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/127134
machi ne i f there ever was o ne. In tercep tors, Ninjas, GSXRs, they don 't stand a chance on the race track next to the best from America. J ust examine the technical specifications - air -cooled 883cc twi n cylinder motor wit h two valves per cyli nder, pushrod-actuated with hydraulic lifters, pumping out an overwhelming 54 horsepower a t 6000 rpm and 55Ib.-ft. of torque at 4000 rpm; wideratio four-speed transmission; endurance ra ce-ready 2.25 gallon fuel tank feeding a single Keihin 40mm CV , carburetor for , ease of jetting; two single piston Hayes brakes , one each front and rear, with 11.5" rotors providing Dunl op tire-smoking sto pping power to th e MJ90x19" front an d MT90x16" rear sevenspo ke cast aluminum wheels; stur dy mild steel twin cradle frame and rectangular section swingarrn with 3.62 inches of trav el; 39mm forks with 6.9 inches of travel ; a nd a featherlight dry weight of 463 Ibsl " Evolution?" My lawn mower has more impressive sp ecifi cations! Monday, February 22 Cycle Ne ws' resident dirt track/ Out of t he crate, the 883 Sportster is much better sui ted to cru ising around town than to sport riding. The goal of our Project Harley-Davidson Clubman Racer is to create a competent everyman 's road race mac ~ ine . The t ransformation begins. Stage One included an exhaust system, cl ip-ens, rear-sets. suspension• .steering damper and sporting rubber. Stage Two w ill incl ude a one-off tank and seat. better brakes and more horsepower. Project Harley-Davidson 'Clubman Racer Mission impossible? By Br ian Catterson "You wanna do what?!" I asked Cycle News Editor Jack Mangus as he explain ed th e plans for our project bike. " Turn a Harley into a road racer," said Mangus matter-of-factly. . You see, Cliff Ca rr had approached our editor wi th the id f b UIildi I ea a mg a machim e 24 which would re-create the feeling of road racers of years gone by, and which British expatriate Carr hoped to develo p and eventually sell in kit ' Iorrn tt? c1u~ racers looking for so~et hmg different. And .I w!ls assigned the task of record ing ItS progress. th e new manager and part Carr is ow ner of H arley-Davidson of Santa Barbara (California), a business he calls " the kind of shop I'd like to visit, " and wh ich he vows to " keep loo king like a motorcycle . shop instead of a disco." An ex-factory Suzuki road racer, Carr's an enthusiast, and as such is determined to succeed in hui ld i rig wha t he's deemed the " Clu bman Racer." Clubman. Now there's a term I'd not heard since Velocette . .. okay, well, I'd never heard it. At least not in modern usage. I mean I know there was a time when big singles dominated road racing, and tha t Harley-Davidson once built a successful road racer called a KR 750, but . I'm too young to apprecia te any of that. The only H arley road racers I've ever seen are L ucifer's H a mm er, some Buells and a cou ple of one-off specials beari ng little resemblance to a stoc ker. So with an open mind, determined to be unbiased, I found the folder marked " H a rl ey-Da vid so n 1988 Model Line." . H m mm. T h e H arl ey-Da vidson 883 Spo rtster . .. a p er fo rm a n ce Harley-Davidson expert Farren Williams met Carr, ·Wes Cooley and Mick Crick a t Willow Springs In ternational Raceway in Rosamond, Cal ifornia. The object was to test the 883 exa ctly as it cam e off the showroom floo r. Crick, a 27-year-old 250cc Grand Prix class rider from Yorksh ire, England, came to America in searc h of a ride in the U.S. Nationals, ala co mpa tria t Alan Carter. Crick has co m pe ted in and won Eng lis h Na tionals, but had never seen Willow Springs before. He'd also never ridden a tw in, let alone a Harley, and , had never raced a four-stroke. . ' Nevertheless, Crick headed out to th e tra ck for three cau tious practice laps. He retreated to the pits when th e gas cap came loose, but so me electrica l tap e so lved th at problem a nd he returned to the tra ck. Crick th en quicken ed his pace, turning lap tim es of 1:59.29,1 :57.51, 1:55.62, I :55. 37 and I:55.20. He stopped the clock a t I:54.82 for a perso nal best. Two-time AMA Superbike Cham, pion Cooley, 31, th en headed out. Cooley knows his way around Willo w Springs, and after j ust o ne practice lap, had circu la ted q uicker tha n Crick. Cooley completed just five lap s, but hi s fastest a t 1:51.20 would be the benchmark for the nex t trac k session. Bo th ri der s agreed that t he machine wo uld need extensive changes to ever become a serious road racer. Ground clearance was the lim itin g factor, a nd o ther co m plaints centered around the unsporting riding position, tractionless tires, and gu tless performance of the motor. Carr had his work cut out for him. Saturday, March 19 Carr rode the Clubman in La Carrera II I, wi nning the Over-40 ExFactory-Sponsored Englishman Living In Ca li fornia And Riding An America n Bike class. Category 37A, I think .. . Actually, he was the only entry in the Open 1000cc class, and finished 39th overall at an average sp eed of 84.6 mp h. Before the race , Car r installed a set of cli p -ons he'd fabricated a t his shop, plus a steeri n g dampe r and rear-sets fro m Storz Performa nce. Taller gea ring would be a must for th e long Baja straigh ts, so he fitted a six tooth smaller rear sprocket. G il Vaillancour t of Works Performance h ad brough t some shocks and fork , springs for Carr to use, but Cliff decid ed to ru n the stock su spension