Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125809
N ~ Z ~ W Z w ~ (,J > (,J BOR'S MURRAY by Bren t Bailey In 1958 Boris Murray bought his first motorcycle for recreational street use. In the ensuing years he has become one of the most well-known and feared top fuel bike riders in the United States today, holding both NFIRA top speed (174 MPH) and quickest ET (8.87) records_ Boris Murray began as did most top drivers of today, he entered his stock Triumph in the street category at local strips. All wen t well for a few years until the management at the local strips decided to accept only machines intended solely for drag racing. This presented no problem for Boris as he simply went home and converted his stocker into a fuel dragster. Since then, Boris has run only Triumph engines and fuel, having discovered that this is the combination for him. Growing increasingly tired of running in the smaller fuel classes, Boris decided in 1967 to add another engine, mainly to overcome the Triumph's cubic inch limitations. The radical design was beginning to click, and the ever presen t '"dialing in" problems were diminishing when Boris had his first and only acciden t. It was a Saturday afternoon in Bakersfield, 1968. Boris was traveling through the traps at 150 MPH when he discovered his only brake had failed. The resul ting crash netted several sprains, a ruined bike, and a design for a chassis with twin brakes. The next bike to be developed was basically the same with the exception of a direct drive unit as opposed to the two speed on the previous bike. This frame has continued to operate until the present time. Now Boris plans to construct a new one. (Metal fatigue after four years of con.tinuous operation can be somewhat hazardous.) The present bike consists of two Triumph 650cc (40 cub in inch) engines bored to 750cc apiece. The lower ends are stock including rods and bearings. The cams are relatively mild, running .255 lift, 300 degree duration. This. combination seems to work best for fuel as Boris doesn't plan to replace them. "Everything in the engines are Triumph except the Norris valve train and the Bob Chantland cylinder kits." The push rods are steel with titanium collars and steel keepers. The go·juice is supplied by old Triumph-Amal TT carburetors that are now extinct) and zap is suppled by twin Lucas mags. "The bike as it stands now took about two mon ths to build." The reason for having so many stock components is due to the problem that plagues all bikers, traction_ "Whats the use of adding more horsepower if you can't get it to the ground?" One of the reasons for Boris' claim to . fame is his method of smoking the tire through the entire 1320. Up until recently it was both a spectacular and effective means of moving the bike. But now the smoking method is beginning to lose its effectiveness. Boris is growing increasingly tired of losing to someone who has a good slipper clutch working for him. HMaking smoke is more fun, but when it comes right down to having to win a race and having to win a purse, 1 want to be able to have all the traction I can get. A slipper clutch has got to be the answer." Along- with designing his own slipper clutch, Boris has gone one step farther and is presently working on a "Canard. type" wing that will fit o.n the frame just under the engines and will hopefully prevent him from pulling any more 170 MPH wheelies. Being a top fuel bike, it is surprisingly free of breakage. The only problem that really plagues Boris is piston rings. "The oil rings are what I keep breaking. As soon as I break an oil ring, the cylinder oils, detonates, then breaks the compression rings:' Occasionally a benl rod will rear it's head, but fortunately that's a rare problem. As trouble-free as it is, the operation of a top fuel bike doesn't come cheap. A slick last three runs_ A gallon of fuel and the same amount of oil last only one run. Seventy dollars is usually enough to foot the bill for one pass. If Boris continues to have winning streaks such as the one in early S~ptember where he took Indy, Plltsburg, and Fremon t all in a period of eight days, an occasional broken ring or bent rod can be tolerated. Boris' plans for the future include the possibility of the fornlation of a top fuel motorcycle racers association. If enough top fuel racers join, then they could possibly have some control over the procedures of a meet they participate in. "The only trouble is, when you start talking abou t dues and membership the guys say 'Ah, I don't need it, 111 do it on my own. I don't need to pay anybody dues.' What can you offer somebody with an atti tude like this?" Surprisingly enough, another of Boris' major ambitions is to drive a top fuel funny car. This is somewhat startling, as most bikers don't generally associate with the funnies. Phrases such as ud irty door·slammer" can occasionally be heard coming from the bike pits. If Boris should attack the job of driving a funny with the vigor and skill that he has applied to bikes, let the competition beware. FUEL BIKES FEATURED AT An eigh t-bike field of fuel-burning Pro Motorcycles will be one of the four all-professional Eliminator categories featured in this weekend's (November 17-19) National Hot Rod Association Supernationals drag racing championship at Ontario Motor Speedway. The $200,000 classic, being held for the first· time as an aJl-professional show, has drawn an outstanding list of drag bike competitors and nearly 200 fuel dragsters, funny cars and pro stocks, racing under the auspices of the National Hot Rod Association. Headlining the list of more than a dozen riders who will be bidding for the eigltt positions open to the lowest elapsed time qualifiers on Friday and Saturday is NHRA National champion Boris Murray of La Verne, California, on a twin-engine Triumph. Murray, whose racing bike frames are widely used in drags, also holds the current NHRA quarter-mile record for fuel bikes with an elapsed time of 8.87 seconds, at 174.75 mph. The Supernationals also will mark tl,e return of popular Joe mith, the 1971 NHRA National Champion from West Covina, California, who was injured during the 1'\ ationals last September when his Harley flopped over at the starting line. One of the oldest riders in drag bike racing, the 42-year old Smith has received his medical release to resume competition and has entered two machines at Ontario. The second Harley Smith has entered will be ridden by Jim Cook of Lorna Linda, California. mith was runner-up at this year's NHRA Nationals. Larry Welch will be one of the quickies at Ontario this weekend. Other popular veterans in the field include Cook Neilson, editor of "Cycle" Magazine, AMDRA record holder Larry Welch of Landover Hills, Maryland, and three ew Mexico champions, Dave Campos, Jerry Cox and Bob Abels, all of Albuquerque. While most of the bikes entered are either Triumphs or Harleys, two Hondas are in the field, including the twin four of Ron Teson of Lakewood, California, and the "Assassin" entered and ridden by 33-year old Russ Collins of Torrance, California. Tickets for the Supernationals will be on sale at the gates each day or may be purchased in advance at all Ticketron outlets in Southern California.