Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2013 AMA Superbikes as well as a 1000cc Kawasakipowered Moriwaki that Kieffer raced in AMA Formula One in the early '80s when 1000cc four-strokes were allowed to race against the all-conquering Yamaha TZ750s. Coughlin's find of Kieffer's machines was one of a kind. "I continue to look for that era of bikes, even production or Superstock racers," Coughlin said. "You just can't find them." In looking for a shop to help get the bikes ready to race, Coughlin was recommended to a shop in Hickory, North Carolina, and not only did he find a shop to work on the bikes, he found a rider to race them as well. "I met Harry [Vanderlinden] and turns out we club raced at the same time in the same classes," Coughlin said. "We probably raced against each other, but I never knew him back then. He's still racing and working at [Kevin] Schwantz' school, so when we showed up and did so well at Road America [a AHRMA event] they were like, 'Who in the hell is this guy on this RC30?' when it came hauling ass up the hill." Coughlin goes on to explain that the ex-Kieffer RC30 is especially stout. "Doc got a lot of hand-me-downs from Honda and [Fred] Merkel was sending him stuff from Rumi. I have pages and pages of updates they found to make the motors last and get more power." Not only do Coughlin's ex-Kieffer bikes have trick parts, but he's getting invaluable help from a certain ex-factory mechanic as well. "Steve Johnson, who used to be Eddie's [Lawson] crew chief, lives out here and he was in this bike shop where I'm having the bikes refurbished and he said, 'I know those motors. That's one of our [ex-factory Kawasaki] motors.' I had him take the spare motor and tear it down and build it back up again, just so we know that we have a completely killer spare." There are two trains of thought in owning rare racing machines from the past - show them or race P125 them. Coughlin definitely falls on the racing end of the spectrum. "I hate to see these guys with these race bikes that are all prettied up and look much better than they ever did when they raced," Coughlin said. "The beauty of my bikes is that they are battle scarred. This was from the era of Dodge vans and if they were lucky they had a pop-up on the side and they slept in the van. They'd leave for Daytona in March and a lot of them didn't come home until the racing season was over. "You look at the period pictures and the bikes were all pockmarked. The Moriwaki, for example, still has the hand-painted name and old tech decals on it. I just love that about them. I don't want to recreate that stuff. I want them to look like when they raced and I want them to race. With modern machining any part can be recreated for the most part. We had so many people come up to us at Road America and thank us for bringing these bikes out. They said stuff like, 'I forgot what those sounded like.' The Moriwaki has a scream to it that's intoxicating. It brings me back to the Loudon National in 1981." When asked how much he had wrapped up in all his vintage racing endeavors Coughlin paused and then said with a laugh, "Six figures, but don't tell my wife." Coughlin and Vanderlinden are planning on showing up at the big vintage race meet at Barber Motorsports Park in October. Coughlin thinks vintage racing might be poised to make a major comeback in popularity, especially with AMA Superbikes coming online in mix of vintage machines being raced. Coughlin sums it up by saying, "Where else can you go to see legends like Freddie Spencer and Scott Russell and see and hear the bikes they raced?" Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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