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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.
 
#213 · (Edited)
FearNoEvo has gone into great detail so I will be brief.

The 2-speed transmissions I have refered to are B&J 2-speeds used almost exclusively for drag cars (T/F and F/C) and Top Fuel Motorcycles. They are planetary gear transmissions in which the first gear is direct drive and second is overdrive. They are shifted either by air pressure or air over hydraulic pressure with a push button located on the handlebar.

Earlier bikes using a two speed used only two gears in a stock gearbox, usually 3rd and fourth. My first Harley dragster used the stock gearbox with 3rd and 4th on gas and 4th only on nitro. The Freight Train and the Inline 4 I am presently writing about used a B&J. I like that picture you posted.
 
#214 ·
FearNoEvo-

I hear ya. Dale taught me a ton the three years I worked on his fueler. With that info, I have a general knowledge that I think I can use for most applications.

Have you talked to Kurt lately? Has he ran his Buell yet this year?

Frank-

Did many people use a Lenco? I have heard that the B&J is a Lenco, better more refined.
 
#215 ·
The B&J is much smaller than a Lenco. I remember one of the first IHRA races I raced the I-4 at in '79, one of the T/F car guys came over to look at my bike and was really surprised I was using the same trans he was. I don't remember any bike guys using a Lenco because they weighed so much.
 
#216 ·
Its actually funny to see a B&J. They are tiny. To the point of wondering how in the hell they could hold up. But they do. Most times. The first A/fuel, and actually the first fuel bike I helped on at all, ran a B&J. He kept 2 spares just in case. Griz Huxell out of now where Iowa ran an injected shovelhead, A/fuel bike in the late 80's. He let me help change the oil and the plugs. I was never so proud of anything in my life. But when it came to that tranny, him and Bobbo were the men.

To calkins, I haven't heard from Kurt in almost a year, I used to help him out with the Buell and he has always said he wants to buy into my fueler, but you know how time is. I don't get to the places I used to, old age and kids and all. He has my number, I would love to hear from him again. I have all the big pieces bought, I just need a good back and a hungry mind to help me out at the track. The ol lady says I can't let the boy ride it until he's 18. There is only so much my tired ol ass can do and still get it down the track without dying.
 
#218 ·
One thing I should clarify about the Chrysler gear reduction starter I developed for my Fuel Bike is that it would not work on a v-twin. Bob Spina purchased one for his Fuel Harley early on and it would not start it. But it worked great on every single engine British or Japanese race bike...or to the best of my knowledge.
 
#220 · (Edited)
I guess I was more cautious than you Joe, at least with the first Fuel Harley I had. After each run I would drain the fuel tank and float bowl and then fill the float bowl with alcohol and then put the 65% nitro/ alcohol mixture in the tank and prime it on gas to start on the rollers. I am sure Danny Johnson did the same with his carbed bikes because he taught me how to do it. My last two nitro bikes were fuel injected and I started them like you did with nitro in the lines and gas as a primer. I guess the point I was trying to make to our readers is I did not fire it on nitro as a primer. It was just too dangerous.
 
#222 ·
We ran about 80% in the Inline 4 I am writing about now and 90% in "The Freight Train". I was very fortunate in that I never had a blow up starting any bike I raced on nitro. There are plenty of stories to tell about after the crank up though.
 
#223 ·
We used a chrysler gear reduction starter on our 96" ironhead, B/F bike. It worked fine for us but we weren't makin the huge numbers you guys were with your machines.

The only explosion we ever had was a result of a hydraulic. We had just got our new motor back together. Finished it in Humboldt at the track. Our typical starting procedure was to close the pet cock, pull the plugs and blow it out. Then we put the plugs back in, turned on the ignition, shot the venturi with gas, opened the ball valve for the fuel and rolled her over over. It always started great, but we didn't do it like Joe. Our clutch was set to stall up to about 2500 RPM. So we were always on high idle so to speak. This goes to what Joe said earlier about maybe leaving a bit distance on the table because of our limited RPM range. We were through the traps at about 6200 RPM.

