shop owned by Dave Scherk. Harbor Vintage’s “Customer Bikes” page features some really cool old American bikes, largely Harley’s. Only 75-miles have been put on this example since the professional rebuild and the seller says it runs and rides perfectly. The 45ci Flathead made a cool 28hp which was 7 less than the WLDR model. The 1940 H-D has a three-speed hand-shifter and 18-inch aluminum spoked-rims. The ad states the example isn’t 100%, but looks pretty close from where I’m standing. I don’t love the custom paint on the tank, albeit it’s nonetheless a gorgeous example with a lot of old-school character.
There are a decent amount of WR and WRTT examples floating around Bonhams and Mecums auctions. While a quick google search yields a couple dozen results, here is a 1942 example, a 1950 example, and a 1951 example. Do keep in mind the fact that the TT variant was about 1/9th as many WRTT’s as there are WR’s. I also came across a pristine 1940 WLD example that Bonhams sold for $21,000.
You can find the 1948 Factory Harley Davidson WRTT Racer for sale here on Craigslist in Northern New Jersey with a price of $45,000.
You can find the rebuilt 1940 Harley-Davidson WLD Flathead Factory racer for sale here on Craigslist, also in Northern New Jersey with a price of $14,500.