Indholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2017 i Classic Racer

CORNER: Strubben // YEAR: 1977 // TRACK: Assen // Steve Baker makes sure the Yamaha 750 is inch-perfect Steve Baker makes going this fast almost effortless during his hunt for the F-750 crown in 1977. While the crowd seem all to be more interested in what’s coming their way, Baker’s precise, inch-perfect line of attack on Dutch soil paid dividends. This was the first year that the 750 formula was upgraded from a FIM ‘prize’ event to a pukka world championship and Baker will be forever immortalised in the annals of history as the first king of those big bikes. In 1976 the FIM annual congress, the Technical Commission, reviewed the series for the second time. The conclusion it came to was that the motorcycles were too powerful for both…

This four-stamp issue,TT Winners, features Joey Dunlop, Steve Hislop, Ian Simpson and Ian Hutchinson, who, between them, have achieved more than 50TT victories. 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of Dunlop’s first win, Hislop’s 30th, Simpson’s 20th and Hutchinson’s 10th. The stamps, designed by local business Isle of Man Advertising and PR, feature photographs of each rider during the race that they took their first win. TheTTWinners stamp issue was released on May 26 to coincide with the start ofTT fortnight. The issue is available inside a four-side presentation pack or on a First Day Cover, postmarked with the first day of issue. Both contain additional photography, including pictures taken by legendary road racing photographer Stephen Davison, and the story of each first win written by David Wright, author of six…

It was only ever allowed to briefly exist for 36 months and yet no other Japanese two-stroke works 500cc Grand Prix racer got into the psyche of racing in quite the same way. The square-four rotary-valve KR500 Kawasaki defined the time within which it was created. Under the skin Designer Kinuo ‘Cowboy’ Hiramatsu’s beautifully arc-welded light-alloy monocoque chassis followed the Ossa 250 design route in incorporating an integral 32-litre fuel tank mounted in the conventional position. Nevertheless, the Kawasaki’s fabricated frame delivered tremendous torsional and lateral stiffness with two outer side plates bolted to the rear flanks of the tank to support the footrests as well as the rear swingarm pivot. These were then cross-braced to an inner pair of plates attached to the back of the fuel reservoir. 35mm…

The motorcycle world stopped when Kenny Roberts climbed aboard Ray Abrams’YamahaTZ750 flat tracker at Indianapolis in 2009. He rode it like he stole it during that famous Saturday evening demonstration during the Indy MotoGP weekend – as only the great King Kenny knows how. But that wasn’t his first time at the Indy Mile on aTZ750 flat tracker. His first appearance became famous after Roberts proclaimed, “They don’t pay me enough to ride that thing!” It was a comment that later helped AMA officials decide to ban it from competition. The saga started in early 1974 when Steve Baker and mechanic BobWork stopped by to visit Doug Schwerma at Champion Racing Frames, in California. The pair were on their way home after picking up the display YamahaTZ750 road racer after…

If it’s to match your bike, riding gear or simply to enjoy customising your helmet, the interior leather liners on both the Davida Speedster V3 and Ninety 2 can be removed and retro-fitted with Davida’s new Leather Liner Kits. The Speedster V3 after-market liner kits are available in five different colours, black, brown, ZNut brown, ROX blood red and white, and in black, brown and ZNut brown for the Ninety 2 helmet. Davida Speedster V3 and Ninety 2 helmets are the lowest profile road-legal helmets available, having evolved from the same shell shape of Davida’s original Speedster, a jet-style helmet with a 26-year heritage that is highly evocative of the 1970s. After Market Leather Liner Kits SRP £41.66 plus VAT…

At Circuit of the Americas near Austin, Texas, a celebration of Kenny Roberts Jnr took place. Joining a select group of riders, including his father, Kenny Roberts Snr, he was honoured by Dorna Sports with the title Legend, the 25th rider to be named. The two KRs are the only father and son to appear on this list. Present at COTA that day were also fellow MotoGP Legends Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, and Franco Uncini, along with other superstars of the past such as Kenny’s former team-mate Sete Gibernau, Ben Spies, Loris Capirossi, and Randy Mamola. Kenny had his 2000 title-winning Suzuki at the presentation, along with his wife and kids. It was a celebration of all things KR, American racing originals spanning the past 50 years. TOP AWARD James…

Welcome to the first instalment in our new series ‘In Detail’. In each issue of Classic Racer we’ll bring you an excellent line drawing of an iconic racing motorcycle drawn by Mick Ofield. Our range of metal in the series will come from right across the racing spectrumand we won't run them in any particular order, so let us know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see and we’ll try and feature it.To kick things off in style, here’s one of the most iconic icons to ever grace a racetrack in anger. Ladies and gentlemen, we start In Detail with Freddie Spencer’s 1983 Honda NS500. Although short-lived as a race bike, the NS500 was a brutish evolutionary stepping stone. At its heart was a two-strokeV3motor and that, combined…

