Note: This feature was originally published in Issue 47 of Cycle News.

By now, the story of AMA Pro Racing’s reckoning with the monster it enabled – Indian’s mighty FTR750 – has been well covered, including in a three-part “State of American Flat Track” series published in the pages of Cycle News prior to the 2022 season.

In brief, during the mid-2010s, with Harley-Davidson’s long dominant XR750 nearing retirement, the series charted a production-based future for its premier Mission AFT SuperTwins class.

However, the temptation of ushering in a new factory effort that would reignite an age-old rivalry proved too great. Indian was welcomed to enter the series with a purebred racebike… albeit with the understanding that it would only be allowed to compete for three seasons (2017-2019), after which it need have readied its own production-based platform.

But by 2020, the motorcycle market had shifted, and no suitable bike had been introduced. Meanwhile, the FTR750 used its probationary period to completely dominate the series, both in results and in sheer numbers. It became entrenched with a full three-quarters of the grid armed with Indians. Forcing it out at that point was effectively untenable.

Ultimately, AMA Pro Racing worked to level the playing field through a series of rule changes, which gave production-based racebikes a fighting chance. In turn, this resulted in an influx of a variety of such machinery, which, by 2025, made the long intended all-production-based vision a possibility that could be realistically executed.

Trapped inside this tale is the story of the Harley-Davidson XG750R.

While the Indian FTR750 proved itself the XR750’s spiritual successor in terms of outright success, it did so at the expense of Harley’s new machine, which was intended to take the baton from its iconic predecessor.

With the XG750R, Harley-Davidson went all-in on Progressive American Flat Track’s proposed production-based future. In collaboration with Vance & Hines, H-D fielded a star-studded three-rider factory team in 2017 based around the platform to counter Indian’s newly introduced three-man superstar outfit.

But Harley – like everyone else – was caught flat-footed by the Indian’s immediate and overwhelming success. Over the next eight seasons, the FTR750 showed itself to be arguably the finest flat track machine ever devised. It exited the stage at the end of the ‘24 season a perfect eight-for-eight in Grand National Championship, complete with 104 victories and 291 podiums in just 138 races.

Not surprisingly, the XG750R suffered by comparison. While the race-only XR750 racked up a nigh unthinkable 502 wins and 37 Grand National Champions across five decades, its direct replacement scored zero wins and managed just eight podiums during the Indian’s reign.

Despite massive investment and huge development efforts, H-D shuttered its factory program following the 2020 season, after which the XG750R maintained a simmering presence in the championship, in large part courtesy of Latus Motors.

Terry Vance, Vance & Hines co-founder and the man that oversaw H-D’s works SuperTwins effort, spoke of the program back in 2022 in something of a post-mortem. At the time, he admitted, “We tried everything that we could possibly try to make our bikes competitive at the top level, and, you know, we never solved the mystery. The Indian is just a very well designed and balanced motorcycle.

“When you think about what we've gone through with the XG, I mean, we build our own cylinder heads. We build our own camshafts. We build our own cranks, rods, and pistons. We spent a lot of money trying to be competitive with our program, and I'm really proud of what we accomplished with the bike and that we were able to get on the box the few times we did.”

And that could have been it. Story told. History settled.

But as you know, it’s a history that is now being actively rewritten.

As the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season made clear, the XG750R was not in fact a mistake nor a misfire, merely a bike ahead of its time.

While there was some reshuffling in the wake of the decision to make the FTR and other race-only platforms ineligible for the ‘25 season, the upheaval was far from total. Thanks to the multi-stage efforts to make production-based bikes more competitive in the preceding years, many teams and riders had already pivoted to the well-proven Yamaha MT-07, the powerful and trendy KTM 790 Duke, and the turn-key Kawasaki Ninja 650, which went bar-to-bar with the XR750 in the days before the FTR’s introduction.

However, two of the series’ three biggest names stood as free agents in the SuperTwins sweepstakes.

Jared Mees’ retirement left Brandon Robinson as the leading ex-Indian rider in the field, fresh off a championship runner-up campaign. Also on the hunt for a new bike was one Briar Bauman – who had previously earned a pair of Grand National Championships with Indian before making the jump to KTM in 2023. However, despite taking KTM to its first-ever premier-class twins win (and backing it up with three more), Bauman never could find a direction on the Duke and was more than open to change heading into ‘25

Their respective decisions were bound to have massive implications.

While removing Mees and Indian from the equation created a wide-open playing field in theory, the ground truth was anything but.

In the previous several seasons, Estenson Yamaha put forth a Herculean effort to develop its Yamaha MT-07 DT into a machine that could take down the FTR750, and paired it with one of the most promising young talents to emerge in decades in Dallas Daniels.

And Daniels was in a commanding position to finally accomplish that goal in 2024. However, that last, best chance was cruelly extinguished due to a training accident.

