Retrobike issue 27 winter 2017 freemags cc

retrobike CLASSIC NOT PLASTIC

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ISSUE 27 WINTER 2017

AUS $14.95* NZ $15.99

1966 TRIUMPH TR6

H O N DA C BX 10 0 0

HE R ON S UZU KI

B L AC K L I GHTNI NG

S E L L I C KS BEACH

SPE E D W E E K

HOT R OD HARLEY

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INSURANCE FOR MOTORING ENTHUSIASTS | CALL 13 46 46 FOR A QUOTE | SHANNONS.COM.AU Shannons Pty Limited ABN 91 099 692 636 is an authorised representative of AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807, the issuer of Shannons Car, Bike and Home/Contents insurance products. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and consider whether it is right for you before buying these insurance products. Contact us for a copy. Competition conducted by Shannons Pty Limited, of Level 28, Brisbane Square, 266 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000. Competition commences at 12am on 15/5/17 and closes at 5pm on 31/7/17 (Melbourne time). Applications for online quotes must be submitted by 25/7/17 to be eligible for entry into this competition, however, telephone applications will continue to be available until 5pm 31/7/17.

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EDITORIAL BIRTHDAY GIRL

G'DAY WITH GEOFF SEDDON

O

NE of my favourite bikes turns 60 this year. The Harley-Davidson Sportster was released in 1957 as a sports model to tackle the British parallel twins and has never been out of production in all the years since. In a sea of modern bikes pretending to look old, a new Sportster is the real deal.

The Sportster is a direct descendent of the famous WLA that mobilised the US infantry during WW2. Like many side-valve Harleys, WLAs ran four gear-driven singlelobe camshafts (one for each valve) which were retained when it was updated with unit construction and a swingarm chassis — both firsts for Harley — in 1952 and renamed the Model K. Overhead valves in cast-iron heads came in 1957 and with them the new Sportster moniker.

Changes in the decades since have been few, the most notable being a new frame in 1978 and the introduction of the alloy Evolution engines in 1986 which took the mechanical pain out of Sportster ownership. Down in the crankcases it was business as usual with those four gear-driven single-lobe cams doing their thing. Amazingly, the modern 1200’s crankshaft stroke of 3.8125 inches is the same as the WLA, Model K, the

original 1957 883 and every Sportster since.

I owned one back in the day, a mid-70s 1000cc XLCH. I sold a Ducati to buy it which few of my friends understood at the time, but I wasn’t buying it for them. In the time since, I’ve been lucky enough to test-ride countless 883, 1100 and 1200 Sportsters in all their guises and never rode one I didn’t like, although none had the rawness of my old Ironhead.

“The Sportster was released in 1957 and has never been out of production”

EDITOR Geoff Seddon DESIGNER Kate Podger VALUED CONTRIBUTORS Pete Cagnacci, Alan Cathcart, Simon Davidson, John Downs, Kel Edge, Stuart Garrard, Hiroshi Kikui, Ian Lee, Phil Masters, Jamie McIlwraith, Russ Murray, Alastair Ritchie, Peter Strom, Antoine Truchet ADVERTISING MANAGER Fi Collins SUBS 1300 303 414 www.universalmagazines.com.au

Fast forward to a few months ago when I was away gathering stories in the New England. I’d called on Tony Bianco who has a shed full of droolworthy stuff, including a pair of tasty 650 Triumphs and a Kenny Roberts flat-track replica which is featured on page 90. He also owns a few early Sportsters, including a rare-as-hens’teeth original 1957 model. I was impressed! Well, if you think my collection’s good, he said, you should see my mate’s, he lives just down the road. And with that, he threw me the keys to his 1974 XLCH (pictured) to get there.

First I had to start it, of course; no wussy electric button on this old girl! I eased it through compression a couple of times to get a feel for it, then gave it all I had and it fired first kick!

The sound and vibration immediately took me back 30 years, especially the mechanical clatter of one of the world’s most soulful engines. Nothing else sounds like an Ironhead Sportster.

I eased myself into that ohso-familiar riding position, selected first gear with my right boot and we were off, next stop 1975.

Expensive when new, Ironhead Sportsters are cheap and plentiful these days, especially compared with classic British and Japanese machinery. Buy two while you can.

UNIVERSAL MAGAZINES CHAIRMAN/CEO Prema Perera PUBLISHER Janice Williams CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Vicky Mahadeva ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Marcus Hucker FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION MANAGER James Perera CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Mark Darton CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kate Podger EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION MANAGER Anastasia Casey MARKETING & ACQUISITIONS MANAGER Chelsea Peters

Circulation enquiries to our Sydney head office (02) 9805 0399. Retrobike 27 is published by Universal Magazines, Unit 5, 6-8 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113. Phone: (02) 9805 0399, Fax (02) 9805 0714. Melbourne office, Level 1, 150 Albert Road, South Melbourne Vic 3205. Phone: (03) 9694 6444, Fax: (03) 9699 7890. Printed by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd, Singapore, and distributed by Gordon and Gotch, Australia. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers. The publishers believe all the information supplied in this book to be correct at the time of printing. They are not, however, in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. Prices, addresses and phone numbers were, after investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, up-to-date at the time of printing, but the shifting sands of time may change them in some cases. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements which appear in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility must therefore be on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisements for publication. While every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. *Recommended retail price. ISSN 1838-644X Copyright © Universal Magazines MMXVII. ACN 003 609 103. www.universalmagazines.com.au Please pass on or recycle this magazine.

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CONTENTS

60

The all-new 1200cc Triumph T120 gets the chop on this rad tracker

FEATURE BIKES 08

MASTER PEACE TRIUMPH

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AUSSIE BLACK LIGHTNING

To our eyes, there is no better engine for a rigid bobber than an OHV Triumph twin. This beauty just took out Japan’s biggest custom bike show

Alan Cathcart rides the Vincent Black Lightning on which Jack Ehrit set an Australian land speed record (on a public highway, no less!) way back in 1953

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52

CARBON-FIBRE CBX1000

HERON SUZUKI TRIBUTE

“A symphony of six cylinders comes to life as you open the throttle,” says proud owner Nick O’Kane of his Honda track bike. “It sounds like God gargling”

Styled on the famous Texaco Heron Suzuki XR69 F1 racers, this GSX-R750-based special packs a 1200cc Bandit engine for the go to match the show

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HOT-ROD SPORTSTER

From the land of ice and snow, a cool Sportster chopper with 100 horsepower at the back tyre takes on the Big Twins. Sit down, shut up and hang on!

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BONNEVILLE 1200 TRACKER

The new Triumph Bonnevilles were barely in the showrooms when workshops started to customise them. Steve McQueen would have liked this one

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BIANCHI GP RACER

The most successful European road racer of the 1920s was powered by the world’s first bevel-drive race engine, so take that Ducati fans!

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REGULARS 05 84 86 88 94 98

G’DAY RETRO STYLE McILWRAITH TANGLES’ WORKSHOP ON ANY SUNDAY FEEDBACK

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OTHER STUFF 20

SELLICKS BEACH

Proper beach racing returns to historic Sellicks Beach in South Australia

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THROTTLE ROLL

Custom motorcycle street party in the groovy heart of inner-city Sydney

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SPEED WEEK

We head outback for all the land speed racing action on magical Lake Gairdner

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ROBERTS REPLICA

A street-going tribute to Kenny Roberts’s insane TZ750 flat tracker

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Bobbers

1966 TRIUMPH TR6

Built in Hiroshima, an ancient English twin wins Japan’s biggest custom bike show WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY HIROSHI KIKUI

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Bobbers 1966 TRIUMPH TR6

T

HE Mooneyes Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show is the largest indoor custom car and motorcycle show in Japan and one of the coolest in the world, drawing an international celebrity crowd.

Bikes have long been a big part of the mix and it takes something really special to win it.

Enter Kengo Kimura, the quietly-spoken proprietor of Heiwa Motorcycles which he established in Hiroshima in 2005. He and his small team have built more than 100 customs in the years since, mostly based on Japanese bikes but including some 15 Triumphs, almost all of them pushrod twins built before the Meriden factory closed in 1983. This is his latest.

Like many elite builders, Kengo prefers not to work from drawings or concepts, instead following his gut feel and skilful eye. “Sketch and Photoshop make a concept look pretty cool, but it only makes you concentrate on reproducing it faithfully, so I do not draw at all,” Kengo told Aussie custom bike blog Pipeburn via an interpreter. “When I’m building a motorcycle I don’t have the whole picture of 10

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“IT’S EASY TO IMPRESS THOSE WHO REALLY KNOW CUSTOM MOTORCYCLES, BUT HARDER TO IMPRESS THOSE WHO DON’T” the bike in mind. I design parts. I start with the engine and ideas for individual components and bring them all together.”

To our eyes, there is no better engine for a rigid bobber than an OHV Triumph twin, in this case a unit-construction TR6 Trophy from 1966, nominally 650cc but here bored from 71mm to 76mm for 750cc on the stock 82mm stroke. Think of it as a single-carb Bonneville, although Kengo ditched the Amal for a more efficient and leak-free Mikuni TMR flat-slide.

Apart from electronic ignition and of course those exhausts, the beautifully detailed engine is otherwise stock.

Not so the four-speed transmission, however. Like most older British bikes, the drive sprocket for the rear chain is located on the left-hand side inboard of the clutch, which places an absolute limit on the width of any rear tyre unless you offset the engine in the frame. Big Twin Harleys have the same problem, prompting many H-D customisers to run an additional shaft from the gearbox to relocate the drive sprocket from the left-hand to the right-hand side and as far out as they need. It’s easier said that done, but that’s exactly what Kengo did here to accommodate a suitably fat rear tyre. In a tribute to his skills,

Triumphs In Japan ONE of the world’s most idiosyncratic forms of motorcycle sport is Auto Race in Japan, established in 1950 and modelled on speedway but on banked asphalt ovals after the government decided early on that loose dirt tracks were too dangerous. Not so different maybe, except that Auto Race exists almost entirely for gambling, drawing meagre crowds but huge dollars and so is heavily regulated, a bit like harness racing in Australia.

Like speedway, the bikes have no brakes and the races are short, although there isn’t much sliding going on. Instead the bikes are just built to go around left-hand corners at extreme angles of lean.

Riders are quarantined prior to race day to avoid any contact with punters and bookmakers, and ride identical bikes from a central pool.

Since 1993, the bikes have been purpose-built 500 and 600cc Auto Race parallel-twins, but prior to that, they were almost exclusively immaculatelypresented Triumph 500s and 650s, as bizarre as it came in post-war Japan but these days providing both the heritage and a ready stock of engines for Japanese custom shops.

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Bobbers 1966 TRIUMPH TR6

“I START WITH THE ENGINE AND IDEAS FOR INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS AND BRING THEM ALL TOGETHER” it’s not something you notice until it’s pointed out; most would assume that was the way it came from the factory.

The compact, twin-downtube, singlebackbone chassis was built in-house from scratch in tubular steel, and always with an eye to all-important stance. The forks are something else; slim upside-downies hiding

Trophy Winner TRIUMPH released the TR6 as the Trophy-Bird in 1956, essentially a cross between the 500cc TR5 Trophy street scrambler and the 650cc Thunderbird, albeit with the souped-up engine from the T110 Tiger. It was aimed at the US market as a strippeddown high-piped ‘desert sled’ but was equally popular as a stylish alternative on the road.

A low-piped roadster version was soon added and the name simplified to Trophy. The big change came in 1963 with the new 650cc unit-construction engine for the TR6 and T120 Bonneville, both of which also shared a new frame. Over time the engines became virtually identical apart from the Bonne’s twin carburettors.

The TR6 roadsters were later rebadged as Tigers and a new oil-in-frame chassis introduced in 1971. Both models were replaced in 1973 by the 750cc TR7 Tiger.

There is also a strong Australian connection.

Triumph introduced a police-spec TR6P Trophy in 1967, better known as the Saint (Stop Anything In No Time), which our local wallopers bought in their thousands. Later sold at auction, they were especially popular with rockers and early outlaw clubs in the days when Harleys were thin on the ground.

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behind polished alloy shrouds with a curved leading-axle lower section. We’ve never seen anything like it and Kengo would say only that they came from Italy. A laced 18-inch front wheel carries a small custom-made brake rotor gripped by a simple twin-piston Brembo caliper on an elegant custom bracket.

The rear end is rigid, as many Heiwa

customs are, housing a wider 17-inch rim also fitted with a small one-off rotor and a Grimeca caliper. Bumps notwithstanding, it has the look of a bike that would steer sweetly and otherwise handle reasonably well, so full marks to Heiwa for leaving the Firestones in the rack and opting for a matched pair of Michelin Commander II radials.

Virtually everything else on the bike is handmade, including handlebars, brackets, footpegs and controls, exhausts, the petrol tank, you name it. The one-off oil tank has been relocated low on the left-hand side behind the clutch, where the chain used to run. The battery box is tucked underneath the leather seat and floating rear guard, which ride on an intricate series of polished linkages and springs, again like nothing we have ever seen.

Paint is by Six Shooter in nearby downtown Hatsukaichi.

No two Heiwa builds are the same, although the philosophy behind all of them is similar and uniquely Japanese.

“I consider it important in every build to look for some small way to impress those who don’t know custom motorcycles at all,” Kengo told Pipeburn. “I think it’s easy to impress

those who really know custom motorcycles, but harder to impress a novice. Hiroshima is quite a rural area and the people in Hiroshima view cool custom motorcycles differently from people in the rest of Japan.

