Vintage Fuel Drag Bikes

[RidingHood]

Indeed as Keith has mentioned ,Alf Hagons JAP resided in Australia untill his son retrieved it not that long ago .It was raced down under by "Fast Eddie" Castle and the spanners were spun by Col Moon.It came to Australia in 1969,and at the time Alf was criticised by a Brit motoring journalist for selling the bike "to a corner of the world where sprinting is is almost unknown" (which in retrospect is kind of funny and half true ,as Aussies are more into Drag racing than Sprinting).
Cheers RM

[skinner784]

keith lee have orderd your book for dad is there much racing over there? still dads trying hard to get 4x18 tire produced hed love to run nitro but says cost and ware and tear on old bikes would b expensive feels he could run 10s on gas with new engine parts u can get today

[Bocephus]

There is a really nice JAP DragBike in the Barber Museum.

[Blushin]

there are really some awesome pics in this thread

[Keith Lee]

Originally Posted by skinner784

keith lee have orderd your book for dad is there much racing over there? still dads trying hard to get 4x18 tire produced hed love to run nitro but says cost and ware and tear on old bikes would b expensive feels he could run 10s on gas with new engine parts u can get today

Hope he enjoys the book when he gets it.

Drag racing and sprinting is still going strong in Britain.
I imagine there are a few riders over here who would like to get hold of a 4 inch Avon replica at a sensible price. Be interesting to see if anyone produces one.
By the way, it was good to see the pics of your dad's old bike. It has a nice clean look.

[skinner784]

Originally Posted by Keith Lee

Hope he enjoys the book when he gets it.

Drag racing and sprinting is still going strong in Britain.
I imagine there are a few riders over here who would like to get hold of a 4 inch Avon replica at a sensible price. Be interesting to see if anyone produces one.
By the way, it was good to see the pics of your dad's old bike. It has a nice clean look.

thanks i know he has talked to quite a few tire makers the guys that are building frame talked to a manufactr overseas that had promise we hope. do u know about hurst tire recap 19x4 real close but pricey thanks again great thread

[vendetta]

Originally Posted by skinner784

thanks i know he has talked to quite a few tire makers the guys that are building frame talked to a manufactr overseas that had promise we hope. do u know about hurst tire recap 19x4 real close but pricey thanks again great thread

these any good?
http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?...on=show_detail

http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?...on=show_detail

mickey thompson does a 25/5.5/18

[skinner784]

Originally Posted by vendetta

these any good?
http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?...on=show_detail

http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?...on=show_detail

mickey thompson does a 25/5.5/18

hurst tire i think is rated at 120 i think 500plus dollars what i found with new tires compound to sticky for old bikes and u have to run wheelie bar i really want to race vintage without wheelie bars i might try hurst but hate to set up bike that way if dosnt work put goodyear road race tire on my old dragbike and had to use wheelie bar see [old triumph dragbike]on thread

[skinner784]

id like to hear stories of how u guys learned to run nitro have heard dads he used makunis because he didnt want to ruin amal gps till he new more also gave me 1970 mag with routt on cover quickest motorcycle in world ill post soon

[mrmom9r]

if you want no traction, old school ,tire spinner style just run a street tire. it won't be a "drag slick" but it sure will spin. there are no rock hard avon or bruce slicks any more and even if someone repops a tire it will likely be a modern compound.

[Joe Smith]

I sure wish I had one of those sticky tires you're talking about when I was running the four inch Avon and M&H tire...wouldn't have needed a Wheelie Bar either, just rode it different...even back then some of us was using the clutches available and sliding them by hand with the clutch lever and throttle...the Barnett Sintered Iron Clutch plates were available in 1971 and their Cork Clutch plates before that could be used as a hand slider, you just needed to have something to keep the clutch lever back (I had a piece of alloy hanging on a string on bars) so they wouldn't stick together until cooled down...and you'd had to change clutch packs almost every run though...

[mrmom9r]

Amen brother. It's always been about going from point A to point B with what you got to work with.

[Keith Lee]

Originally Posted by Joe Smith

I sure wish I had one of those sticky tires you're talking about when I was running the four inch Avon and M&H tire...wouldn't have needed a Wheelie Bar either, just rode it different...even back then some of us was using the clutches available and sliding them by hand with the clutch lever and throttle...the Barnett Sintered Iron Clutch plates were available in 1971 and their Cork Clutch plates before that could be used as a hand slider, you just needed to have something to keep the clutch lever back (I had a piece of alloy hanging on a string on bars) so they wouldn't stick together until cooled down...and you'd had to change clutch packs almost every run though...

