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/126496
.- ; • • ~ f! 0 00 0') ~ 0') ~ I-< V ~ e v > 0 z One of the cleanest IT bikes ever, the Greer/Knight/Kawasaki was assembled using readily available parts and basic prep techniques. The whole unit will be given away at the Nov. 23 District 31 season finale at Ascot Park. Meticulously built. even the footpeg rubbar received safety wire and "poor man's' spring" inner tube treatment. , . Sat rday Knight Fever Ho'w to bolt together a race-ready, mail order dirt Greer tracker By Jerry Photos by Charles Morey 8 In recent years, building a dirt tracker has moved away from the realm of Dick Mann's frame shop. There, knowledge in dirt track geometry, tube bending, machine shop mechanization and the welding craft combined to form a very special winning frame which nobody else could own. The state of the art then moved to the point that you could buy a goodworking, chrome moly, high technology frame, swingarm and fiberglass tankl seat assembly. You then had to find all of the sources for wheels, brakes, forks, shocks and all of the other little things that drive you crazy. In short, you still had to know all about dirt trackers before you could learn all about dirt tracken. Today, there are several dirt track frame manufacturers who offer the full spectrum of dirt track pieces. They will sell you their frame and swingarm if you have the machine shop and welder to adapt your own wheels, forks and other pieces necessary to be ultra competitive, or they will sell you a complete dirt track motorcycle, ready to race. To show you how easy it is to own a winning combination bolt-together dirt tracker, I'm going to take you through the assembly of a mail-order dirt track motorcycle. No welding or machining required. I chose components based partly on the frame manufacturer's suggestions, but based mainly on what the winning Sportsman and Pro riden were winning on. I chose to build a Sportsman 250 TT bike which could be converted to Pro Short Track or Pro Novice Half Mile witb ease. Frame I chose a complete Knight Racing Frame kit to satisfy my Saturday night racing fever. The following winners are riding them: Randy Goss (Nat'!. Champ), Hank Scott (missed by only one point), Mike Kidd (won Ascot TT Nat'!.), Ronnie Jones (won Santa Fe TT Nat'!.), Jay Springsteen (who's he?), Ted Boody, Steve Morehead, Terry Poovey, Rob Crabbe, Jimmy Filice, Jeff McDaniels, Ron Yamamoto and Pete Hames. Knight'S frame has excellent rigidity, is engineered to allow substantial rear suspension rearrangement to suit actual track conditions, and has plenty of room for an adequate aircleaner without the frame tubes sawing holes in it. Knight sells nearly everything to assemble a complete motorcycle. He'll also make minor changes to the frame if you request them. Suspension Knight recommends Fox Shox Flat Track III, super light, aluminum, nitrogen-filled shocks. Fox and Knight collaborated on the valving and spring rates. I was fortunate to have access to a shock dyno and dyno'd the Fox Shox against that perennial dirt track standard, S&W, and the new offering from Mulholland, the LTG Flat Track shock used by Steve Eklund. The curves were almost identical, so the light weight won me over, price aside. The front forks were an easy choice. Knight sells Betor Gas forks valved and sprung for dirt- track. The fork legs also have lugs for the best brake system you can buy for a dirt tracker. lnterpart specs the forks from Betor and imports them. These are the only forks you can buy already prepped for dirt track use. The Betors come ready to bolt on and go for it. Just add oil and air. Wheels & brakes Sandy_ Kosman builds drag bikes and is very secure iri having done a good job on light, strong reversible wheels and hubs. He builds Knight's wheels and brake discs to the same state of the art. They're expensive, but the detail engineering and strength made me want them on the bike. Kosman also provides the Grimeca brakes for Knight. Brakes have always been the biggest single failure on dirt trackers. Ask anyone with a dirt tracker if he's had any brake problems and he'll give you as Raymond]. Johnson, Junior routine: "Oh, ya doesn't has to call em brakes, and ya doesn't has to call em stoppers, .. "