In the old days of 24hr racing: video

Discussion in 'Racing & Track Days' started by GreyVF750F, Oct 14, 2011.

  1. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    I was poking around the internet watching mc racing. I came across my 2nd to last 24hr race I had anything to do with. The 1983 24hrs Of Nelson.

    We, our team, quit racing at the end of 82 kind of. In that race WERA had it's first 24hr event. It was their first time to sanction "The 24hrs of Nelson Ledges" which the AMA had done for years before. Heschimura Racing, Bob Hesch, Keith Marshall, Larry Shorts and Dan Chivington, and Dale Richie had won the 24hrs four times before over all. In the 82 24hr Dale got in to a bad accident and died on Sunday of that race. Which I blame on WERA and the people they got for corner workers that year. So in 83 I was asked to work with them in the 24. They wanted to win for Dale. I brought our Honda wrench (Al)with me.

    I had no idea this video was out on the web. You can see Al and me at the 22:16 time frame. I'm holding the bike and Al is wearing the "Penton Honda" race T-shirt that we had the year before. I was wearing another one of our old T shirts from Penton.

    The average lap times were in the low to mid 1:20's average speed about 88mph to give you an idea of how fast it was back then. Notice how the bikes don't have the lean angle of today's bikes. You could only lean at about 45 degrees on the bias ply tires. Also the bike we won on was brand new and had less than a 1000 miles on it. A first gen VF750F just kicked butt against bigger sized bikes.

    Here's a 26 min vid, hope you enjoy it. Those days are gone for me. Though I still have the bike we were going to race in 84 when we combined two teams for one last hurrah.

    [video=google;-133137427027553603]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-133137427027553603[/video]
     
  2. safetypro10

    safetypro10 New Member

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    Too bad we can't get Speed to rebroadcast some of this prime stuff.

    Pics of the bike are mandatory.

    Larry
     
  3. camo

    camo New Member

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    We got second in the Wera lightweight superbike class in 83, team Apex on a Suzuki 450. Raced IRP 4h second, Blackhawk 6h first, RoadAmerica 4h first, It seems like there was another event that we did but I can't remember.

    We thought about doing Nelson that year but never had the resources. Two riders one other team member. Usually we raced the endurance race on Saturday and then did the sprints on Sunday. It was mostly a good chance to get some miles on the track. I raced my RZ on most of the sprints.
    [​IMG]
    I still have my RZ and RD. I am rebuilding my RD as we speak. The GS 450 is still owned by my ex-teammate.

    I think our fastest speed was 77 at Elkhart
     
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    The older I get, the faster I really wasn't.
     
  5. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    BB the memory changes sometimes and sometimes not.

    NOW for a bit of trivia and knowledge of today's WORLD tire walls that are use on most tracks in racing around the world started right here at Nelsons. If you notice all the tires around this track and the lack of guard rails. A new safety wall is created for all of racing. Though it was unbeknownst at the time. The track was really maintained by volunteers. They didn't have money to make improvements. So they improvised.

    Goodyear Tire and Rubber is not that far away from Nelson. One of the volunteers worked there. They made a deal with GoodYear to get all their scrap/blem tires. The tires were put in front of dirt walls, tree areas and what guard rails they had. This was done in the seventies. Some of the car racers like Paul Newman brought national racing attention to Nelsons. The tire wall had saved a few of them from totally wrecking their cars, race people started looking at the tire walls seriously for other tracks. The rest is history.

    To show you how little money they had back then. The bridge you cross to enter the track side, the one in the video with Quaker State/TA Radials sign on it. Well the story goes it was stolen and placed at Nelsons. It was taken down by a construction company and was supposed to get scraped. Unnamed volunteers who worked at the company just kind of diverted it to Nelsons instead.


    Camo we also did the shorter endurance races. A 12 hr isn't that bad and still a lot of fun racing as are the 6 hrs. We had a 4hr qualifying(sprint to us) for the 82 24hrs. We lead that race the first 2.5 hrs on a modified 458 Honda Four. Home track has it's advantages. Plus most WERA riders at that time were a little scary to race with.
     
  6. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Great video! Well edited and has a story line.. Gotta take ya on some about tire walls. Maybe best check out some film to video of tracks like Riverside for tire barriers. One nice one is a 1960 film of a Scarab doing some four wheel drifts at speed on bias ply tires.

    Never really roadraced. Flattrack where there was no runoff and the walls could be a ring of four or five high 2X12 backed by phone pole posts or 12X12.

    Memory is a shitload of things including environment. When I really wasn't fast at all on a Friday night the show, unless there was a "National" somewhere there were way too many black and white and white and black plates tossing marbles all over me and my nice clean bike.

    Betcha, riders excluded, the sales of skeeter repellent at your track was great from the puddles in those old tires..
     
  7. camo

    camo New Member

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    One cool thing about having done the racing 30 years ago is even today, many the local riders will hand me their keys of their new wheels for test rides. I always pray that I don't crash the borrowed machines. Racing spoiled me, street riding motorcycles wasn't nearly as fun after.

    Skipping ahead 20 years I did a number of 24 hour endurance bicycle races. Strictly solo events. Funny how things that you thought that you couldn't do on a motorcycle happen on a bicycle where you have to generate your own power.
     
  8. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    Yea I know what you mean. That's why I try and take at least a week by myself each year thru a lot of back roads. Sometime I come across perfect roads for turning the wick way up. Like about 85% track racing. Have found some roads really safe (subjective) open with fast sweepers are my favorite way out in the country.