Born on March 26, 1945 in Urbino, at the age of 14 Lazzarini started work in Pesaro on Benelli’s assembly floor but he soon found himself promoted by Mimo Benelli himself to the dizzy heights of the race shop, where he worked on the 250cc singles campaigned by Dale, Spaggiari and Grassetti. He discovered that the relationships between the mechanics and the riders were often fraught. “The riders were convinced that they made the difference when they won, but the defeats were down to the bikes’ inadequacies," recalled Lazzarini. “And, of course, the mechanics held the opposite view. In about 1964, my colleagues talked me into racing, partly thinking that, as a decent mechanic, I would be able to diagnose the defects and improve the bikes.” However, the Benelli racers…

The penultimate race for the 500cc World Championship took place within a stone’s throw from the Russian border at Imatra in Finland. Due to the severe frost during winters in this country the roads that had to be raced on were bumpy and surrounded by a countless number of trees and high pavements. Nevertheless most riders liked to go to the Finnish Grand Prix even though they had to deal with such basics as the ‘simple’ paddock facilities. The organisation did its utmost to present riders and press with a welcome home every year and it’s just as well, because most of the riders arrived as early as possible after the Swedish Grand Prix that was held a week earlier. Plenty of time to do the laundry, read a book…

Both sons of the late Keith Heckles will return to the Isle of Man to ride in the Classic Racer Lap of Honour at this year’s ClassicTT and Festival of Motorcycling in August, as a tribute to their father. Mark Heckles, who had a successful race career in the UK and Europe, including World Super Bike, returns from the USA where he now lives and still races, and will ride his father’s distinctive Beart Norton on which Keith enjoyed so much success. Paul Heckles will set off alongside his brother on the Norvil Commando which Keith also rode in the Isle of ManTT.…

The Lansdowne season kicked off at Pembrey over the Easter weekend as guests of the CRMC, and ran in unseasonably warm and sunny weather. Thirty riders entered the various classes to kick-start their points tally for the season. Saturday morning qualifying saw the Bonhams class runners at the sharp end, with Dean Stimpson, Izzard Racing Manx, topping the timesheets with a 1:06.383s lap, and Chris Bassett heading upThe National Motorcycle Museum-sponsored WRR class. Race one saw the thundering pack charging down to the tightest hairpin on the calendar, with drum brakes tested to the max at the testing bottleneck. In the Bonhams-sponsored class Stimpson was away with it, taking the win fromACR Manxmounted Chris Firmin. In the WRR, Bassett took the class win from Ian Bain on his Manx. In…

In the Seventies, over 30 road races were organised a year in the Netherlands on public roads. Most of them under FIM regulations and up to 20,000 spectators came to see their heroes every weekend. Today, there is only one race left and the number of race fans has sunk to a much lower level. The organising committee of the Hengelo Races found a way to survive by creating the International Road Racing Championship (IRRC). They also have an eye for the past by including classic races in their events. What is really important to note is that after 50 years of racing on this road circuit is that there is no casualty list. The only creatures that lost their life in 50 years of racing on public roads are…

Jay Springsteen was born in the right place at the right time when it came to being connected with motorcycle racing. “My dad raced motorcycles and went to school with and worked with Bart Markel (three-time AMA Grand National champion). They were both tool and die-makers at Chevrolet. My dad raced a little bit of scrambles racing and then my brother and I started racing on a little Harley-Davidson M50. I was nine and the first time I raced it I got a third place, racing against Bridgestones, Hodakas and all these other different older bikes you haven’t heard of in years. I rode the Harley for just one year, sharing it with my brother Kenny when we were just coming up. “Then we went to Honda S90s (the pressed…

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS: On the Friday night, the riders were invited to go to Goodwood House, start their engines, ride up a ramp and drive through the hallway whilst Lord March was entertaining dinner guests. Only Valentino Rossi and Dougie Lampkin have done this before.…

FOLLOW THE LEADER CORNER: Geert timmer bocht //YEAR:1977 // TRACK: Assen // Boet Van Dulmen leads Marco Lucchinelli leads Bernard Fau (all Yamaha) Big bikes, big riders and big crowds. In the old days the final flip/flop of the chicane on Dutch soil left muchmore opportunity for the bravest on the brakes to take a last-gasp lunge towards a final fight for the line. If you got it wrong, you messed yourself and your rivals up – but it might just have worked in the melee that followed. In truth, it was a gamble. However, if you were right in the other guy’s wheeltracks then you sat where you were and hit the throttle as soon as you could. Let the other guy drag you into the last corner, let…