Anyhoo, got lost for a minute. We're at Humboldt trying to fire our new motor, turns over a dozen times, pops a bit but won't fire, so I stopped with the starter. I was the button man, crew chief ran the throttle and spray bottle. After a bit of checking we realize we have the timing about 45 degrees retarded. Up for two days building a motor in the pits, we were less than qualified by this point. So, Mike adjusts the timing and says ok, lets try it. My brother pipes up, Hey don't you dumbasses think you ought to blow it out again? Mike says nah, how much fuel could it have pulled in 12 turns?

I agree that it should be blown out, but Mike insists everythings ok. He clicks the ignition on and I hit the starter, it rolled about 6 times, lets out a hellacious bang and ripped the front cylinder right in half. The top half of the cylinder and the head smashed the back bone flat as a pan cake, leaving a perfect imprint of the rocker box in the bottom of the backbone. Tore both down legs in half and the front piston and rod exited out the generator relief area. Mike wore a perfect circle bruise on his chest from where the carb and velocity stack hit him, all weekend. I picked steel out of my arms most of the weekend.

I don't know how many of you have ever run the starter on a nostalgia fuel bike, but your face is about 6 inches from the action. When shit lets go, its quite a surprise.
 
#224 · (Edited)
1979 - My Year As A Top Fuel Motorcycle Racer Part 1

It was Feburary '79 and the first International Drag Bike Association race in Gulfport Mississippi was fast approaching. I had made a committment to follow my dream of being a professional T/F Motorcycle racer and entering as many races as possible and still run my Antique Car business. But I would let my business take a back seat to my racing. Danny Johnson was finishing his new bike he would also ride. I did not have an IDBA Top Fuel license but would hopefully pass the test at Gulfport where I would be required to make several passes. I was very uneasy about that because I would not do any testing before that National Event. None of the local tracks were open yet except for one very narrow track that I did not feel comfortable making my first pass on. It had been 10 years since my last nitro bike and the technology had increased by lightyears. My old bike had a 4 inch wide rear slick. This bike had a 10 inch wide tire. My old bike had about 125 horsepower. This one had about 250 hp. This bike also had a slipper clutch and Hilborn fuel Injection. My old bike had a carb and a regular clutch with extra plates. I was very nervous about my first run to say the least. Would the burnout be very hard to do without losing control? How hard would it be to stay on the seat with the g-force of the big slick instantly hooking up? How would 180 mph feel? How stable would the bike feel at that speed? These were all unknown questions I laid awake at night pondering.

The time has arrived to leave for Gulfport. Danny had not finished his bike and this will be of great benefit to me. Why? Because he insisted he ride my bike and I would be awarded the same points being the bike's owner as he would as the rider and the unbelievable pressure I was under to learn how to ride it at a National event was over. I would still do my testing there to get my license (hopefully) which was still unsettling but the pressure to qualify and do well in the eliminations was gone.

The weather forecast was not good for the weekend. A tropical storm was headed for the gulf coast. After driving about a 1000 miles we sat around in the rain on Friday hoping it would end. My nights leading up to this race were sleepless. The storm was expected to end and be better on Saturday. My time of "wondering" was over. The next day would be my "day of reckoning". The thinking about it was over. Friday night was a night I laid awake beside my wife most of the night. She was not nearly as concerned as I thought she would be.

The storm did not move out as expected and the race was called. I was REALLY relieved. Now I could do some testing before the next IDBA event. We loaded up and started the long trip home. I knew when I went to bed that night I would get a good night's sleep.
 
