Jockey Journal Forum banner

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.
 
#185 ·
It was worth waiting for the last part of the Goliath 1 story Frank. Seeing that front wheel following Danny and the bike down the track is frightening. It must have left you with some mixed emotions on seeing that.
That bike was scheduled to run in England in July 73, but did not make the trip due to damage.
Looking at the sequence of shots by Steve Reyes reminds me, as if needed, what a great photographer he is. I was overawed when I first met him on the startline at Ontario in 1973. With his huge Pextax 6x7 cameras and perched on his stepladder, he left me feeling very inadequate. If only I had carried a foldup ladder over on the plane I could have been as good as him - in my dreams!:)
 
#189 · (Edited)
This is one of the last pictures of T.C.Christenson and "the Hogslayer" twin engine Norton that made him famous. It was taken at the '97 Fuel Bike Reunion at Virginia Motorsport Park about 20 years after he and the bike retired from national event competition. Between 1972 and 1977 he was in the Bowling Green finals 5 times and won 3. He was the only three time B/G winner. He sold it to a Motorcycle Museum in England a short time later and purchased the triple engined Norton Fuel Bike. John Gregory, his brilliant crew chief, is behind him and not very visable. As you can see it still drew a big crowd when it was fired.
 

Attachments

#190 ·
Here's an amazing picture taken by Keith Lee of that same bike, TC and his Double Norton, it's was taken at Ontario, it shows me and my Double leading the way through the lights...It's posted on my All Harley Davidson Drag Racing Forum...This is absolutely an amazing piece of Photography...

I have permission from Mr. Lee to use this great picture and believe it also fits here...

 
#192 ·
This is one of the best pictures ever taken of Larry Welch on Sonny Routt's double Triumph around 1971 at Bowling Green I believe. The background is blurry but the bike and rider are crystal clear. If you click on the picture twice or three times you can see great detail of the machine and Welch's unbelievable concentration.
 

Attachments

#194 ·
I am afraid I cannot be very much help to you. I hired crew chiefs to tune my bikes. That is one reason I have SOOOOO much respect for Joe Smith. He did EVERYTHING in his racing operation with very little help. I do know as you know the high speed leanout in fuel injection is a real horsepower maker.......or maker of JUNK.
 
#196 ·
Joe Smith's double Harley had a sound of it's own. I could stand in the staging lanes at Bowling Green and know when he fired his bike even if I was not facing it. There were at least a dozen double Harley's I heard at one time or another but none of them sounded exactly like Granddaddy's. It amazes me that at age 80 his mind is still as crisp as ever. The Nitro thread he linked us to a couple posts back is proof of that. I only wish I could have had his knowledge available to us when I was racing "The Freight Train".
 
#197 · (Edited)
DANNY JOHNSON AND "GOLIATH II"

After surviving the 1973 horrendous crash at Indy that destroyed "Goliath 1" Johnson came home and started on the new machine. He had learned from almost a year's racing of G-1 that some things needed improvements so G-II would have been built anyway. Here are some of the improvements:

(1) G-1 was a high gear bike. G-2 would use a B&J 2-speed transmission.
(2) G-1 used a 6 inch wide rear slick. G-II would use an 8 inch wide tire.
(3) G-! used a single row rear drive chain. G-II would use a double row.

Danny built almost every part for "Goliath II" including the chrome-moly tubing frame which weighed only 29 pounds. He put his touches to both alloy wheels and of course put his touch to almost every mechanical part. This bike also had the first Candy Apple Red Metalflake paint that would be his signature for every bike he raced for the rest of his career.

I am not sure when Danny finished the bike but I believe it was in late '74 or almost a year. He raced his singles during construction which kept him busy and not a lot of spare time to work on G-II. Johnson had took in a partner on G-II, Joe Stadler from Milwaukee, WI. G-II was raced for several seasons with Johnson and Stadler sharing the riding duties. I watched the bike race many times in it's long career. It was competitive with the other multi-engine machines until the larger rear tire bikes started making a presence. And then Ron Teson came out with the single engine supercharged T/F Honda out of the RC Engineering shop that changed Top Fuel as much as G-! had years earlier. It changed Danny and made him realize twin engine bikes were doomed. He sold his interest in G-II to Stadler and for the first time started experimenting with Kawasaki parts.