I can inagine that was quite a balancing act, trying to manually slide the clutch Joe. Could you manage to get it pretty consistent from one run to the next?
Am interested in how much ETs improved by slipping the clutch instead of the tyre. But as you were always trying new things to go quicker, I guess that it is not an easy thing to put a number to.

[Joe Smith]

Keith,

Yes it is hard to explain...It started as far back as the “Smoking the tire runs” when we turned the throttle to the lock and dropped the clutch and smoke it for 800 foot but even then I learned to slide the clutch some, that's when even though I was smoking the time I found if I let the clutch out first and then turned the throttle to the lock it loaded the motor some while smoking the tire and I went quicker and faster still smoking the tire... The night at Irwindale when I was a little late with the throttle and the motor bogged and didn't light up the tire and I turned my first 9.0 ET it opened the door up to a new way of riding...after learning to do that every time with out killing the motor on the start line another door was open and I begin riding that way and sliding the clutch by hand which also required some work with the throttle and that was using Barnett Cork Clutch Plates...then came the Sintered Iron plates from Barnett and I built a 14 plate Sportster clutch which I used as a hand slider for a few years, then came the Slider Hat a Machinist friend and I built that fit on a Sportster Clutch...during this time came the M&H tires Joe Mondello of Venolia Piston got started for the Bikes and the many M&H four inch tires I tested for them at Irwindale....the many clutches and motors I went through while testing those tires...

Irwindale was my Home Strip and I was there every day and night it was open from 1963 until it closed it doors...making as many as 10 runs every time I was there...

[skinner]

love the stories, great thread, went to first dragrace for bikes in 1967 with sisters boyfriend, in ohio columbus norwalk thompson fell in love with racing my son posted my old hagon frame [old triumph dragbike] it was outdated when i bought it, but i want to show my boys what it was like then i am building two new bikes now one new bonnie one old new will have 5.5 tire slipper clutch ,old probly same but maybe 4x18 old will b on fuel high gear only want to show boys what it took to build and race true race bike almost every racer u guys mention ive seen great too read stories my boys are a generation of buy and go fast one son bought 675 triumph first bike 2nd day went 135mph on street even the computer told me i remember what it took to go that fast actully never did on track anyway thanks for the read love to hear what you would use for fuel carbs these days i just hacked up old mikunis before no floats turned down needle big lines almost drilled out threads on main jets to make it run i just need to finish what i started

[frank spittle]

Good to see all you new guys joining us.


Some time back someone posted a picture of Zack Reynolds, who was RJ Reynolds grandson, and I said I would post some more info on him. This is his most famous and fastest dragster that I watched him race. He called it "The Flying Hog" which was a neat name. That is him next to his red and white Harley somewhere on his Winston-Salem, NC estate. He was a hell of a racer and as you can see was very light.

[danisdead]

Thanks for all the history!!

[skinner]

it might not seem much to u guys that have done it so many times before but my personal benchmark was to hit 150mph on fuel in quarter mile on a 750 triumph my budget is 10,ooo dollars almost half that is rolling chassis i know its been done but not by me any advice is well respected already learned alot by reading this thread never when i asked questions as a kid was i ever turned away from routt spillars tc joe smith elmer i was always the excited little kid in the pits im still that kid

[frank spittle]

Originally Posted by skinner

it might not seem much to u guys that have done it so many times before but my personal benchmark was to hit 150mph on fuel in quarter mile on a 750 triumph my budget is 10,ooo dollars almost half that is rolling chassis i know its been done but not by me any advice is well respected already learned alot by reading this thread never when i asked questions as a kid was i ever turned away from routt spillars tc joe smith elmer i was always the excited little kid in the pits im still that kid

I wish some of the old British Fuel Bike racers would join us and share info like Joe does with the Harley guys. Boris Murray and Arno St. Denis are still around but neither have posted here. Maybe some of the old European racers can help you.

[skinner]

didnt arno work for routt i remember routt giving me his number i think he built side by side bike triumph for dirt racing i belive i was referred to him for trany problems think he put jap trany in tri or nort but i might b wrong keith anyone u can think of that has advice frame will b done in 60 days ill probly use amal gp carbs but toying with using flatslide mikunis thats what i have on new bonnie two 42mm for 790 motor wont have to make remote float bowls u harley guys think a carb used for harley work whats smallest carb u guys used is there small s&s mybe new bonnie motor will b at least 1100 slipper clutch dont no if anyone has run on fuel yet