5 minute read
Chairman's Column
1982 Daytona pit stop
In late 1981, the AMA announced that beginning in 1983, the AMA Superbike Series would be changed dramatically. The big and nasty 1000cc, unstreamlined Superbikes would give way to more modern 750cc bikes, some of which were being built with clip-ons and fairings. As a privateer on a tight budget, this presented some real challenges.
My wife and I welcomed newborn twin boys into our home in 1980. Family life is expensive. My 1975 Kawasaki Z1 Superbike was very well developed, even if it wasn’t the latest in technology by 1982. I bought the bike new in ‘75 specifically as a road racer and had developed it on my own for years. It was a veteran of many club races, endurance races, AMA races, experiments, brainstorms, and dyno runs. The thought of re-tooling my race effort was overwhelming. The time and money needed to make a completely different bike competitive at a high level was unrealistic. 1982 would be my last season as an AMA Pro road racer; I was determined to make it a season to remember.
I rounded up three of my most talented motorcycle buddies to form the nucleus of the assault on Daytona’s 1982 Bell Superbike 100. We met several times over the winter to get the bike ready, and I gathered enough money for some upgraded equipment. In order to compete at a National Championship level, there was no room for compromise. The two areas of the bike that were not up to the task ahead were raw power and rear suspension. One cannot have enough horsepower when competing with the serious factory efforts of Honda, Kawasaki, and Yoshimura's Suzuki with their legion of high-caliber riders. I knew what was needed and went on the quest to have custom, ultra-high compression pistons manufactured and to procure other needed exotica.
Over the years of racing, one of my lessons learned was that the builders of racebikes, racing parts, and custom services will rarely, if ever, sell you what they race. They represent it as such, but will not allow others to enjoy the edge. I can’t blame them, but at least they could admit it and stop the charade that they are selling the real thing. Homemade and custommade was the only way to go and really compete. The engine rebuild process was long, complicated, and successful. This thing made really strong power! Daytona is a big NASCAR oval with a road course built within the outer track. There were two places where the road course transitioned onto the NASCAR oval. Since each of these spots lead onto the longest straightaways, they were the most important places on the course. The transitions from the flat interior surface onto the banked oval were abrupt and, if taken wrong and fast, were treacherous. Rear suspension is of the highest importance to get a strong drive onto the bigs.
Big Shock Company (redacted, 'BSC' is still in business) out of California was one of the top two or three racing shock builders of the day. I contacted them, shared exactly what I wanted, what the purpose was, and placed the order. Time surely drags when waiting for special parts for the race bike. Sigh. Upon arrival, the shocks appeared to be built for street duty. I complained, and sent them back. The racing shocks came in time and off to Daytona we go!
In 1982, the AMA Daytona 200 week began on Wednesday for practice, Thursday for qualifying, and Friday for the Bell Superbike 100. Our garage area in the paddock was in big, open covered sheds with other privateers while the high-profile teams rented private garages to go along with their tractor trailer transports. My wife, three buddies, and the Dodge
MaxiRaceVan set us up in a very nice pit among our peers. There were over 100 entries from around the world for this prestigious race. Wanda, my lovely wife, is a born southern girl with a talent for cooking. She also learned from years at my mom’s side in Mom’s Jewish kitchen. Keep in mind, many riders and teams had more money invested, newer bikes, and better sponsors, but no one ate better than we did!
BSC was there as a title sponsor of the Kawasaki factory team of Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey. BSC had a full machine shop in their tractor trailer, and several technicians. I went to introduce myself, but they were underwhelmed. Another big-talking street rider they figured. The very first Superbike practice session came and went. My ol’ Z1 was fast. Top speeds were measured at the finish line by the AMA and posted in the paddock for all competitors to see. Wow! We had the fastest top speed of ANY team during that first session! Many people took note, including BSC.
Of course, as the day wore on, the big teams eclipsed our speed, but we were encouraged. A very pleasant, rotund gentleman walked into our pit area and introduced himself as the head guy for BSC. He apologized for treating my request for hard-core racing shocks as lightly as they did. He explained that they get countless similar stories, from riders who want to look like a racer but can’t use real racing hardware. Apology accepted. As he and I talked, his eyes kept getting averted to the sumptuous spread of mid-morning snacks that Wanda had out for our team. I invited him to join us, and he enthusiastically accepted. Our new friend was careful to remind me that BSC was under contract with Kawasaki to tend only to the needs of Team Kawasaki's two eventual World Champion riders. I understood, of course. For the next three days, after every track session, our new friend would quietly bring me a set of the latest version of shocks, as tweaked for their two riders. He’d leave with my old trade-in shocks and something yummy each time.
By Friday, the top 60 riders had qualified, forming a multi-wave start. We were on the third row, got a good start, rode hard, and finished the race in 9th place as the top privateer.
Thanks to my pals Ted, Bill, and Terry, BSC, and Wanda.
ARTHUR KOWITZ
Chairman of the Board
MX - CROSS COUNTRY - ENDURO - ROADRACE - DIRT TRACK
All Noleen shocks are built for the rider and their bike, by racers for racers.
MT1 TWIN CLASSICS $649.00 a pair
760 955-8757 noleenj6.com info@noleenj6.com
