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/141048
Siraighiline 440 on Two Wheels ',amekit, I BILL CHAMBERS, Top fuel Drags'er Ya ma ha . Su ZU k.i. Hoda ka, H usky . Pa l" "n P end In g & Hond a. . . . __ . . _ $8. 95-$24.95 _ 1973 A ccessoro es Catalog $1.00 ~21 •. hanIwd phoenIz. CU 8SOO8 M M 8> = .... Cl Co. M M competition dynamici . ::;: ~ w Z w ..J o >o DISC B RAKES FOR YOU R ~ AT H A L F TH E FA CTO RY COST BY USING ADAPTOR KIT AN D ST A N DA RD USED HON DA PARTS NE EDS NO SPEC IAL T OOLS K IT SIN GLE DI SC ONLY DO UB LE DI SC - $ 3995 S 52.50 (CA. R ES . ADD 5 %») FOR KIT OR DETAILS WR ITE RUBSCO MFG. p .O_BO X 31271 - S.F., CA . 94 13 1 Burn ing out at now-defunct Lions' Drag S t rip on th e Har ley f ueler. bike, w ent right o ut and turned a 9.70, 15 5 MPH ; th en a 9.4 3, 15 8 MPH. Consid ering th e circu ms ta nc es . th at is a pr etty go od tri bute to a guy 's knowl ed ge and skill. Bill's w orst acciden t a nd m o st serious inj ury occurred last Ju ne in LaRue, Ohio. Upon leaving th e lin e, Bill's bike suddenl y went up in sm o ke cau sin g th e en gin e RPM t o rise. A Harley engi ne is a low RPM de sign . When you co u ple hi gh RPM an d f ue l with a big bore Harl ey, yo u have o ne he ll of a bad c om b inat io n. Bill's engi ne im mediately began to d et onat e, t he n disintegra te. The exp losio n occu red at h alf tr ack while Bill w as tr aveling at approxima tely 130 MPH . The shock w as so severe tha t th e entire bike wa s lift ed off the ground. Bill man aged t o keep the b ik e un de r co n tro l through . th e ligh t s. T he wind was kn ock ed o ut of him an d h e suffe red several fra ctured ribs . T he heads had flown off th e engine wi th suc h velocity, the fra me rails abo ve th em were ben t up one fo ot thus shortening the b ik es wh eel base. The o nly things th at co uld be salvage d o ff th e b ik e were th e wh eels and the swing a rm. Bill's p resen t bike sp o rts a l l S-in ch H arl e y s ho ve lhea d utili zin g a Leine-Web er cam with .525 inch intake life , :5 0 0 inc h exh aust life and 500 degrees durati on. The cylinde rs were made by Paul Cooke wh o has been a gre at help makin g severa l o f Bill's part s fo r several years; cylinde rs . cran k balan cing & polishin g, p isto n wo rk, valves and jack shafts. Mo st o f Bill 's mach in in g was d one b y Pau l and his wo rk is flaw less. Bill usual ly runs be tween 85 and 88 % nit ro , which is p assed th rou gh an S&S fuel ca rb o The ch assis is chro me- mo ly and was fab rica ted b y Bo ris Mu rray. Forks are C er ian i an d the fro nt a nd rear wh eels are fro m Cau sm an, Bill ad mits th a t tu ni ng for fuel isnt as c rit ica l as gas . Mo st to p fu el biker s, includin g Bill, . w ould like to see several improvern en ts in the in o torcy cle aspect o f drag raci ng; ;:::..u..~~~~&1- 5 'M emoria' Day Family Enduro Poker Run Calico Area Sat. May 26 and Sun. May 27 1st. Prize Smuggler Travel Trailer. Over $1,000 in Other Prizes Sat.: Field Events For T rophies. Sun.: Poker Run. 2 ·cou rses-F am ily Co urse Fo r Kids, Beg., Ladies, Etc. HOT SHOES COURSE FOR' EX P ERTS . O NLY REAL Fam ily Eve nt Aro und . Last yea r 1st prize was wo n by a 9-year old girl on a m ini Endu ro . Entry Fees: Mail $ 6 .00 . 14 years & Und er $4.00 Entry incl ud es all B.L.M. Fees etc. Mail Ent ry t o: Journeyman Trailers 10624 Midway Ave. Cerritos Calif. 90701 mai nly la rge r p urses . T he cost of a top fuel b ike ca n ran ge betw een $38 0 0 an d $7000. Bill figu res h e has abo ut $4350 in parts alone in hi s bi ke. Drag bi kes a ttract c ro wd s, th ey 're o ne o f t he m o st faci nating aspe ct of the sport, yet the mon ey put up fo r first pl ace is often less than wh at th e stock drag ca rs ge t. "I feel th at we 've ( to p fu el bik e rs) go ne o ut, an d just b ro ke ou r b ack s an d ben t every way anybody co uld b end an d it 's just abou t go tte n us n o wh ere." T here 's not really en o ugh wi n mon ey availabl e t o w arran t the cost of th e mach in e. T he o ne sma ll break th at top fue l bik ers have gotten is th a t NII RA has gra nted th em a pro category . T his is n ot enough . Bill, li ke several other b ikers, is to wa r ds t ur nin g h i s t hou gh ts fo ur -whe e le d drag racing, sim ply be ca use th e mo ney th at ' s available makes ra cingmore feasib le . I t w ould be a real bl ow t o moto rcy clin g t o see th is p hase o f the sport b ecome extin ct. * ~ FOUR CORN ERSPresents ~ APR IL FOOLS $1,000 RACE ~ * * * * * 125, 250, Op en ON LY ! . *ENT R Y Mail C loses Mar ch aom, R A IN * S H INE * F IRE * F LO O D " o r * E A R T H Q U A K E S , T HI S RACE WI L L* *BE R U N ! * ~1~~~ngM~:t~~gBY9 : 6~ac~~~ .8 : ~~ tR~ !* ~ * * * * Pat Peil Four Corners M.C. Park P.O . Bo x 4 1 1 Ramo na , Ca . 92065 * * V icente~ DE ANZA .C L YC EPARK •••••••••••••••••••• SAN JOSE HILL CLIMBERS ARE COMING MARCH 11, 1973 Open 7 Da ys a Week . "East of R iverside Fwy. on Hw y. 60 - T ake T heodo re Off Ramp AL L CLASSES - MINI TO O PE N Classes broken down to Stock & Mod ified $1 .00 : .. S IG NUP 7 :00 - 9 :00 52.00 1st Race 9: 3 0 _ $4.00 You don't have to be a pro fess io na l Hill Clim ber The avera MX o r Dese rt rid er can compete ••••••• ** * 8 m iles Ea st o f Ra mon a o ff San Rd., Tw o Miles Past San D iego C o u ntry...- y Esta te s ******************** Giant Trophies ** * S ilen ce rs MA N DATORY , Ma ll St andard* E nt r y F orm or In fo. Norma llY* * Co nt a ine d t he re -o n to : DRAG HILL CLIMB SPECTATORS GAT E ENTRY * * * N ew C ourse , O pe n To A LL, NO care Re quired . $ 15 Mail, $25 Post . L1MITE C * ********************** SU PE R H ILL- EA SY TO MA KE .. ~ •• ••