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Vintage Fuel Drag Bikes

1M views 3K replies 270 participants last post by  JOHN HANSON 
#1 · (Edited)
This is a new thread I am starting dedicated to Nitro Fuel Drag Bikes. If you were involved with a Top Fuel or Junior Fuel Motorcycle team in the 50s, 60s, 70s and up to 1994 (25 years ago) we invite you to join in and share some of your memories. Or, if you didn't belong to a team but share our passion please join in too. There are other threads here on drag racing so let's keep this about "Nitro". My first fuel bike was an A/F Harley back in 1969. My last was the twin-engine Harley "Freight Train" that I retired in 1985. I will be sharing many fond and a few not so fond memories. This video was filmed in '83 and '84. The opening burnout was me and "The Freight Train" at the 1983 IHRA Spring Nationals in Bristol Tennesee. That was back when Top Fuel Motorcycles were occasionally invited to join in with the cars in a special T/F Motorcycle class. The rest of the video was filmed by my wife and is a little shakey at times but a treasure to me since it is the only film I have of my 21 year motorcycle drag racing career. For some of you it will be the first time you have seen a T/F Motorcycle started on rollers. I hope you enjoy.
 
#449 ·
Nice to have you join us Jim. For those who don't know Jim is a former Fuel Bike rider (Harley) and later an official with the Dragbike! organization. He has a ton of knowledge and hundreds of pictures maybe he can add here over time. Jim, I think you will like posting pictures here. I don't need to resize them like other sites I have tried. Hope it is easier for you too.
 
#452 ·
For old drag bike fans comes welcome news of a first combined car and bike nostalgia event at Santa Pod in England next July 16-17th, called Dragstalgia.
Some of the old bikes will once again be seen at the strip, with a number of them having a blast down the quarter. I know John Hobbs is keen to give the Hobbit an outing on the super sticky track where it enjoyed much success.
For those who enjoyed watching the Hobbit perform back in the seventies it will be a great sight. A number of bike racers from those early years will also be present doing book signings on Sunday 17th July.
Looking forward to being at that one.
 
#453 · (Edited)
Keith Lee posted

For old drag bike fans comes welcome news of a first combined car and bike nostalgia event at Santa Pod in England next July 16-17th, called Dragstalgia.
Some of the old bikes will once again be seen at the strip, with a number of them having a blast down the quarter. I know John Hobbs is keen to give the Hobbit an outing on the super sticky track where it enjoyed much success.
For those who enjoyed watching the Hobbit perform back in the seventies it will be a great sight. A number of bike racers from those early years will also be present doing book signings on Sunday 17th July.
Looking forward to being at that one.


Keith,

That will be like bringing your Book "Drag Bike Racing in Britain" to life...Sounds great to me, sure hope they have live feed on that weekend...
 
#454 ·
I hope it will be a great weekend Joe, and I'm looking forward to meeting up with some old racers again.

Good news about my book is that it has just arrived in America in the last few hours, and amazon.com are now listing it as in stock. Got to be a good xmas present for drag racing enthusiasts. ;)

I have attached a picture of John Hobbs on his double Weslake in an early guise, which should thunder again at Santa Pod next July.
 

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#456 ·
hope it ain't inappropriate for me to be asking for this info on this thread but figured that the guys readin it should be able to help.
wanting to know dimensions on the style of bikes in the pictures attached.
wheel base?
rake/trail?
what size wheels did they run?
been throwing around an idea to build a vintage style drag bike using a modern 450cc mx single.
what sort of times do you reckon you'd cut with one of these?
worth doing or not?
 

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#457 ·
There are still people around who can no doubt help you with some of the information you need. A good number of early British bikes used Hagon frames, or copied the style as it was very functional. Many of that late 60s era were rather lightweight in the frame department though.
How fast do you want to go? Brian Chapman ran high 8s on a 500 Vincent single, as did Peter Woods 500 Triumph. But to run those sort of times took a lot of development, which was a big part of the enjoyment.
When those bikes were first built 9second runs were a rarity in Britain, but there was constant progress - and the smaller engines ran really well over here.
 
