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/126528
00 0) 00 i By Pat Eagan Endurance racing is gaining popularity in the United States. Before 1974, when the Mountain Roadracing Association introduced their annual 6-hour, ,there was very little motorcycle endurance racing in the U,5, The . AFM 6-ho~r steadily grew 10 populanty and 24 attendance and was given a massive shot in the arm in 19S0 when American Honda sponsored the event and entered three Superbike tearns. Honda's Freddie Spencer and Ron Pierce won but they only beat the Kawasaki Motors Corporation entry of Eddie Lawson and Dave Aldana by a handful of seconds. Wes Cooley and Rich Schlachter on the Yoshimura R&D of America Suzuki were in the hunt until late in the race when Wes .hit two lapped riden and fell. This year there will be about two dozen endurance races across the country with Peter Frank's Western/Eastern Roadracing Assoclation sanctioning most of.them. The shortest will be several four-hour events such as the one to be held in August at Bridgehampton, New York, and the longest will be the 30-hour race at Rockingham, North Carolina. Although endurance races lack the spectator appeal of a good sprint race, it doesn't mean they lack-drama. Instead of white-Ir.nuclr.led confrontation between riders for 20 minutes. you get a thoughtful approach to machine preparation, pitwork and strategy. It must be this way because machines and riden can't last for 24 hours at the same intensity that can be managed for 20 minutes. Because the spotlight is on the equipment, it opens up more potential for sponsorship. The advantage is to the manufacturer who makes a d~rabl~ product. The ~ndurance rac.e g.ves hIm an opportunity to prove hIS product in the touRhest and most dramatic way possible. Which brings us to the subject of this test. john Ulrich and Bruce Hammer (who was second to Schlachter last year in the AMA's United States Road Racing Championship) are two men who like to road race.. They are also foresighted enough to see the potential growth of endurance racing. Ulrich decided in mid·19S0 to build and race a serious. World· Championship quality endurance bike and contacted several racing friends to see who was interested. All were but none had·· or were interested in committing ... an important ingredient -- money. Enter Hammer who not only could and would provide needed seed money for the project, but who also was convinced he could land serious sponsorship for the effort. The pair formed Team Hammer. Team Hammer became its own biggest sponsor. Street bikes were sold and loans secured to raise $10,000 to get the project started. and the chassis was ordered from japan. Sponsors are more inclined to help people who have the ambition and confidence to forge ahead. Then. using his reputation. accomplishments and a little behind· the·scenes coaching from john. Hamm", landed the first major sponsor. Hammer signed a cOOlract with Chevron U.S.A .. Inc. The agreement is that Team Hammer will compete in at least five events for the purpose of race-testing Chevron products. Chevron was more interested in having a testbed than in exposure potential. The next sponsor involved was Vance & Hines Racing (VHR). The master tuner. Byron Hines. was tired of hearing that his motors were great but would only live for a shon durati6n. like one qllarter mile. Through Team Hammer, he can demonstrate the durability of his work and get the exposure that all commercial ventures need. His commitment is to build and maintain two motors for the season. Three companies with smaller but important involvement are Derale Oil Coolers. Cycle Tune and Fox Shox. Murray Pechners' Derale oil coolers were chosen because his all·copper coolers are the most durable on the market. Also. he is one of the unsung heroes of the sport, a genuine nice guy. His willingness to help has also benefitted him in gaining the necessary information to produce an excellent product. Cycle Tune owner Dennis Smith is a talented racer and wrench, and his Cycle Tune crew will man the pit at races and do non· engine maintenance. Dennis will be relief rider in longer races. Fox Shox is developing the racer suspension. Moriwaki Engineering in japan manufactured the 54500 chassis kit. It is essentially the same on the Kawasaki that Australian Wayne Gardner rode to a 10th place finish in the Daytona 200 this year. The main difference is the installation of the VHR 1200cc version of the four-valve GSIIOO Suzuki motor. Rob North was responsible for the motor swap including all necessary brackets, and hangers. Frame is chrome· moly .steel for a high strength·to·weight ratio. Wet weight of the complete bike is 402 pound•. Steering head and swingarm pivots utilize tapered roller bearings. Chassis geomet ry has t he steering head angle set at 2S' with 5.9 inches of trail and a 57-inch wheelbase. The clialsis is designed for Formula One and endurance racing. Design goals are light weight. low center of gravity and responsive handling. Suspension is handled up front by KYB racing forks. The almostinfinitely adjustable 36mm fork tubes are held by TZ750 Yamaha triple clamps. The KYB forb are used successfully by many top competitors. The Fox Shox are multi-adjustable with nitrogen-charged piggyback reservoirs. They feature replaceable internal washers to alter compressIOn damping. and metering jets can be changed to give different rebound damping. Kosman sells the full-floating. 13· inch-diameter Mehanite front brake rotors for $200 per side. The rotors float on solid aluminum carriers. Rear rotor is non-floating Kosman Mehanite with a lO-inch diameter. Lockheed calipers are used front and rear but the front master cylinder is a stock GS 1100 Suzuki unit with a 5/Sinch diameter piston. Rear master is a spare TZ750 unit that Bruce had. The team intends to experiment with other master cylinders having different piston sizes. Braided steel Ijne is the popular ·3 size for minimal sidewaJJ deflection. Morris magnesium wheels are used from and rear. Sizes are WM4·IS, WMS·1S. front and rear respectively. Nothing unusual there. What is unusual is the use of the rear wheel cush drive as found on a stock 1976 KZ900 LTD. Team Hammer decided they would rather add a little unsprung weight to the rear wheel with the cush drive and not have to worry about what the shock loading was doing to the transmission and the rest of the drivetrain. Being an endurance racer. wheel changes will be necessary so they planned ahead and have three complete wheel assemblies front and rear including the cush drives and brak.. rotors. The only tires available