#225 · (Edited)
1979 - MY YEAR AS A TOP FUEL MOTORCYCLE RACER PART 2


After arriving home from the rained out race at Gulfport I put my racing on the backburner for a week to devote time to my business which had been grossly neglected for the year. It was good therapy and gave me time to cleanse my mind of the concerns of learning to ride my new T/F Bike. It was amazing how that time helped because when I started concentrating on that task again the concerns were not nearly as great. It was still March and most quality tracks would not open until April. I started calling some track numbers I would consider doing my testing at and either got recorded messages or no answer until I called the Spartanburg, South Carolina track, a modern 1/4 mile track at the time. It was on a day during the week and the owner answered the phone to my surprise. He said he was getting the track ready to open for the season. I explained what I wanted to do and he said he would have the clocks set up to test the next day and if I wanted to do some testing I could bring it and do so. I DID NOT tell him I had not rode it before. I called Frank Norris, my crew chief, to see if he was available to go and he was. The weather forcast for the next day was great so it looked like 6 months of apprehension was coming to an end. I remember feeling much more "easy" than at Gulfport. I would not be embarressed if I failed.

When I awoke the next morning the weather was beautiful. We loaded up and started the one hour drive to Spartanburg. When we arrived there were other racers there taking advantage of the opportunity. My nerves were still settled. My plans were to do a burnout and shut it off and then come back later for a launch to about half track. As I put my leathers on for the first time preparing to make my first run my legs would not stay still. Mentally, I did not feel great fear but physically I guess I did. When we fired the bike is when the real apprehension kicked in. Why the heck am I doing this. Then I eased into the bleach box even more fearful. As I gently rolled the throttle it started spinning the slick. You do your burnouts in high gear but I was doing my in first gear thank you. It started smoking the slick but it was surprisingly stable. So stable I shifted into high and really started smoking the tire.....so far down track that it hooked up and started hauling ass. It was still surprisingly stable so I stayed in the throttle until it started scaring me. My first pass was 151 mph. Below is a picture of that day sent to me by someone there. It was a piece of cake. It was actually easier to ride than my Harley 10 years earlier. Danny Johnson had built a great bike....and the orders were coming in for him.

My dreaded first testing was over and I felt very comfortable. A long racing season was ahead.
 

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#226 ·
Nice insights into the concerns when making the transition to a modern setup Frank.
By the way, it still staggers me the mileage you guys travel to go to an event in America. A thousand miles to go and watch the rain is a real bummer.
We lost a lot of racers over here as the older British engines became less competitive. To swap from what you know to an all-new combination is an expensive challenge - and one that many could not afford to make. It is like starting at the bottom all over again.
 
#228 ·
Nice insights into the concerns when making the transition to a modern setup Frank.
By the way, it still staggers me the mileage you guys travel to go to an event in America. A thousand miles to go and watch the rain is a real bummer.
We lost a lot of racers over here as the older British engines became less competitive. To swap from what you know to an all-new combination is an expensive challenge - and one that many could not afford to make. It is like starting at the bottom all over again.
Thanks, Keith. A thousand miles traveling was the maximum for me but the touring pros like Joe Smith would travel nearly 3000 miles, from one coast to the other.

By the time I purchased this bike it was over for the British Fuel Bikes here too and all the British legends had retired. None that I can think of made the transition to other Fuel Bikes.
 
#227 ·
Hopefully Frank and Joe won't mind me chiming in again, I don't have the history they do, but my fuel "career" spans a couple of decades, so maybe you all won't mind a tale or two from my less than stellar career. These guys are giving you the perspective of a couple of seasoned pro's. I will give you the perspective of a couple of wannabe, broke as all fuck, but lucky enough to have a fueler, amateurs. My partner in crime owned a titty bar, I was a college student

My Dad and I started in '84 campaigning an M/XL. We had some success, but working with my pops always ended up a bit of a struggle. He was the seasoned veteran with volumes of history and a knack for building wicked fast street bikes. Finally in 84 he took it to the track. Things went well off and on, but he and I always seemed to butt heads when it came to tuning and making changes. We still had a blast, but he was content in the gas classes and I was slowly becoming infatuated with Fuel.