#462 · (Edited)
This thread has been very active the last few days so I got some catching up to do.

daamud,

Welcome to JJ and this thread. That supercharger is a GMC 3.71. It came off a 3 cylinder Jimmy diesel. They were used on T/F bikes in the '70s-'80s but were too heavy. I bought one in 1979 to use on my Kawasaki but didn't. Ironically I sold it a couple months ago after hanging on to it for 30 years. Did you know that all the Jimmy diesels that ended in 71 were 71 cubic inches per cylinder. A 3.71 had 3 cylinders at 71 cubic inches each, a 4.71 was a 4 cylin., a 6.71 a 6 cyl. and an 8.71 an 8 cylinder, all 71 ci per cyl. Your welcome for the history leson. Keep us informed on your project.



velomech,

Thanks for your comments.



peterdragon,

Welcome to JJ and this thread and a special thanks for an update on my friend Frog Thacker. I had no idea the "old man" was still racing as recently as 2004. He was at least 60. It looks like my worst fear may be true.




vendetta,

Welcome to JJ and this thread. The middle picture in your post belonged to me over 40 years ago. It had a stock Sportster wheelbase and rake. That's the way it was for most Fuel Bike racers back then. Some of the pros were updating though.




youngruss.

Welcome to JJ and this thread and thanks for posting the Tator Gilmore feature. A year or two later he had Puppet build him a twin engine Harley T/F Bike that in my opinion was the most beautiful twin engine Harley ever built. I will post a picture of it if someone doesn't do it first.




Swedebobb,

I agree.



BeyerAutoSalvage,

Thanks for the kind comment. We do believe it is important to document this exciting form of motorcycle racing for those who follow us and can only know about it from historic accounts by those who lived it.
 
#464 ·
I have a 1985 video But the quality is poor.
Step back 24 years,Clyde rawlings,Pete Hill, Dave Cauldwell, & Marion Owens,make sure you watch the stop motion at the end to see BIG MO almost go over the tail piece then grab the handle bars and CRANK the front tire off the ground,,,,,,WHAT a ride!! Can't understand why people think dragbike racers are crazy.



Since they are outside of your 1985 window, I won't post the link to the 86 race at the texas motorplex, but people can find them from the u-tube post here.

The list of names that showed up for this race are many of the stars of the day.
Elmer Trett

Sam Wills
Bill Furr
Marion Owens
Jim McClure
Terry stonesphifer
Sid pouge
Terry kizer
Nigal Patrick
Turk dale
John peek
Paul Davenport---(on part of a Granddaddy Joe Smith bike)

John Mancusso
Larry hays

Listen to the announcer, it was years after the meet that I figured out it was Bob Frey from NHRA.
 
#465 ·
peterdragon,

Frog was an "old man" for sure in 2004 and certainly in his 60s. It's funny he was still displaying a frog on the bike. He was a character and loved racing bikes more than anything. I hope there will be more readers who can tell us about encounters with him. It's OK to start posting 1986 "stuff" now. It is only 3 weeks til 1986 is 25 years old and I will change the first post to 1986 and older.

Marion Owens could do things on a twin engine Harley I could only dream about and that footage is proof.
 
#466 ·
Just watched that piece of film of Marion - several times - and still do not believe how he did that. He even got it straight back up on the bars again!

I remember him in the late 70s in England manhandling the bike back into line when it finally put the front end down at about 300 yards, with the wheel pointing well off to the left. Sheer determination got him straight again, and I was well impressed. But that video is something else. Thanks for putting that one up Peterdragon.
 
