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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.
 
#92 ·
Just came across this great thread via a link from Granddaddy Joe, and have really enjoyed reading though it. It is always nice to see different pictures of racers you remember from way back, and get to hear some more of their background. Especially enjoyed Frank's memories of his early encounters with Danny Johnson.

I met Danny a few times in the mid 70s, and I still have a small lump of one of his crankcases in my garage after he grenaded a motor at Santa Pod. He put on a good show on his visits, and made a lot of friends over here.

I will try and post a few pictures of him once I have mastered the system.
Look forward to reading more in this thread.

Regards,
Keith Lee
 
#94 · (Edited)
That is a beautiful picture of Danny and Goliath II. I own that bike today. I will get into a story about Goliath I later. As I said in the opening post I will recall good memories and not so good memories. This is one of the later and one that most of you do not know about Danny. As I have said before he lived in Maryland when I met him at Daytona in '67. He lived there in '68 when I traded my street bike for the dragster. By then he had made friends with another North Carolinian from Yadkinville. His name is Wilbur Beaty. His family owned a major tire store there. I believe Danny and Wilbur met at the '67 Fall Rally in Asheville North Carolina I mentioned in an earlier post. That is where Johnson used 15% nitro. Anyway, Wilbur became a customer of Dannys and would later become one of his best friends and a business partner. Wilbur Beaty is the guy who owned the dragster I traded my street bike for. I went to his place in Yadkinville and picked it up before traveling to Maryland where Danny met me for my first runs on it. The time line gets fuzzy here for me but I believe it was in late '70 when I called Danny to see how things were going and his wife answered the phone as usual. We talked a minute or so as usual and then I asked if Danny was home. There was silence on the other end. I thought she didn't hear me and asked again. Finally she said "you haven't heard?". I went silent thinking there had been an accident. She started in detail how he had been caught with a concealed weapon and it was an automatic prison sentence where it happened and he was about halfway through his 90 days time. It was then she told me they would be moving to Yadkinville when he got out. It wasn't illegal to carry a gun for protection in North Carolina. Wilbur had done most of the arranging.

When Danny got out he and Wilbur became partners at Farmington Dragway near their homes and created the track's first motorcycle races. I never talked to Danny about his unjust felony sentence. His partnership at the track only lasted a few years but he spent the rest of his life there in the home he moved into. I would spend alot of time there in the years to come.

Wilbur was at Danny's funeral a few years ago. It was the first time I had seen him in years.
 
#97 ·
I spoke with Pete and Jackie for over 2 hrs at the dragstrip, I was hoping several more drag bikes had showed up..I was in Sturgis the yr he did the burn out on main street on the Knucklehead! No helmet either. He emptied every bar in Sturgis in 3 seconds! Loudest bike I have ever heard!
 
#98 ·
Pete and I remininced at the Reunion about that downtown burnout, one of the most famous photos ever taken. I was not there so this was a first hand account about how it took place. Pete and Jackie were there for the drag races and had parked the bike outside a bar downtown to promote the race. He always went the extra mile to help the promoters. He had agreed to start the bike to gather a crowd for the bar. Before the startup the bar owner asked Pete if he would do a burnout on the street in front of the bar. Pete said "sure, if you bail me out of jail" just kidding of course. Much to Pete's surprise the owner agreed to do that. Pete Hill does not go back on his word so Jackie got her camera out and snapped the historic photo. After doing the burnout Pete said he coasted into a side street and had the bike hid before the law came.
 
#101 ·
Thanks ckunsman89


When Danny moved to Yadkinville North Carolina he lived only about two hours from me. I visited his new residence right away. His house had a basement and that is where Johnson High Performance would eventially be located. Danny told me he was going to build a second Fuel Bike to match race with and asked if I was interested in riding it for him. It was an unbelievable opportunity for me. He would furnish the money to build and maintain the bike and I would get paid to ride a bike that was as good as his. It just doesn't get any better than that. He made it clear I had to go when he called and I already knew how much he traveled. By then I had not only a new wife and baby but a new house and car. I had a good paying job as a Mercedes mechanic and knew I couldn't do both. I didn't even talk it over with my wife even though the year had passed from my agreement to quit racing. I turned him down. I told him I would love to ride it locally or on long trips when I had vacation time. That is not what he had in mind for his rider so it would be about two years before he called again asking me to ride for him. That is a story in it's self I will get to soon.
 