I was given the opportunity in '89 to start helping out on an A/F bike and jumped at the chance. I was still always there for the ol man, but sometimes he had to come grab me from the fuel team to lend him a hand.

I was a gofer in either pit, but loved it in spite of that. I was all to happy to pick these guys brains whenever I could.

In '90 at our local track, one of my ol mans oldest brothers, Mike, showed up with a 96" ironhead B/F bike. He brought it up from KC with his partner at the time and pilot of same. Mike asked me if I would mind helping them out a bit and I said sure. They hadn't had this thing running in years. It was a really cool bike, nickle plated, lay down Truett tanker frame, short little wheelie bars and a car tire. The short wheelie bars make for a great story later, but I'll finish this one first.

We bought a gallon of nitro from the A/F team I was helping out on and proceeded to set about getting this ol ironhead running again. We put fresh oil in it, dumped the fuel in, checked the timing, points, and plugs and decided it was time. We stuck the little lift device they had under the frame, raised the rear wheel up and hooked the starter up. Mike hit the button, Herbie ran the squirt can and the throttle. It started rolling over, popped a couple of times and then roared to life. It sounded great, but there was a problem. It was idling at about 4,000 rpm and would not idle down. It was also starting to vibrate off of the lift device. I grabbed the wheelie bars to help steady it, and Herbie cracked the throttle to try and get it off of high idle. It was at this time that we found out the lift device was not tall enough. The rear tire hit the ground and launched the bike forward. I tried as hard as I could to hold on, but after getting both of my hands smashed under the wheelie bar wheels, I had to let go.

Herbie was a bit more valiant than I was and held onto the bars with all of his 130 pound might. To no avail. The bike took off like a shot, dragging Herbie along side, idling at 4,000 rpm. I suppose it went about 200 yds before they both got tangled up in the chain link fence by the staging area. I ran over and ripped the dead man out and asked Herbie why he hadn't done the same. He looked up at me, called me a know it all kid and asked me to help him up.

So I gave him a hand, then helped him upright the bike and push it back to our pit. Needless to say, Herbie was a bit frazzled and about half the place was laughing their asses off. Luckily no harm to the bike at all. We found a broken return spring on the throttle which didn't allow it to return to idle position. At that time we did not have a push/pull throttle on it. We also took some weight off of the clutch to get it to stall a bit higher.

Everybody had calmed down and Herbie said he was ready to give it another go. We purged it, dumped a bit more fuel in it, hit the button and it fired right up, idled down to about 2500 rpm and ran beautifully. Herbie tapped the rear brake and the wheel stopped cold and then rolled slowly after he released the brake. I grabbed the tire by hand and it stopped instantly. We let her warm up a bit, herbie burped it once and we shut the fuel off, letting her kill. Everybody was fucking stoked. I mean hootin and hollaring, the works. We were all so proud of ourselves. Next stop, the staging lanes. Fuel is a fickle mistress, terrifying and an absolute joy all at the same time.

It only gets funnier from here so if you're interested and I haven't overstepped my bounds by sullying this thread with the tales of an unranked amateur, say the word. I'll continue telling you how the other half lived!
 
#231 ·
Yes it was Calkins.

Having proven we were capable of actually getting the thing running right, there was only one thing left to do. Try and get it down the track.

So, Herbie suited up, strapped on his helmet and we rolled it up to staging. We got the nod from the lineman and fired her up again. Perfect, no problems. Let Herbie down off the lift device and he rolled it into the water. Mike stepped in front of the bike to help hold her down. Herbie grabbed the front brake and cracked the throttle. The bike jumped about a foot and damn near knocked Mike down. We pushed it back into the water, Mike grabbed it again up front, and I grabbed the wheelie bar. Herbie rolled her on this time and the rear wheel started spinning. I then stepped off to the side, I wasn't in the mood for eating water and rubber. He let off the front brake and rolled her out of the water. Mike cut the fuel off and we let her die. You can't believe how excited we were. The little bit of a burnout we did was almost as exciting as getting it running.