#467 ·
There are so many storys about Big Mo, but 2 years ago at the august race in Wichita Ks. after first round of qualifing, he POPED up in my pit and grabbed me by the shoulder & said "the next time it starts drifting towards the center line stick your shoulder out & it will straighten out". We were skating around from 1/2 track to the end with NO TRACTION. Mo was right, we ended up winning the race.

the handsome devil on the orange bike is me, that GIANT of a man walking behind the water box is MO.

http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=312&pictureid=2528
 
#469 · (Edited)
My Encounters With The "The Michigan Madman" Part 1

Before Evel Knievel became America's handsome dashing motorcycle daredevil there was a puny bookworm looking nerd that had already captured my heart. When I first saw a picture of him on his "Bloody Mary" Chevy V-8 powered motorcycle in Hot Rod Magazine in the early 60s I could not believe my eyes. He wore Buddy Holly glasses and looked like my high school math teacher. How could anyone do something this nuts!? How could he pull it off? How could he still be alive. Even if some crazy idiot could attempt to try this it should be a John Wayne or Marlon Brando type. The bike and the rider just didn't go together. But I can tell you personally there has never been a human being born with more courage than E.J. Potter. I have had several opportunities over the last 45 years to see what makes this man tick. The first was in the early '60s. He was already a legend by then. I had seen him featured in several Hot Rod magazines and knew if he lived long enough I would get to see him in action. The writers just couldn't get enough of this guy and their readers couldn't either. I was willing to travel to see him if I had to. I was hoping he would make an appearance within a few hundred miles. You can imagine my excitement when a local track, Farmington N.C., booked him for a 3 run appearance in 1963. I had just bought my first motorcycle, a '57 Triumph with a newer Bonneville head and carbs. I had not raced it on a drag strip yet but was itching to.

The weeks go by slowly when you are waiting for something really exciting but the day finally came. There were probably 100 guys I knew who were planning to see him and some were not into drag racing. Potter was this mythical character we had heard about and read about that you just had to see to believe. From my feeble memory it was a hot Saturday afternoon when our car loads of fans pulled into the parking lot at Farmington Dragstrip. We had to pay more at the gate that night than I had ever at any drag strip but after verifying he was indeed there I gladly payed the premium and walked into the pits focused on ONE thing. Finding Potter! I learned later that the track was not ripping us off. Potter's appearance fee was higher than Garlits! Really! Finally, after a few tense minutes.....there he was....larger than life....MY HERO...PERIOD. I couldn't believe I was actually looking at him in person. My buddies and I were grinning at each other in a giddy manner. Potter and his wife were there in a Ford pickup with a camper top and an open trailer that hauled "Bloody Mary" They were so busy with bookings they lived in it most of the year. I could not believe he had the guts to name it "Bloody Mary". I was thinking to myself he was teasing the Grim Reaper....in his face.....(as if picking up the nickname "The Michigan Madman" wasn't in your face enough)...was Potter's wife's name Mary....what did she think of the nicknames......what did she think of the whole deal....how could she watch him defy death day after day....week after week....year after year. There were so many people around his pit area it was hard to get close to him. He was busy getting it ready for the first run. I finally edged my way close enough to him to say hello...and tell him he's nuts....and watch him smile at me at the comment.....damn he saw me.

Finally the moment I had been waiting for several years has arrived. The announcer told all to gather around the track. E.J. Potter aka "The Michigan Madman" will defy death one more time. It was announced later the track had a record crowd. I decided I would watch him from the starting line on his first run. I knew he would cover himself in smoke right away and I would not be able to see him for the rest of the run but I was determined to watch him spin the rear tire up to 100 mph on a stand and gently push it off the stand. I knew that's what he did...I had read about that many times...but I just couldn't believe it. I had not seen any film of him...only still pictures. As E.J. and his wife prepare for yet another run they are very focused talking only to themselves. She hands him his leather coat (he is wearing jeans) then his helmet with those famous glasses. They bow for a prayer (something that took me by surprise) and something I will never forget. It was the first time I remember a race car driver praying in public before racing. I am sure it had happened many times before but it was the first time I remember it. E.J. hooked the tow line to the pickup as Mrs. Potter gets in and takes up the slack. He is used to this but my heart is racing away. I had more fear for what I am about to see than anything ever in my life. I didn't want to see a tragedy. I am standing at the starting line looking down track as she slowly pulls him away and down the track to about the 1/4 mile mark where she slows to a stop. Potter unhooks the tow rope and they turn around. Now I can only see the truck as she pulls him back towards me. I hear the rear tire churp as he slams the in-out gearbox in gear (you see, this machine had no clutch) and I hear that Chevy engine come to life. By this time I was so nervous I was not sure I could watch the rest. Potter passes his wife and rolls on the throttle coming at me and lights the tire up.. like he is on glass...pure insanity. He puts the gearbox in the "out" position and coasts on up towards me milking the throttle to keep the two four-barrel carbs running. He turns the bike around and lets it idle as he and his wife push it back on the stand. He climbs aboard as they hold hands. She said something to him and pulled away and backed up never taking her eyes off him. By this time my heart is running at heart attack speed. Potter settles in on the bike and pushes the gearbox in gear and the rear tire starts spinning. Potter turns the throttle and there is the sound of a Chevy V-8 screaming in something it shouldn't be in. Just as I think I can't watch anymore he pushes it off the stand with the tire turning over 100 mph. Within a second my fear somewhat eased up.....because he was no longer visable. He had covered himself up in tire smoke. I could hear the engine screaming....but couldn't see the bike at all. Then everything went silent. There was no breeze that night so the smoke lingered on the track for what seemed like minutes. It was a moment of uncertainty because I wasn't sure if he had crashed or not but just about the time the smoke cleared he got turned around the Misses pulled him back to the starting line to thunderous applause. As I looked down the track I could see one long blackmark that looked like a giant blacksnake. To this day it is one of the most exciting moments in my life. He was a myth that came to life for me that day almost 50 years ago.