“Many Japanese people like classic motorcycles. What sets Japanese people apart from people in other countries, I think, is that Japanese people ride their bikes every single day and they want to try to look good.

If you go to the USA, you will hardly ever see people who are riding custom motorcycles on weekdays. I have this image that they enjoy riding a custom motorcycle on weekends only.

And I am always trying to make my bikes more narrow and compact, not big and flashy as seems more acceptable in the United States and Europe.”

The finished bike, dubbed MasterPeace, debuted at the Mooneyes Yokohama Show last December, astounding punters with its elegant simplicity, innovative engineering and astonishing attention to detail. It won a swag of tinware including the top gong, the first time in its 24-year history that a bike with a European engine has won Japan’s biggest custom bike show.

Retro Specs ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke parallel-twin; 360-degree ‘two-up’ crankshaft; OHV, two valves per cylinder; 76 x 82mm for 750cc; Mikuni TMR flat-slide carburettor; electronic ignition; custom Heiwa exhaust with megaphone mufflers; chain primary drive to wet clutch and four-speed gearbox, adapted to right-side chain final drive CHASSIS Custom twin-downtube, singlebackbone rigid frame in tubular steel; shrouded leading-axle, USD forks with laced 18in front wheel, single disc brake with Brembo twin-piston caliper; 17in rear wheel with single disc and Grimeca caliper; proper Michelin tyres both ends BODYWORK Tank, seat unit and oil tank by Heiwa Motorcycles; sprung leather seat-cummudguard; not much else; paint by Six Shooter BEST Less is more NOT SO GREAT Pretty much perfect from where we sit

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Track Bikes

1982 HONDA CBX 1000

THE JOY OF

SIX

If you’ve got it, flaunt it!

WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY ALASTAIR RITCHIE

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Track Bikes 1982 HONDA CBX 1000

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ICK O’Kane is an ex-pat Pom now residing in Riverside, California, where by day he is a senior sales executive for a well-known US aftermarket brand. By night, his alter ego heads out to the shed to build custom bikes like this magnificent CBX Honda six.

“I wanted to build a minimalist CBX racer and keep a blend of the original CBX lines while adding modern sports bikes components,” he says. To this end, what at first glance looks like stock bodywork is anything but, instead all constructed from carbon-fibre and subtly updated to give it a sharper, more modern edge to better match the top-shelf running gear. We’d like to think, if the CBX was still around and they had a new tracker model for 2017, it might look a lot like this.

As to what kind of bloke would take a grinder and welder to a beautiful CBX Honda, the answer is not Nick O’Kane, who instead started with a neglected unfinished project in a million pieces; just a rolling chassis and the rest of it dismantled and packed away in 10 boxes. With

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“WITH MANY PARTS MISSING OR DAMAGED, NICK DECIDED TO BUILD A TRACK BIKE INSTEAD” many parts missing or damaged, making a restoration difficult, Nick did what so many of us do and and built a track bike instead!

With the engine already in bits, the head and valve train were refurbished, no little job on a bike with 24 valves. The cylinder bores were thankfully okay and pistons in need only of new rings, while the bottom end was as strong as King Kong. Once reassembled, the exterior of the engine was vapour-blasted before being finished in gloss black and satin silver. Apart from the exhausts and air cleaners, which we’ll get back to, the engine is as stock as a rock.

Not so the chassis, which has been gusseted

around the steering head and swing arm to cope with the much improved suspension. With the engine as a stressed member, there’s not a lot of frame to start with but what’s there needed to be beefed up to take the stresses of modern running gear, in particular the big brakes and slick tyres. The seat subframe has also had a haircut in the modern style to tidy up the back end and make the whole bike look a lot smaller than the gargantuan original. Similarly, what was always the dominant visual feature of the bike — that magnificent DOHC inline sixcylinder engine — is now even more front and centre. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

Six Of The Best IN the mid-1960s, Honda’s early dominance of the 250 World Championship was challenged by upstart two-strokes from Yamaha and Suzuki. Honda responded in 1966 with an incredible DOHC inline six, featuring six narrow carburettors and four tiny valves per cylinder. Factory rider Mike Hailwood duly won the 250 championship in 1966 and 1967, after which Honda withdrew from GP racing for a decade.

According to then senior race engineer Shoichiro Irimajiri, “we were up against four-cylinder twostrokes. Cylinder multiplication was the only way we could be competitive”, but we suspect there was just a little bit of showing off happening too.

And so it was in 1978, when Irimajiri re-imagined the GP racer as a 1000cc road bike. “The CBX is a direct descendent of those race engines,” he said, albeit four times as big. It featured a lot of innovative engineering. To reduce crankcase width, for example, the alternator and CDI ignition were moved from each end of the crankshaft to behind the engine, radical then but widely copied since. It also featured a lot of aluminium, plastic and even magnesium parts to reduce weight, which still came in at a hefty 275kg full of oil and fuel.

The CBX was never a big seller, with many enthusiasts wary of its apparent complexity and more attracted to the almost-as-fast, four-cylinder CB900 Bol d’Or released in 1979. In 1981 the CBX was repositioned as a fully-faired heavyweight grand tourer but was discontinued the following year.

Time has been kind to the CBX. There’s never been an engine like it before or since and it deserves its iconic status. Nothing sounds like it either but you’ll have to sell one of the kids to buy a good one.

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Track Bikes 1982 HONDA CBX 1000 Fully adjustable upside-down forks and sixpiston brakes are from a 2007 Yamaha RZF-R1, carried in custom triple clamps from Robby Moto Engineering in Italy. These not only mate the fat 43mm forks to the Honda steering stem, they are also adjustable for offset to get the right mix of turn-in, high-speed stability and killer stance.

This being a 1982 model, Nick’s CBX already featured Honda’s Pro Link monoshock rear suspension system so modifying the chassis to accept the braced monoshock swingarm from a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 was a bit easier than it would have been on the earlier twin-shock models. Also refinished in satin silver (it was black on the Suzuki), the swingarm sure looks the part and works well too courtesy of the single Ohlins spring/damper unit. Wheels both ends are lightweight aluminium 17-inch Excel Pro Series mags fitted with Pirelli racing tyres.

For the bodywork, Nick hit his employer, K&N Engineering, for the keys to the factory R&D workshop. Best known for their reusable performance air filters, K&N are dab hands with carbon-fibre and were keen to help.

Tank, side-cover and seat moulds were taken from various CBX models — the spoiler-style tail unit is from a 1979 model — then subtly reshaped to suit the sporty racetrack theme, before being laid up in carbon-fibre. “The body panels and tank took four months to produce,” Nick says. “Then we added eight coats of clear to finish the panels and tank off nicely.”

The seat was then designed and produced

by Saddlemen Seats in Rancho Dominguez, California.

K&N also came to the party with custom air-cleaners, as you’d expect, in this case a pair of three-into-threes with carbon-fibre tops.

Down at the dirty end, black ceramic-coated

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DG headers dump the waste into a Roland Sands Design muffler.

Nick’s CBX debuted at the first round of the prestigious Progressive International Motorcycle Show in southern California for a podium finish. “Taking runner-up in the 2017 J&P Cycles Ultimate Builder Show at the Long

Beach IMS was great,” he says. But the tinware pales next to the experience of riding it.

“I can’t say enough about the sound of this bike,” Nick says. “A symphony of six cylinders comes to life as you open the throttle. It sounds like God gargling. It’s such an epic bike to ride and simply enjoy.”

“I CAN’T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE SOUND OF THIS BIKE. IT SOUNDS LIKE GOD GARGLING”

Retro Specs ENGINE Air-cooled inline four-stroke six; chaindriven DOHC, four valves per cylinder; 64.5 x 53.4mm for 1047cc; 6 x 28mm Keihin carburettors with custom K&N filters; 9.3:1 comp; DG sixinto-one headers and RSD muffler; wet clutch, five-speed gearbox, chain final drive; 100hp @8000rpm CHASSIS Modified steel-tube backbone frame with engine as stressed member; 43mm USD R1 forks in Robby Moto offset-adjustable triple clamps, 2 x 310mm rotors with six-piston calipers; GSX-R1000 swingarm with Ohlins monoshock, single 220mm rotor with twin-piston caliper; 17in Excel Pro Series mag wheels BODYWORK Custom carbon-fibre tank, seat and side-covers by K&N; custom Saddlemen seat BEST FOR Track days NOT SO GREAT Lane-splitting

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Competition

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BEACH RACING

The historic Levis Motor Cycle Club draws a line in the sand WORDS & PHOTOS RUSS MURRAY

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Competition BEACH RACING

Douglas 350 twin raced by Dylan Marley was one of two 1924 bikes to compete

Competitors line up on the beach for a meet-and-greet with the punters

ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT No, the Levis MCC was not named after the jeans; sidecar racers go hard; Veterans Racing was established by ex-servicemen Darren Peters and Rob Kilmartin to promote mental health issues

F

ROM the dawn of motorcycling, riders have raced each other to determine who was the fastest. We started on public roads, such as they were, but it wasn’t long before more formal arrangements were introduced. Amongst the earliest official motorsport events Down Under were speed trials held on Sellicks Beach in South Australia, organised by the Levis Motor Cycle Club in the early 1920s.

The Club was established as the Levis Social Club in 1922 and named after the then popular two-stroke Levis motorcycle; its charter was to organise social outings and events for its members. By far the most popular were occasional speed trials at Sellicks, which became an annual event from 1924, usually on the Australia Day weekend in January.

The beach was an ideal location as under the sand was a pebble base providing a firm flat racetrack on a daily basis, after the tide smoothed it overnight. The trials were usually a two-day affair, to make what was then a challenging 50km run from Adelaide worth the effort. Many competitors rode their bikes to the event, stripped them down for the racing and then put them back together for the journey home the next day. Others arrived with their race bike in a sidecar.

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The Levis MCC continued conducting the speed trials — apart from a short break for the Second World War — until 1957. Since then there have been two re-enactments; the first in 1986 and the second in 1992. It wasn’t until this year, however, some 60 years after the last proper race at Sellicks, that real racing returned, albeit a mile up the beach from the original location. And the Levis Motor Cycle Club was once again the promoter, after spending more than two years combating objections, gaining permits, seeking sponsors and organising logistics.

The 2017 races were open to solo motorcycles and sidecars built before 1963, with the oldest bikes competing being a 350cc Douglas twin ridden by Dylan Marley and Hein Otten’s 350cc AJS single, both 1924 models. The basic requirement for eligibility was that parts and equipment were ‘in the spirit of the event’, which included road tyres for everybody, negating any advantage gained from bikes originally fitted with knobbies.

Most of the bikes were British with a sprinkling of American, Japanese and other European manufacturers. The only sign of an Italian bike was a 900SS Ducati tail unit fitted to a 1961 250cc Honda with the owner covering up the ‘DESMO’ decal with a HRC sticker! Engine

Reg Ellard racing at Sellicks Beach in 1936 (above and below)

Don't know who this was but he's flying!

“THE OLDEST RACER WAS FORMER SPEEDWAY STAR BLUEY HILLMAN, 84, ON A 1925 VELOCETTE 250”

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Competition BEACH RACING

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Hein Otten on his 1924 350cc AJS single

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Dick Trice opens the wick on his 1962 Triumph

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Paul Bailey was all but unbeatable in the side-valve class

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LEFT TOP TO BOTTOM: 1. Clive Harrop kept the Ariel flag flying with this pair of souped-up singles, a 350 (at left) and a 500: 2. The only sign of an Italian bike at Sellicks was this Ducati 900 Super Sport seat unit on a 1961 Honda 250, which didn't fool anyone: 3. Check out the right-hand gearshift on this uber-stylish 250cc two-stroke DKW built in Germany in 1938: 4. Another rare two-stroke out for a run was this mercifully unrestored 1954 Adler 250: 5. Andrew Mitchell sharing the love during the meet-and-greet

capacities varied from 125 to 1200cc, with classes determined accordingly, the exception being the sidecars which were grouped together. Road bikes, race bikes and custom bikes were all in the mix.

The oldest racer was former speedway star Bluey Hillman, 84, on a 1925 Velocette 250, while 79-year-old Bill Angwin had no trouble swinging for Trevor Atwell on the latter’s 1958 Ariel Square Four outfit which he has owned since new. “I vowed I’d do a Sellicks Beach race if ever it happened again,” Trevor says. “I just didn’t expect to be 81 years old!” There were also plenty of young folk racing bikes much older than themselves.

Many competitors travelled from interstate, including former Retrobike columnist Paul Bailey on his side-valve Harley who won three of four races contested. The fastest lap of

one minute, four seconds was set by Michael Panaya on a nicely presented 1961 Norton twin. Other bikes of note included some tasty Triumph bobbers and cafe racers, while the hard luck award went to George Thomson aboard a 1950 BSA Bantam which selfconverted into a chopper when its bodgy triple clamps (fitted by a previous owner) gave up the ghost. Amazingly the little chook was fixed overnight and competed again on the Sunday.

The racing took two forms, the first being a scratch race whilst the second was a handicap. Every group had four scratch races each of four laps (equal to four miles) and two handicap races, again four laps, except for the 125cc class which did three laps. The track was as simple as they come; half a mile up, drop a U-turn, half a mile back, another U-turn, repeat.

