Stunt Review: Harley-Davidson XR1200

Alexander Andreev in his Stunt Review series talks about his new motorcycle Harley-Davidson XR1200. Harley stunts aren't new, but the XR1200 is an interesting model. The Americans tried to make a sport bike based on a heavy Sportster: the base was shortened, the steering was redesigned with a new progressive fork, the center of gravity was raised thanks to longer suspension and a new swingarm, and wider sport wheels were mounted. The result is a sporty bike weighing under 300 kg with a high-torque V-Twin engine.

The XR1200 is the only Harley which allows full stoppies, which is why Alex chose it. A standard fork is enough, but the brakes had to be upgraded — this is the only significant modification. Rear suspension, wheels, frame, engine, transmission — everything is standard and works fine. Even a hand brake isn’t necessary, because the tank can’t be dented, so tank-position wheelies are out anyway. Circles can be done with the foot brake.

Of course, even basic stunts on such a heavy non-standard motorcycle are not easy to do — you need some skills for that. But Alexander Andreev performed well even on a bad surface in the hangar: stoppie 180 with kangaroo, powers, scrapes, grabs, deadspin on the rear wheel, christ and switchback coffin zero, and drift with exit to wheelie.