1977 DT-250 AMF HARLEY-DAVIDSON

This MX-250 engine was very powerful and became very popular with Flat-Track & Dirt Track short tracks racing (1/4 mile). The horse power of the MX-250 was only overpass by the CAN-AM MX-3 engine. Since that in 1/4 mile race the left food almost never leaves the floor, must of the braking and shifting are done with the right food.  With the right setup and rider Harley-Davidson competition race engine became a force to be dealt with in any dirt track motorcycle competition of the era. 

Harley-Davidson never came out with a production combination frame and engine bike. More over their factory team used several different after market frames; Champion, Boss, Tarckmaster, Red Line, KR, etc.

Harley-Davidson made a dirt track engine out of the MX-250 engines. The first few engines were sold already converted over the conter engine by H-D. One of the major changes with the new engine by Milwaukee was the additional spark plug hole on the engine head for a compression release devise. Also, the elimination of the kick start and moving the transmission shifter level from the left to the right side.

Sometime early 1980’s Harley-Davidson started their own assembly in their Milwaukee, U.S. factory of their Italian made MX-250 engine with parts left over from the MX/SX 250 program of earlier years. Moreover, it is many strong believe that indeed Cagiva, the new owners of the Aermacchi Italian factory, may have manufacture spare parts for Harley-Davidson lightweight program in the late 1970’s. 

These hybrid engines (Harley-Davidson & CAGIVA) were stamped with a “VIN” number ended with a “J0” which means year 1980. How many of these Hybrid engine did Harley-Davidson assembled in the 1980 we probably will never know. But the reality is that they have been confuse and sold as the 1978 MX-250 engines. Even though Harley-Davidson introduced and promoted the sale of a competition engine call 1978 Harley-Davidson DT-250. We know for a fact that 1978 Harley-Davidson did not manufacture or had an engine model in their production call DT-250 (Dirt Track?). Having said that, we only can speculate that this was the hybrid engine produce in Milwaukee and stamped with a VIN# year of 1980 was to be sold for competition race of 1/4 mile short track in early 1980’s.  They probably call 1978 just because the so call “DT-250” was truly base on the 1978 MX-250. The parts used to manufacture this engine could have been left over inventory from both the MX/SX 250 and Cagiva parts needed for this project.

Some of their factory rides consist of Randy Goss, Ricky Graham, Ted Boody, Scott Pearson and Jay Springsteen who won the Houston short-track race in 1977 with combination of a Trackmaster-frame and a 1978 MX-250 engine.  Moreover, the MX-250 did extremely well in dirt track racing across the country all the ways to the early 1980’s against modern water-cooler Japanese engines.

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