A more level racing field?
*This is an op-ed, purely my thoughts and opinions. They do not necessarily reflect the position of Road Dirt Motorcycle Media LLC. Just making that clear up front.
Over the winter between the 2024 AFT racing season and the start of this one in March, American Flat Track dramatically changed the rules and specifications for motorcycles used in their AFT SuperTwins class. For nearly a decade, Indian Motorcycle dominated the premier class with their incredible FTR750 flat tracker. The revived “Indian Wrecking Crew” tore up the class for years, with Jared Mees and teammates breaking records, winning races and clinching championships year after year since 2017. Early on, many thought the renewed legendary rivalry between Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle would make for incredible competition in the class. Turns out, Harley’s 750 machines just couldn’t hold a candle to the FTR750 bikes, much less ever beat them on the track. By the 2024 season, the Harleys had all but disappeared from the class, with most teams utilizing the FTR750, Yamaha MT-07, KTM 790 Duke, even a couple running the Royal Enfield 650, to name a few.
Now all that has changed. If you can’t beat them, eliminate them from the competition.
Briar Bauman on his Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R at Senoia Short Track.
With the premier class having undergone a complete “makeover”, Indian’s FTR750 is no longer eligible to compete. And suddenly, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle is back in contention, in the form of the XG750R, and it’s winning races. Ironic, at least to me. AFT execs decided the dominant run of the Indian FTR750 was over, after winning every national premier class title since 2017. I guess they figured it was time to let someone else start winning, so they lowered the bar by reclassifying SuperTwins as a “Production-Only Engines” class. This eliminated the FTR750, which was never offered for the street, only in the 1200 iteration (which sadly itself will soon be gone from Indian’s lineup).
So the Indian Wrecking Crew’s run is over. That’s a shame to me.
Briar Bauman, family and team after his SuperTwins win at Senoia Raceway, with the H-D XG750R that took him there. I’m happy for him, I guess…
I suppose it was inevitable, given the nature of the FTR750’s dominance over so many years, yet coupled with the fact that Indian has increasingly had difficulty selling the FTR1200 street version in the lifetime of its run. We reviewed one several years ago, and absolutely loved it, but acknowledged that it was not a very practical bike for day-to-day use or for touring. The FTR1200 is a phenomenal “streetfighter” style motorcycle, but is difficult to utilize as anything but a day rider, with no place for luggage or tail bags. We learned through the moto-rumor mill that this year’s FTR1200 will be the company’s last.
I hate that. But damn, was it fun to ride when we had one.
The FTR1200 we had several years ago. Difficult to tour, but doable.
So not only will Indian be dropping the FTR1200 from their street bike lineup, their FTR750 race bike has effectively been pushed out of competition. Sad days for FTR fan boys and girls. But if you’re a Harley fan, I’m sure you’re happy to see them back in the mix and making a strong showing again, with their XG750R. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to rain on H-D’s parade- I’m happy to see the Motor Company returning to their winning ways. I’m just sad to see the demise of Indian’s FTR machines to make a more “level racing field” for everyone else.
That’s my humble and likely less-than-informed opinion. What are your thoughts on these developments? Hit me up in the comments below.
Rob
ITS I INEVITABLE THAT A BIKE LIKE THE FTR would dominate flat track it was ENGINEERED from its inception to be a PURE RACE BIKE NEVER intended for street use so it HAD AN IMMENSE AND UNFAIR ADVANTAGE over all the other MANUFACTURERS who were running production bikes that were built for the street and modified for racing flat track I am surprised it took the rules committee so long to realize WHAT A HUGE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE THE FTR HAD
Indian’s primary goal in entering AFT, was a direct and strategic challenge against Harley Davidson to pry away customers. I am a Harley Davidson enthusiast and can tell you for me, Indian’s success didn’t move the needle one iota. With that said, I believe Harley Davidson should have gotten directly involved rather than allocating the AFT program to Vance and Hines and built a purpose built, flat track motorcycle. The value of doing this is to demonstrate Harley Davidson can compete, will not back down from a challenge, and pride of the company. Had they done this, the results would have been much different. Success should have been earned by merit, not rule changes.
I like your last statement- “Success should have been earned by merit, not rule changes.” Well-said.
You can THINK WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO BUT THE TRUTH IS FROMITS INSEPTION THE FTR WAS A PURPOSELY BUILT RACE BIKE NOT A STREET BIKE AND HAD AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OVER ALL OTHER BIKES THAT WERE PRODUCTION BIKES MODIFIED TO RACE