Stadler kept the bike until his death in a non racing related matter. His widow sold G-II to John Heidt who kept it for a couple years. I bought it from him almost 20 years ago. The first photo was shot by Tom Loughlin Jr in 1975 and the other photo is one I took recently (click on the pictures several time to get detailed view). It is just as it was last raced with the exception of the engines. It has the original paint, chrome, tires and wheels etc. I can not tell you how priveliged I feel to be the owner of this bike. I hope to get it in running condition at some point and take it out and have some fun at Vintage Racing Events.
 

Attachments

#198 ·
Hi Frank and all,

Nice thread indeed, thanks a lot for the history and insights...

Yes, this was about the time extremely lightweight parts were banned like the Triumph Cub front end on my first Fuel Bike below.
Attached Thumbnails
Can't help thinking your fueller looks like the same bike as this one despite the change of frame, the front end is really too similar!!!... That was owned by Zach Reynolds of tobacco fame sometimes in the late 60s...



Is it???

Patrick
 
#199 ·
Hi Patrick,

Thanks for your input. Zach Reynolds was a very good friend of mine. He was the richest guy I have personally ever known (he was R.J. Reynolds grandson). He was one of the greatest motorcycle drag racers ever and always had the fastest bikes here in North Carolina. He was a real daredevil in just about everything he did. We all knew he was NOT destined to live to rocking chair status. I have sooo many stories to tell about him on future posts.

The bike he is sitting on is very simular to mine but not. It is ironic that you mention this because I did call him to let him know my bike was for sale back in '69. Zach had his own plane and called to ask if I could pick him up at the Charlotte airport and take him to look at it again even though he only lived an hour's drive away. We set up a time but he never showed.
 
#200 ·
#201 · (Edited)
Patrick, it was great looking back at old pictures of Zach and remembering some of the the good times and also remembering the sad time. He had Hollywood looks while in his 20s and reminds me of Peter Revson with his wealth and bravery. Maybe some day a movie will be made of his life. It would be a good one.

On one of the pages of your link you will see Zach's twin engine airplane. In an earlier post I spoke of the '67 Daytona Bike week and meeting Danny Johnson for the first time and racing him there. Zach flew that airplane to that event. During the day we used an abandoned airstrip near Daytona to race the bikes that were not street legal in an "outlaw" setting. We heard what sounded like an airplane dive bombing and looked up just in time to clear the runway as the plane pulled up and buzzed the runway at about 50-100 feet... wide open, and at over 200 mph. It was Zach's way of letting us know he needed to land. Just the first of the Zach Reynolds stories.
 
#202 ·
I raced the Honda for a year or two and built a Pro Stock Kawasaki. This photo was taken at the '78 Bowling Green race. It would be my last National event on a gas burner. I had been racing for four years the second time around and decided I would retire at the last race at Farmington in the fall. It just wasn't exciting anymore. Buying a Fuel Bike had not even crossed my mind. I was done with racing...I thought!! That frame of mind changed at the Farmington race.
 

Attachments

#205 ·
There are others who follow this thread that have a better eye than me but it looks to be a 20-30 years old frame that can use maybe up to an 8 inch wide slick. If you can verify what year(s) it was raced and class(s) then you can start looking for period correct pictures to go by for your restoration.
 
