For a century, Harley-Davidson has been producing motorcycles that have attained legendary status on the streets and on racetracks everywhere. Over time, many of these production models for street and track have been the targets of collectors and enthusiasts. Such is the case with Frank Vespa, a man who owns two of the rarest racing Harley-Davidsons ever produced: a pair of 1994 Harley-Davidson VR 1000s. Recently, Dennis Gage and the Corbin’s Ride On crew visited with Frank in his “toy store” in Sarasota, Florida, and they got a lot more than they expected.

When Dennis walked into Frank’s garage, it was like a trip through a V-Twin time machine. Frank has an unbelievable array of bikes in his shop including the following: an unrestored 1936 Indian, a 1925 Indian Scout that he found in Australia, a beautifully restored 1934 Harley-Davidson VD, a 1941 Harley-Davidson with a sidecar (by the way, since this bike came from Australia the sidecar was on the opposite side!), and finally, a 1922 Indian standard that is a rarity since that is the year the Indian Chief came into production. All in all, there were some dazzling motorcycles; however, there was another pair that deserved, and demanded special attention.

Harley-Davidson has a rich racing legacy, and in 1994 they produced bikes for dealers that were street legal and were some kind of machine: the VR 1000. Frank told Dennis that these bikes were built for the AMA Superbike series in 1995, and were only sold to dealerships themselves. Two of only 50 produced (Frank owns #s 25 and 28) the cost of these bikes was $50,000 each when new! The engine is a 90º V-Twin, 995 cc power plant that makes approximately 150 horsepower! All the fairings and other parts are comprised of carbon fiber, and they were equipped with lights to be street legal. Most of these bikes were sold overseas and even though they are pretty rare, Frank agreed to fire one up and show Dennis and the crew just what the fuss was all about.

When Frank took off, the sound was incredible and it was impossible not to feel the power that these bikes produced. Even though the bike didn’t fare as well in the AMA Superbike division as Harley-Davidson had hoped, all was not lost for much of the technology and research that went into this bike found its way into Harley-Davidson’s revolutionary V-Rod that made its debut in 2002.

Corbin’s Ride On would like to thank Frank Vespa for giving us a look into his private collection and giving us a rare insight to these rare Harley-Davidsons. Thanks Frank!

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