By John Tibben
In about 1959, the AMA track racing committee reduced the engine size for Class A quarter-mile short track. Harley-Davidson didn't have a model to fit. They soon acquired the Aermacchi works of Italy with their somewhat horizontal engine: a single-cylinder 250cc Sprint street bike.
In 1961, for the Short-Track National, the Harley Racing Department built up this CR. It was the original CR 250 built for and improved by Carroll Resweber.
After Carroll's career came to an abrupt end, I rode this originally constructed Harley CR for eight years in AMA Class A short-track competition, mostly at Santa Fe Speedway in Chicago. And also at races in Long Beach, Vallejo, Gardena, Daytona, and a few other short tracks.
I had to continually overhaul, modify, upgrade and strengthen this bike to stay competitive, as the years went by. When I quit racing, I gave much of the bike to Mike Connell, who raced it in vintage competition and won a national championship on it.
This winter 2009-10, I began with the original parts I had left to build the bike up again. I wanted it to run and look like it did when I started riding it in 1963.
The pictures below indicate progress stages. The frame, rear wheel and sprocket, exhaust mount, carburetor and forks are original parts. The engine is an early 1966 CR 250. The paint is about as Resweber had it. In 1964, I had an entirely different paint scheme by Norm Gruber.
I made new foot beg mounts, pegs, and bolts out of aluminum. The axles are also aluminum. I put a race-worn Perelli on the rear and a Dunlop K-70 on the front.
This is the way it was in the 1960s. Of course, it has my National #60 on it.
I hope to have this Harley-Davidson at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days this summer.
John Tibben earned National No. 60 and is AMA No. 37236. He is a member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and lives in Victor, Iowa.