We pushed it back off of the track, dumped the oil and took a look at it, no metal. By all indications we were ready to try and make a pass. We topped off the fuel, added another quart of GT70 and waited for the linemans cue. It was agreed by everyone that just taking the green light with a 60' hit on the throttle is all we should try. This bike hadn't been down the track in years. Repeat the above, only this time, rather than just whacking the throttle, Herbie grabbed the brake, rolled the throttle on gently till it broke the back wheel loose and did a bitchin smokie burnout, then rolled her through the staging area. Mike pushed him back, I lifted the bike by the bars to get him aimed straight and we were ready. Again the consensus was that since we had no idea what was going to happen, Herbie better take it easy and just roll her on rather than whacking it. This would prove later to be a bad idea when it came to be my turn to ride this thing, but more on that later.

Herbie pre-stages, then stages. CFR always gives us a pro-tree because we ain't no damned bracket racers and there isn't a class we can compete in out there anyway. The 3 yellows flash, the green lights up and Herbie does exactly as we told him, just rolls it on. Nothing but perfection, he clicks it off at about 100 feet and coasts her to the end. 18 second 1/4 mile the first time the bike had seen the track in years, a whopping 60 mph. Again we are all as giddy as little girls.

We send the tow bike down, a ratty ol shovel in keeping with our no budget race team mandate. This is when we found out that none of us had any experience towing a square tire bike. The return road comes about half way up the track then takes a sharp left into the pits. This is where Herbie had his second fall of the day. The tow bike slowed a bit and Herbie tried like hell to make the corner. Square tire bikes don't steer like your average street bike. He almost made the corner. Unfortunately, the tow strap went slack and ended up going under the front tire. The tow bike rider then tried to pull it tight and snatched the front tire right out from under Herbie and down he went, again. A couple of us ran down there, helped gather him up and decided fuck it, we'll push it the rest of the way.

Now we have the bike back in the pits, again no damage done and the celebration commences. Mike asked Herbie how everything felt and he could only stammer the word great. More celebration. We changed oil again, blew it out and topped everything off. Mike asked Herbie how he felt about a full pull. Herbie said he couldn't see why not. He was about to eat those words.

Back to the staging lanes, the nod from the lineman, fired it up and into the water we go. Great burnout, pre-stage, stage, yellows, green and away he goes. He is hauling the mail for sure. At about 600 feet we saw a very odd shimmer coming from the bike, at about 800 feet we watched Herbie careen out of control and then go down and then go skidding in a ball of arms legs and motorcycle for the next couple of hundred feet.

We were terrified, was Herbie OK, fuck Herbie, was the bike OK??? We jumped on a couple of bikes and hauled ass down there. The bike was a bit dinged up, carb knocked off, rear brake handle broke off, but other than that, not too bad. Herbies leather were a bit scuffed but other than that, he was ok too. He was not a very happy camper though. This was the third time he had eaten asphalt at the hands of this bike.

We get back to the pits, look at the ticket and either Herbie or the bike had skidded and tumbled their way to an 11 second 1/4 mile. Again with the elation. Thats fuckin fast, especially sliding on your ass with 400 pounds of bike sliding next to you. After Herbie had calmed down a bit, he told us what had happened. At about 600 feet the bike shook violently, a good ol fashioned tank slapper. Herbie thought he could power through it. He couldn't have been more wrong.

He then told Mike he had had enough of this suicide machine and that he needed to find a new pilot.

