Old Sportster Road Racer

Jeff Higgins · 01-07-2022, 04:03 PM

John Trease was kind of an unknown phenomena outside of Australia. Down there, however, he was a legend in vintage road racing circles. In a sport dominated by mostly Vincents, with a few Triumphs and Nortons occasionally prevailing, Mr. Trease showed up one day with a Sportster. And pretty much kicked everyone's ass...

Based on a 1957 Sportster, Mr. Trease adapted his own Panhead based heads to a 1,350cc, twin carbed, alcohol burning, 16:1 compression monster and stuffed it all in his version of a Featherbed frame. Pretty much all home made, and rather crude appearing on the outside. Trease himself described it as “built in the Australian way of rough as guts to look at, but very clean on the inside.”

Cameron Donald riding it at the 2015 AMCN International Island Classic. Notice they made him start from the pit lane. Notice how he simply decimated the field.

Unfortunately, Mr. Trease passed away a few years ago. Like many, far too young. And too bad his contributions were never really recognized outside of Australia. Maybe not quite at the level of John Britton, but nevertheless showing some really cool down under ingenuity.

Nostril Cheese · 01-07-2022, 04:32 PM

Whats the handling like on something like that or an XR750?

pwd72s · 01-07-2022, 04:36 PM

Loved the video. Engine sound? Brutal!

Jeff Higgins · 01-07-2022, 04:38 PM

They really struggled with the handling for a number of years. Started with an original Sportster frame, which was far too heavy and noodly, with terrible geometry just to make it even better. Mr. Trease then went to the Featherbed, but that by no means solved his problems. It took about six years of redesign effort to make it a winning bike.

Jeff Higgins · 01-07-2022, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

Whats the handling like on something like that or an XR750?

Yeah... Mr. Trease claimed it was "safe" to 11,000 rpm with the "Indy car" valve springs, some titanium valves sourced form "some old race car", and his homemade connecting rods. It was cammed and heads flowed to make peak power at 7,000, though, and Cam Donald is mostly shifting at around 6,000. They moved the gas tank under the seat to put some weight over the rear wheel, since it would just wheelspin out of every corner, regardless of rpm or speed. Now he can't keep the front wheel on the ground coming out of corners. Notice how easily he rolls it on...

But, yeah, absolutely brutal power. "Only" 120 RWHP, but I bet even more torque than that. Must be a lot of fun...

LWJ · 01-07-2022, 08:44 PM

That video is sexy as hell.

For me it was the same as a big block race car. Torque for days and days.

That bike was nowhere close to the others on the track. Shocking. And cool.

Chocaholic · 01-08-2022, 03:44 AM

Very cool...reminds me of The Worlds Fastest Indian. If you haven’t seen that movie...do so. Always thought HD could/should have better leveraged their racing heritage to propel a parallel product line to their bagger forte. Missed opportunity.

BTW Jeff...the XR seems to be growing on me with each ride. Between the torque and it’s overall character, it’s a very entertaining bike to ride. Looking forward to warmer weather...

HardDrive · 01-08-2022, 05:36 AM

Damn thats a nice sound. Can't imagine the torque. Some serious forward acceleration going on at relatively low RPMs.

flatbutt · 01-08-2022, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Damn thats a nice sound. Can't imagine the torque. Some serious forward acceleration going on at relatively low RPMs.

IIRC HD engines were known for low RPM / High torque but only Jeff really knows. The 0-60 on that sucker must be crazy. I can't get over how easily it ate up the field.

VINMAN · 01-08-2022, 05:54 AM

Seen that bike before. That thing is a beast.

My Sporty needs a little more work before i could keep up with him....

.

javadog · 01-08-2022, 05:54 AM

The other bikes in that field weren’t particularly fast. And, the guy riding the Harley may be retired but he’s still a fast SOB. Sort of like shooting ducks in a barrel.

Some expensive components on that bike. The exhaust headers are titanium, that’s not what you’d expect in a backyard build.

LJ851 · 01-08-2022, 05:58 AM

Killer!!

Thanks for sharing that , Jeff.

LWJ · 01-08-2022, 08:52 AM

What’s up with the drum brakes?

javadog · 01-08-2022, 08:58 AM

That’s what they had in that era. I think the class he’s in goes up to 1962.

Zeke · 01-08-2022, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javadog

The other bikes in that field weren’t particularly fast. And, the guy riding the Harley may be retired but he’s still a fast SOB. Sort of like shooting ducks in a barrel.

Some expensive components on that bike. The exhaust headers are titanium, that’s not what you’d expect in a backyard build.

