Once in a "blue moon" a record setting T/F motorcycle performance gain is accomplished that shocks the racing community. Any new record in T/F is hard to establish. Existing records usually last for years. Russ Collins 199.55 mph record on "The Sorcerer" lasted 7 years before Elmer Trett broke the 200 mph barrier. It is very hard to set a new record. New mph records are usually I or 2 above the existing. A 3 mph increase is almost unheard of. Larry McBride did that when he reset the record 2 years ago from 255 mph to 258. He had not equaled that speed since. Enter John Dixon, a name not familiar to most of you. The first time I met him was at Rockingham Dragway in his home state of North Carolina about 50 years ago when the track first opened. It was at an IHRA National event that had an open class for T/F motorcycles. I was not competing but was there as a spectator. I arrived as the first round of qualifying was getting under way. The "usual suspects" were in the staging lanes, Danny Johnson, Ray Price, Larry Welch, Virgil Naff......and a bike I had not seen before, a T/F Harley. Who is that I asked myself. I didn't recognize the teenager wiping it down and checking the tire pressure. Who was the rider? I was puzzled. When they were called to the starting line I would find out who the mystery rider was when he put on his leathers. You can not imagine how shocked I was when this 15 year old started suiting up. This can't be. He's not old enough to have a drivers license.
He didn't set the world on fire that day on this bike he built himself but it would be a sign of the greatness to come. John Dixon would become one of the greatest T/F motorcycle innovators the sport has ever seen. Many of his inventions are used today. The most important is the slipper clutch he invented that has no clutch cable used by all T/F bikes today. The list of his inventions/products is too long to mention (it would take a book) but he had his hands on everything. He built the frame for Elmer Trett's last twin-engine Harley "Pure Pork" in 1978 , which I bought from Elmer in 1983 and renamed "The Freight Train".
John always had some new creation every year throughout the 1970s finalized with a twin rocket powered motorcycle he crashed at over 200 mph when the body parachute (another of his inventions....today they are mounted to the wheelie bar) malfunctioned and blossomed pulling him off the bike. He switched to a much safer career with computers as they became a worldwide phenomenon. Today, he is a brilliant computer programmer. Like myself, he has stayed in touch with the sport and the teams that were racing when we were 40 years ago.
One month ago I was at the Darlington Dragway for the Mancup race and John was spending a lot of time with Larry McBride. Usually he is floating around the pits like myself. It was obvious he was involved with the tune-up. I asked him about it and he told me he had 200 hours in a computer program he set up for Larry because he felt the need after 40 years to "get involved" again. "Whoa", I said to myself. This could get good.
This past weekend I was at the Mancup race at Rockingham. Larry had made an earlier test pass almost equaling his 258 record. On the first qualifying run he smoked the tire. I was standing on the starting line with John as we watch Larry making his second round qualifying pass. He set another record! Not 259 or 260. Not 261 or 262. TWO HUNDRED SIXTY THREE MPH!!! 5 miles an hour over his existing record. Just amazing. The 5.60 e.t. is also a new world record. And it was at the same track where I got my first glimpse of that 15 year old T/F motorcycle genius. Let me change the "this could get good" to "this HAS got good".
He didn't set the world on fire that day on this bike he built himself but it would be a sign of the greatness to come. John Dixon would become one of the greatest T/F motorcycle innovators the sport has ever seen. Many of his inventions are used today. The most important is the slipper clutch he invented that has no clutch cable used by all T/F bikes today. The list of his inventions/products is too long to mention (it would take a book) but he had his hands on everything. He built the frame for Elmer Trett's last twin-engine Harley "Pure Pork" in 1978 , which I bought from Elmer in 1983 and renamed "The Freight Train".
John always had some new creation every year throughout the 1970s finalized with a twin rocket powered motorcycle he crashed at over 200 mph when the body parachute (another of his inventions....today they are mounted to the wheelie bar) malfunctioned and blossomed pulling him off the bike. He switched to a much safer career with computers as they became a worldwide phenomenon. Today, he is a brilliant computer programmer. Like myself, he has stayed in touch with the sport and the teams that were racing when we were 40 years ago.
One month ago I was at the Darlington Dragway for the Mancup race and John was spending a lot of time with Larry McBride. Usually he is floating around the pits like myself. It was obvious he was involved with the tune-up. I asked him about it and he told me he had 200 hours in a computer program he set up for Larry because he felt the need after 40 years to "get involved" again. "Whoa", I said to myself. This could get good.
This past weekend I was at the Mancup race at Rockingham. Larry had made an earlier test pass almost equaling his 258 record. On the first qualifying run he smoked the tire. I was standing on the starting line with John as we watch Larry making his second round qualifying pass. He set another record! Not 259 or 260. Not 261 or 262. TWO HUNDRED SIXTY THREE MPH!!! 5 miles an hour over his existing record. Just amazing. The 5.60 e.t. is also a new world record. And it was at the same track where I got my first glimpse of that 15 year old T/F motorcycle genius. Let me change the "this could get good" to "this HAS got good".
