Big Twins Do Battle

Big Twins do battle

TDC

Kevin Cameron

Now THAT DAYTONA MOTORSPORTS Group has bought AMA Pro Racing, you can bet they are considering who their wider audience will be. Every year in the spring a large population of "lifestyle" motorcyclists descends upon Daytona, bringing prosperity to the region but buying few tickets to the races. Is there a way to interest them in roadracing?

About 1964, I drove up to the thenbrand-new Loudon circuit in New Hamp shire on Sportsman Wednesday. A few small-bore bikes disconsolately circulat ed the track. A pair of leather-vested, chainwallet lads stood at the fence near me, watching. One said to the other, "Which ones're the Harleys?" There weren't any.

There still aren't, and I doubt that any "awareness" programs will bring lifestyle riders to the races to watch Japanese, Ital ian and German machines circulate. The Daytona people tried two years ago, by arranging for Erik Buell and his en gineer team to create and enter a few special 1340cc pushrod air-cooleds in hope that something good might happen. It didn't, underlining the enduring fact that solid reliability in racing is very expen sive. Little companies don't have major R&D funds available.

Okay, there are other possibilities. A number of years ago, the AMA decided to run a Harley-spec class for 883 Sport sters. It was quite successful for a few years and even attracted a few of the "faithful" to Daytona's special Harley Owners' Group seating. A significant number of today's big-name riders got their start in racing on 883s, and there are even some grand and naughty tales of bobbing and weaving between the rules. Finally the 883 class was discontinued. When I asked Merrill Vander slice (then race director) why, he replied, "Lack of interest. Declining grids."

Harley itself entered Superbike with the VR1000, yet even though that com pany had the necessary R&D funds (and spent a great deal!), the program ultimate ly became an embarrassment and was terminated. Unless the likes of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates are suddenly and unaccountably consumed with yearning for motorcycle racing success, it's hard to imagine another source of adequate R&D funding for a U.S.-built racer. The numbers are tough-something like 4000 hours of rig, single-cylinder and full-scale testing, at maybe $2500 an hour, just for the engine. That's $10 million. Back in 2002, Ducati estimated its entry cost for MotoGP to be $32 million. And the econ omy isn't so hot at the moment, either.

But wait. We've become accustomed to major manufacturers entering fully developed machines that are as reliable as airliners. Racing didn't originate like that. People used to build their own rac ers from streetbikes, using whatever prac tical knowledge they had, take them to Daytona and have a go. A lot of them blew up but some always finished, and the first among those survivors was the winner. Back then, an engine failure had not yet become a public-relations head ache and the end of some middle man ager's career. It was a natural racetrack drama and an education for the builder.

I am thinking about the enormous and capable Big Twin aftermarket, which makes complete engines, cases, cranks, heads, valves, cams, chassis, wheels-al ternative everything. Exhaust valve is sues? No problem-make some out of Inconel. Gear failures? They get to the bottom of it. Could we make a grass-roots roadracing class out of this? I have long wanted to do so, and at one time had a plan with the former editor of our for mer sister publication, Big Twin, to build a sports-styled demo machine. Just for fun. It never happened, but the means to do so are just phone calls away.

Builders of custom bikes already dip deep into roadrace hardware for some of their creations, using inverted forks and multi-piston brake calipers, and they make many, many milled-from-solid parts reminiscent of the finest craftsmanship seen in MotoGP. I recently enjoyed hear ing from custom builder Roger Goldam mer the story of his efforts to set a re cord at Bonneville. Would it not be re freshing to see custom-built bikes com pete-away from the pink angel hair and the lurid spotlights of the show circuitwith engines running, and tires and brake discs hot? If those billet crankcases, CNC-ported heads and big-inch pistons are so righteous, let's see them actually perform the rugged mission they appear to be designed for. Goldammer seems to feel these motorcycles need to some how renew their legend or to re-establish their connection with reality.

It would take some inspiration to write rules for such a class and, yes, there would be risks. That's nothing new. For every rulebook / ever written, exceptions and prob lems have appeared on the very first day. Every rulebook is a "work in prog ress"-it can't be any other way. As for the risks, forethought could moderate them. Custom bikes are already very cleanly constructed, with liberal use of race-quality hardware such as braidedstainless-jacketed oil and brake lines.

For a suggestive model, look at NHRA Pro Stock motorcycle drag racing, which has become so popular in recent years. Half the field is "rice-burners" and half is U.S.-designed-and-built big V-Twins from Vance & Hines and S&S. Specta tor partisanship is extreme-even though the "Harleys" and "Buells" don't con tain a single real Harley part and in fact have Suzuki clutches. This doesn't seem to matter. Spectators cheerfully accept as "Harleys" engines with a 60-degree Vee angle instead of the traditional 45. A notional roadrace class for cruisers or Big Twins would divide along the same lines, "Them vs. Us." Rpm could be lim ited to 5500 to preserve the popular "mo torboat sound." What would it be called? How about "The Torkers"?

Would sportbike fans jeer while lifestylers cheered and vice-versa? Bring it on-there's nothing wrong with partisan ship. I know there's a lot of creative en gineering going on in the Big Twin af termarket. I've met the capable group at S&S and I know there are others be sides. I'd like to see what they could col lectively whip up.