While most agreed that the all-production-based future would be a net positive for the series over the long time, there were widespread fears that, with Mees and the Indian out of the picture, Daniels and Yamaha would run roughshod over the competition in 2025 while everyone else struggled to play catch-up.

Robinson said, “Once the announcement was made that the Indians were going to be outlawed for ‘25, we immediately went into trying to figure out the gameplan. We already had a couple of KTMs, but I wasn't sold on them personally. So I was like, ‘Let’s try a couple different brands’

“So we rode a few different bikes in a test and had the Indian there to compare with back and forth. Within 10 laps of riding the XG, I knew that was the bike I was going to ride.

“As soon as I rode it again, it felt like home.”

Again.

The fact that the Mission Roof Systems team elected to go with a Vance & Hines built Harley-Davidson XG750R was simultaneously shocking and obvious given Robinson’s past history with the bike.

Indian made a huge splash by signing the 2016 champion, Bryan Smith, and runner-up, Mees, to front its three-rider full factory effort for the team’s first full season in 2017. Harley responded with a three-rider team of its own, fronted by ‘16’s third-ranked rider, Robinson, who won at Lima that season aboard an XR750.

While Mees and Smith went 1-2 in that first season to set the stage of eight consecutive Indian titles, Robinson struggled mightily in his two-plus years on the XG. He finished seventh and 14th the points in 2017 and 2018, while finishing outside the top ten with three times the frequency he did inside the top five.

Robinson subsequently rebuilt his battered confidence on the Indian, winning in just his second attempt on the FTR750 in 2019. He’s been firmly on a Hall of Fame trajectory ever since.

Despite that rocky past, Robinson felt confident that returning to the bike he helped develop was the right choice.

“Whenever we tested the bike back in the day, the XG always felt really good, and it did everything we wanted it to. But then we’d go to a race where there were a bunch of Indians and get our ass kicked.

“But I always knew in the back of my head when the rules went production-based and we got rid of the purpose-built flat trackers, this bike was going to be a weapon.”

In fact, there was already ample evidence of that belief. The XG had previously distinguished itself in more heavily regulated competition, securing 22 wins and 62 podiums en route to a pair of AFT Production Twins titles.

With all due respect to Robinson, the XG750R earned itself an even bigger prize in landing the uber-talented Bauman. Unlike Robinson, Bauman came to the bike with almost zero prior Harley-Davidson history. Heading into the 2025 season, Bauman ranked second to only Kenny Roberts for most career Grand National Championship Main Event victories without an H-D win on their résumé.

Despite his front-running track record, Bauman was in search of answers. Having reunited with Dave Zanotti and Michelle Disalvo for ‘25 but not entirely satisfied with the KTMs he rode overseen by either Zanotti in ‘23 or Kenny Coolbeth in ‘24, he was open to suggestions.

And a suggestion came from Robinson’s team owner, Jerry Stinchfield.

Bauman said, “About this time last year, I talked to Jerry, and he was like. ‘Well, if you ever want to try the XG, Brandon's probably going to race one. We’re going to test it, and if you want to see how it goes, come on by.’”

Bauman sampled Robinson’s XG750R for three laps just to A-B it with Zanotti’s KTM. That was enough to spur a full day exploration of the Harley.

“We were just trying to figure out what our best opportunity was to get on something that could compete with Dallas and Estenson. Everyone was stressed out. It was like, ‘Man, they’re probably gonna win every race.’ We were trying to pick the best piece we could to fight with. After a single day, we were like, ‘I think this is it,’ and we just went from there.”

All and all, the Daytona Short Track I & II season opener had to be considered as a success.

Certainly, things came together even quicker than expected for RWR and Bauman, as they walked away from the double opener with a pair of second-place finishes, even if Daniels – as feared – dominated the proceedings.

Things weren’t quite as smooth for Robinson and the Mission Roof Systems outfit – but a fifth and a sixth were far from a disaster.

But it wasn’t until the following round in Senoia, Georgia – at Yamaha’s home venue of all places – where the Harley-Davidson XG750R formally announced itself as a genuine threat for the 2025 season.

With a dose of black humor, Robinson mirrored his own words from Harley-Davidson’s 2017 team announcement in the 2025 Mission Roof System’s release, where he reasserted his goal to become the first rider to win on the XG750R nearly a decade after he did so originally.

And, for a time, he looked good to settle that unfinished business at the Senoia Short Track. Robinson battled for the lead with Daniels and Rackley Racing’s KTM-mounted Davis Fisher over the contest’s opening half before seizing command of the race and stretching out some distance in first.

“‘It went through my mind… Man, I might actually do this thing!’” Robinson said. “But I had this funny feeling. I was stuck in my line, and I didn’t know what the other guys were doing behind me at that point. But I was committed to it. It was live and die by the sword at that point.”

Despite his concerns, that line was more than good enough to hold off Daniels and Fisher. However, Bauman – who could only manage fifth in his heat and circulated as low as eighth early in the Main – surged up through the field, arriving on Robinson’s rear wheel just in time to strike with less than two laps remaining.