    If you just want to ride around the ton mark give or take 20mph safely then Montana and Wyoming has some fun roads. Just don't crash. They will find your body in a couple of days or weeks.

    Sorry I can't do the bike thing on public roads. To dangerous for me. I just don't trust the majority of the people out there operating only types. Scares me on the bike sometimes, but I have the power to get away from them with a mc.
     
  9. Porkchop

    Porkchop New Member

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    Great video Grey!!! It's cool to see Nelson back then. Do you get over there much anymore???

    I hope to race my 500 in vintage at Nelson next year.
     
  10. camo

    camo New Member

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    Just got some time to look at the video in the office. Home internet sux.

    I noticed Team Cowboy, they were pitted next to us at elkhart in 83. They were kind of the zztop of the endurance racing scene.
    Brought back lots of memories.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2011
  11. invisible cities

    invisible cities New Member

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    VFRW should add an archive room for videos like this. This is some Must See TV.

    Thanks, Grey!
     
  12. DeltaHotel

    DeltaHotel New Member

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    Amen, +1, etc. The best.

    DH
     
  13. Maggot

    Maggot New Member

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    Wow! VFR Hall of Fame! Great find!

    Thanks Grey!
     
  14. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    Wow I forgot about this post. It was great to watch it again. I did notice this time about the start. This start showed all bikes and riders on the grid. All the previous 24hrs had a LeMans start. The bikes were lined up along the pit side track edge pointed 45 degrees down track. The riders were lined up on the opposite track edge. They would play the Canadian anthem then the American anthem. The flag would drop and all you would hear was a patter of 100 feet (footies) of boots running across the asphalt. Then engines revving and motorcycles taking off at full throttle.

    The WERA guys kept crashing in to each other in prior qualifying races when trying LeMans starts. They dropped it. So this race was the first grid start.

    At then end of the vid they show some photos of the bikes that raced. At 24.03 you'll see a yellow Yamaha. The teams was North Ridge Yamaha on a built 550 what ever back then. They were our class competition for years in the sprints and 24. We were the two top teams in the class, either they won or we won. The camaraderie between our two teams was the best I'd ever have in racing. The one guy Doug became a higher up at Wisco pistons. He worked for them at the time.

    added:

    I just scanned a couple of pics from 81. Before, after race and out transporter. It's hard to see in the first pic. The carbs on the bike were from a 76 CB750. Took a little bit of work to put them in a smaller package to fit the 400. Made a big difference top end.

    scan0003.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2012
  15. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Maybe those LeMans starts aka run&bump got cancelled because of electric starters or guys if they had to run more than 25 ft would start puking. ;) LeMans ain't dead yet. Google "lemans start motorcycle" and watch the Seattle and Portland guys on the Honda 165s give it a go. More poop on that by googling "wmrra" or the name Tim Fowler who is not only famous for his racing skills but the SOB can make anything run..
     
  16. DeltaHotel

    DeltaHotel New Member

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    GreyVF750F,

    Great pics of your 400F! We all ran those in the late '70's (Pickering Valley Roadracers) and a couple of us had Ontario Moto Tech/Kaz motors built up. Anyone that didn't spring for the Carillo's, their motors went bang and threw #2 or 3 rod thru the case.

    That is a great video. I wish there was more like it. It's not like today where everyone has a Go-Pro camera. Video's are rare.
    Every time I watch that vid, I see something different. Love the Honda CB1100F's. I have 3 of those now, two of which are OMT engined bikes.
    At about 3:05 they interview Keith Perry, who after his work w/ Team Ontario, went on to run Team Hammer where he remains today.

    The video, is just a couple years after the LONGER races; The 30 Hours of Rockingham. Anyone remember them?

    Great video, love to hear anyone's stories of back in the day!

    DH
     
  17. rc24rc51

    rc24rc51 New Member

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    I sold my 83 1100F to a collector in NH quite some time ago. Sure would like to see some pics of yours.
     
  18. GreyVF750F

    GreyVF750F Member

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    Definitely put them up. Back in 79 Heschimura built a 900+ out of a 750. In 79 only the CB750F's were imported to the USA. The 900's were in Europe. They ordered all the 900 parts through Bob's shop and they built a racing 900. I'll never forget that bike. It pulled 1000/1100 bikes like they were standing still. They went on to win that year with the 900. It was by far the fastest bike at that event.
     
  19. DeltaHotel

    DeltaHotel New Member

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    Sure thing. Here's a few from my modest stable...
    Red one is stone stock other than Hondaline Continental/Euro control Kit, jetting and a Kerker pipe.
    Blue one is an OMT and RSC combination with OMT 1125cc kit, stage II cams, ported head, Ti valve buckets and shim-under setup, undercut and close ratio trans and Honda RSC cam chains and tensioners and a Falicon Super crank. Carbs are Keihin (sp) 33mm CR's. Pipe is OMT open pipe or Kerker with Comp baffle. Depending on outing. Bike now has rear sets from Conti kit and a Dymag front and Morris real wheel.

    [​IMG]

    More pics of 11f's to follow.

    GS1000S Wes Cooley Rep has big bore kit and Yoshimura cams and porting. It's great grandson is to the right. '08 GSXR1000

    [​IMG]

    DH
     
  20. rc24rc51

    rc24rc51 New Member

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    Wow, some awesome bikes!! I had one of the red ones w/ kerker pipe. had a JMC braced swingarm and some 89 CBR s-spoke wheels on it at one point. Those are keepers, same with the Wes Cooley rep. that's worth a few bucks!!
     
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