Competition BEACH RACING

1924-model AJS and Douglas 350s prepare for battle

Michael Panaya setting fastest lap on his 1961 Norton

“THE TRACK WAS SIMPLE: HALF A MILE UP, DROP A U-TURN, HALF A MILE BACK, ANOTHER U-TURN, REPEAT” For most riders, riding on sand was a new experience although some had undertaken a few practice sessions on unnamed secluded beaches in the preceding weeks. It was obvious that some had ridden dirt before but most were road riders and for many this was their first-ever race meet.

The track itself provided a few challenges.

The ‘up’ leg was into a hefty headwind and on soft sand, reducing the speed of the bikes.

There were also some undulations midway along the course which saw some of the faster riders getting the front wheel, the back wheel or both wheels off the ground with the occasional wobble on touchdown. Others were a little bit more tentative, especially those riding bikes with rigid rear ends.

For the return leg, being closer to the water’s edge, the sand was much firmer, the track wider (until the incoming tide started to encroach) and there was the tailwind which saw much greater speeds. It was at the northern turn, near the start/finish line, where most of the action happened, partly due to higher speeds on approach, partly due to being able to take a wider and hence faster turn but mainly due to the soft sand on the exit which was churned up resulting in more than one rider losing the back. Some even managed to complete an extra U-turn, ending up facing the wrong way, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Naturally, the spectators came to see not only the racing but also the bikes.

Unfortunately, the pit area was small and not

open to the public, so the organisers planned a ‘meet-and-greet’ before the start of each day’s action. This involved the riders and bikes lining up along the beach and then the PA informing the public that it was time to jump the safety barriers and say hello to the riders. The success of this was underestimated by the Club as both the public and riders indicated that this was one of the highlights of the weekend. The riders were only too happy to chat with the public with many getting requests for photographs. It wasn’t just the riders being the subject of the pics but also children, family and friends with many entrants encouraging the public to sit on their bikes for the photos.

As for the future, the Levis Motorcycle Club is currently doing a debrief with the possibility of running a biennial event, the next being in 2019. Certainly, the competitors are up for it and those who attended will agree it was a fantastic event and will hopefully continue. Then there is the possibility of a mega event three years later to celebrate the Levis Motorcycle Club’s 100th anniversary. Stay tuned!

BELOW: 6. Simon Cowling doing a mid-race trackside fix on his 1951 JAP Norton: 7. Sidecars taking a dip in the search for hard sand: 8. Tim Kill entertaining the spectators with an impromptu 360 at the start-finish drum: 9. Tim warming up his big flathead Harley; 10. Pit mechanic Cherease Rose: 11. Ex-SAS soldier Darren Peters from Veterans Racing Team gets a hug from his daughters on the 1942 WLA he calls 'Mental Health' (also 13): 12. Nicely embossed seat on an early AJS

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2003 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER 1200

on o M A hot rod Sportster that goes as hard as it looks WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOS PETER STRÖM

Equipped

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Choppers 2003 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER 1200

S

WEDEN is the second home of the chopper. The summer riding season is short before the snow comes, with long winters providing plenty of opportunity for customising. Choppers have been part of the mix since the 1960s but, unlike the rest of the world, in Sweden they never went away.

Peter Ström is a Harley-Davidson enthusiast in Stockholm with a particular passion for Sportsters. His recent builds include a trike for his wife and bobber for his daughter, both of which featured in local magazines.

“With this build I wanted a drag-racing, hot-rod style,” Peter says. “I thought what could be more associated with drag racing and hot rodding than Mooneyes Speed Equipment,” referring to the renowned aftermarket manufacturer. Amongst their most famous and enduring products are small remote Moon fuel tanks that hot rodders are fond of placing in front of their engines, which later spawned a line of similar-looking oil tanks for Harleys. Moon was also well known for building 30

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outrageous dragsters and show cars, all of which were painted bright yellow.

“The whole bike is built around the legendary aluminium oil tank from Moon,” Peter says.

“I started the project with an original 2003 Sportster frame, but instead of following everyone else and making it rigid in the back, I wanted to keep the shocks to have the oldschool look.” Even so, frame mods are extensive.

“The whole front frame was cut away, the back frame is shortened by two inches and the middle section of the frame was fabricated especially to fit the oil tank. A new front frame got built from under the front motor mount to the lowered back frame, everything to get a more fluid and straighter line.”

Bamses Custom Bike in nearby Hölö helped with fabrication, but Peter is also handy with a welder and was responsible for all of the assembly. The steering head is three inches higher than stock and raked at 39 degrees, assisted by triple clamps offset by five degrees.

Ten-inch over forks are from Californian custom shop DNA Specialties, who also supplied the

brake rotors gripped by stock Sportster calipers on owner-built brackets. The cast wheels — 19 inches front, 16 inches rear — are also stock, albeit from an earlier model.

Drag-racing hot rods have souped-up engines and Peter’s is a real hottie, making around 100hp at the rear tyre. The crankcases are from a 2003 1200 Sportster running a quartet of Hammer Performance Impact 560 camshafts. A Sledge Hammer big-bore kit, comprising ironlined aluminium cylinders and forged pistons (running on JIMS connecting rods), takes capacity to 1245cc, while up top are factory XB heads as fitted to Buells and Sportsters from 2004 and regarded by many as the pick of the litter. The single carburettor is a 40mm Keihin fitted with a ThunderJet high-speed fuel circuit, the air-cleaner is from Moon and exhausts are Screamin’ Eagle.

Taking the strain is a Rekluse automatic clutch with kevlar plates from UK KTM specialist AMS Motorcycles. “This makes the shifting really fast!” Peter says. “You only have to get off the throttle extremely little to shift

Over The Moon DEAN Moon was an early Californian hot rodder and salt racer who turned his hobby into a business at age 23 with the establishment of Moon Speed Equipment in 1950. As well as performance engine parts, he also manufactured a popular line of aluminium fuel and oil ‘Moon Tanks’, ‘Moon Disc’ wheel covers and his infamous barefoot-shaped throttle pedal. Stickers with the ‘Moon Eyes’ logo were produced in their zillions, the logo becoming one of the most recognisable icons of hot rod culture.

A keen drag racer, show car builder and land speed competitor, Moon was instrumental in improving the quality of aftermarket parts and the acceptance of modified car and bike culture in the US. In 1963, he was one of the founders along with Vic Edelbrock of the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA), these days one of the most powerful lobby groups in the US and organiser of the world’s biggest car show in Las Vegas every November.

Dean Moon died in 1987 and it looked like his business would die with him before family friend and longtime Japanese Moon dealer Shige Suganuma re-established the business as Mooneyes USA in the early 1990s, albeit headquartered in Japan.

Suganuma is also the organiser of the Mooneyes Hot Rod & Custom Show in Yokohama, arguably the coolest modified car and bike show on the planet.

Moon products are as popular as ever, distributed by a worldwide network of Mooneyes dealers.

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Choppers 2003 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER 1200

“DRAG-RACING HOT RODS HAVE SOUPED-UP ENGINES AND PETER’S SPORTSTER IS A REAL HOTTIE” without using the clutch lever, then full throttle again!” Gearbox is five-speed and final drive has been converted to chain.

Fuel is carried in a stretched aluminium Sportster tank from Easyriders in Toyko, while the oil tank is of course from Moon, supplied by Swedish Moon distributor Håkan Johansson.

Rear mudguard is a Tsunami from Lowbrow Customs in Ohio, who also supplied the foot controls. The headlight is a 5.75-inch Bates housed in an aluminium nose fairing from the Hippy Killer Garage Co in California.

“Another person I got a lot of help from is Otto at Biltwell in the US,” Peter says. “The Thinline seat, Moto handlebars and Slimline risers, Whisky throttle and Kung Fu handgrips, the petrol cocks and footpegs all came from Biltwell. Everything was of extremely high quality and style.

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of the box that some of the MOON parts came in. To get the racing style stronger and put some ‘Moon yellow’ on there, I decided to make two yellow stripes all the way through the bike that makes a frame for the tiny Mooneyes logos running down the centre of the bike. I also added yellow highlights to the engine, rear shocks and hand levers. The rest is brushed aluminium with clear coat. The frame, swingarm, fork sliders and all the parts that aren’t brushed aluminium or painted yellow are powder-coated in satin black. Apart from the fork tubes, there is not a piece on the bike that is chromed.”

Peter’s road rocket debuted at the Moon Bike Show in Avesta in March 2017 and has since seen plenty of road miles in the northern summer. While very well received by the public, it has also attracted its share of detractors from within traditional Swedish chopper circles,

where the Harley-Davidson Big Twin is king and Sportsters are for girls. “I came across some of that ignorance but wanted to show that I could build a good-looking bike from a Sportster,” he says. “This bike is great; it’s smooth to ride, easy to handle, fast and very reliable. Often I was asked why I didn’t build a real bike. Well, I think my bike is more real and handles better than most Big Twins.”

As we go to press, Peter was preparing for his first run on the big black dyno. “Soon I will try it on a drag-racing strip in the bracket class to see how it goes. I will keep my fingers crossed!”

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@triumphaus

Official Triumph

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Choppers 2003 HARLEY-DAVIDSON SPORTSTER 1200

“IT’S SMOOTH TO RIDE, EASY TO HANDLE, FAST AND VERY RELIABLE” Retro Specs ENGINE Air-cooled OHV four-stroke 45-degree V-twin; unit construction; 90.5 x 96.8mm for 1245cc; Hammer Performance Sledge Hammer cylinders and forged pistons; HP Impact 560 camshafts; H-D/Buell XB heads; 40mm Keihin CV carb with ThunderJet booster; Screamin’ Eagle exhaust; kevlar auto clutch to five-speed gearbox and chain final drive; 100rwhp CHASSIS Much-modified 2003 Sportster frame with three-inch stretch; 10in-over DNA forks in five-degree offset triple clamps; 39 degrees of rake; stock brake calipers in custom carriers on DNA rotors; stock 19/16in cast wheels BODYWORK Easyriders fuel tank; Moon oil tank; Biltwell seat; Lowbrow Customs mudguard; Bates headlight in Hippy Killers cowling; brushed aluminium finish; paint by Daniel Fahlström SPECIAL THANKS Håkan Johansson, Moon Sweden; Otto, Biltwell Inc, USA ; Bamse from Bamses Custom Bike BEST Classic chopper style; serious horsepower NOT SO GREAT Sweden’s short riding season 34

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Classic Racers

1951 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

Jack Ehret and Stan Blundell racing the Lightning at Gnoo Blas, Orange, in 1953

Quickest

Vincents don’t come any rarer nor more authentic than this Aussie-bred Black Lightning WORDS ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS KEL EDGE

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Classic Racers 1951 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

T

O BE invited to ride what is almost certainly the last 100 per cent original example of the most desirable production racer ever made is an act of unfathomable generosity and implied trust on the part of its new owner Nicolas Dourassoff.

So it was important I brought back the ex-Jack Ehret 1951 Vincent Black Lightning in one piece.

With just 8682 kilometres on its Euro-spec 300km/h Smiths clock, almost every one of them in anger Down Under, it is living history on two wheels.

Now domiciled in France, those kilometres also include my two dozen laps at the Carole race circuit near Paris, to which Nicolas brought the battle-scarred warrior that had been recommissioned for use by Patrick Godet for me to ride on a regular track day. However, so that I could properly sample how a Black Lightning should perform without paying due deference to its age, Godet also brought along a new Black 38

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Lightning Replica which he’d just created for Englishman Peter Fox. Peter had already covered 1200 street miles on it, pronouncing it “huge fun, and incredibly impressive once you get it revving, when it feels like you’re being pulled along by a huge bungee cord!”

I couldn’t put it better myself, for that is indeed the impression I get once the Smiths Chronometric rev-counter on the Ehrit bike tracks its way with traditional jerkiness to 3800rpm, whereupon the bungee cord releases and we’re off ! In no time at all, the rev-counter’s showing 6000rpm, at which point I stab the extended gear lever downwards with my right foot to hit a higher ratio. There are such massive amounts of torque that the Vincent just lunges forward when I get back on the throttle, noting as I do so that its action seems unaccountably smooth considering how worn are the ancient cables sprouting from the handlebars.

That’s because, in recommissioning this

retro racer for track action, Patrick Godet has been at pains not to destroy the truth of time.

“Once Nicolas decided to preserve the bike in its current state and not ask me to restore it – which was 1000 per cent the right decision – I wanted to make sure that all the new parts I fitted were as least obvious as possible,” he says.

“But to make it safe took quite a lot of work and the engine parts were very worn. So we stripped the bike totally and rebuilt it using original spec parts we have manufactured using the original Black Lightning drawings. But they’re all inside where you can’t see them. So while the cables may look old, all the internal wires are brand new. We’ve also converted it to run on petrol rather than methanol, since we now have much better fuel available today than they did back then.”

Even though the crankcases were worn, they’re still the original ones with the main bearings re-sleeved, rather than Godet’s modern

“THE GREATSOUNDING V-TWIN ENGINE IS THE STAR OF THE SHOW”

Black Jack’s Lightning THE genesis of the Vincent Black Lightning lay in a souped-up Series B Black Shadow that the factory built for a wealthy American enthusiast, John Edgar, in 1948, on which Rollie Free (wearing budgie smugglers and little else) set a new AMA land speed record at Bonneville of just over 150mph. It formed the basis of the Series C Black Lightning production racer, with almost every engine part upgraded to harness 70hp at 5600rpm (the Black Shadow made 55hp), while exotic materials helped cut dry weight from 208kg to 172kg. Just 33 Black Lightnings were built, all between 1949 and 1952.