“When Briar got around me, it didn’t really give me a lot of time to go to work and study and see what he was doing. It was just all surreal.” 

Bauman and Robinson gave the once maligned machine a magnificent 1-2, laying the groundwork for what was to come.

Bauman said, “I'll be honest, I felt bad for Brandon because he’s my guy. But, also, I'm kind of a dog as well. I wanted to get that first win. So the feeling was awesome.

“Brandon was super cool afterward. I know it’s easy to be bitter. And, I’m sure it was a little bitter for him, but he’s such a good dude, the vibe for that 1-2 was awesome.”

While he put on a brave face, Robinson later admitted, “I was just like a bag full of mixed emotions. I mean, I wanted to be the first guy to win on it. I've been saying that since day one. To come that close to it and then just lose out…”

For Bauman, wins two and three came immediately, and he kept stacking them from there. Ten races in, he boasted six wins, three seconds, and the championship lead.

Robinson, meanwhile, found himself running out of time, and fast. While he finished on the podium four times over the season’s opening ten rounds, four of the year’s remaining six races were either less than ideally suited to his skillset (the Sturgis and Peoria TTs) or the bike’s characteristics (the Springfield Mile I & II), which made wins there a longshot at best.

“Getting that win on the bike was the one thing I wanted to accomplish all year,” he said. “Man, it was looking like it wasn’t going to happen for us. Senoia was a bit of a heartbreaker, and we were just never really close after that. It was kind of hard watching Briar have as much success as he was, but he’s probably the most naturally talented guy in our sport. And it was good in a way, because he proved it was possible. I basically just had to get my head out of my ass and go get the job done.”

Robinson finally got that job done at the Jackpine Gypsies Short Track II, a race best remembered for the heated clash and crash involving Bauman and Daniels. Robinson steered clear of that controversy by being in front of it, snatching the lead from Daniels early and then leading every lap that followed, both before and after the red flag and subsequent restart.

That race also put Bauman 11 points out in front of Daniels – a lead he maintained until his title ambitions suffered a catastrophic and controversial double blow in Springfield, where he was out-dragged on Saturday and black-flagged on Sunday.

Nonetheless, Bauman bounced back to conclude the season with an emphatic victory at the Lake Ozark Short Track finale, leading Robinson home to yet another Harley-Davidson XG750R 1-2.

In the end, Bauman led all riders with eight victories on the season, and he and Robinson combined to win over half of the season’s races (nine out of 16). The two also reeled in 19 podiums – just one fewer than the 20 that was collected via the contributions of five different Yamaha-mounted riders.

While falling short of the ultimate goal of a third Grand National Championship, the season may have been the most impressive of Bauman’s remarkable career to date – one that includes a pair of title runs in which he successfully defeated Mees at the peak of his powers on equal equipment.

“There’s a lot to be proud of,” Bauman said. “We didn't know what we had in the Harley, but we knew that Dallas and the Yamaha were going to be really, really good.

“It could be super bitter. And I was for a few days, I'm not gonna lie. But now we’re just appreciating the moment we're in. Now it’s easy to look back and say, ‘Man, what a cool season.”

And to think, 2025 was just year one in this new era for the vindicated XG750R.

Robinson is confident there is even more to come. “The bike itself is good. For the majority of the schedule – other than the Miles – I felt it was the bike to have. We were in the hunt pretty much everywhere.

“We now have an idea of what we're going into with it next season, and we have a plan to close the gap in the areas where we struggled.”

Bauman added, “I said all year long what a cool opportunity it was because it’s a bike I can really express myself on. You can go high, you can go low…. The thing is sweet – you can do your thing with it. I missed that for a couple years. And just to be able to do that again and feel myself again was awesome. It’s just a really solid platform for where the sport is now.”

There was also the added bonus of reawakening the legions of hardcore Harley-Davidson flat track fans who had been starved for success since the halcyon days of the XR750.

“The black and orange – that’s definitely a real thing,” Robinson said. “It had been a while. Even after a ton of years on the Indian, you never really got the same feeling as you did when you are riding a Harley. It was good to bring those fans back – to see that sort of excitement and enthusiasm.”

Bauman said, “We got that first win, and it kind of jumpstarted things. Facebook messages, Instagram messages, and the fan appearances. They started doing the H.O.G. Member Experience at the races, and that kept building and building. 

“Harley-Davidson has been a big part of American Flat Track for a long time. And at the end of the day, I just want to help grow the sport. I feel like myself and Brandon, with the success we had, we did a good job as spokesman for our teams and for the whole thing. We want to get people back involved. And it felt like we did bring some excitement back for those people who love the brand. That was cool.”

Out of the shadow and the underdog no more. No longer a bike before its time nor out of time, for the Harley-Davidson XG750R, its time is now.