Not too fast was my first impression. Looked more like a parade lap. Wonder what the tire restrictions are for that class. Certainly no one was pushing their tires. Do they outlaw hanging your butt cheek into the corner?

asphaltgambler · 01-08-2022, 11:45 AM

Great piece of history that I was unaware of, need to do some googlin of that guy

javadog · 01-08-2022, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeke

Not too fast was my first impression. Looked more like a parade lap. Wonder what the tire restrictions are for that class. Certainly no one was pushing their tires. Do they outlaw hanging your butt cheek into the corner?

He was running about 10 seconds off the pace of a supersport 300 bike. I would imagine that’s all chassis related. No idea on the tire specs but the riding style is anything you want it to be. He’s a former Isle of Man TT winner, so he’s no slouch.

I know a couple guys that have ridden at that event, but they’re in a much different class. Way more modern bikes, with a lot fewer restrictions.

Jeff Higgins · 02:41 PM

Here is a bit of an overview of Australian historic motorcycle racing. Mr. Trease certainly left his mark - notice there are a few bikes with Trease Race Engineering stickers on them, hats with his name on them, etc. The man himself makes an appearance at about 20:00 or so.

An acquaintance on an old Sportster forum turned me onto this stuff. He races a vintage sidecar Down Under (I've posted it here before) that also runs a big bore Sportster motor on alcohol. He has a lot to say about the vintage racing landscape Down Under, specifically with regards to the acceptance of these Sportster powered machines. There is obviously a very strong British influence, and the historic big bore "period three" in which him and Trease compete (competed) is dominated by big bore Vincent powered machines. If you watch closely, you'll see Cam Donald passing any number of those things. And the Ariels, Norton Dominators, Matchless, and other British twins. No slouches (in period anyway) by any stretch of the imagination. The Sportster powered machines are simply that much faster. And they finish races, which has proven to be the biggest problem with the British machines when bored, stroked, ran on alcohol with exceedingly high compression, and otherwise pushed well past their original design limits.

So, acceptance of these Sportsters has been an uphill battle. The Aussies simply want the Brit bikes to win. They always had, until John Trease (who had raced all manner of Brit bikes) examined, and came to realize, the inherent advantages in that Sportster motor. To hear our Sportster forum member, and Mr. Trease, these things "are simply cheating". They are that much better than any other in-period machine. They breath better, make much more power, and above all they last. You can hear Mr. Trease touch on that in the video. All of which has apparently led to no small measure of resistance from their historic racing community and its officials. Lots of stories from our sidecar hero regarding all of the nit-picky little nonsense the scrutineers will dig up on the Harleys and completely overlook on everything else.

So, as far as these guys appearing "slow", as some have commented, they are constrained by "period" tires, drum brakes, and often a lack of ground clearance. Some of the riders can actually be seen hanging off (Cam Donald is definitely dragging knees), but there probably isn't much to be gained from that. This bike does, however, break into the 160's on the straights, which still ain't nuthin to sneeze at.

Anyway, it's fun for me, as an old Ironhead (the bike, not me...) Sportster enthusiast, to see them kicking ass at the pinnacle of historic racing. Beating the Norvins (Vincent motors in Norton Featherbed frames), the Tritons (Triumph motors in Featherbed frames), and all the rest of the "best of the best" vintage racing technologies. Our sidecar friend tells us that John Trease once said "from the moment I actually examined one of these Sportster motors, I knew I was finally looking at a proper race motor". This from a guy who had run literally everything else.

javadog · 01-08-2022, 02:37 PM

That annual vintage race meeting is a pretty big event now and draws riders and bikes from all over the world. More than a couple world champions have thrown a leg over something down there, to have a little bit of fun.

Jeff Higgins · 01-08-2022, 02:51 PM

I can see that. A little more low key, and far less demanding than today's hyper developed, hyper fast machines.

I was packing up to go home from a DE day at my local track (Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA), when a guy pulled in driving a rented U-Haul pickup truck. It caught my attention when I noticed a pair of race bikes in the back, a pair of British triples - Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket Three. Then none other than Jay Springsteen himself hops out of the cab, there all by his lonesome. I was properly gobsmacked...

So I wandered on over, said "hello", and asked if he would like a hand unloading the bikes. Wound up spending a wonderful hour or so helping him out, getting all of his gear out, showing him where all of the facilities were, and all of that. He was there to run a few laps on each, practicing and familiarizing himself for a vintage race the coming weekend.

Turns out that he and Gary Nixon (who has since passed) had set up a vintage racing partnership. Jay explained that Gary was the "brains" of the operation, booking rides for Jay, who "wasn't smart enough to quit just yet". So, yeah, big time pro racers hiring out to ride other guys' vintage iron. Pretty cool stuff.

Cam Donald won a TT or two, didn't he? Wasn't he one of the TV commentators for awhile as well? And I think he's back riding, at least when the TT comes back (this year, maybe? Please?...).