Fitting for a bike designed by Australian Phil Irving, eight of the 33 made it Down Under, one of which was raced by Tony McAlpine with great success, winning 12 races from 13 starts. McAlpine then relocated to the UK in 1951 to race an AJS 7R, also working at the Vincent factory between meetings. There, with the factory’s blessing, he assembled his own Black Lightning — engine number F10AB/1C/7305 — but never got the chance to race it before returning home with the bike at the end of the year.

McAlpine sold his Lightning to Jack Forrest, after whom Forrest’s Elbow at Mount Panorama is named.

Forrest loved the power but not the handling after binning it while leading the 1952 Australian TT at Bathurst. So he sold it to Sydney speedway daredevil ‘Black Jack’ Ehrit, who hung onto it until just before he died in 2001.

Ehrit road-raced it as a solo and a sidecar over 40 years, winning the Australian Sidecar TT in 1956 and making the rostrum in 80 per cent of races entered. He also set in 1953 a new Australian land speed record of 141mph on a public road between Gunnedah and Tamworth, NSW, with a best one-way time of 149.6mph, before riding it home.

Their last competitive outing was an historic meeting at Eastern Creek in 1993 when, with his son John swinging, 70-year-old Jack lapped the entire field in winning both sidecar races. They then unbolted the chair for John to have a lash in the solos.

Jack sold F10AB/1C/7305 to Franc Trento of Eurobrit in Melbourne in 1999, who determined not to restore it but to keep it as it was. It made a few appearances at the Broadford Bike Bonanza before being sold to Nicolas Dourassoff in 2014. Special thanks to Jim Scaysbrook of Old Bike Australasia for filling in its history.

Jack Ehret with wife Audrey and Gunnedah police sergeant Noel Bailey after breaking the record at Gunnedah in January 1953

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Classic Racers 1951 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING

magnesium copies as used on Peter Fox’s Replica. He has however fitted new pistons, liners, valves, springs, Mark II cams, cam followers and oil pump to Ehret’s motor, while retaining all the original parts for Dourassoff to hold on to.

The same thing applies for the original 20inch rear wheel which has been replaced by a 19 as 20-inch racing tyres are no longer available.

Shod with new Avons, the Ehret Vincent tracked well through Carole’s Mickey Mouse infield section, with good grip delivered exiting either of its pair of hairpin bends, which on most racebikes ask for bottom gear. Not on the Lightning, though, thanks to the way it breaks into a gallop very quickly in second gear once straightened up, just by fingering the clutch lever lightly to send the surprisingly responsive engine’s revs soaring.

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up miles earlier for the next hairpin — just as they’re about to hit top gear most probably!

The brakes on the Ehrit Vincent are easily the worst thing about riding it, and you need heaps of respect for your braking markers because there’s nothing in reserve. Instead, what never works very well to begin with gets progressively worse as the pair of tiny seven-inch singleleading-shoe drum brakes fitted at each end (the extra one at the rear for Ehret’s sidecar use) fade massively. And the ones on the Fox Replica are just as bad!

Probably no single aspect of two-wheeled engineering has improved so much in the past 66 years as brakes, and for a 150mph motorcycle the Vincent’s stoppers are definitely on the weak side. Not that the factory was concerned, as the Black Lightning was primarily designed to go fast in a straight line. Even so, the Lightning won three Isle of Man TT races, as well as many short circuit races around the world, where its massive engine performance and innovative rear suspension more than made up for the lack of stopping power.

Its focus on straight-line performance is also the reason the gear-change is so awkward, thanks to the straight exhausts running under the right footrest; it’s very hard to get your foot under the lever in order to change down for a corner, particularly wearing modern riding boots. The same problem occurs on the Fox Replica with an identical exhaust system. “I often set off from a traffic light or stop sign in second gear,” says Peter Fox. “There’s so much torque you can do that without slipping the clutch too badly.”

Riding Peter’s Replica alongside the Ehret artefact allowed me to give the Black Lightning’s handling a good cross-examination, and I was genuinely impressed how light and precise the steering was, and how much turn speed I could keep up even with the skinny 21-inch front tyre. As a former Vincent owner who’d been distinctly unimpressed by the handling of my Series C Rapide, I was amazed at how well the Replica steered, with no trace of the dreaded shimmy the Girdraulic forks serve up if the links are the slightest bit worn. I can’t say I rode the Ehret bike hard enough to find out if it did that, but the Replica was very confidence inspiring in turns, as well as gloriously torquey and fast once above that 3800rpm threshold.

“The Lightning is not designed for circuit use,” says Patrick Godet. “If you want to go road racing you must make an exhaust which goes underneath the engine so you can have a proper gear lever, because with the two straight pipes it is not nice for the rider. But the Black Lightning has so much more performance that you don’t need to change many gears; it goes in every gear!”

I’ll say. Throw a leg over the seat and discover the Vincent is low and narrow, feeling much smaller than a 150mph bike has any right to.

The one-piece handlebar is quite narrow and flat, but with upturned ends which deliver a comfortable leaned-forward mile-eating stance, while still giving good leverage in the tight

Retro Specs

“THE BRAKES ARE EASILY THE WORST THING ABOUT RIDING IT” turns that proliferate at Carole. The Vincent’s low-speed handling is slightly ponderous, though, with the distinctive wishbone forks’ aluminium girder blades describing a lazy arc as I lean into a turn, feeling all the while like they’re about to fold in on themselves. But this never happens, of course, and instead the handling becomes more assured as I up the pace, with greater precision in steering than the relatively primitive telescopic forks of the day.

By similar standards, the Vincent’s ride quality was excellent too, the cantilever rear suspension under the saddle eating up the Carole circuit’s few bumps.

But it’s that great-sounding 998cc V-twin engine that’s the real star of the show, delivering a level of performance that, while more than satisfactory today, must have been mindblowing in its time.

Nicolas Dourassoff ’s ex-Jack Ehret Vincent Black Lightning is not just an ultra-desirable collector’s item, but provides an entirely faithful window on the refined but still raw-edged level of performance which Philip Vincent’s motorcycles delivered all those years ago.

How wonderful that Nicolas rides and enjoys it, rather than wrapping it up indoors as the mechanical objet d’art it undoubtedly is.

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke 50-degree V-twin; high cam, OHV, two valves per cylinder; dry sump; 84 x 90mm for 998cc; 2 x 32mm Amal 10TT9 carburettors; Lucas KVF-TT magnesium magneto; chain primary drive to Ferodo singleplate clutch and four-speed gearbox; chain final drive CHASSIS Fabricated steel monocoque incorporating oil tank, with engine as stressed member; Girdraulic aluminium girder forks with hydraulic damper, laced 21in WM1 aluminium rim with twin 7in sls drum brakes; steel cantilever swing arm with twin springs and single hydraulic damper, laced 19in aluminium rim with twin 7in sls drums (modified); Avon tyres DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1435mm; dry weight 172kg PERFORMANCE 70hp @ 5600rpm; top speed 149.6mph (Gunnedah, 1953) IN A WORD Priceless ISSUE #27

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Lifestyle

THROTTLE ROLL 2017

Sydney’s biggest motorcycle street party takes it up another step WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOS PETE CAGNACCI/THROTTLE ROLL

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Lifestyle THROTTLE ROLL 2017

“THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF TATTOOS, BEARDS AND PRETTY GIRLS, SO IT HAS A VERY COOL FEEL ABOUT IT”

T

HROTTLE Roll celebrated its fifth year with a cracking day/night festival on Easter Saturday, the second event to be held in Railway Parade, Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west after outgrowing its original digs at the Victoria Hotel in Enmore. Once again, the bikes were outstanding, the bands hot and the crowd chilled.

Yep, they close off the whole street, which is amazing enough and testament to the ability of the Throttle Roll crew to make things happen.

We love everything about this event and it’s hard to find criticism, apart maybe from a shortage of food outlets in past years which led 44

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to lengthy queues. This was addressed in 2017, without any drop in quality. To the contrary, food from six of Sydney’s better eateries is now part of the Throttle Roll experience, as much as boutique beers and Sailor Jerry’s spiced rum.

What started as an event in the cafe racer/ bobber/tracker mould has now morphed into a much broader cross-section of the custom bike community, including muscle bikes, two-strokes, choppers, salt racers and scooters.

Throttle Roll’s trademark wall of 50 bikes showcased the lot, spectacular as ever during the day and out of this world when lit up at night.

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Lifestyle THROTTLE ROLL 2017

“SPECTACULAR DURING THE DAY, IT GETS EVEN BETTER AT NIGHT”

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Lifestyle THROTTLE ROLL 2017

“SOME 6000 PUNTERS BRAVED PERFECT AUTUMN WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE DAY” As usual, the day started early with the Throttle Roll Ride, although numbers were restricted to 200 this year for insurance reasons.

Luckily, no-one died so hopefully it will continue, but the days of 500-plus bikes roaring through the Royal National Park like the Charge of the Light Brigade are behind us, more’s the pity. Even so, 200 is a lot of motorbikes and their co-ordinated arrival in Marrickville around noon kicked off festivities with a bang.

Some 6000 punters braved perfect autumn weather throughout the day, not all of them motorcyclists. It is a day of fellowship and good vibes, very family friendly and even pets are allowed. There is no shortage of tattoos, beards and pretty girls, so it has a very cool feel about it. Ditto the bands, all 48

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popular inner-city and festival groups which included The ReChords, Frank Sultana and the Sinister Kids, Mesa Cosa, Papa Pilko and the Bin Rats, the Hollerin Sluggers, The Delta Rigs and Kingswood.

Throttle Roll is very well supported by the motorcycle industry, with Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Yamaha, Royal Enfield, Triumph and Sol Invictus signing on as sponsors and displaying their wares. Ducati had a big bunch of Scramblers on show while Harley-Davidson unveiled its all-new Street 750. Triumph is on a roll, with the new 1200 Thruxton and Bonneville already adopted by the custom community and the Bobber not far behind them, and new brand Sol Invinctus gave away a freshly-built custom as a door prize. Sydney’s

Lifestyle THROTTLE ROLL 2017

“IF YOU WEREN’T A RIDER WHEN YOU ARRIVED, YOU WERE SURE TO BECOME ONE WHEN YOU LEFT”

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custom bike workshops were also there in numbers, showing off their latest builds.

“If you weren’t a rider when you arrived, you were sure to become one when you left,” organiser Stephen Broholm says. The huge number of motorcycles parked in surrounding streets created a show outside of the show. “It’s something the Throttle Roll is renowned for with hordes of riders from Sydney and beyond making the pilgrimage to the annual street party.”

Broholm has confirmed the Sydney event is on again next year, although maybe not at Easter which clashes with other established motorcycle events but more than likely still in autumn when the weather is best for outdoor

gigs. But the biggest news for 2018 is that the Throttle Roll team will take the party to Los Angeles for the first time, something founder Mark Hawwa has been thinking about for a while. “We want to celebrate a year of bike builds, friendships and the progression of the custom bike scene,” Mark told Pipeburn after the event. “Throttle Roll isn’t just a motorcycle show, it’s a celebration of all things two wheels.

And with so many friends in LA urging me on, I just thought fuck it, let’s party.”

Hawwa is also the dude who took the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride to the world, so taking an Aussie street party to California should be a walk in the park. We can only imagine the bikes that might turn up.

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The V9 is an elegant cruiser which has been designed from the legacy of its predecessors. Created with genuine Italian style, this universal mid-range cruiser allows you to follow your heart wherever it may roam.

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Classic Plastic

1985 SUZUKI GSX-R750

ROAD RACER A celebration of the golden era of Formula 1, built purely for the street WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN DOWNS

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Classic Plastic

1985 SUZUKI GSX-R750

Race Replica #101 THE GSX-R750 was launched in 1985 as Suzuki’s first race replica. Styled on the factory F1 and endurance race bikes, the specs justified the hype.

Its predecessor, the popular GSX750S3 Katana with the pop-up headlight, made 84hp @ 9500rpm and weighed 228kg dry. The GSX-R750F made 100hp @ 10,500rpm and weighed 176kg dry.

The 749cc engine was an air and oil-cooled design with short-stroke 70 x 48.7mm dimensions, running 10.6:1 comp and four flat-slide carburettors.

It also had a six-speed gearbox. Racers could buy a factory kit to make 130hp.

The frame was an exotic blend of extruded and cast aluminium sections mated to conventional front forks, which were fully adjustable for preload and damping as was the ‘Full Floater’ rear monoshock.

Thankfully Suzuki didn’t follow the emerging trend to 16-inch front wheels, instead running 18s (like the endurance race bikes) and very welcome on what could be a skittish bike.

The GSX-R750G followed in 1986, identical apart from a redesigned lower fairing and a 30mm longer swingarm. Then came the GSX-R750H in 1987, now with a steering damper and better forks but dry weight had crept up to 181kg. It would be the last of what later became known as ‘slabbies’.

The GSX-R750J of 1988 was a totally different bucket of bolts with a new engine, new chassis, new styling and 17-inch wheels. Power was up to 112hp but so was dry weight at 195kg.

The early girls are in high demand with prices for restored examples escalating. Not so former race and track bikes, which are an ideal starting point for customs like this.

PIC: HEATHER WARE

“IT DOESN’T REQUIRE TOO MUCH EFFORT TO FIT A 1200 BANDIT INTO A GSX-R750”

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B

IKE builder James Mott of Hand Made Racers in Brisbane is careful not to describe his latest build, the HMR XRc 1200, as a replica of the famous Texaco Heron Suzuki XR69 F1 racers.

