Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

I I (Top) Russ Collins squeezes into the engine compartment, and then stretches out over the frame of the mock-up. Battlestar Exotica The story behind Russ Collins' new Top Fueler By Lance Bryso n The name Russ Collins is synonomous with two things - the 199.55-mph-as-close-as-youcan-get-to--200-mph-without-getting-there 24 quarter mile of 1979, and as the bearded, cigar-chomping maverick of the drag racing scene. What Collins really is, is the producer of by far and away the world's most exotic coffee tables. In his office is the first coffee tabl e he ever made, the crashed remains of hi s triple-engined "Atch iso n, Topeka and Santa Fe." Set to become a coffee tabl e is th e double-engined " Sorcerer," which still holds th e National to p speed record, bu t wh ich wa s ret ired follow ing its win in the 1981 Win ston World Fin al s. All of whi ch left Collins with plenty o f places to set h is coffee cup, but nothing to ride. In 1981, Collins' plan wa s to use th e Cesco V-8 used in sprint car racing. He would have ended up with a 1800cc engine by matin g th e V-8 cran kcase with two set s of Honda 900 cylin ders. But a t the end of th e season, th e National Motorcycle Racing Association outlawed th e V-8 concept. Collins, probably th e most innovative builder in th e motorcycle drag racing scene, was limi ted to one engine. So he built a Goldwing. And a rear-engined one at that. The tal e behind this project goes back to 1976, when Collins and Byron Hines built th e Sorcerer. " At the time I figured that a Top Fuel motorcycle had to hav e 2000cc an d make at least 500 h orsepower to go 200 mph in six seconds. At the time, the on ly way to do that was with two en g ines." After five years of cam paign ing th e Sorcerer , Co ll ins realized that with th e new bik e, h e'd have to utilize some other type o f botto m end. The cra n kcases o f stoc k IOOOcc motors co u ld n't handle the hor sepow er of s u pe rc ha r gi ng a n d nitr o . " Bo O 'Brochta sai d th at he got about three good passes on a set of cra n kcases and cra n ksha ft. A stoc k co mpone nt designed for 80 hor sepo wer wouldn't handle 3-400 hors eper. "John Dixo n from Su percycle in No rt h Caroli na makes rep laceme nt cra n kcases for Yam aha , Suzuki a nd Kawasak i, a nd he p ro vides a cus tom cra n kcase if you so desire." Co llins has been wi th H onda for a long time, a nd he has a contra ct with th em agai n this year. " I looked a nd looked a t a ll th e Honda models , and I fin all y flashed o n th e Goldwing. It 's got a rea l good large bore. and it 's probabl y the most dependabl e motorcycle ever mad e. " We have to use existing or stock cylinder heads , valve covers and cam cor es so there is some sern blance of a production motorcycle. We can change almost everyth ing else ." Aft er playing around with opposed-4 and V-4 designs, Collins settled on an inline-4 for ease of maintenance, espe cia lly trackside maintenan ce between runs. Collins started from scratch with a blank pi ece of paper and I figured that the only wa y he co u ld get 2000cc was to use one of Dixon 's blocks. The next step was to design it to fit h is own cra n ksha ft, rods a nd his own pistons tha t would reside under a Goldwin g cylinder head. " Beca use th e Goldw ing doesn 't ha ve cyli nders incorporated into the block , I mad e th e cylinders the height, len gth, widt h an d size th at I wanted an d the n stuc k th e Goldwing heads on th ere." Collins bought some 8620 normalized ca ms a nd whi ttl ed ou t his own cams ha fts and th en had a cam grinder grind th e lobes o n th e cams th at he wanted. Wh at he en ded up with is a 2000cc four cylin der sin gle engine rather than an 1800cc V-8. Designing h is own motor didn 't end with just one powerplant for his own racer. Collins plans to make th e technology available for privateer racers. "We're going to be able to provide a Top Fuel racer with a crankcase, crankshaft, cylinder and rod assembly and pistons for about $5,000. And the crankcases, crankshafts and rods can virtually last him all season, if

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