#103 ·
BOWLING GREEN 1971

I had seen the magazine coverage of the first AMDRA Record Meet in Bowling Green in 1970 as well as talking to Danny Johnson about it. It was something I was going to try to go to in '71. A friend who had Johnson build him a big inch Sportster wanted to go too. I had been riding his Sportster some at local races so I wouldn't get totally rusty. He ran a car detail shop and could only go for the weekend like me. We left Charlotte on Friday afternoon and drove all night. We got into Bowling Green about daylight and got to Beech Bend Park before it opened. It gave us an opportunity to take a power nap to recover from a sleepless night. It is amazing how little sleep you can get by on when you are young. To say what we experienced the next two days you only need one word....AWESOME!!! It was the first time I had seen the Midwest and West Coast stars including Joe Smith, Boris Murray, Dave Campos, Jerry Cox, Mel Disharoon, Marion Owens and many more. Leo Payne, who I had seen three years earlier, was there too. There must have been 15-20 A/F bikes there trying to make the show. I believe that was the year Boris set the record at 8.87 seconds & 174.75 on that "front tire aimed at the moon while roasting the rear slick" run. In the end Larry Welch went to the winner's circle on Sonny Routt's twin engine Triumph. Boris broke the rear chain. My friend and I left Bowling Green about 5 pm Sunday afternoon and drove all night again to get home in time to go to work Monday morning. IT WAS WELL WORTH IT but it would be the last time I did that. For the remainder of the Bowling Green races ('72-'78) I took vacation time and my wife went with me. Two days at the greatest motorcycle race in the world was just not enough!!
 
#104 ·
I would like to clarify an error I made in post 96 where I was recalling in post 94 when Danny Johnson told Larry Welch he would redlight which allowed Larry to make the most spectacular run I ever saw him make. When Joe Smith posted "That sucks" I posted I guess Danny ran it past Roy Strawn, the founder of AMDRA, and he was OK with it. Roy emailed me he would never approve that. I should not have speculated he would and apologize for the error. It is my goal that all posts here from me and others are accurate for history's sake.
 
#105 ·
This is a group photo of the '97 Fuel Bike Reunion at Virginia Motorsports Park. From left: Frank Spittle, T C Christenson, Boris Murray, Ray Price, Arno St Denis, Duke McDonald (I believe), Bo O'Brocta, Sonny Routt, Jerry Cox, Bill Chambers, Russ Collins, Dave Campos and Larry Welch. Those present but not pictured were Danny Johnson, Bob Chantland and Larry McBride.
 

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#106 ·
Great to see some of the top racers from years ago together again Frank.
I have attached a picture of the first 8 second runner in Europe, which I shot back in 1975. Keith Parnell is shown left receiving the trophy for the first 8 from Santa Pod Raceway track manager Dave Watts, after Keith ran 8.9s on his 750 blown Triumph.

Watch Photograph Automotive tire Tire Eyewear
 
#107 · (Edited)
Thanks for your post Keith. I remember when Keith Parnell broke into the 8s at Santa Pod and when Joe Smith was the first ever in 1971. The twin engine Triumphs were still competitive here in 1975 but it would be the last year I believe. Bob Mauriello was the last Triumph rider to win Bowling Green or the NHRA U.S. Nationals, probably the two most coveted Fuel Bike races of the year. But the Triumphs owned those two tracks in the early '70s. Boris won B/G and Welch, Indy in 1970. Welch won B/G in 1971. Joe Smith won Indy. In '72 it was Welch winning B/G and Boris winning Indy. Mauriello won Indy in '73 (Mauriello and Welch were riding Sonny Routt's bike) but an up and coming Fuel Bike rider won B/G. It was his first of five finals round appearances at Bowling Green in 6 consecutive years. Does anyone know who it was?

Also Keith, were you at Santa Pod last weekend when Eric Taboul shattered the 1/4 mile ET record for 2 wheels at 5.23 seconds on his rocket bike?
 
#108 ·
The double Triumphs carried on competitively for a few more years over here, and Jeff Byne got down to 8.02s/178mph in 1979 on his blown 1500 double. He and John Hobbs double Weslake were so close to running a seven, but it was not to be.

