History:
Well, it all started 37 years ago when dad threw me on a little Honda 50 out in
the local dirt field. That's where I got my dirt legs, along with my three
brothers. A few years later Dad got into off-road sidecar racing. It took all
four of us little brothers together to hold the sidecar down when dad took us
out for a fun ride. As we got bigger, each of us started racing sidecars along
with dad. My first race was in 1973. The motocross track became the playground
for our whole family. In 1982 I hooked up with my brother JT, and we built a
1000cc Harley Sportster based sidecar from the ground up. We won a lot of
motocross races on that sidecar, including the Sidecar Motocross National
Championship. I was the passenger, the one who does all the work on the track.
JT then retired from racing and I hooked up with my brother Pete on Yamaha and
Honda based rigs. We won more National motocross titles, and even made it to
Europe for some oversees action. In 1997 we had the opportunity to race in the
famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Who would pass up a chance to race in such a great
event? Though it wasn't the rough motocross type of terrain that we were used
to, it was a great challenge and looked like lots of fun too! Unfortunately, at
that time they did not allow 2-stroke bikes in the sidecar class at Pikes Peak,
and our Honda CR500 was a 2-stroke. So we had to come up with an appropriate
bike. I'll redirect you to my past Pikes Peak story here:
http://www.sidecarcross.com/pikespk/pp98/story.shtml
And there are more stories about our Pikes Peak adventures here:
http://www.sidecarcross.com/pikespk/
The Sportster at Pikes Peak:
And some past (outdated) info about Pete and I:
http://SidecarCross.com/whitney/
Now, I'll get into a different question:
Why did I build this wild V-Rod powered sidecar?
The idea for this sidecar began in 2000 when our Harley Sportster powered
sidecar blew up in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. We had won there the two previous
years, but we finally reached the limits of our machine in 2000. The rig we ran
there was an old modified home-built motocross sidecar with a heavily built up
Harley Sportster motor (with nitrous-oxide). We needed more horsepower, more
reliability, and a chassis setup that was better suited for that smooth and fast
dirt road.
At the same time I was dreaming about doing the Dakar Rally on a sidecar. I've
been a sidecar guy for over 30 years so that's the way I want to do it. These
two races are about as different from each other as can be imagined. One lasts
15 minutes on a smooth dirt road with the finish at the 14,000ft peak of a
snow-capped American mountain. The other lasts for 15 or more days through the
most desolate roadless hot desert regions on earth, with the finish at sea level
on the beaches of Dakar in Africa. But they are both great World-Class events
that just about every race enthusiasts has dream about doing. I am fulfilling my
dreams, but I had a dilemma. I needed two new sidecars, each with very different
and specialized requirements. You can not "buy" a sidecar that is made for
either of these types of races.
As I thought through how to build a new Pikes Peak sidecar AND a new Dakar
sidecar, it slowly became clear that deep down they really were the same thing.
Everything started with the tires. Rally car tires were ideal for both events.
As I thought through the concept it all fell into place. I selected the Suzuki
TL1000R as a good reliable high-horsepower motor. I bought a 15 inch rally tire,
a matching racing wheel, and designed and machined custom wheel hub pieces. I
stuffed all the wheel pieces in my baggage and jumped on an airplane from Los
Angeles to Belgium where the EML motocross sidecar factory is located. A week
later we had most of the basic bare chassis completed. It was a modified version
of an EML motocross sidecar, with special features to meet my special needs. I
spent the next 6 months in my garage fabricating all the bits and pieces to pull
it all together.
For Pikes Peak we use smaller 13 inch rally tires, short shocks, very low
driver's seat, small fuel tank, low mounted handlebars, aerodynamic front
shield, etc. It was fantastic at Pikes Peak where we pulled off another win in
2001.
My brother Pete had been my driver for the last 20 years of sidecar motocross.
He was never much into building bikes, and he also was not into doing Dakar. He
liked wheel-to-wheel racing, not the man against Mother Nature thing. So, for
Dakar only, I temporarily promoted myself to driver. Unfortunately, in July 2003
Pete died in a car accident. It's been a very difficult thing for our whole
family, but racing continues. Pete's son Craig is my passenger for some events
here in the States. For Dakar I have selected Udo Dederichs of Belgium as my
ideal Dakar passenger. Udo has done Dakar in trucks three times, won the Tunisia
rally on a quad twice, and won the German Sidecar-Cross Championship twice. If
we have any problems, Udo will simply stick me and the sidecar on his back, and
carry us to the finish. He is one tough guy!
