Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Collins' Crazy Creations oday, NHRA drag racing fans marvel at the sight o f low seve n-second , high 190 mph Pro Stock motorcycles blasting through the quarter mile. And the truth is, although the skill required to guide these machines do wn the track is deb atable , the mach ines the mse lves are extremely safe designs brought out thro ugh years of drag racing evolution. It wasn't so long ago that seve n seconds in the quarte r mile on a motorcycle was more akin to breaking the sound barrier in a jet aircraft , a life-th reaten ing endeavor left to courageo us pionee rs wh ose greatest skill may have been their ability to overcome the fear of the unknown. Russ Collins was one such pionee r. Collins began drag racing motorcycles in the late I950s. By the mid-'60s, he was an auth ority on high-performance motorcycle engines, and he designed the first four-into-on e motorcycle ex haust header. Collins we nt on to set the first-ever National Ho t Rod Association track record for a Japanese motorcycle and was winning races on his R.C. Engineeringbuilt Hondas at a time when Triumph and Harley-Davidson dom inated the sport. Collins' reputation for pushing the limits of technology led to the first successful blow n-injected-on -fuel drag bike. Built in 1971, "T he Assassin" we ighed a mere 360 pounds and was powe red by a 400 horsepowe r Honda four-cylinder engine. On "T he Assassin," Collins set dr ag race reco rds all over the coun try. Innovations abounded on "T he Assassin." It had the first dual Weber carburetor setup for a motorcycle, and later it was the first motorcycle to use fuel injection and a supercharger together. It was the fi rst Japanese motorcycle to use magneto ignition. It was the first Japanese bike to run on alcohol and nitro methane fuels. By 1973, to beat "The Assassin," other racers were force d to use double-engi ne Nortons, Triumphs and Harley-Davidsons. Respon ding to the double -engine 30 YEARS AGO. __ T June 41974 tre nd, Collins raised the bar anot her not ch by building the freakish 'Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe," a thunde ring, three -engine, nitromethane- burning Honda. This frightening machine became the first seven-second moto rcycle in drag racing and the first Top Fuel bike with a Japanese engine to hold an NHRA Nationa l Record . The 'i\T&SF" also beca me the first mo torcycle to win NHRA:s coveted "Best Engineered Car" award, at the Springnationals in 1973. Collins' three-moto r monster eve ntually ran a best of 7.80/1 79.S mph. But the 'i\T&SF" was a harrowi ng ride, and in 1976 it was destroyed in a horrendo us crash at Akron , O hio . Collins was nearly killed, the crash putti ng him in the hospital for several weeks and confining him to a wheelcha ir for several more. Rather than call it quits , Collins wen t on to design "Sorcerer," his final Top Fuel bike creation. Built in early 1977 and later billed as the World's Gre atest Drag Bike, "Sorcerer" was powered by a pair of 1000cc Honda fou rs. This bike won a second NH RA Best Engineered Award for RC Enginee ring. Blown, injected and running on 90 pe rcent nitro, "Sorcere r" set a world motorcycle acceleration record for the quarter mile of 7.30/199.55 mph , a mark that stood for 12 years . In 1980, Collins passed th e 200 mph drag bike to rch to younger co mpetitors. Two were his own e mployees , Te rry Vance and Byro n Hines, who went on to great success in both NHRA Top Fuel and Pro Stock Bike racing, ultimately forming the wo rld famo us Vance & Hines after market concern. Turning his dr iving and engine tuning talents to dragsters, Collins made a dea l in 1984 with pisto n and rod manufacturer Bill Miller to drive the Bill Miller Engineering Top Fuel Dragst er in NHRA com petition. In th e late '80s and early '90s, driving the 600 0 horsepower, Arias/C he vro le t-powere d top fue ler, Collins ran a best of 5.03/287 mph . He retired from competition in 1993. Collins was recognized for his accomplishments in 1999 when he was inducted into the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundat ion's Moto rcycle Hall of Fame. Today, Co llins re mains active with RC Engineering. The company has shifted its focus from motorcycles to automob iles, designing and developing electro nic fuelinjection systems for domestic and foreign cars. Y can check the company out on the ou World Wide Web at www.rceng.com eN To p Fuel m otorcycle pioneer Russ Collins shocked dra g ra cing w he n he introduced the di a bolica l, thrice ·motored " Atch iso n To p e ka & Sa nta Fe ," It w as the first motorcycle to b reak the seven -sec ond barrier, but it a lso ne a rly killed Collins in 1976. 9 8 JUNE 2. 2004 • CYC LE NEWS 40th Annlversaru The notoriously tough Greenh orn Enduro was featured, along with a test on a two-stroke HarleyDavidson and a report from an AMA National Half Mile. 1he Greenhorn Enduro is held each year and starts in Pasadena, then proceeds up to the mountains and into the Mojave Desert, before heading back the next day for the big finish... Harley -Davidson came out with its first attem pt at a dual-purpose motorcycle. It was found to be a success; however, at I75cc it was a little low on power... Ina Southern Californ iaDistrict37 desert race, Bruce Ogilvie was able to edge out !.any Roeseler for the win in the Trail class. eo YEARS AGO••• June 6.1984 National Enduros were in the news with Husqvama sweeping the top three spots at the fourth round of the Nat ional Enduro se ries. Kevin Hines led the charge for the Husky team, followed by Mike Melton and Dave Bertram... Made famous in the film On Any Sunday. the annual Wtclowmaker Hillclimb was held. And just like in the film, a single rider made it to the top: Kerry Peterson made the ascent on a nitro-burning 1500cc Harley-Davidson... Robe rt Naughton appeaned in the results of a local motocross in Tucson, Arizona. Naughton, now a successful off-road and motocross rider, was able to take the win in the I25cc intenmediate class. 10 YEARS AGO••• June 1.1994 ~YClLE O n the cover Pas cal Pico tte led !1BWS,. Jamie Jones and Troy Corser at I '" r LagunaSeca. Picotte , went on to win his ;,. ....',1" first AMA Superbike National that day... Steve Lamson scored his second I25cc O utdoor National victory of his caree r. On t hat same day Jeremy McGrath rode to a second-place finish in the 250cc class,.. The hard-charging Greg Hancoc k came away victorious in the American Speedway Finals, and with the victory he earned a trip to the Overseas Final in Coventry, England... The Nat ional Relia bility Enduro series still ex isted. In Tillamook , O rego n, Rod ney Sm it h was able to overcome the elements to take the win in the two-day event. _<', ,r'W U ' dr ~ , "

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