To answer your question about the rocket bike Frank, I was not at Santa Pod to see it. Stunning time - and if you look at the video of it on the web it almost seems like a speeded up film because it is so unbelievably quick. Even more impressive when you think that he brushed the wall earlier on his fuel bike!

The rocket bike of my era was that of my good friend, the late Henk Vink from Holland, which ran 6.5s back in the mid 80s. I attach my picture of him below.
 

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#110 ·
This is from the IHRA Drag Review newspaper in early '72. I have shortened it some but the names and times are exactly as in the article.

ROUTT-WELCH FUELER SETS UNOFFICIAL RECORD AT 8.70

The 1972 debut event for the AMDRA Fuel Bike Circuit saw record breaking action. In round one Larry Welch on Routt's double Triumph got badly out of shape on the starting line but ran down the team of Charlier and Gough with a strong 9.49. Henry Moore defeated Dick Prime with a 9.33 blast. Prominent Real Estate agent Nick Palmerone beat Ron Maranto with a 9.30 and AMDRA National #1 Danny Johnson beat Virgil Naff with a 9.26.

In round 2 Henry Moore turned a strong 9.34 but was beaten by Welch's devastating 8.70. In the other semi-final Danny Johnson became the 5th Fuel Bike rider to break into the 8s with an 8.90.

In the final it was AMDRA National #2 Welch againt #1 Johnson. Johnson left first and recorded a steller 9.00 but Welch ran him down with another 8 second blast, this time an 8.79.

Rumor has it Johnson will soon debut a new mystery machine being built in the Johnson High Performance secret backroom. Johnson has allowed only the name of this machine to leak out. The new monster machine will be called "Goliath".
 
#111 ·
Frank and Joe....I'm still following and am in awe of the stories and photo's...this is like a dream thread for me since I am such a fan of Drag Bike Racing...especially anything pre-1980...hopefully, one day I will get to meet you at a reunion you all might attend...if you know you are going to be somewhere, please let us know...I'm sure there are probably a few of us that would love to shake your hand!!!

Happy belated birthday to you...and once again, thank you sooo much for the stories...I'm always tickled to death when I get on here and see that you've posted a bunch more stories!!!...You guys simply ROCK!!!!

Larry in MD
 
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#379 ·
wow!!! Joe.

that looks like what i saw in the pits the first time i was at bowling green. That is an awesome photo! Thanks!
i know joe remembers the first time all of us raced at bowling green,ky..it was the first race that all of use had to have the kill switch connected to our wrist with a cord.joe had the misfortune of racing me ron maranto,he did his burnout and the cord came out of the kill switch and shut his motor off.and needless to say the officials motioned me to the starting line.while joe was busy telling all the officials in a very nice "bip" "bip" way what he thought of the new kill switch rule.

I still go to a few races and what a shame nobody remembers all the guys who put motorcycle drag racing on the map.like joe smith,larry welsh,sonny route,boris murry,tom lucas,al chalier,dick prime,ron maranto,danny johnson,dave campos.this is just a few of the guys who raced for nothing back in the day that makes motorcycle drag racng what it is today.
Ron maranto
 
#113 ·
Yes in a way but your legs were on both sides and your upper body was over the Motor...I was in Drag Racing at it's Infancy and in those days Laidlaw's Harley was my Sponsor and he had an upstairs in his store that was full of old Generator Crank Cases, Cylinders, heads etc. and I would just get what I needed...

I did blow a lot of motors in those days, Gas and Fuel...it was a learning game back them...Bob Laidlaw, Bob Cobb, shop Foreman and myself spend many a night in the machine shop trying new things...I could write a short book on the Speed Secrets found in that machine shop...just in the lower end alone...

I've been a very lucky man while Drag Racing with all those blow ups and I Crashed and Burned six times and still writing and talking about it, I had the Drag Racing God looking after me all those years...
 
#114 · (Edited)
DANNY JOHNSON AND "GOLIATH 1" part one.