Following our win at Pikes Peak on the new Suzuki sidecar, I set my sights on
setting up for Dakar. The cost for Dakar is outrageous (75,000 dollars). We need
some serious sponsorship to meet that budget. Unfortunately, our Suzuki was not
attracting any attention. At the same time, Harley had come out with the new
V-Rod. I took a long look at it, inside and out. It really blew my mind. The
V-Rod is unlike anything Harley has ever made. In almost every way it was
superior to the Suzuki. It has the horsepower I need, and careful studies
suggested it would be even more reliable than the Suzuki.
Meanwhile I had converted the Suzuki sidecar over to the Dakar configuration
with tall suspension and many other changes. We had begun doing some real
off-road testing out in the desert. I was also talking with Harley-Davidson
about our project and goals, and how they might be able join our effort. They
eventually committed to sending us two V-Rod motors. As they were boxing them up
for shipment, the Suzuki motor had a catastrophic failure while testing in the
sand dunes. We now had a huge hole in the transmission and oil gushing out into
the sand. That was the end of the Suzuki motor, and it could have been the end
of my Dakar plans.
The timing was almost perfect though. Out with the bad motor, and in with a good
one. Unfortunately, the V-Rod motor is a bit bigger than the TL1000R, and it
didn't fit. It took me a couple of weeks working on the frame to get it in, but
the final result was excellent. It came together just in time for Pikes Peak
2003, where we pulled of another win. It was a great debut for the new V-Rod!
The V-Rod ready for Pikes Peak:
Next we reconfigured the bike for the Dakar setup again, and set off for some
desert and sand dunes testing. We've been out many times without any serious
problems, and will continue testing through 2004. The V-Rod has already gone
farther that the Suzuki did, and with fewer problems.
The V-Rod in the dunes:
Now crowds gather around this beast like dogs on meat. It's definitely an eye
catching machine. But with the huge expense of the Dakar, we still need more
help. We have large panel space for big sponsor logos, so we can get some great
press exposure for anyone who gets on board with us for next year's Dakar.
Details can be found on our
www.HogWildRacing.com web site.
Who would have ever believed that a Harley would be a good choice for off-road
racing? Well, it sure is a blast flying trough the desert on a Harley with a
hundred horsepower. And all that chrome scares the lizards off the trail ahead
of us!
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Status on the search for sponsorship.
I'm about 50% of the way to my $75,000 Dakar
budget goal. Most of that is directly from my
own pocket. This does not include all that
already went into the bike. Time is running out
for the 2005 Dakar, so I have to have some
sponsor success soon. I have sent a detailed
sponsorship proposal to the top marketing people
at Harley-Davidson. They are at this very moment
considering the possibilities. The early
feedback is not super positive, though I still
have my hopes up. They want to know how my
racing in Dakar would sell more bikes. The way I
look at it, the value is in improving the
"performance, reliability, and ruggedness" image
of the Harley-Davidson name by taking their
motor through the toughest race in the world,
and proving the V-Rod is up to the challenge. I
believe doing the Dakar with a V-Rod will make a
huge positive statement for H-D. But it is their
marketing group that has to believe that, not
me. You can see what I presented to H-D here:
http://HogWildRacing.com/hd/
I'm also working on setting up a PayPal type
enthusiast donations link so those of you who want to can help out. That
should come in the next few days. But I need an
awful lot of small donations in a very short
time to get me over the camels hump. How can
we learn more about the Dakar?
The best place to learn about the Dakar is on
the official race web site:
http://www.dakar.com
And when the race starts on January 1st, check
out OLN TV for 16 days of daily coverage.
Any plans for additional dessert races?
I may do another desert race or two, but that is
not the best preparation for Dakar. I am
focusing much of my effort on taking the sidecar
through as much grueling Dakar type conditions
as possible. And while doing that, I need the
freedom to stop and inspect things much more
than is practical in a real race. Also, in the
desert racing here, outright top speed and
higher risk taking are important. But in Dakar,
survival for our bodies and the machine are top
priorities, so speed takes a back seat. |
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