Harris Performance Products
Encyclopedia
Harris Performance Products are a British
motorcycle
racing and parts manufacturer.
. Established in 1972 by Lester Harris and his brother Steve Harris, with a third director Stephen Bayford, the company designs, develops, manufactures and markets road and racing motorcycle chassis and components. Over 2,200 road bikes have been produced and sold from one-off specials to the Harris Magnum range. This included approximately 20 Laverda-based Magnums, amongst others. Harris motorcycles have been successful in all classes of road racing including Grand Prix, Superbike World Championship
, World Championship Endurance, Isle of Man TT
and top Irish road races. In 1991, Harris became one of only two companies worldwide to be licensed by Yamaha
to buy factory race engines for installation in Harris designed and built chassis for the blue ribbon 500cc Grand Prix World Championship class. Harris continues to diversify and is a technical partner to the official Yamaha UK Supermoto team.
They are best known for their Harris Yamaha
500 GP machines which were produced from 1992 onwards. They ran the official Suzuki factory World Superbike
Team in 1996‚ 1997 and 1998. Harris Performance Products, founded by Lester and Steve Harris, is not affiliated with L.F. Harris International, which was founded by Leslie Frederick Harris, no relation.
In 2003 Harris Performance teamed up with World Championship Motorsports
(WCM) to build new racing bikes under the name "Harris WCM".
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
racing and parts manufacturer.
Background
The family-run company Harris Performance Products Limited is based in HertfordHertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
. Established in 1972 by Lester Harris and his brother Steve Harris, with a third director Stephen Bayford, the company designs, develops, manufactures and markets road and racing motorcycle chassis and components. Over 2,200 road bikes have been produced and sold from one-off specials to the Harris Magnum range. This included approximately 20 Laverda-based Magnums, amongst others. Harris motorcycles have been successful in all classes of road racing including Grand Prix, Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
, World Championship Endurance, Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
and top Irish road races. In 1991, Harris became one of only two companies worldwide to be licensed by Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
to buy factory race engines for installation in Harris designed and built chassis for the blue ribbon 500cc Grand Prix World Championship class. Harris continues to diversify and is a technical partner to the official Yamaha UK Supermoto team.
They are best known for their Harris Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
500 GP machines which were produced from 1992 onwards. They ran the official Suzuki factory World Superbike
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
Team in 1996‚ 1997 and 1998. Harris Performance Products, founded by Lester and Steve Harris, is not affiliated with L.F. Harris International, which was founded by Leslie Frederick Harris, no relation.
In 2003 Harris Performance teamed up with World Championship Motorsports
World Championship Motorsports
World Championship Motorsports was a grand-prix motorcycle racing team formed in 1992 by Bob MacLean and Peter Clifford. The team ran Yamaha motorcycles from to . They were sponsored by Red Bull for to and were called Red Bull Yamaha WCM....
(WCM) to build new racing bikes under the name "Harris WCM".