I have a long history in my ol mans circle of friends for riding anything better than just about anybody. I cut my teeth on 150HP jap bike hill climbers at the tender young age of 13 yrs old. Took rookie of the year in District 16 AMA hill climbing competition my first year out, '78 I think, riding a stretched out kz650. I was affectionately known as the zipper due to my propensity for WFO throttle position. I had beaten every single ol timer in the ol mans circle at our yearly grass drags. I was also desperate to get on track and the ol man wouldn't yield the seat on the M/XL. Mike looks at me and says whattya think? My wife and my mother both flipped. NO FUCKING way, that thing nearly killed Herbie and he's a pro!!

I told Mike that with some serious maintenance on the bike, I would consider it. We spent the next year working on the bike, new neck bearings, wheel bearings etc. We debuted in Humboldt '92. But thats a whole 'nother story right ther.
 
#232 · (Edited)
Something you may be interested in is how T/F Motorcycles transitioned from multi-engine bikes to single engine bikes in the late '70s-mid '80s. In the years 1970 to 1979 almost all Top Fuel Motorcycles had at least 2 engines. If you raced a British bike in the early '70s you better have 2 motors if you wanted to outrun a 100 cubic inch Harley. Boris Murray and Larry Welch both won major events with their twin engine Triumphs. So did T C Christenson with his 2x Norton. Then Danny Johnson raised the bar with "Goliath" in 1972. By the first of the '74 season almost all serious Harley racers had twin-engine bikes. As if that wasn't enough Russ Collins built "The Atchinson, Topeka & Sante Fe" triple engined Inline Four. That bike was the first in the 7s in late '74 I believe. It was an awesome bike. Collins almost lost his life on it in a top end crash but instead of retiring he built the "Sorcerer" twin engine supercharged I-4. For my money that is the most awesome Top Fuel Bike ever built. Back when it was tough to break 180 mph on a T/F Bike Russ ran an outragious 199.55 on it. That was when a young Byron Hines worked at RC Engineering. Then in 1977 Big Carl Ahlfelt built the "Orange Crush", a twin engine injected I-4. Sid Pogue was selected to ride the bike but Pogue was a Pro Stock racer and didn't want to ride both at National events so Carl hired a rookie to ride it. And ride it he did. His name is Kenny Annesley. In 1978 Carl wrenched the bike and Kenny rode it into all 6 International Drag Bike Association finals and won 5. But by then Ron Teson showed the future in T/F a little supercharged single engine, very light bike that he won the Bowling Green race with. By the beginning of the '79 season all the British bikes were gone and only a few twin engine Harleys were still out there including Elmer Trett, Joe Thronson and Marion Owens. Oh yeah, and Annesley. Everthing else were single engine supercharged I-4s including my bike. I had completed my first testing with it and had booked a couple appearances before the next IDBA National at Memphis in May. My first booking was on Sunday April 1st 1979. April 1st.....hmmm...that was April FOOLS day, right.
 
#233 ·
It was a shame to see the passing of the double-engined bikes Frank, but I guess that is progress.
The first 7 second run came at the Supernationals in October 1975, when Russ Collins only just beat TC as the first rider under 8 seconds. TC had the last laugh though, as he ran more 7 second passes at the meeting - and won the event. Joe Smith so nearly made it three bikes in the sevens at that same meeting.
Unterestingly, the Carl Ahlfeldt Orange Crush double Kawasaki bike was bought by Dutch racer Henk Vink - and he clocked the first 7 second run by a European rider on it.
 
