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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.
 
#56 ·
This is the only other picture of my first dragster. I can not remember who took those photos but sure am thankful 40 plus years later. That is me on the left side of the picture. The other guy was a really close friend who turned me on to Sportsters. His name was Tommy Abernathy. We were the same age. We lost him to cancer a few years ago. We had the only two Fuel Bikes in North Carolina in 1969 and were considered insane by some. By this time I was preparing for an August wedding.
 

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#57 ·
my pal marlow cant kick or push bike without his knee going out ,due to a clinder head explosion while staring a bike on the rollers, he always tells me: "i told them it was too much, but i did it it any way!", thats what really made me want to learn more about nitro! i asked him today about some old pictures to which he replied"why, nobody wants to see them old things, they werent good looking,we just ripped every thing off found some real wore out motors and loaded em up till they blew, we were all learning as we went, sometimes you went fast, sometimes you went home blown up and broke" hopefully i can get some pics up here soon.
 
#58 ·
what amazed me about Leo Payne was he used the same basic bike at Bonneville and the drag strip and it was a Sportster! Insanity. There was no doubt when he lit that thing off over in the prototype area, ungodly. Mel would tow him down the street with the AEE van and he'd get it running and he'd blast up and down the street in Placentia.....no helmet, leaters, gloves....just Leo lighting that bitch up!
 
#60 ·
Here is a last minute update for the Fuel Bike Reunion at Piedmont Dragway, Greensboro, North Carolina.. I will be traveling there for the rest of the week. As I stated earlier Pete Hill is our Special Guest. Also I will get to see my old friend Johnny Sands, who I was racing in the video I posted. Ronnie Johnson, who was still in school when his dad Danny built my T/F Kawasaki in '78 and later rode his Fuelers when he retired, is coming. And Ray Price, father of the Funny Bike, has picked up his last Harley Funny Bike from the Sturgis Museum and fired it for the first time in about 20 years to have it in running display condition. I bet we will have some last minute stragglers show up too. I will post some coverage in a week or two. The Reunion is Friday and Saturday May 14-15 2010 if you are interested in coming.
 
#61 ·
The switch to nitro part 4 (the last)

Here are some thoughts and memories of the '69 racing season and my switch from gas to nitro. I remember being somewhat apprehensive about the switch to nitro and the possible blow ups but not as concerned as the first time I rode it on gas a year earlier. I did have a couple mishaps with it though. I had a rear brake failure on it but it was at an 1/8 mile track thank God. I had to drag my boots to get it stopped. Remember, it had no front brakes. The other mishap that could have really hurt me was after our wedding. I had agreed to quit racing for a year to spend our income on newlywed neccessities. After our wedding we moved into a rental house that had a carport and utility room at the end of the carport. That is where I stored the dragster. Occasionally I would roll it outside to have working room and our new neighbors would come over to have a look at it. About 2 or 3 months later I caved in to request to fire it. After all, I had about a gallon of nitro that should not be stored in that utility room. Right? All the excuse I needed. My bride agreed to help me crank it on the rollers. She had done it many times. We had a long concrete driveway from the street to the carport. I fired it down on the street and ran it for a minute or so with my neighbors looking in disbelief. Just as I was getting ready to shut it off I decided to do a burnout up the driveway. Then, I wouldn't have to push it up that incline. Man, that was some good thinking! I started the burnout at the bottom of my driveway and got the tire spinning about 100 miles an hour and smoked the place up. I was only about half way up the driveway when I shut it down and pulled in the clutch. But the tire was spinning so fast the inertsa shot me up the rest of the driveway with me pushing down on the rear brake as hard as I could and my other foot dragging the concrete, into the carport and to the outer wall inside the utility room. I was almost stopped when I reached that wall so no damage was done to me or the bike but it scared the shit out of me. Right then I realized I needed the money I could sell it for to buy newlywed stuff. I never heard it run again. I sold it in 1970 about 6 months after getting married. It would be awhile before I got back into nitro motorcycle racing. I will be posting pictures of Fuel Bikes and stories of races I attended during my off time before purchasing a new T/F Bike from Danny Johnson.
 

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#63 ·
This is from last weekend at the reunion. This was our special guests Pete and Jackie Hill and the last Fuel Bike he raced. Pete was 60 or 61 when he retired in the early '90s. Both are doing fine other than normal 70s year old ailments. That is Ray Price's rig in the background. He had his last Funnybike on display. I will post a picture and info on it soon.
 