It’s what the muscle car guys would call a ‘tribute’. James likes to call it a ‘celebration’.

Team Heron Suzuki was a British motorcycle racing team that competed in Formula 1 and 500GP during the mid to late 1970s and early 1980s. With riders of the calibre of Barry Sheene, Steve Parrish and Graeme Crosby, the team enjoyed considerable success with Sheene winning the 500 GP world championship in 1976 and 1977. Crosby also won consecutive F1 world championships in

1981 and 1982, and it was his bike that inspired this build.

The original Heron Suzuki Formula 1 race bike, built by Paul Dunstall, was based around an eight-valve GS1000S tuned by the legendary Japanese tuner Pops Yoshimura and housed in a modified steel road chassis.

It eventually morphed into an aluminiumframed 16-valve factory special on which the first GSX-R750 street bike was closely modelled in 1985.

So it’s appropriate that the backbone of Mott’s ‘celebration’ is a chassis from a 1985 GSX-R750F, albeit with upgraded triple clamps, forks, brake calipers, 17-inch wheels and lots more from a donor GSX-R750K.

Brake rotors and pads were supplied by local specialist MetalGear in Brendale. The rear shock is also K-model, although the swingarm is stock.

Sticking to conventional (not upside-down) forks and the first-generation swingarm was a conscious decision. “I wanted it to look as period as possible,” James says. He reckons putting late-model USD forks and beefy swingarms on a bike like this is like an old man dyeing his hair black.

Hand Made Racers have built bucketloads of custom bikes over the years, often racethemed and around a wide variety of engines, including Laverdas. James says he has no particular passion for Heron or even Suzuki,

but admits this is the fifth bike he’s built in this style. The first one was 20 years ago so he knows his way around them.

The engine is a 1200cc Suzuki Bandit from 2005. “I’ve built a few Bandit-based specials and it requires not too much effort to fit the 1200 into a GSX-R750 frame,” James says.

“A little more weight with a lot more useable power.” The Bandit engine is externally the same as the earlier air/oil-cooled GSX-R1100, which is similar in dimension to the equivalent GSX-R750 engine. The fast guys have been jamming 1100 motors into GSX-R750s — popularly known as 7-Elevens — since the first GSX-R1100 was released in 1986, so it’s a welltrodden path.

Why not use a GSX-R1100 motor? “Torque,” he says. “This is in no way like a race bike.

People want a useable thing, something that’s easy to ride. Bandits pull from zero to 9500 grand with a good exhaust and carby kit. All you have to do is change the oil and service the bike as normal, which makes them cheaper and easy to own.”

Accordingly, the engine is stock apart from the Stage 3 Dynojet kit to richen the stock 36mm carburettors to match the twin oval K&N filters now fitted in place of the standard airbox.

Ignition has also been advanced by five degrees.

The exhaust headers are GSX-R750K leading to a custom HMR muffler. The clutch and fivespeed gearbox are untouched.

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“I WANTED THE BIKE TO LOOK AS PERIOD AS POSSIBLE”

The fuel tank is from the first-model GSXR750F. “It’s important to get the flat-top tank,” James says. Not all models are the same — some had tanks with a rounder top, which just don’t work with this style. Flat-top tanks are becoming hard to find, he says, like a lot of early original GSX-R750 stuff. The recess underneath the tank, which once surrounded the airbox, now contains a small battery and other electrical components, well out of sight to leave a clear space behind the carburettors and enhance the racer look.

The fibreglass seat unit was laid up in-house from a well-used HMR mould and is based on the early Heron Suzuki twin-shock race bikes with the GS1000 engine. The later-style Heron fairing was imported from the UK and extensively modified by HMR to fit the GSX-Rtype motor and frame.

“Getting the F1 fairing to fit was the biggest hassle I faced,” James says. “It had to be widened across the top and there was lots to cut and shut.” Custom brackets had to be made and “there was just never enough room, but we got there in the end.” A hole had to be cut for the headlight, offset in proper endurance-racing style and filled here with an appropriately-sized lamp from a CBR250RR mini-’Blade.

Graham from Carr Creations in Thornlands smoothed the fibreglass and prepared all the bodywork, then painted the lot in iconic red, black and yellow Texaco livery. All decals and graphics were produced by Klein Signs in Maryborough to templates supplied by James’s good mate Karl, who was in the process of building a replica of James’s first Heron bike.

Often little finishing touches cause last-minute grief; in this case it was the instruments. “Where I can, I source parts and work from within Australia,” James says, 56

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PABLO’S MOTORCYCLE TYRES

Factory 2/16 Rosemary Court Mulgrave Victoria 3170 P (03) 9561 5522 E rick@pablos.com.au W www.pablos.com.au

We service all makes & models vintage or modern, road or dirt & all motorcycles in-between

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Classic Plastic

1985 SUZUKI GSX-R750

“PEOPLE WANT A USEABLE THING, SOMETHING THAT’S EASY TO RIDE” but that isn’t always possible. “I bought two new speedo/rev counters from China; they were identical units but came with different instructions and neither worked!” He then turned to Acewell in the UK for a 6-Series dashboard, which does work. “It also includes a shift light, lap timer and all the usual stuff, all controlled by a switch on the right-hand handlebar.” Unlike more modern bikes, the Bandit engine is ‘analogue’ and not restricted by an over-reaching ECU, which sometimes makes these kinds of accessory modifications difficult.

The other issue was a rear-view mirror — where do you put one on a bike like this?

James solved the problem with a tiny rearview camera discreetly mounted on the tail unit, feeding a screen mounted above the dash. As for how well it works, he says it’s no worse than a lot of Ducatis.

Total build time was just three months in the HMR workshop adjacent to The Cafe Racer Shop in Redland Bay. The finished result is stunning from any angle and a wonderful ‘celebration’ of a golden period of four-stroke motorcycle racing.

Retro Specs ENGINE Air/oil cooled four-stroke inline four; chain-driven DOHC, four valves per cylinder; 79 x 59mm for 1157cc; 9.5:1 comp; 4 x 36mm Mikunis with Stage 3 Dynajet kit and K&N filters; electronic ignition; five-speed gearbox and chain final drive; 98hp @ 8500rpm CHASSIS Aluminium box-section twin-tube frame; 43mm conventional forks, adjustable for preload and rebound damping, 2 x 310mm rotors with four-piston calipers on cast 3.5 x 17in wheel; dual-sided, single-shock swingarm, single 230mm rotor with sliding-piston caliper on cast 4.5 x 17in wheel; Shinko tyres BODYWORK GSX-R750F ‘flat-top’ fuel tank; much modified Heron Suzuki (replica) fairing; HMR tail unit and seat; prep and paint by Carr Creations SPECIAL THANKS David and Patrina, The Cafe Racer Shop; Graham at Carr Creations; Bayside Hoses; Cleveland Nuts & Bolts; Australian Fibreglass Supplies; Scotty, Cleveland Exhausts; David Fraser for aluminium and welding BEST FOR Riding to Phillip Island for the World Superbikes; profiling in Cowes NOT SO GREAT You’ll have to pack light

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Retromods

2016 TRIUMPH T120 BONNEVILLE

LIGHTNING

McQUEEN A brand-new 1200 Bonneville gets a makeover ямБt for the King of Cool WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOS ANTOINE TRUCHET

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“STANCE WAS BANG ON SO IT WAS TIME TO FOCUS ON MAKING IT A FUNCTIONAL MOTORCYCLE AGAIN”

T

HE all-new 1200cc Triumph T120 was not yet in full production when the factory first approached Alec Sharp and Rafe Pugh from Old Empire Motorcycles early last year about building a custom from it. It was a big call from both sides.

OEM had been approached a few times regarding working for a big brand, but it never came about previously due to their practice of working without preconceived visual references, instead going wherever their muse took them over the course of the build. “It’s difficult to convince the company to just leave it to us,” Alec says. “As we have turned out more and more bikes, that trust gets stronger and the decision gets easier to not only work alongside us, but to let us have almost completely free creative reign.

“The loose brief was to create something that caught the punters’ attention as a piece of eye candy at all the shows Triumph attended, but it also had to be ridden if needed and reviewed.

Styling-wise the only thing we both agreed on was no low bars and not too café racer as we knew the Thruxton 1200 was coming. Nor would we be restricted by EURO4 and other legalities.”

A new T120 Black was duly delivered at OEM’s Norfolk HQ and ridden regularly while the team cleared the decks of other projects. “We were impressed,” Alec says. “It sounded better than

the older models, performed better and most importantly felt like it had more character, not something we often say about a new motorcycle.”

Once on the bench, Alec and Rafe decided to take their inspiration from Steve McQueen’s off-road Triumph race bikes (Retrobike #25).

“We wanted to go back to basics and rid it of all non-essentials, something that we found was quite troublesome on a new bike like this,” Alec says. “As is the usual starting point, we removed all the obvious heinous parts; tank, headlight, guards, exhaust, etc. Next step was to remove a few inches of fork tube to dump that front end down,” which has become something of an OEM house style. Rear ride height was kept stock, albeit fitted with custom-made fully-adjustable Fox Podium RC shocks.

The wheels are standard wrapped in Metzeler Sahara tyres but the brakes were removed to machine fins into the calipers and to modify the rotor centres to give the illusion of floating discs. The forks were also spun in the lathe and the fixtures for the front guard removed and smoothed.

“Stance was bang on so it was time to focus on making it a functional motorcycle again,” Alec says. With virtually every electrical component linked to the engine control unit, “we quickly realised that to get the look we wanted, then

For The Record THE first Triumph T120 Bonneville was released in 1959, so named to commemorate Johnny Allen’s then current world land speed record of 214mph (345km/h) set on the Bonneville salt lake in Utah three years earlier on a 650cc T110 streamliner.

It was a little cheeky as the British factory had nothing to do Allen’s successful run, nor his earlier record of 193mph set in 1955. Instead, it was an allTexan effort, with flat-track racer Allen riding a bike owned by Dallas Triumph dealer Pete Dalio, tuned by Jack Wilson and with bodywork designed by aero engineer Stormy Mangham.

Their motivation was to challenge the then German dominance of land speed racing, which they saw as an affront in the wake of WWII. Allen’s first record was short-lived, however, when Wilhelm Herz responded with 210mph on a blown 500cc NSU streamliner in August 1956, before Allen promptly stole it back the following month.

Triumph motorcycles went on to hold the world land speed record for the next 14 years. William Johnson ran 224mph in 1962 before Detroit Triumph dealer Bob Leppan joined two 650s together to run 245mph in 1966. Californian Don Vesco brought the party to a close when he ran 251mph on a twinengine, two-stroke Yamaha in 1970.

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some serious thinking would have to be done concerning the ol’ electrickery.” A common practice on many newer builds is to ‘flash’ the ECU, effectively switching off accessories like instruments, traction control and immobilisers.

Not so on the new Triumph, with its ECU protected by the factory to stop exactly that kind of tampering.

For example, no self-respecting desert sled needs a speedo or tacho, but the new T120 wouldn’t run without them. OEM’s solution was to gut both but leave their circuit boards intact, relocating them to a sealed aluminium box under the engine.

The bulky hand controls were ditched along with levers and handlebars, replaced with Renthal Fatbars on customised risers and OEM’s own buttonless switch cases with integrated levers. The idea was to remove everything they could; no headlight, no taillight, no indicators, nothing. To address what they described as an “horrendous-looking” fly-by-wire throttle setup, they again gutted the internals and machined a remote housing for it, also located under the engine and linked to the twist grip via oldschool push/pull cables.

“Having no master cylinder up on the bars then raised the issue of how we were going to operate the front brakes, as well as the ABS system which we decided to leave intact as again we were unsure of how it would affect the electronics,” Alec says. “The solution was to discreetly mount a remote master cylinder on the lower yoke with a Rizoma reservoir mounted next to the ignition and the cable pull mount off to the other side. The ABS system simply hooked into the master cylinder and the brake hoses were replaced with shortened 64

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“THE EXHAUST HAD TO BE LOUD, REALLY LOUD, AGGRESSIVELY STYLED BUT FUNCTIONAL TOO” braided versions.”

We especially like OEM’s treatment of the induction system which is bog stock right back to the airbox but looks anything but. “Triumph houses the fuel-injection system within what looks like pre-Monobloc Amal carbs, which I thought was a great idea,” Alec says. “However it seemed like they had almost made it work, but not quite. We slung the air intake covers

into the bin of no return and custom-made a pair of (what look like) velocity stacks to fit over the intakes, fixed with a faithful hose clamp.”

The rest of the fuel-injection system is hidden behind black vinyl covers, while holes were drilled into the top of the ‘carbs’ to take a pair of dummy push-pull cables running under the tank. “I think the imitation is now complete and very difficult to spot,” he says.

CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE RESTORATIONS ALWAYS THE BEST DISPLAY OF CLASSIC MOTORCYCLES IN AUSTRALIA A SELECTION OF OUR CURRENT STOCK

1971 MOTO GUZZI 750 AMBASSADOR

1988 BMW K75S

This is another very nice example of this great machine.