#207 ·
The time had come to enter my last drag race...I thought. It was in 1978 at Farmington Dragway near Winston-Salem North Carolina. It was at the end of the racing season and was one of the major local races of the year. Promoter Jim Turner always booked in at least a couple Fuel Bikes which I loved watching. Danny Johnson had not had a Top Fuel Bike in at least a year and I had not got wind of anything new in the pipeline from him. I was excited for this race because I knew it would be my last and I could devote all my time to my Antique Car business. I had experienced an excellent year and had built my inventory up with company profits. It had been almost 10 years since my last Fuel Bike and I was doing fine without one thank you. That frame of mind changed as soon as I entered the pits. Right there in front of my eyes in the "special attraction" area was one of the most beautiful Top Fuel Motorcycles I had ever seen. It was Candy Apple Red with gold alloy wheels and chromed everything. It was Danny Johnson's new machine, a blown and injected inline four. It really took me by surprise. As soon as I got parked I walked over to Danny's pit area. "I built this bike for you" he said kidding of course (I think). I couldn't take my eyes off it. It looked ready to make a pass. It's awesome I told him. When are you going to make your first run I asked. "It isn't quite finished. I am going to offer this bike for sale race ready and build me another one over the winter" he said. The wheels in my brain started turnimg. How much I asked. "$10,500" painted another color. Candy Apple Red is my color" he said. It was time for me to make the first run on my Pro Stocker but I just wasn't into it. All I could think about was that awesome Top Fueler. I walked back over and talked some more. When are you going to finish it I asked. "Next week. We are taking it to the Dragbike! finals in Gainesville in a couple weeks" he said. I looked at it more closely, really closely...like when your considering buying something. My wife was not with me so I had the freedom to spend ALOT of time looking it over. The bad side of my brain was telling me I was crazy. Then the good side told me I had the resources if I took a couple cars out of inventory. Then I had to get back to racing my Pro Stocker for the last time.

For the rest of the day I was thinking about the T/F bike, not racing my Pro Stocker. Finally, after much soul searching I decided to buy it. The excitement I felt is indescribable. The uneasiness was too! I was 34 with a wife of 9 years and two sons who depended on me. She would not like it but would support me. I had a wonderful mate. When we discussed it she insisted I get a $250,000 life insurance policy. I agreed and we made plans to go to Gainesville with my future crew chief and his wife for the debut.
 

Attachments

#208 ·
I couldn't wait for the Gainesville race where my new Top Fuel Bike would make it's debut. Frank Norris, my crew chief in waiting, and his wife joined me and my wife as we started the 500 mile drive. Johnson and his crew had left a couple days earlier to have time to do some testing before the Dragbike! race. Frog Thacker, a hired gun who rode Virgil Naff's T/F Bike, was doing the testing for Johnson. My agreement to buy the bike was for it to be race ready when I paid the balance due and took delivery. I would not need to take my leathers (thankfully).

There was no cell phones back then so I didn't know how things were going until we arrived. On Frog's first pass the crankshaft snout broke. The engine was torn down and a Harley crankshaft snout welded to the original. That work was completed by the time we arrived. Another test run was being prepared. On that pass Thacker went to 1000 feet, straight as an arrow, and shut it down. He ran 160 mph and Johnson was jubulant (me too). The Dragbike! T/F mph record was 185. On the final pass Thacker ran it out the back door. The ET was an 8.10. The speed was an amazing 183 mph, only 2 mph off the national record on it's first outing. It was the talk of motorcycle drag racing just like "Goliath" had been years earlier. Johnson was in the spotlight again. I paid the balance due and Danny took it back with him to repaint it Candy Apple Blue, the color I had picked.

We left Gainesville on a high and very excited about the upcoming '79 season. However, our excitement came to an end briefly as we were traveling down the highway. A news report broke about the Jim Jones Guyana mass suicide. It was sickening news.

Next, I will start a series on my life as a professional Top Fuel Motorcycle racer in 1979. I hope you enjoy my experiences from that year as I relive them here. It was one of the greatest years of my life.
 