#237 ·
1979 - My Year Racing T/F Motorcycles Part 3

April 1st, Shuffletown Dragway, Charlotte North Carolina

Shuffletown Dragway was built in 1959 and was my home track. I raced my first bike, a '57 Triumph Bonneville street bike there in 1963. It was an 1/8 mile track. From '63-69 I was there almost every Sunday afternoon. I had made hundreds of passes there and had never been down. That is where I had a brake failure on my Harley Fuel Bike in 1969. The track operator had paid me $100.00 back then to make three passes on my Harley (pictures on previous posts) but I had squeezed $400.00 out of him for this appearance and I would be making single exhibition runs. He was a good friend and knew I had only made a couple test passes on it prior to that day. I still have the flyer he had mailed out the week before announcing my appearance. "SPECIAL ATTRACTION-This Sunday April 1st 150 MPH MOTORCYCLE-Supercharged Nitro Burning Wild FRANKIE SPITTLE of Charlotte N.C. (and you wondered how I could remember April Fools day in 1979). Shuffletown was the narrow track I had mentioned on a previous post that I would not make my first pass on...and I didn't. But I felt confident enough to now. My wife took the picture below on that April Fool's Day. Frank Norris, my crew chief is the one with the red shirt. He was on the IDBA rules committee and was a hell of a mechanic. I had had a long association with him on my Pro Stock bike. He had been "concerned" with our testing at Spartanburg and seemed to here. He was not his usual "joking around" self. When we were called up to make our first run the track owner came over and asked me to be careful. "Don't take any chances. I know you are learning. You are going to get your fee no matter " he said and my crew chief was shaking his head yes agreeing with him. I was glad to hear that but it was not necessary. I knew that bike could kick my ass in a heartbeat. When I put my helmet on the butterflies started flying around in my stomach again. Almost every racer and spectator was looking. Then we fired it I looked down that narrow track and once again asked myself why the heck am I doing this. I rolled into the waterbox in high gear and gently rolled the throttle on and did a long smokey burnout. When I turned around and started back to the starting line I could hear the cheering over all the engine noise and I knew the track owner was happy. Frank had a look of relief as he lined me up. I staged and for the first time made a hard pass. It hooked up from the get-go and went straight down the track through the clocks. The E.T. was a 5.77 and the speed was 139 mph. The cheering was unbelievable..even from the shutdown area. They shut the track down so I could be pulled back down the track. The cheering REALLY got loud. We had non-stop traffic in our pit area for the rest of the day. My old friends were asking me to be careful and others telling me I was nuts. I loved it.
 

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#239 · (Edited)
I don't know Frank, I think someone sent it to me couple years ago or it came out of some Media News that I had stuck away that I scanned and it was just in my files...

Back then we were noted as the Big Three...The idea was they wanted the three of us out in front of the Start Line so the Spectators could see us, if you remember that weekend the stands were jammed...With TC and I looking at each other the conversation was "I'm doing the pushing"...

Does anyone remember who did...??
 
#1,402 ·
Mr. Spittle, as of a month ago R.C. jr is in the process of restoring the ATCHISON, TOPECA & SANTA FE along with the SORCERER v8 dragbike.
I just located the CERIANI front end and i will deliver it to him next week.
The plan is to run both bikes side by side at events nation wide. For a whole lot of info go to sohc4.net and go to forums then click on " High Performance and Racing " You'll find the posts about the dragbikes along with a lot of photos. :)



The new chassis is being built at MDR.



The RUSS COLLINS Brothers, RC jr on the left with the SORCERER.



It will be restored to the WINSTON era bike. :eek:
Oh, this is my first post. I just joined this great website. :cool: my name is JON GAGE.
 
#242 · (Edited)
For those Harley Riders that know Willy G. (Davidson) from the HD Factory...

Did you know at one time he played a different Character, a different look than what you know him to be today...




My Wife Pat on left, Mrs Willy G and Willy G. his younger self...This was at Union Grove Drag Strip in 1971...How about those pants...
 
#243 ·
Wow...that pic of Mr. and Mrs. Willie G. is outrageous!!!...I don't think I could have guessed who that was even if I was given his initials as a clue...that is one great picture most certainly...

Mr. Joe, and all the others that have shared their stories...thank you sooo much...this is my favorite thread ever...the pictures and personal stories are fabulous to us old fans of the sport from way back who watched from the stands...it really means alot to me to read about the history of Motorcycle Drag Racing from those who were there...

I appreciate every new story and picture posted...

Larry in MD
 
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