Finished in Black, this motorcycle has been fastidiously maintained and looks fabulous. Vin # 17575 $12,950.00

1960 ROYAL ENFIELD 700 CONSTELLATION

This motorcycle is absolutely stunning. Finished in bright red and in as new condition. Vin # WB105720XJ0151255 $9,950.00

1964 GILERA 150 GIUBILEO

This is a beautiful motorcycle that runs and rides superbly. These are getting hard to find. Vin # 5T4771 $12,950.00

BSA A10 650 BOBBER

This example is in original unrestored condition and a perfect machine for Mille Miglia events. Don’t miss this. Vin # 104611 $6,950.00

1971 SUZUKI TS186

This bike is stunning and has been fully restored.

This is just the coolest bike. Vin # DA10R6272 $17,950.00

1973 SUZUKI TS240

This is a very early model. All original and runs and rides well.

Vin # TS185-21721 $4,950.00

1979 HONDA CBX 1000

Nice clean example of this hard to find Trail bike.

Vin # TS2503-57722 $4,950.00

1954 BSA M20 500

This is a beautiful example of this very sought after classic superbike.

This bike has been fitted with a Corbin leather seat and a Kerker exhaust system. Vin # CB1-2009218 $15,950.00

1957 NORTON ES2 500 CAFE RACER

This is a superb motorcycle in excellent condition. Perfect for club riding. These M20’s are so strong, they would literally pull you up the side of a house. Vin # BM20S1426 $9,950.00

This bike is fabulous and runs and rides superbly. The engine has just been rebored with a new piston. Vin # 87301 $17,950.00

1970 BSA ROCKET THREE A beautiful matching number motorcycle that has done only 9504 miles and runs and rides very nicely. These are gettiing very hard to find especially in this condition. Vin # HD00308.A75R $22,950.00

1971 NORTON 750 COMMANDO Production racer replica from a collection in the USA. Vin # 145155 $15,950.00

1973 MOTO GUZZI 850 ELDORADO This bike is original and as found, in a barn from a deceased estate.

This bike runs and rides really well and is low mileage and faded patina on the paintwork. Vin # 057509 $9,950.00

1970 KAWASAKI 175 BUSHWACKER These are getting hard to find, this example is original.

Vin # F3-113332 $3,950.00

1986 SUZUKI 650 SAVAGE This is a very nice machine that runs and rides well.

A good looking cruiser style bike that is red plate eligible.

Vin # JS1NP41A0G2103959 $4,950.00

WE HAVE BANK FINANCE AVAILABLE ON ALL OUR BIKES

CLASSIC STYLE AUSTRALIA 34 PENINSULA BLVD, SEAFORD, VIC 3198

PH (03) 9773 5500 FAX (03) 9773 5533 www.classicstyle.com.au Email: classicstyle7@gmail.com

Retromods

2016 TRIUMPH T120 BONNEVILLE

to match. Those beautiful side-covers were made by whittling timber bucks upon which wet leather was pressed and then baked stiff in an oven, but required relocating the intake to the airbox, which is now via the left-side ‘velocity stack’.

Unconstrained by any notion of road legality, OEM’s Steve McQueen tribute sure sounds and looks the part of a souped-up, strippeddown Californian desert sled. Less is more but simplicity can be a complicated thing on a new bike, especially when incorporating such a high degree of attention to period detail.

“Triumph did a sterling job of creating a production motorcycle with heart,” Alec says.

“What we needed to do was push it further that way.” Bravo to both factory and workshop for trusting each other enough to pull it off.

Retro Specs Turning to the bodywork, OEM unearthed a 1964 T120 Bonneville US-import tank and a pair of ribbed aluminium mudguards. “The tank took some fettling to mount the 1200’s humongous fuel pump unit within it while leaving enough room for a couple litres of petrol; we got in 10 in the end! The rear guard was no problem to cut, shape and mount, but the front had to be integrated into the front cowling,” Alec says. “It’s not to everyone’s taste but the lines look right to me.” The final pieces of metalwork consist of a Rolls Royce-inspired, stainless-steel radiator shroud, which leads down into a thick aluminium bash plate that covers the new homes for the speedo/tacho box, regulator/rectifier and fly-by-wire throttle unit.

Paint and graphics are by Greg at Black Shuck Kustom in simple gloss black with gold highlights, complemented with armour-black ceramic coating by Simon at Flying Tiger Paintwork.

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The exhaust was binned in its entirety. “It had to be loud, really loud, aggressively styled but functional too.” Two-inch stainless pipe was cut and welded in sections to get just the right shape tucking under the side casings and flicking out under your feet, which are protected by race car-inspired heat shields. “They’re more look than purpose, if we’re honest, but finish it off nicely. Our own cone baffles take the edge off the sound, but not too much.”

The seat subframe rear of the shock mounts was shortened to take a new seat pan made from 3mm aluminium. The seat was then carefully formed in layers of differing density foam, then shaped and trimmed in beautifullygrained brown leather and dark brown suede, the latter actually luxury dog bed material and 100 per cent waterproof!

Quality leatherwork is a feature of all OEM builds, and here includes signature dark brown grips and pegs, all machined, dyed and polished

ENGINE Liquid-cooled four-stroke vertical twin; 270-degree crank; chain-driven OHC, four valves per cylinder; 97.6 x 80mm for 1200cc; 10:1 comp; six-speed gearbox; 79hp @ 6550rpm CHASSIS Twin-cradle frame in tubular steel; modified seat loop UP FRONT Shortened conventional 41mm forks (non-adjustable); 2 x 310mm rotors on machined centres with grooved twin-piston sliding calipers on laced 18in rim; Metzeler Sahara tyre DOWN BACK Dual-sided swingarm with twin Fox Podium shocks (fully adjustable); single 255mm rotor with twin-piston caliper on laced 17in wheel; Metzeler Sahara tyre BODYWORK 1964 Triumph T120 tank (US model); OEM seat; leather by Rafe Pugh; paint by Black Shuck BEST Stance, style, insane attention to detail WORST Good luck getting it registered

NEWCASTLE NOW

MOTORCYCLE SHOWCASE Saturday 2nd September 4-8pm Wheeler Place, Newcastle

Be part of the show, bring your bike and a $5 donation to Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

PART OF THE

For more information visit the website

newcastlesupermoto.com.au or email bikeshow@newcastlesupermoto.com.au Supported by

Competition

DLRA SPEED WEEK 2017

The lake was alive with the sound of booming twins and singles WORDS GEOFF SEDDON PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON DAVIDSON

T

HE vast outback salt flat that is Lake Gairdner in South Australia is a fickle mistress. The allure of having your way with her for as long as you dare is intoxicating. She is beautiful beyond imagination but difficult to reach. And when you finally get there, you’ll never know which way she’ll turn. Will it be a happy ending, an ego-bruising disappointment or something in between that leaves you lusting for more?

“At Lake Gairdner, every year is different,” says Greg Wapling of organising body Dry Lakes Racers Australia. “The surface of the salt in 2017 was probably the best it’s been for many years.”

Photographer Simon Davidson, who has covered the event for longer than anybody, says “the salt was superb, magical in appearance. It looked as if it had already been groomed” and required

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just a light skim with the blade to be ready for racing. Drill tests showed a consistent depth of at least five inches. The forecast was for fine weather all week. Everything looked perfect but, as in life, appearances can be deceiving.

Motorcyclists made up about 70 per cent of entrants to Speed Week this year, on both late-model and early bikes and many of them rookies ticking off their bucket lists as they pursued their Burt Munro dreams. Few newbies were chasing 200mph, instead there for the experience and maybe to pick up an esoteric record in a smaller class as a bonus.

Up at the sharp end, Jeff Lemon (210mph, Kawasaki), Richard Assen (208mph, Assentec Special) and Jim Higgins (201mph, Suzuki) joined the coveted 200mph Club for exceeding 200mph for the first time while also setting a

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“THE SURFACE OF THE SALT IN 2017 WAS PROBABLY THE BEST IT’S BEEN FOR MANY YEARS”

class record. 200mph Achievers — first timers who didn’t set records — were Samantha Petersen (203mph, Kawasaki) and Paul Cox (200mph, Suzuki). Samantha also took home a trophy for being the fastest woman, just ahead of veteran Kim Krebs (202mph). The fastest bike of all was Ken Robinson’s Hayabusa at 223mph, just ahead of Grant Schlein’s similar Suzuki (222mph), while the fastest run of the week was Lionel West at 267mph in a highly modified VR Commodore.

Richard Assen’s rig (page 73) was something else, hardly old-school but as custom as they come. After working his way up to a world record of 261mph on a turbocharged Hayabusa at Bonneville in 2011, he set about constructing a purpose-built land-speed bike around the same engine to go a whole lot faster. “Salt racing is all about aerodynamics,” he says, acknowledging that he’d just about reached the limit of a stock-faired ’Busa. So he built a lowlying, rear-engined chassis in his Melbourne garage, with hub-centre steering up front for its low stance and increased rigidity. 208mph came easily on just his third-ever pass before the storms came and left a damp surface at the deep end which spoiled the party. With ballast and full streamlining to come, Richard’s rocket could very well become Australia’s fastest motorcycle in years to come, with 300mph potential. Make a note you read it here first.

Apart from that, we mostly had eyes for the early girls, none more so that Malcolm Hewitt’s 70

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1950 Vincent Rapide (bottom left) which last year in streamlined form ran a world record for an aspirated petrol-powered Vincent of 185mph. Mal has been racing the big twin on Lake Gairdner since 2000. He returned this year with a new engine for an assault on his un-streamlined record of 166mph set in 2015.

Alas, on his first pass the motor self-destructed, the bike slowing to 129mph through the traps.

It was a big disappointment for the Bonnevillebound team and spectators alike.

Mal’s wasn’t the only Vincent there. Kel Carrick and John Trease are well-known in HRD/Vincent circles for doing a leisurely lap of Australia on a pair of pre-WW2 Series A twins a few years ago and they teamed up again in 2017 for a lash at the salt. Kel was racing a 1929 HRD powered by a 500cc JAP single with a Weslake four-valve head, while John rode a 1348cc Series A V-twin he’d literally built from his own castings in a replica 1932 frame.

John Trease is Melbourne’s foremost classic Harley tuner and had run 164mph in 2010 on a Norton-framed Sportster. He had hopes of a similar speed on his HRD (top, page 73) but it dropped to one cylinder over 5000rpm on his first pass for just 128mph. It wasn’t the place to test and tune, he says, so having regard to the engine’s rarity and value, he parked it. (The problem was later traced to a faulty fuel hose.)

Kel also had his challenges on a bike he believes could run as fast as 145mph (bottom, page 74); he was crook as Rookwood and undecided if

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he’d even run. When the clutch started slipping at 86mph on his first pass, he took the hint but like John will be back for more next year.

Other traditional 500 singles making their salt debut included Les Toohey’s 1955 BSA Gold Star and Frank Samson’s 2016 Royal Enfield Continental GT. “I came two years ago to have a look, I wasn’t interested before that,” Les says. “I’m a classic road racer and didn’t see the appeal of going in a straight line. But I was struck by how beautiful it was and how much fun it looked.” Les had three runs on his BSA, all within a whisker of 101mph. “I was really hoping for a little bit more but it’s quite different to riding on the bitumen. There were traction issues and it was 40 degrees so I was happy with 72

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the old ton.” Ditto the distributor-backed Royal Enfield team which ran 103mph on a soupedup GT for a class record in the hands of jubilant owner Frank Samson.

Longtime racer Stephen Finn flew the twostroke flag with a personal best and new class record of 163mph on his 1976 Suzuki GT750 (above). “We could have done better but for a bad speed wobble and spinning the rear wheel at full horsepower,” he says.

Toohey and Finn weren’t the only competitors to face traction problems. While the salt was smooth, it was also moist, with many of the regular crew running slower times than the previous year. It was worse on Track 2, which was closed for much of the week, too damp to

“I WAS STRUCK

BY HOW BEAUTIFUL IT WAS AND HOW MUCH FUN IT LOOKED”

Mates For Life THIS is Glenn Lindane from the Yarra Valley with his good mate Eddie Charlwood on the start line of the main track at Speed Week.

Eddie passed away seven years ago. He was on old bike guy with a passion for British stuff from the 1960s and was building a BSA at the time of his passing. While Eddie was alive, he and Glenn talked at length about how they had to go to Speed Week one day. It was on their bucket list.

Finally after all these years, Glenn was going in 2017. Before leaving he rang Eddie’s son to ask was there anything of Eddie’s he could take to Lake Gairdner. Eddie’s son said, “Why don’t you take Dad?” On the way to Lake Gairdner, they stopped off at Kingoonya pub; Glenn had a beer while Eddie sat on the bar. Throughout the journey, Eddie’s ashes travelled with a VB, esky, chair, binoculars and umbrella — all the things he would have had on the lake to enjoy the racing. SD

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Competition DLRA SPEED WEEK 2017

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“WHILE THE SALT WAS SMOOTH, IT WAS ALSO MOIST, CAUSING TRACTION ISSUES” race. Meanwhile four-wheeled competitors on Track 1 took out not one but two sets of timing gear when things got loose after two unexpected late-afternoon storms blew in on consecutive days. This led to delays and long queues on the Track 1 starting line, unlike last year when the planets aligned for a perfect week and everyone got as many runs as they wanted.

Friday finished with Ben Felten of Team BlindSpeed attempting to break the world record for riding blind-folded of 165mph, guided

by wingman Kevin Magee (top, page 70). Ben had already achieved his 125mph licensing pass earlier in the week, and while they didn’t take the record, Ben now has his 150mph licence which is impressive for a guy who can’t see.

