Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Following each race, the bike(s) raced over the weekend are completely disassembled and every part and piece is inspected. ' - Mike Velasco has been with Honda a bit longer. "I started in 1979 with a n uinber of road racers, including Freddie Spencer." said Velasco. Another team member, engine builder Ray Plu m b, is based in California. He started with Honda in 1978 when he was involved in the manufacturer's enduro effort. Eaken, Velasco and Plumb were handpicked by Shobert. Mutual respec t and admiration are apparent. "I do not think many people know what a good businessman Bubba is," said Eaken. "He put this whole thing together himself and keeps it working. One of Bubba's strong points is communication, on and off the track. We 'have been together long enough that I can tell what the dirt track bike is doing by watching it. I don't thin k people realize how fast Bubba has learned to road race. He has come a long way fro m Atlanta 1987 to Atlanta 198R In 1987 he struggled to race mid-pack at Road Atlanta. A year later he is the winner." "The Match Races in England were really good for Bubba," added Velasco, "Any time you can race as many times in that short a span of , time is' good. Bubba is always previewing and thinking. While I was working on the road racer in England Bub was napping in the shipping crate. Every so often he would pop up and say something about gearing or some other change that needed to be made. He would then drift off again. " This year's visit to the Indy facility took place the Tuesday after the Camel Pro Series race at Louisville, Kentucky. "Louisville and Ascot are the two most difficult races for us; we have never won either one. I set up the bike for the cushion this yearand the (Louisville) track grooved. I thought that they were going to condition the surface after every heat and semi like they did last year. But we only lost three points to (Scott) Parker," said Eakin. (Steve Morehead won the Louisville Half Mile, Parker was sixth and Shobert ninth.) After a weekend race the week's activi ties follow a more or less set schedule, according to -Eaken and Velasco. Monday: "We clean o ut the truck and completely disassemb le the bike." ' Tuesday and Wednesday: "We inspect every part and piece and reassemble the bike. If things need to be fabricated, p a i n ted or machined, th a t is relatively easy , because of where we are located. We can get almost anything done within 100-yards of our fro nt door and I usually ride my bicycle to the shops on our street," said Velasco. . "Last year we Changed engines after every event, but we are now a little more budget conscious and they might stay around for as many as two or three races ," said Eaken. "We check three things here after every race. We inspect the sump, replace the clutch, a nd go over the valves. We have four RS750 engines in rotation with Ray. The engines are the same as the ones brought out in 1984. The only real changes are the ones due to AMA's restrictions. Our only DNF in four and a half years was at San Jose with a broken rear cylinder exhaust rocker arm. They have been redesigned since then." Don Estep has been racing Shobert-backed Hondas this year. "The Donnie Estep effort is completely separate from Bubba's, Bubba owns the one Estep engine (American Honda owns Shobert's equipment), and we do all of the work on that engine here at Indy" said Eaken. "The VFR750 (road race ) engine is bu llet proof," said Velasco. " We only took one bike and one engine to the Match Races. The only weak point is the clutch; they are onl y ' good for about three full-bore starts. One thing I like to do is to keep one bike as a constant baseline. We make , changes to the other. I have done this since I worked with Freddie. Bubba has a contract with Michelin for the road racer. The rear tires are radials and the front are bias ply at the moment. The radial fronts will be along shortly." " A few years ago Michelin sent us some rain tires to try on the dirt tracker," interjected Eaken, " b u t now the AMA has gone to the 19inch wheel restriction and they (Michelin) are no longer interested. No one makes a 19-inch D.O.T. tire anymore. I think the AMA is afraid of technology. " Thursday: "We order parts and maybe get in some golf; sometimes we do and sometimes we do not!" Friday: "We load up and reorganize the tr uck (a 1985 Ford box van with over 100,000 miles on th e odometer), .wash the bugs off the windshield, and drive off." ' When asked about next year and the rumored road race possiblities in Europe, Eaken ' and Velasco's combined answer was, "Who knows? Ask the boss." . We would have, bu t the boss was out playing golf: _ (Above and below) Velasco and Skip Eaken share the duties when it comes time to 'reassemble the bikes for the following weekend's race . With Shobert contesting both road race and dirt track Series th is year, Velasco and Eaken tend to both VFR750 and RS750 Hondas . ' 19

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