It's life was very short, only 11 months, from October 1972 to September '73, but no Fuel Bike in the Seventies had a bigger impact on the sport than "Goliath 1". You see it hadn't been done before...that is for someone to build a twin engine Harley Fuel Bike that was competetive. Many had tried to build them, at least one with the engines mounted side by side, but when they brought them out they just didn't work. A friend here in the Carolinas built one (a twin engine Harley gasser) in 1966. He only made a few passes with it. On the last pass it got into such a violent top end wobble that he dismantled it after bringing it to a safe stop. This was during a period of time I had been on military active duty so I never saw the bike but I received periodic updates right down to the dismantaling. This was even before I met Danny. In the last post about Danny I mentioned he asked if I was interested in riding a second bike he was going to build and I said no. I didn't know it but he had a twin engine Harley Fuel Bike lurking in his mind then. I got heavily involved with Street Rodding and did not see Danny for at least a year except at Bowling Green. It was during this time it was built. I had no clue!

Johnson had hoped to have it ready for Bowling Green '72 but didn't. To this day I don't know why he thought he could do what so many others had failed...some getting hurt very badly trying. But he was one of those special people who has to try. He has to find out the hard way. He did go about it the right way. He got a master twin engine bike builder to help. Boris Murray and Johnson got their minds together and the results are history. It was a short wheelbase bike by slanting the front engine slightly. It was a high gear bike too. This was years before wheelie bars.

Finally, it was ready to debut at Atco in October '72. I believe he went there with it untested. I was not there but can imagine the concern Danny's friends had for him....not to mention the guy who was going to straddle it. When the final round of qualifying was completed Johnson was qualified number 1. It was one of the most magnificent accomplishments in motorcycle drag racing history. All the other Harley racers knew they would have to build a double over the winter...and a lot did.

"GOLIATH 1" part two next.
 
#140 · (Edited)
Danny Johnson & "GOLIATH 1" part two

This is from a 1974 article in Dragbike! magazine written by Tom Loughlin Jr. I have shortened it.

"Goliath 1" was an innovation comprised of many innovations and it had a competitive edge over the rest of the Fuel Dragster bikes. It was originally built to overcome the advantages held by the double-engine "Limeys" Triumph, BSA, Norton beasties of Routt-Welch and Boris Murray who held the NHRA T/F bike speed record on a tire smoking 174.75 mph set in 1971 at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Concerning the motivation for building the first Double Harley fueler Johnson, the 1971 AMDRA T/F Champion, said "I was just plain getting sick of being beaten by Boris Murray". Knowing Danny though (again this was written by Tom Loughlin in 1974) the final straw which egged "Goliath 1" from the concept stage into full-scale construction was most probably the light dismissal his ideas were given by fellow racers and officials, skeptical of the feasibility of a double motor concept for the V-twin configuration.

The critics, those who "pooh-pooed" Johnson's ideas, had to eat crow. "Goliath 1", on it's first outing at a major event in 1972, qualified in #1 position with a near record 9.03 second ET. From that day forward to the instant it ended it's racing career a year later G-1 never failed to qualify #1.

While "Goliath 1" was a success in that it went very fast and proved the feasibility and practicality of the double V-Twin concept, there were inherent problems discovered throughout the campaign which had to be corrected. "I'd qualify #1 with it" Johnson said "then someting would always break in eliminations, usually a chain". G-1 was a high-gear-only machine using a slipper clutch. Laden with a tremendous weight handicap from it's extra engine and incumbant extra equipment the problems were severe. G-1 would leave the starting line like a steam locomotive lugging a 200-car Freight Train but would cross the finish line like a Bullit Train coming alive with the 214 cubic inches of nitro fired V-Twin power.

Next: The end of "Goliath 1" and how it almost got "up close and personal" for me.
 
#116 ·
Bruce Lauer

Died: October 6, 1996

Age: 46
Full Name: Bruce William Lauer

Drag Strip: Beech Bend Raceway Park, Kentucky

Event: American Drag Bike Association All-Harley Drag Finals
Accident Date: October 6, 1996
1996 Harley-Davidson motorcycle

Biographical: He was killed on the final day of competition. He was about 300 feet down the race track when the engine exploded under his chest and knocking him off the bike. The ignition on his bike malfunctioned and the nitrous oxide filled the cylinders. When the ignition re-ignited, the engine exploded underneath him. He died of internal injuries when he was struck by flying debris and a broken neck. He was from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

 
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