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Harry D. Foster Motorcycles sold out in 1989, prompting Kelly to start his own full-time enginebuilding service. He had already acquired a fair knowledge of what made an XR tick by then, having taken on the responsibility of providing power for a certain three-time AMA Grand National Champion. "I started building engines for Jay Springsteen in 1988, and I was full-time with him by 1990, which is funny because I figured that our deal wasn't going to last six months," Kelly said. "Eleven years later, we are still going at it." But it would be more than five years into their relationship before the pair struck gold. The momentous occasion came on April I, 1995, when Springsteen stunned the dirt-track community by scoring a runaway victory at the Pomona Half Mile his first Grand National win in nearly 10 years. Kelly recalls that moment fondly, but Springer's 2000 Springfield Mile win is the one that Kelly reveres as the most sacred. Victory at Springfield was one of the few accolades that remained to be added to Springsteen's mantle, but on that Memorial Day Weekend, aboard a Jim Kelly-powered XR, Springsteen crossed the line first. "I remember that Springfield Mile win more than anything," Kelly said. "When Jay won Pomona in '95, that was my first National win with him, but I was over in Europe at the time, so I wasn't there to watch it. As it turned out, I didn't get to see him win Springfield, either, because the damned airline wanted $1400 to change my ticket! "It was just that Jay had been real close in several miles - thirds, seconds and fast qualifier: Kelly said. "To win a mile with him was always my ultimate goal, and everyone wants to win Springfield. We spanked 'em bad there. In fact, I got accused of having a big motor for him, but they tore us down and it was just big enough." Tearing down and building up are absolute necessities when attempting to field National-caliber motorcycles under someone as talented as Springsteen. Kelly said that it takes a minimum of 40 hours to do one properly, and that's not even counting dyno time. "Just the nuts and bolts, and doing crankshafts and what have you, that takes pretty close to 40 hours for me to get through one," Kelly said. In order to keep Springer going strong, Kelly cycles through six engines during the course of the season, with Springsteen's mechanic, Joe Bisha, sending them back on a regular schedule. At any given time, Springsteen will have at least three engines on hand, two of them in his motorcycles and one spare in the truck. "Jay will have all six engines back in Michigan: Kelly said. "Usually, I'll get two engines back during the course of the season if nothing goes wrong, and I'll turn those right back around. The routine stuff, Joe takes care of that, but when one starts to get a little weak, then it comes to me. We just keep rotating 'em. We have been real fortunate over the years in that we haven't had too many major problems. There were parts failures more than anything." It seems that every engine builder has his own philosophy and his own bag of tricks when it comes to building a competitive Harley-Davidson XR750 engine, and Kelly is individual in this regard as well, in that he tries to keep an open mind and use as few tricks as possible. "I just think that the most important thing is to be careful, paying attention to what you are doing: Kelly said. "You just want to make sure that things are free and that you don't have any undue friction where things could bind up. There's really nothing secret about these things, nothing magic about it. They're just nuts and bolts." Kelly also argues against the idea that modern XRs are overstressed in their racing environment. "These late motors are a lot better than the earlier ones," Kelly said. "The ones that came out up to 1988 are pretty fragile. The later ones with the bigger main bearings and bigger crank pins... We just don't break the things that we used to break in them. Nowadays, these motors are pretty sturdy." Kelly did agree that the search for hidden power comes down to the right combination of cams, headwork and exhaust system. "The exhaust length and the cylinder heads are the big ones: Kelly said. "The cylinder heads I just leave to Phil Darcy. If I have one that doesn't need cylinder-head work, I'll just lap the valves in and put in new seals, make sure that everything is seated in and sealed properly. Like 1 said, there's really nothing magic about it, and my motors run as fast as everyone else's." That seems true enough, as Springsteen isn't the only rider to benefit from Kelly's handiwork. Springsteen's Bartels' teammate Shaun Russell is also a firm believer in Jim Kelly power, especially on the miles, where Russell has ridden it to top-five finishes. In fact, during the off season, the young Californian can usually be found working in Kelly's shop, assisting in the preparation of his own motorcycles. "Shaun is a good kid: Kelly said. "He's strong, and really durable. He's really dedicated, and he wants this bad. He gets down on himself sometimes Springer's arsenal: Prior to the season, Jay Springsteen's engine fleet stands ready for combat. Kelly said that he will expect to see at least two of these back during the season. when things don't go right, but having help from Ronnie Brown should improve his chances this year. When you're a one-man show, it's tough to do this. I like helping Shaun a lot. I've got faith in him." And thus, like all of Kelly's clients, Russell's engines receive the same attention as Springsteen's. Atherton, who rides motorcycles owned by the Dodge Brothers racing team and is thus a recent convert to Kelly motors, receives the same attention as Springsteen or Russell. Unlike other engine builders in the sport, Kelly refuses to play favorites. "And I pretty much do all the Vintage guys, and everyone else on the West Coast," Kelly said. "I really don't know who even does these things on the West Coast anymore. I know of some Harley street-bike mechanics who try to work on them, but they're just not the same animal." At 73, Kelly still appears to be going strong, but even so, he has been quietly preparing for the time when he will pass his knowledge and his equipment on to someone else. "When I'm done, Joe Bisha (Jay Springsteen's mechanic) will take over," Kelly said. "All my equipment and other stuff will go to him. Joe's the greatest. He has the dedication and, trackside, there's nobody better than him. Maybe Werner, but we don't like Werner, and he don't like us: he added, laughing. But retirement may not come anytime soon, as the venerable Kelly doesn't plan on quitting what he loves the most. "I like just being here, doing what I do," Kelly said. "I like the people that I associate with. The people in flat-track racing are just great people everybody. There's a few dipshits here and there, but you get that anywhere. 1just have a lot of fun at it. It gets frustrating once in a while, but it always works itself out." And every so often, one of Jim Kelly's horses comes across the line first. "That's always a good thing," Kelly said. _ cue I ... n e _!IS • JULY 10, 2002 49