Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Don't call Die Pee Wee anymore Dragstrip Wizard . You've seen him on television, in magazine and newspaper ads. If the commerical mentions drags trip performance, the words "fastest" or "quickest," Jay P.W. Gleason had. something to do with it. He is the master of quarter-mile, his production moton:yde results untouchable by anybody, racers and writers alike. Only four motorcycle journalists have ridden stock street bikes into the 10-second bracket during testing: John Ulrich, Mark Homchick, Jeff KarT and Charles EVeJ:itt. Only Ulrich made it into the lOs before taking lessons from Gleason; when he finally did take Gleason's tutorage, he put three bikes into the lOs on a single day and ran a 10th quickerthan he had before. "The biggest mistake we ever made was not signing Gleason to an exclusive," said a man from Honda, who asked not to be quoted. Gleason is a secret weapon. All four big Japanese manufacturers have hired Gleason to turn elapsed times for advertising use: Kawa~i for the GzllOO, GPz750 Turbo and Ninja; Honda for the V65 Sabre and Magna; Suzuki forthe GS 1150; Yamaha for the Seca 750 and FJ 1100. Before he became a media star, Gleason was a racer. He's 28 years old and started racing when he was eight; he couldn't touch the ground then and someone had to hold him upright while he staged at the dragstrip. That's where the nickname "Pee Wee" came from. The name has stuck and Gleason is tired of it. ''I'm a big boy, now," he says. "I deserve a big boy's name. Pee Wee interferes with my social life. "I started on the dragstrip," says Gleason, "and when I turned II or 12 I got mto the dirt track races in North Carolina. For six years, four or five times a week, I raced in a different part of the South somewhere. I rode 'all different classes, 100, 125, 175 and I I III I 1111 I 250. Mostly short track. "I never really won at road racing. . I ended up as an Expert, top 100. But I never won. I was second during my Junior year. I got second at Daytona, and I got hurt at Ontario at the end of my Junior year. I was on my TZ750, in second place going for first and I went up really high in the banking and dove down to the apex. Both wheels slid up to within 15 feet of the concrete wall and the bike high-sided me, slammed me into the wall. "I broke everything. Both collarbones, my right arm in three places, brain concussion, broken hip, messed up one ankle. It took me two or three months to recover. "Then I went to Daytona for my rookie Expert year. In a heat race again I was dicing in the top five with Ted Henter and Don Castro and a couple of other guys and I went into Turn Two and really stuffed it in hard in front of Hemer. I got in the high line, planning a square-off deal, and Henter ran into me and did severe damage to my right knee. Like 60 stitches. That was the end of my road racing. I just realized that I didn't think it was worth it. It was like, 'I don't want to do this anymore,' Even if I had been hot at it and winning, I don't think I would like it. "When I was road racing the TZ I was also doing dirt tracks on my XR750. I was doing a lot of flopping around between road racing and dirt track and never knew what to do. I never won a National in dirt track; one time I won a Trophy Race at the San Jose Mile, that was the only National thing I ever won.) got sixth or seventh at the Indy Mile one night. I won a whole bunch at the typical tune-up races back east, a lot of ama • I By William' Blears Fe, Detroit indoors, short tracks, handlebar banging. While I was doing all this I did no dragracing. "I got back into drag racing after I gave all that up. I screwed up my hands really bad so many times that I couldn't hold on anymore. In road racing and dirt track I broke my wrists II times. Now, a little bit over 10 seconds is time enough to hold on. "My wrists are junk, and my throttle control isn't really that good; it could be a lot better as far as control action. It's kind of on and off. "I n one three-year period I made like 6000 passes. That's when I got hooked up with American Turbo Pak and Bill Hahn, and started riding really crazed motorcycles. Unbelievable horsepower, turbocharged with nitrous oxide and that kind of stuff. I got a reputation for riding turbos real well; my results were good. It all came from practice and understanding the way they work out of the gate. It had a lot to do with the revving. "In the last four months I've made at least 1500 passes on stock bikes for the manufacturers and their advertising agencies. I started riding for the manufacturers in 1982 when I was with Turbo Pak. Yamaha wanted me to test their Seca 750 and that's what started the whole thing rolling. "They wanted a performance image for the Seca and they wanted me to set a record. The way I set up the deal) didn't get any money unless I set the record. The first time I set it was at an AMA/Dragbike race and that was pretty easy. I had no problem beating the existing record. But I wanted to beat 12.20 seconds. That was a lot of work but it happened; I worked for it and I got it. For a year after the Yamaha deal I didn't do anything. Then I started smokin'. Everybody wanted me to ride their bikes. ) really enjoy the riding and that's real important to me. The dirt tracking and road racing is all history for me. ow, when I pracII 1.11.1 •• , •••• tice I do a lot of motocross-type riding, not in competition, but that type of riding. If you can do that well you can do just about anything 'well. That's been proven several times in the Superbikers race. To be a good, all-around, versatile rider is very important. It comes down to timing and coordination when things get a little hairy. Being used to sliding around in the dirt means it's not frightening when something goes wrong and the bi ke gets sidewa y or tri es to fI iP over. It's all really normal. "After as many pa ses as I've made. you just can't help but get proficjent at what you do. I had a lot of practice and good teachers along the way. I picked up little tidbits and put them in my memory bank to use when the time is right. "It·s important to understand the way the racetracks are. Some tracks you can really go for it. At Fremont, there's so much traction that it's like a chain breaker. At Carlsbad you've gOLto have really precise throttle conLrol. I've changed my Lyle quiLe a bit Lhis year. I used to ride Lhe bike out of the hole and now I get some Lhrottle attack! "Even after all these passes, how ever many there have been, every single pass I learn something. Different bikes need different set-ups. Shaft drive bikes like a lot of preload to prevent the dive in the back. I also control the wheel spin with my feet by putting them up against the mufflers. If I have a bike that's wheelie prone, I clamp my calves on the mufflers and use my toes to lever it up, to give it two inches of wheelspin to eliminate the initial lurch. "It takes a lot of experimenting. I always set my tires up cold and go 22 psi on almost everything. Some bikes have big footprints where you can get away with running more air, which means less rolling resistance, which is better. I always use more air when I can. "I don't use the tach at all to shift. After so many passes, I don't even think about that anymore. It's all automatic. When my feet say shift, I shift. "I used to take off the line and put my feet on the pegs instantly, just drive the motorcycle out with the clutch. But now, I drag my feet a lot to the very end, to where I have to put them up to shih from first to second. It controls the launches a lot more. If you put your feet up during the initial take off, it causes a little bobbie and it's not smooth and fluid. Th..!'~ really important. You have to make everything real smooth. "I always powershift. That's worth at least a 10th right there. Always. "And I use the clutch to keep the bike from wheeling or spinning the tire, with the throttle wide open. ever back 0[(. Keep on the gas at all times. "One reason I work freelance with everyone is because I don't look at the name of the bike when) get on it. I just get on whatever it is and go as fast as I can. ) go for it, whatever I'm on. "I have some new deals I'm working on now, besides the test riding and dragstTip runs for the manufacturers, leaning toward the television end. "But if the right deal comes along, I'll go racing again. We're talking stTlctly money here. I can't win any money from just going out and racing. There is no money in drag racing. But if I can get paid to do it, I will," Gleason's best pass If there's one single pass down the dragstrip that deserves to be singled •

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