Land speed racing at Lake Gairdner is always a big call, even for spectators. Square it to race a bike, cube it to race a car. But it could just be the best time of your life, irrespective of how fast you go. “I had the most fantastic time,” says Les Toohey. “It’s very social, like classic bike racing except it goes for a whole week.”

Ready Reckoner SALT racers talk miles an hour, never kilometres. Here’s how fast they’re really going: 100mph

161km/h

140mph

224km/h

160mph

257km/h

180mph

290km/h

200mph

322km/h

220mph

354km/h

240mph

386km/h

260mph

418km/h

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Classic Racers

BIKE TH E A H

T

T

BIANCHI FRECCIA CELESTE

Between 1925 and 1930, this little 350 was all but unbeatable in the hands of one of the world’s greatest riders.

Chances are you’ve never heard of either WORDS ALAN CATHCART PHOTOGRAPHY PHIL MASTERS

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Classic Racers

BIANCHI FRECCIA CELESTE

I

MAGINE the same individual racing both cars and bikes at Grand Prix level on alternate weekends with equal success.

It’d be like Valentino Rossi racing a Ferrari to beat Hamilton and Vettel this week, then swapping to his Yamaha the next against Marquez and Vińales! But that's what Tazio Nuvolari did back in the 1920s, taking it in turns to win the Italian GP on four wheels for Alfa Romeo and on two wheels for Bianchi, year after year. This is his bike.

These days known for bicycles, Bianchi was a major player in the early Italian motorcycle industry. Although involved in road racing from before WW1, it was not until 1924 that they produced the machine which would win 95 races on European racetracks over the next six years; the single-cylinder 350cc Freccia Celeste.

Tazio Nuvolari (on bike) at Monza in 1927

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The ‘Sky Blue Arrow’ was a significant machine in motorcycling’s technical evolution, the first in the world to feature a bevel-driven DOHC cylinder head which until then had only been prototyped in cars. Head engineer Mario Baldi’s design employed relatively square dimensions of 74 x 81 mm, with the cast-iron cylinder and head surmounted by an aluminium cambox containing three large diameter gear pinions. Those on the outside drove the camshafts, which in turn directly activated the valves without rockers. Drive from the engine was via a vertical shaft and bevel gear to the central pinion, which in turn drove the outer gears. It was the first of what would become a classic high-performance engine design, expressed ultimately (in single-cylinder form) in the post-WW2 Manx Norton.

Nuvolari (right) with rival Tifosi in 1928

“BIANCHI WON SIX ITALIAN TTS IN A ROW, WITH TAZIO NUVOLARI WINNING FIVE" Other innovative features included a mechanical engine oil pump at a time when hand pumps were commonplace and semi-unit construction with a separate gearbox located within a tunnel in the crankcase casting. The A hero's reception on winning the 1928 Monza GP

gearbox internals could be removed without disturbing the engine, dry clutch and primary drive, a forerunner to the side-loading cassette Moto GP gearboxes we see today.

The dry-sump engine necessitated a small oil tank mounted on the vertical frame tube behind it, with a further supply to lubricate the primary chain (or drive chain, according to model) found in another small receptacle on top of the fuel tank, with a hand pump on the left. The Bianchi's single-loop frame was relatively conventional, originally fitted with a flat fuel tank nestling between the stacked upper frame tubes, and employing Webb-type girder forks with an André damper. The rear end was rigid, with 21-inch rims fore and aft.

Anachronistically, the first single-cam model in 1924 was fitted with bicycle-type friction brakes,

Bianchi factory team at the 1928 Italian TT

thankfully upgraded to drums by the time the twin-port DOHC engine was introduced.

Tazio Nuvolari was best known for his car racing success with Enzo Ferrari’s Alfa Romeo team but he also won a swag of bike races on the Freccia Celeste against the cream of European and British riders. It is almost certain that, had world championships existed before WW2, Nuvolari would be up there with John Surtees as the only man to win world titles on two wheels and four. But unlike Surtees (and later, Mike Hailwood), Nuvolari did it simultaneously over many years. He was almost unbeatable on the Bianchi from 1925 through to 1930 when he switched exclusively to cars, but his success often reflected his grit and determination as much as the bike’s undoubted competitiveness.

No race typified this more than the 1925

Check out Nuvolari's 1920s riding gear he wore in winning the European Grand Prix

Italian GP at Monza, run that year as the European GP and thus attracting the best British aces, amongst them Wal Handley on his TT-winning Rex-Acme, Jimmy Simpson and Frank Longman on big-port AJS 350s, and in the 500cc class run concurrently, Freddie Dixon on a Douglas twin. Nuvolari had had a tyre blow out on his works Alfa at the same track a week before, crashing heavily and breaking his ribs.

Instead of sitting out the motorcycle GP, he wore a tight leather corset over his bandages, so restrictive that he had to be lifted onto the bike by a pair of soldiers and then push-started at the rear of the field. The 300km race entailed around 2½ hours in the saddle, and not only did Nuvolari set a new outright lap record at 135.44km/h on his third lap, by the 10th he’d come from last to first! He won the race at an

Nuvolari leads Moretti in the 1928 Monza GP ISSUE #27

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Classic Racers

BIANCHI FRECCIA CELESTE

“IT WAS THE FIRST BIKE TO FEATURE A BEVEL-DRIVEN DOHC CYLINDER HEAD”

average speed of almost 124km/h and led home a 1-2-3 clean sweep of Bianchi 350s ahead of all the 500s. Not surprisingly, Nuvolari collapsed after crossing the line but returned to win three more Italian Motorcycle GPs in consecutive years.

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While obviously at home on a fast track like Monza, the Freccia Celeste also dominated the so-called ‘Italian TT’ — the Circuito del Lario held over the hilly, twisting roads around Lake Como — which Bianchis won six times in a row from 1925 to 1930, with Nuvolari winning the first three and last two. He was aided by an improved version of the Freccia Celeste which first appeared in 1927, with a revised frame, saddle tank, modern expanding-type drum brakes and twin-port DOHC engine.

Thanks to the generosity of owner Carlo Montevecchi, I was able to try out such a bike at Misano. Not only believed to be the last remaining twin-cam Freccia Celeste in existence, Montevecchi’s research almost certainly confirms it is the actual machine ridden by Nuvolari in 1927 to victory in both the Italian GP and the Circuito del Lario.

I was immediately reminded of the mid-20s 350cc Garelli split-single two-stroke which I’d ridden not long beforehand, one of the Bianchi's strongest rivals when it first appeared. The twin-cam four-stroke single feels a much more modern bike, although it was a surprise to find a lever throttle rather than a twist grip, by then standard wear on rival machines. The throttle is the longer of the two levers mounted on the right of the one-piece handlebar, with the mixture control for the carburettor above it. The ignition advance lever is on the left.

The Terry sport saddle was low-slung with a comfortable riding position, though the footrests were quite far forward. Curiously, the

brake pedal on the left operates the rear brake cam on the right via a bent rod. This was a legacy of the first version of the Freccia Celeste, which had a foot-operated clutch on the right, replaced by a left-side handlebar lever on the updated model.

The hand gear-change was mounted on the right of the fuel tank, whose twin filler caps are right in the way of ‘across the top’-style changes with your left hand as on vintage Sunbeams and the like. Not that there’s any need for that here; with the lever throttle you can leave the engine revving away while you remove your right hand from the grip and try to make a racing gearchange, with your left hand working the clutch.

Bottom gear is a real stump-puller, then as you move the lever upwards you encounter neutral, then second, which is fairly low as well, with a big gap to third. This meant that I was forced to run most of the Misano circuit in top, notching second only for the chicane, but the Bianchi’s engine was flexible enough to do this.

Nevertheless the Freccia Celeste engine had the mark of a racing unit, accelerating smartly once in the power band; with no instruments fitted, I’d guess from around 2000rpm. The motor also had a modern feel and sound to it; with fully-enclosed valve gear it seems more 1950s than 1920s in nature, and also proved completely oil tight apart from the open drive chains; I had to remember to give the little pump on the left a jab with my thumb every so often. The magneto drive chain, on the other hand, was not lubricated, and had to be heavily greased before each outing.

Braking was adequate for the speeds I was going, but probably not in the machine’s heyday, given its 140km/h performance. The small-diameter single-leading-shoe brakes were very narrow, and didn’t really present much braking area to the shoes. But with just 6:1 comp, you could engine-brake with impunity

once familiar with the complicated gearchanging routine. That said, you would have wanted both hands on the bars as much as possible over the bumpy, potholed European courses of the 1920s, especially with the rigid rear end and unyielding forks which required a strong hand even at Misano.

Flicking the bike over into a sweeping turn felt safe and sure, provided I didn’t hit a bump mid-corner, and you have to credit designer Baldi for trying. The fuel tank, for instance, is made in two halves (hence the twin fillers) to prevent fuel slopping around inside and affecting the Bianchi’s balance in a turn.

Carlo Montevecchi’s Bianchi is the genuine artefact, a timeless reminder of a once famous factory with a glorious racing history, of a brave and very successful rider, and of a performance engine design which showed the way forward for decades to come.

Retro Specs ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke single; beveldriven DOHC, two valves per cylinder; 74 x 81mm for 348cc; 6:1 comp; 28mm Dell’Orto (in place of original 1 3/16-inch Binks); Marelli magneto; chain primary to dry clutch and three-speed hand-shift gearbox; chain final drive CHASSIS Single-loop tubular-steel cradle frame; Webb-type girder fork with André damper, 180mm sls drum on laced 21-inch WM1 rim; rigid rear with 180mm sls drum on laced 21-inch WM1 rim; Pirelli tyres DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1250mm; dry weight 120kg PERFORMANCE 28hp @ 6200rpm; top speed 139km/h on alcohol (121km/h on petrol) BEST World’s first bevel-drive; nothing came close Owner Carlo Montevecchi with his treasured Freccia Celeste at Misano

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COG SWAPPING FOUR ON THE FLOOR

McIlwraith WITH JAMIE McILWRAITH

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

G

OBSMACKED again. I really should only read motorcycle road tests that come with spoiler alerts warning of stupid facts up ahead. The bike test was of a 1690cc tourer — not a sports bike, but a lazy, fat-arsed tourer — and the tester said you’d probably need to snick back from sixth to fifth gear, maybe even fourth if you’re in a hurry, to overtake on highways.

What has the world come to? They give you an engine big enough to haul a car and it’s better if you changed down a gear to overtake? They’ve got something wrong here. Surely with a 1690cc engine you could actually dispense with a few gears, rather than add an extra one?

This sad state of gearbox internals ain’t progress as far as I am concerned. Of all the big twins I’ve ever ridden, not one of them needed an extra gear. If you wanted to overtake you just turned the effing twist grip a bit more. It isn’t rocket science.

At the risk of being seen as reactionary, I would like to devote this column to the seemingly hopeless cause of bringing back the four-speed gearbox!

No takers? I’ll forge on, with a story that involves an almost religious experience on a motorcycle — because just one ride on a fourspeeder with a big, lazy, grunty engine was all it took to wake me up to the delights of fewer gears.

Many moons ago, I borrowed a used, old fourspeed 1000cc Shovelhead Sportster from a Harley dealer. It was an AMF model from Harley’s Dark Ages, the bad old days, with the crummy brakes, lousy switches, shitty electrics and the stupid big air-filter cover. You know the ones. To think that

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desperate people used to steal these things!

At first it seemed like a piece of farm equipment, the kind of bike you could attach a plough to. But we needed a Harley to lend street cred to ourselves for a magazine story we were doing about our day ride with lots of other Harleys.

“Fewer gears plus more grunt equals extra relaxation” Afterwards I ended up taking the Sportster down to see my friend Garry at Kangaroo Valley, south of Sydney. After yet another memorable weekend, a bit after midnight on Sunday I judged that I was perfectly okay to ride, and so I fired up the Harley to get me home to Sydney.

After turning left at the empty Princes Highway at Berry, it didn’t take long to get into fourth gear, so I popped my feet up onto those comfy footpegs poking out halfway up the front downtubes and settled in for a cool late-night ride.

There was almost no traffic at all that night, and with some judicious slowing down here and there I got green lights through every town. I finally changed back to third gear about 140km later, somewhere deep into Sydney’s suburbs.

Until then it was fourth gear all the way, up hill, down dale, through the Kiama bends, the lot. I wasn’t in a hurry, and the old Harley felt

like magic. I loved it. I was in the ‘four-speed zone’ and it was a good place to be.

The combo of the Hog’s flexible engine and that widely-spaced four-speed gearbox put cruising into another realm. It was as close as you’d get to a laid-back auto gearbox, while still having gears to change.

Now, I would have thought in this modern world, where technology seems aimed at making us all get fatter while we do less work, that people would be looking for the easiest ride possible.

The manufacturers have given today’s luxuryloving bikers all the mod cons: huge engines; stereos; plush seats; intercoms; heated handgrips; and extra gears.

This doesn’t make sense to me. Surely you should farewell each town on the highway, shift the grunter into top and then leave it there until the next 60-kay zone appears?

Changing gears is work that should be avoided.

When cruising on the highway, all you should need to do is twist the throttle when needed.

That’s it. Fewer gears plus more grunt equals extra relaxation. It’s a simple formula!

Yes, I know the extra gears are there to improve modern bikes’ fuel consumption. But those ultra-tall, fuel-sipping top cogs have one huge drawback: they make you change gears too often.

That isn’t progress, to my mind. It’s a bloody work-around at best. They’re not worth it.