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#64 ·
A few years ago NHRA honored pioneer T/F Motorcycle Racers at their National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green Ky. The old "Freight Train" crew was there. That is me in the middle, T-Bird Yelton on the right and his son Jamie on the left. Yelton was my crew chief and the guy in the video working on it. I sold it to him when I retired. You may notice it has a wing now that it did not have 25 years ago in the video. It was VERY ironic that the NHRA Reunion was at the same track and the same weekend (middle of June) as the famous American Motorcycle Drag Racing Association Nationals back in the '70s. That great picture of Boris Murray was there one year.
 

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#65 ·
i remember as a kid here in a small country town in australia called lismore , looking in a old covered in single axle trailer chained to a tree on a side street and seeing sonny routts twin engine triumph,,,,,sat there for ages until one day at the drags there it was,,,,,,a guy called warren afflick bought it and got to go quicker than routt went on it , lost track of it and never seen it again,,,,,,,
 
#66 ·
I am still following Frank!!!....Keep posting anything and everything you want!!!...the above 2 pictures are great...and, I certainly enjoy your running series on switching from gas to Nitro...the burnout in the driveway story was sooo cool...if that were me, I would'a had to change out my pants and the seat on the bike, as it would have shot out of my ass at about the same pressure as a sand blaster...

Oh...yes I do know all about Danny Johnson from here in MD...he was a favorite of mine, along with Pete Hill who was "The Man" to me way back when....

with respect and appreciation!!!...

Larry in MD
 
#67 ·
This thread is international now with posts from Sweden and Australia. Thanks!

And thank you Larry for your kind comments. I have enjoyed reminising about the days I was involved. I will be the first to tell you I was no Joe Smith or Boris Murray but I did do what they did for awhile in the early days of Fuel Bikes.

I am going back one year to 1968, the year I saw my first Fuel Bike and the year I bought this bike. I have mentioned meeting Danny Johnson at the '67 Daytona Bike Week. I ran into him again at the NHRA Springnational in Bristol Tennesee a few months later. He had his street bike there but I was a long distance truck driver and asked my dispatcher for a Monday delivery load in Tennesee and he had one. I drove the rig there and got paid for it. Danny told me there he was going to experiment with a low dose of nitro in his bike. That fall he was at the North Carolina Mountain Fall Rally. I rode my Harley there. Danny was helping a customer tune his stock bore and stroke Sportster. Danny had worked it over thoroughly so it ran like a big incher. They called out a big inch Sportster and bet the guy 50 bucks they could outrun him. He knew all about their bike and jumped on the bet. He beat the owner handily and collected his 50 bucks. Then Danny offered to race him again in 30 minutes for 100 bucks. The guy figured there was not any kind of tuning that would make him lose. He took the bet. In that 30 minutes Johnson changed carbs. The guy said if he was changing to alcohol that was OK. It isn't going to make that much difference. After all, his bike had 20 more cubic inches. To be honest I thought Danny was going to lose another 100 bucks.

When they raced again Danny's bike won by several bike lengths and the guy grumbled as he paid off. I asked Danny how in the hell he did that with changing carbs. He smiled and said he was running about 15% nitro. He said he was building a T/F dragster and would have it out in early '68.

Fast forward to the spring of '68. I still had not seen a Fuel Bike Dragster but Leo Payne was coming to Georgia. He was like a rock star to me. Danny told me he would have his new Fuel Bike there to make some virgin passes with and hopefully get some help from Payne. When I got there and saw Leo it was like I was looking at Elvis. I could not believe I was actually looking at in person the guy I admired so much.

Danny was on the rollers to make his first shakedown run. He didn't get to that weekend. He blew it up on the rollers. Then Leo came out and made his pass. I had a smile from ear to ear. Johnson was a fast learner and did well in '68. And as mentioned in an earlier post he insisted I trade my street bike for this dragster. I will always be thankful to him that I did.
 

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#68 ·
This was at the NHRA Gatornationals a few years ago. We were invited as part of the Vintage Race Car display. We fired it a few times and I did a short burnout. There were many many people who told us they had never seen a multi-engine T/F Bike before. Those are the leathers I raced in but I can't zip up the jacket. You know how leather shrinks over time. HAHA!
 

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#79 · (Edited)
To start where I left off when I sold my first Fuel Bike in 1970, I did not race much for a couple years. I was spoiled on nitro and did not care to ride anything else (know what I mean Joe) but being newly wed and now with a child on the way a new Fuel Bike was out of the question. I did keep up with what was going on in Danny Johnson's racing. He went from a rookie Fuel Bike racer in '68 to AMDRA T/F Champion in '71. And there was a "new kid on the block" and I do mean a kid making a statement in North Carolina. I was at the Rockingham North Carolina Nationals in 1970 or '71 and they had a Fuel Bike class among all the car classes. When they got ready to run the bikes I went into the staging lanes to see if I knew anybody. There was this teenager standing next to a Fuel Harley and I wondered who his father was, the rider of course. Well my jaw dropped when it was time to run the bikes and this "kid" starts putting on the leathers. I was looking in disbelief when he fired the bike on rollers to make a pass. "Oh shit" I thought and was REALLY concerned for his safety. I needn't be!! He rode it like a pro.......and he was only 16-17 years old. His dad, who was there, had to sign a waiver. Anyone know who this "kid" was? Joe, you know so you don't count.
 