Potter campaigned that bike for about 10 more years...well not that bike but several versions of it. He changed the name to "Widow Maker" egging on the Grim Reeper even more in my opinion. He also campaigned a '57 Plymouth sedan that was powered by an Allison V-12 aircraft engine, another 1/4 mile tire smoker. The last bike, "Widow Maker VI" or so pictured below, had fuel injection and ran some nitro. Then "The Michigan Madman" disappeared from the drag strip. He had moved on to a new form of motorsports.....tractor pulling...which he dominated for awhile. His "tractors" used Allison engines. When I started organizing drag racer reunions in the '80s I started contacting Potter trying to get him to come. He was too busy working on Allison V-12 powered powerplants in countries around the world....plus jet engines too which he had converted his tractors to be powered by. I called him every year or so for over 10 years and always got the same answer....until 1999. Maybe Prince's song had something to do with it.

Part II ......Farmington '63 continued.
 
#471 ·
Damn that was a great read Frank!

I remember going up to the Budweiser boat shop in Seattle shortly after starting work for Ron Jones in Tacoma back when they ran the Allison V-12s in Miss Budweiser. I was shocked to see it was old WWII mechanics who could barely get around who kept them running on the ragged edge, Sorry, not bike related, just triggered a memory.
 
#474 ·
The Michigan Madman. Now you are talking, Frank.
Your description of going to see EJ Potter brings it all back.
Like you, I had seen a picture of him in a Hot Rod magazine, copies of which were not easy to find over in England.
Then I heard he was coming over to run at Santa Pod.
I was somewhat younger than you in 1966, and the gawky rider and his way out machine left a deep impression on me as he careered down the bumpy track - using both lanes in the process.
The following weekend he raced again, and crashed the bike on his final run trying to beat Alf Hagon for fastest run of the day. One of the rear wheel fixings was not tight, and he ended up in hospital - which is amusingly detailed in his book.

His book is amazing - I had to borrow a copy from a friend, as it no longer seems to be in print. Some of the things he got up to with engines were just incredible. How is he still alive????

Looking forward to the next chapter.
 
#475 · (Edited)
Thanks guys for the kind comments about "The Michigan Madman" story. I have been around a long time and have done some crazy things but it pales in comparison to the life of E.J. Potter.