I’d love to see a four-speed box offered as an option, teamed with the mega-gruntiest, stumppullingest, torquiest donk ever invented. Give it a tall-enough fourth gear and bugger the fuel figure bullshit! Because that’s one bike I would definitely like to ride.

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TANGLES' WORKSHOP IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR

A FORTUNATE LIFE Fixing motorcycles for fun and profit WORDS & PHOTOS STUART ‘TANGLES’ GARRARD

T

HE integration of Tangles’ home workshop into Old Mate Motorcycles in Mittagong is going well. Old mate Peter White and I enjoy getting our teeth into all manner of different problems and projects, and no two days are the same.

The best bit is meeting people and talking bikes. You just never know who will walk into the workshop next. I am constantly amazed how people seem to match their bikes and you never know what some people have tucked away in their sheds. People also have wildly different expectations of how they want their mechanical and electrical work done.

Also enjoyable is how Pete and I plan our approach to fixing each particular bike; every job is different. The basic bike service is of course quite easy, although some are more interesting than others, like the six-cylinder 1979 Honda CBX Super Sport we had in recently. What a beautiful bike and it went like the clappers!

At the other end of the spectrum is the 1936 Norton that came to us completely dismantled. The owner wants it restored to the condition when his late father rode it, so a lot of passion here. This project could take up to a year, so we plan each stage before we tackle

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it. So far the frame has been painted, tank repaired, wheels rebuilt and parts chromed.

Next we will assess what parts are missing and search for their replacements.

Another year-long project just out the door is a 1988 Suzuki RGV250, a total rebuild from the ground up, including the engine. The owner loves speed and came in regularly on his 1098 Ducati to check on progress. A lot of sweat and blood went into this bike but the end result is worth it. The owner knew exactly what he wanted, he was patient, and the end result looks fantastic and goes like a rocket. Everything about the project was an absolute joy.

Equally challenging but for completely different reasons is a homebuilt Yamaha XS650 with the dodgiest wiring harness in the Southern Highlands. It’s impossible to plan our approach to this bike. We fixed everything that was wrong, which included rewiring the charging circuit, replacing the rectifier/ regulator and replacing heaps of dodgy connections. Out the door it went with all systems good but a few days later it was back, with the blinkers now blowing fuses and the headlight not working. This scenario of repairs was repeated several times before the owner

headed off up the North Coast. Sure enough, the phone messages were soon coming through; broken positive wire at Casula, flat battery at night in Taree in the pouring rain, fuel tank leaking badly at Taree on the way

home and the muffler falling off somewhere on the M1. The owner is a great guy who loves his bike so it’s all good and I’m sure we’ll see him again.

We have another customer who travels and brings back all these 1950s Italian gems, few of which are going. These can be a real challenge; we have had to import parts from Italy, machine new parts and use a lot of creative skills. We always succeed in a completed restoration but the effort is not always a good business proposition.

His 1951 Lambretta Model C was a real challenge and the profit margin was small. It required a complete rebuild of the gearbox and rear-end transmission. From the gear selector on the handlebar, through the selector box and into the gearbox, it was a total mess.

The carby also needed an overhaul and the magneto/electrics were a nightmare. To top it off, the Model C had little to no technical documentation to support it. Still we got it going and Pete (who is the size of a small

mountain) had much fun taking it for a ride.

Ever heard of a Garelli Mosquito? We hadn’t either. The 1951 model came to us with a seized motor. Once dismantled we discovered a collapsed bearing on the shaft to the gearbox.

It pressed off quite easily, but finding a replacement in Australia didn’t happen so one had to be ordered from Italy. After a long wait it finally arrived and the little motor was soon humming again.

His 1958 Moto Guzzi Cardellino wasn’t running either. It had a problem with the magneto system and the points were completely worn out. After much searching we found a guy in South Australia who said he could rebuild it. We packaged it up and sent it off, with some reservations. A couple of weeks later the magneto arrived back and what a brilliant job he’d done. We put it back together, timed it, and the 60-year-old bike ran like new.

Some jobs just need some TLC and a good fettle, like the Kawasaki GT750 with no brakes.

The calipers were fitted with new pistons and seals, HEL brake lines were installed and the system bled. Throw in a full service the old girl went like a beast. Ditto Phil’s 1972 Yamaha RD125, which came in running on one cylinder with the Broadford Bike Bonanza just a few days away. Timing, new HT leads and plugs had it running on all two. The points were worn but finding two new sets took longer than we had time, so out the door it went, running just fine for the moment.

And what would a Tangles Workshop column be without another bloody Commando, this time a 1972 750 Fastback.

Norton John was constantly being let down by electrical problems; missing a cylinder, not charging and running rough. We analysed all that we had tried, eventually talking John into a new electronic ignition, even though he loved the one he had, as he did his carbon high-tension leads. We installed the ignition, replaced the leads (which were rubbish) and it has run like a dream ever since.

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READERS’ ROCKETS 1975 SUZUKI GT750

TRACK MASTER

A homebuilt tribute to Kenny Roberts’s legendary TZ750 flat tracker WORDS & PHOTO GEOFF SEDDON

T

ONY Bianco was three sheets to the wind when the pub talk turned to flat trackers and street trackers.

“The younger guys think they’ve just reinvented street trackers, but some of us older blokes have been building them since the 1970s,” he says.

One thing they agreed on was the ultimate street tracker would have to be based on the ultimate flat tracker, so the consensus was maybe a replica of an XR750 HarleyDavidson. “I said no, the ultimate flat tracker was Kenny Roberts’s Yamaha TZ750. The younger blokes didn’t know what I was talking about and started Googling on their phones. I not only said I could build one but I could do it cheap. Once I’d sobered up I

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wondered what had I got myself into.”

The tight budget meant a TZ750 race motor was out of the question, even if he could find one. “I was thinking two-stroke, 750cc, watercooled; sounds like a water-bottle!” Tony says, referring to Suzuki’s long-legged GT750 of the mid-1970s. Luckily he had a mate who owned a bunch of them and had accumulated a mountain of parts, and had actually been onto Tony to build a special out of the leftovers for some time. “They had never turned me on,” Tony says. “I’d been bagging two-strokes for years.”

Three GT750 engines in various states of disrepair were duly dispatched to Tony’s shed in the New England tablelands, from which he built one good one. He isn’t particularly

complimentary about Suzuki’s engineering, describing the simple liquid-cooled two-strokes as crude, which is saying something for a man whose main passion in life is Ironhead Sportsters!

Tony is one of those guys who never threw out his old motorcycle magazines and he recalled an article from 1987 on the five Champion-framed TZ750 flat-track race bikes made back in 1975, including the one raced by Kenny Roberts. “It was a really good story with big photos, which I used to get all the angles and dimensions.”

The frame on Tony’s replica started out as a 1975 Suzuki GT750, but only the bottom cradle with the engine and swingarm mounts has survived. Tony has built quite a few Champion and Trackmaster-styled street trackers over the years — including a couple of tasty 650 Triumphs which we’ll bring you some other 60 seconds — and as an aircraft engineer knows his way around a welder. The top frame section was fabricated to mimic Roberts’s TZ as close as possible, particularly in the fork angle and location of the rear shocks, and also to fit the new tank and seat unit.

The rest is an amalgam of what he had in the shed, including Suzuki forks, XL350 Honda triple trees, BMX footpegs and a Kawasaki rear brake caliper and Harley rotor on a first-model GS750 hub. The original dirt-track race bike had no front brake but with conditional Classic rego in mind (NSW’s new logbook scheme for older modified vehicles), Tony opted for a small rotor from an early Gold Wing along with two small LED headlights and a discreet taillight. The fuel tank is from an early RM Suzuki motocrosser while the seat unit was hand-made by Tony in fibreglass.

With only three cylinders to the TZ750’s four, the water-bottle engine was never going to be mistaken for the genuine article, at least to those who knew what they were looking at. The black crankcases and cylinders (the stock GT’s were finished in polished alloy) do look the part,

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READERS’ ROCKETS 1975 SUZUKI GT750

“I was thinking two-stroke, 750cc, water-cooled; sounds like a water-bottle!”

however, as do the expansion chambers. “My (Suzuki) mate had a lot of different exhausts; three-into-ones, standard systems and expansion chambers,” Tony says. “It was a fluke that we found a set that were a similar shape to Kenny’s TZ.” A special touch is the safety guard around the carburettors. “The early two-strokes were piston-port and you’d get a bit of blow back when you revved them; even have the carbies blow off. So they used to put a safety bar around them to hold the carbies and pods on.”

Another is the right-side gearshift lever sitting just above the rear brake lever. Like almost all Japanese bikes, the GT’s lever was on the left, but dirt track racing is all about sliding through left-hand turns, so both brake and gears had to be operated by the right foot. “The GT was based on the Suzuki TR750 race engine,

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which offered a choice of left or right-side gearshift (according to rider preference), so it wasn’t too big a drama to work out where the extra crossover shaft went.”

The unusual location for the tacho is also as per the Roberts race bike. It looks offset in the photos but put yourself in KR’s shoes, pitched over at up to 150mph through endless left-hand bends, and it was right smack in front of him.

With a mate in the right place and a shed full of stuff from a lifetime of building bikes, Tony did achieve his objective of building it relatively cheaply, but only if you ignore the enormous amount of custom fabrication. “I didn’t spend a lot of money on parts but it took a lot of effort and engineering,” he says. “It took me 12 months, from the pub conversation to my first ride, which is a long time for me to build a bike.”

Too Much Two-Stroke THREE-times world 500 GP champion Kenny Roberts was also a handy flat-tacker, but his Yamaha XS650-based race bikes struggled against the dominant XR750 Harleys. So his crew chief, Aussie Kel Carruthers — himself a former world 250 GP champion — shoehorned a four-cylinder twostroke TZ750 race engine into a Champion flattrack chassis for the 1975 Indy Mile. Roberts didn’t see the bike before the meeting and qualified last.

Amazingly, he overtook the entire 25-bike field to win the race on the last lap, after which he said he didn’t get paid enough to ride a bike like that!

Nevertheless, it prompted others to start building similar racers, so Roberts successfully campaigned to have the engine banned on the basis that it was too powerful for flat track and people would surely be killed.

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READERLAND OPINION PAGE

HIGH AS KITES

PLAY HARD

BLUE SMOKE THEORY

EZEKIEL THE SWORD #1

WTF Retro? That cover is offensive. And embarrassing. I had been wavering, but my decision about subscription renewal was cemented with that shithouse cover.

Since I'm annoyed enough to write in ... I've been lamenting the loss of focus on proper retro bikes. Vintage racers and custom bikes aren't the same as retro. Sure, some are good, but there's just too many of them now.

BC

EZEKIEL THE SWORD #2 TRES magnifique!

Pascal Demeulemeester

EZEKIEL THE SWORD #3 TRIPPY cover, cool as! You guys are killing it!

Simon T

FAMILY TIES I HAVE been a motorcyclist for more years than I care to remember and it’s been a fantastic voyage of old friends, new friendships, dusty mornings and beautiful motorcycles of varying sizes, capacities and varieties.

After reading your most excellent magazine, my family (well, mostly me and my incessant encouragement) has decided to go down the road of building a customised bobber. A 2000-model Yamaha XVS1100A V-Star has been purchased to that end.

This is going to be a family build, with each of us contributing in some way or another. My step-daughter has designed a small heartshaped mural to go on the tank, because she believes that all motorcyclists are from one huge family.

Mark Richards 98

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HIGH AS KITES DON’T be shy, give it a try!

Andy Smith

BLUE SMOKE THEORY

OUTBACK POSTIES

GREAT to see Roland Sands revisiting his two-stroke roots. Some of us never got off them, lol.

Dex VonDoom

THE Honda CT110 is no doubt the finest motorcycle ever designed and a bunch of boofheaded country blokes and Australia Post just proved it (Everyday Heroes, Retrobike #25).

I bought one ex-auction 15 years ago for the farm with a flat battery. I changed the oil once and the rear tyre a few times. It’s very good for chasing cattle with its low first gear and still has the same battery. I call it my ‘Vincent Red Shadow’.

So well done, blokes, great choice; half scooter, half motorcycle, simple to repair, proven and almost invincible! eake Simon Leake

USED NOT ABUSED THANKS for choosing my letter as the winner of the Razzo jeans last issue. The concept behind many of your stories is a credit to you; not another marketing tool for bike manufacturers to move more product, but stories of guys or gals who love whatever bike they have or can afford. Don’t get me wrong, some of the bikes I own were bought new, but I also love the used ones. So much so that my wife and I are riding from NSW to Perth later in the year on a BMW we recently bought in pieces for $400. It is 40 years since we did the same trip and we intend camping roadside wherever sundown finds us, as we did last time.

Brian Friend

PLAY HARD I JUST received the magazine our DA#4 BMW R nineT was featured in and I must say it is one of the best written and laid-out articles we've ever had the pleasure to see ourselves in. And we've been in quite a few over the past years.

Best regards from faraway Munich and thank you very much for the effort.

Tom Konecny

WIN RAZZO JEANS! To encourage your feedback, we’ll pick one letter (Simon Leake this issue) to win a pair of Drayko Razzo riding jeans, valued at $289!

Protection comes from a combination of Dyneema and Kevlar fibres behind the aged denim exterior: check out all the details at the www.dragginjeans.net website. Write to retro@ universalmagazines.com.au or to our page

(Retro Bike Magazine) on Facebook.

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