#80 ·
To start where I left off when I sold my first Fuel Bike in 1970, I did not race much for a couple years. I was spoiled on nitro and did not care to ride anything else (know what I mean Joe) but being newly wed and now with a child on the way a new Fuel Bike was out of the question. I did keep up with what was going on in Danny Johnson's racing. He went from a rookie Fuel Bike racer in '68 to AMDRA T/F Champion in '70. And there was a "new kid on the block" and I do mean a kid making a statement in North Carolina. I was at the Rockingham North Carolina Nationals in 1970 or '71 and they had a Fuel Bike class among all the car classes. When they got ready to run the bikes I went into the staging lanes to see if I knew anybody. There was this teenager standing next to a Fuel Harley and I wondered who his father was, the rider of course. Well my jaw dropped when it was time to run the bikes and this "kid" starts putting on the leathers. I was looking in disbelief when he fired the bike on rollers to make a pass. "Oh shit" I thought and was REALLY concerned for his safety. I needn't be!! He rode it like a pro.......and he was only 15 years old. His dad, who was there, had to sign a waiver. Anyone know who this "kid" was? Joe, you know so you don't count.
I'll take a wild guess.

John Dixon.
 
#81 ·
You are right. John Dixon not only starting building Fuel Bikes at the age of 15 but riding them too. I know he has viewed this thread but it is hard to get him to post. He was, in my opinion, one of the top ten all time best Fuel Bike builders and riders. He built the frame for "the Freight Train". I REALLY hope he will join us in posting here.
 
#84 ·
I really couldn't think of any other teenager who straddled a fuel bike.

I didn't know Mr. Dixon built your frame. Hopefully he can join us and share his knowledge.
You want to see something John Dixon has be working on, here's a link to it...

He could use some new customers...

http://www.classictopfuel.com/
Joe, thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that before.

His first bike give's me the shiver's just looking at it.

BTW, how's the paltry prize money on offer back in the day.
 

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#88 ·
These are 40 year old memories so please excuse me if I have some facts wrong but I am telling it as I remember it. It is the spring of 1970 and my friend Danny Johnson has become one of the Fuel Bike stars. Roy Strawn, the founder of the American Motorcycle Drag Racing Association has been promoting an all motorcycle drag race at the Atco New Jersey drag strip and it was close to Johnson's Maryland home. It was one of a few all motorcycle drag races. Strawn had also put together an all Fuel Bike touring circuit and they were coming to Charlotte. It was in early June of 1970 and it was an eight bike show including Larry Welch on Sonny Routt's twin engine Triumph, Danny Johnson, Dick Prime, Al Charlier, John Dixon (I think) and three others I can't remember. Danny was the only one I knew very well and I was very happy to see him again. He introduced me to most of the others and told them how great I was (I'm lying) but I am sure they greeted me out of courtesy to Johnson. It was the first time I had seen most of them because I had only raced locally in '69. I was really appreciative that Roy Strawn had done what he had done for bike racers, especially Fuel Bike racers. The finals came down to Welch and Johnson. I was in the staging lanes with Johnson just before they ran. Johnson told Welch he was going to save his equipment for the big race coming up and he would red light. I was really surprised to hear him say that. I was REALLY disappointed because Johnson had been the quickest bike there. It was pitch dark by then with only minimal lights. When the tree counted down Johnson red lighted and Welch proceeded to put down the most beautiful pass I ever saw him make. He had engineer boots with metal heels. When he popped the clutch he went into billowing tire smoke that covered him and he dragged his boots all the way to the clocks with sparks flying from the metal heels. It was one of those still nights and it took a full minute for the smoke to clear. It impressed the hell out of me and still is etched in my memory 40 years later. I went over to Danny's pit pissed off and wanting to know why he did it. "There is a new Motorcycle Record Meet next week in Bowling Green Kentucky and I was just testing here. I want the record so I was saving my stuff. It was the first I had heard of Bowling Green.
 
#89 · (Edited)
Yeah Joe it did. He could probably have beat Welch.

I did not go to Bowling Green that year but did not miss another one until they ended in 1978. I don't remember Danny coming home with the record in A/F (Joe, do you remember who did? Boris won it so it probably was him) but one of Danny's team members did. Ray Price set a record in one of the Street Classes with his 55 cubic inch Harley. By the following year Price would be inventing the Funny Bike Class.
 
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