MY ENCOUNTERS WITH "THE MICHIGAN MADMAN" PART 2

After Potter's first run at Farmington in 1963 I made sure I was one of the first back in his pit area so I could get close. There were many cars there that I would have gone to see on any other Saturday night but this night was reserved totally for this larger than life motorcycle daredevil. I looked at him and the bike again in total amazement. The stories I had heard....the pictures I had seen in magazines were just unbelievable....now I had seen it in person...it was still hard to believe someone could have the courage to do this. I looked at "Bloody Mary" again and just shook my head. Folks, 47 years ago this was insanity in the first degree. As Potter takes his helmet and leather jacket off there was no macho man standing there. It was more like a spectator you see at a race who wished he had not come. I smile at the irony. Year's later when I was riding T/F bikes people told me I was nuts and I could not help but reminise back to that night. As E.J. starts looking over the bike he sees something that worries him. He asked Mrs. Potter to bring over some tools. I was standing about as close to the bike as I could get and give him room to work on it. He removed a plate from the gearbox and with a flashlight looks inside. I see him frown but keep his composure. He tells the wife he will have to replace a bearing. She gets out a drain pan and instantly a light goes off in my head. "Can you use some help" I ask. He looks at me and said "yes". WOW!! I didn't know shit about mechanics but I didn't tell him. He drained the oil from the gearbox and it didn't look good. There was metal shavings in it. He pulled the gearbox apart and got to the bearing that had failed. He asked me to spray cleaner in the gearbox to clear out more of the metal contaminated oil. I am sure Mrs. Potter would be doing this if I hadn't asked. Hot damn...I am "The Michigan Madman's" crew member and believe me I milked it for all it was worth. My buddies whispered "how in the hell did you get to work with him". He was a very humble guy. He had to know he was worshipped but he did not have a big head. He just went about fixing the bike. I told him I had just bought a motorcycle and wanted to race it there soon. "Be careful" he told me. That was two of maybe 20 words he said to me that night, the last being "thanks".

For his second run I moved to the grandstands about half way down the track so I could at least see half the run. When he pushed it off the stand It looked like a mosquito fogging machine that occasionally came to my neighborhood when I was a kid. You could see the spray machine coming at you but nothing behind it. It was absolutely incredible. He came by me fishtailing the bike in a cloud of tire smoke and as he got past me he faded into the smoke. This was just unbelievable to watch. For the last run I went to the 1/4 mile mark. It was equally impressive from that angle too.

The next time and last time I remember seeing Potter run the bike was at Bristol Dragway about 5 year later. I asked if he remembered me helping him at Farmington and he said he did. Years later when I started calling him inviting him to the reunions I was organizing he had totally quit doing all the things that had made him an icon. He told me he was busy doing maintanence on Allison engines in Nicaragua, and other countries that still used them. After inviting him several times he asked me if there would be a demand for him to build another bike. Hell yes I said. "How much could I get for an appearance" he asked. I said $1500.00 at least. He wasn't interested in building a bike. "I got that much 30 years ago" he said. I decided I would like to try and locate one of his original bikes to add to my growing collection of Muscle Car inventory and asked if he knew the location of any. "Gary Werner has the last bike I raced and he is still making runs with it". he told me. He gave me Werner's # and I called him. He wasn't interested in selling it but knew the owners of two other original bikes. He gave me contact info on them but it was no good. They had moved. I put it to rest. I purchased another V-8 bike but that's another story.

I stayed in touch with Potter because there were so many other legends asking about him. Finally, in 1998 he called me. He was writing a book on all his "shenannigans" as he put it and Werner offered to let him ride his "Widow Maker" if he would. Potter talked to me about it and I could not believe he was interested. I should have known being the showman he was he knew he would sell more books. Werner had made some changes on the bike that E.J. didn't like so the compromise was he would only make a comeback if the bike was exactly as it was when he (Potter) last raced it. Potter would do the work himself as he always had but Werner had to furnish the money. Done deal! Werner had wanted to update the bike to more like today's Fuel Bikes but that was OK. Potter would restore "Widow Maker" and Werner would build a new state of the art T/F motorcycle....but Chevy powered. A deal was struck for Potter to come out of retirement at my '99 Reunion. I had to pay handsomely for that honor. Potter took his old bike back to Michigan to start the restoration and Werner started building his new bike. Both were to be at my Reunion. It had been 26 years since Potter had made a pass on "The Widow Maker" and I felt like I had hit the lottery.

Next: Part 3 of 3 Potter's return. I have video of it to post so it will be awhile
 
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