Attachments

#210 · (Edited)
After returning from the trip to the Dragbike! finals I was about as pumped up as I could be for the upcoming 1979 season. I had committed to buy a T/F Bike that I thought would take several races to get competitive. Turns out it was from the get-go. The only thing left to do mechanically was to make it self starting. It had been started on rollers at Gainesville. I would have to pay extra for that but I did not want to crank it on rollers. The only remote starters available were the ones for automotive supercharged dragsters that connected to the blowers and they were expensive. Over $1000.00 in '78 dollars. All the self starting drag bikes were using them. I told Danny I believed a smaller less expensive starter could be adapted. He said forget it. It will not spin the engine over fast enough and it will blow up while starting it. I don't know why I felt so strongly about it but I did. I talked to a local starter shop owner and asked him what he suggested. His thoughts were an older 6 volt starter on 12 volts...and I agreed knowing how fast an antique car's engine with a 6 volt system spins over with a 12 volt battery. We decided on a Ford starter motor from a '55 year model, the last year for the 6 volt system. I invested a couple hundred dollars in that project and it would not spin it over. I was believing what Danny's view was but wanted to try one more.. a Chrysler gear reduction starter. I would have to use a 12 volt motor because Chrysler did not make a 6 volt gear reduction starter. I invested another $300.00 bucks and was getting upset with myself because if it didn't work I had spent half of what a dragster starter cost.

I had my new T/F bike in my possession now and when I plugged my homemade starter up it spun over as fast as a big starter. I was relieved and very proud. I squirted some gas in the injector and it fired and ran for a couple seconds. But I had not cranked it on nitro and did not want to without Danny around. I called to let him know I had a starter made for it and wanted to come to his shop and crank it. He told me to come on. I was there in a couple hours and when he first looked at it he was disappointed I had done something he did not believe would work. "It won't work" he said. I squirted some gas in the injector and fired it. I will never forget the expression on his face. "Let's try it on nitro" he said. I had not cranked it on nitro since I purchased it from him and would not have the first time without his supervision. We cranked it on nitro and before I left that day he ordered one for the bike he was building for himself.

Pictured below is the very first Chrysler gear reduction starter ever used on a race bike. If you click on the picture a couple times you can get a detailed look at it. I sold them for a couple years until others improved on it. You know how that is. Even Danny started building his own. It upset me that my idea was making others money but that's business. I would have done the same. 30 years later I still have special parts I had made to adapt those starters. Hundreds if not thousands have been used but this was the first. I was still using that starter after 4 years of racing that bike and it went with the bike after my ownership.

Oh well, getting back to my story it was still late '78 and I knew it was going to be a long long time til spring. I was ready to get it on!!!
 

Attachments

#211 ·
I have a question. I have read a few times, maybe even on here, about the use of a two speed tranny, maybe even an automatic. What's the story behind that?

I have a strong urge to build a bike with an old Triumph twin on alky, and maybe later on pop. So, the tranny question came up when I was trying to decide to go with a unit or preunit engine. Shit, maybe I should just use a new style Trumpet...

This is my motivational photo: :D

 
#212 ·
I'll throw out a quick, only tempered by 30 years of fuel answer, then let Frank give ya the correct answer.

Fuel is a fickle mistress. There are as many opinions on tuning fuel as there are guys tuning it. But, one thing everyone agrees on, is that its hard to make a fuel bike go like hell for a full quarter mile. I have alluded to this in other posts. See my posts regarding lean outs. Its almost as dangerous trying to make a fuel bike shift through the gears as it is to try and make one get through the traps in a single gear by carb and timing tuning.

So, eliminate a couple of gears, shift it once(which is still popular today, but more likely done via a combination of multi stage clutch and tranny) and hope for the best.

You have to take an aside here. Funny cars and T/F rails have an advantage over bikes. A shit ton more room to build a whopper of a clutch. Todays fuel cars run a 5 or 6 stage clutch, every increase in distance, and at timed intervals, more clutch is added or taken away to compensate for track conditions and to get the mail to the other end. This is really hard to do with bike parts, even harder in Frank's era then today. Step in B & J. They develop a 2 speed tranny that is about as big as your common sporty starter. Now your A fuel class is born, when I started there was top fuel, which was anything you were dumb enough to build and try and ride, B fuel which was carbureted, high gear only, and A fuel, carbureted and a 2 speed or injected high gear only. For the guys that could keep the 2 speed together, and tune the clutch, and the timing and the leanouts, you could out run almost everybody.

For the rest of us broke fuckers, it was a Bonnie Truett single stage clutch, a carburetor, and the occasional explosion. But we still went faster than they did. Every now and then.
 
Top