Hall of Fame Team Members

Herb Becker - Class of 2011

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 17:36:13 +0000

Herb Becker - Class of 2011 admin Tue, 10/24/2017 - 13:36

“To get it right you’ve got to have everything right”

Perhaps the key to Herb Becker’s success is that he’s never stopped learning, never stopped looking for new ways that will add to his knowledge of making machines perform beyond their designers’ expectations. Herb regards an engine as a symphony conductor regards a musical score, with a deep appreciation for the harmony among its component parts necessary to produce results at the highest level.

For more than 25 years Herb has applied his imagination, intense work ethic and willingness to experiment toward building a succession of motorcycles that have dominated their class in vintage racing throughout eastern Canada and the U.S. In the hands of a series of talented riders, his distinctive pale blue Nortons evolved into the overdogs of their class. All it took was years of relentless dedication.

Growing up in Breslau, Ont., Herb was always fascinated by machines that could go fast and make the right sounds. While finances eventually dictated that his most ambitious efforts at racing be with motorcycles, Herb was first drawn to fast cars. The high school classroom was not a place for him and he left early to earn a living with his hands. Making a few bucks as a bricklayer’s assistant, at age 16 he bought a hotrod, a Model A Ford with an Oldsmobile V8 engine grafted in. It was painted pale blue.

Herb was always looking for new opportunities to learn, and moved among a succession of jobs in the toolmaking trade; fortunately, at the time there was no lack of work around Kitchener for an eager young man with talent. Herb tried his hand at drag racing, substituting ingenuity and hard work for deep pockets in making his cars go fast. Herb’s racing has almost always been self-funded and as time went on he realized that a serious effort was beyond his budget unless he switched to lower-cost machines like motorcycles. He picked up a single-cylinder BSA 441 Victor, but actually learned to ride on a Honda XL175 from a police auction. Finally in 1985 he was approached to build a vintage racer from an old Norton Commando by his friend Mike Pawson. Herb had already put together his own Norton that turned a 13.1 second quarter-mile at St. Thomas before pitching him off and earning a brief visit to hospital.

The new bike went on the track in 1986 but it took three years before it was able to unseat the incumbent ruler of the Vintage Road Racing Association’s open class, Ken Hodge on another Norton twin. Since then, Herb’s trophy collection records more than 100 podium finishes. Early on, Pawson suffered a broken ankle in a crash and Brian Kenyon took over the riding duties for the next six years. In 1993 Herb began a 10-year run with Jim Struke in the saddle. They began travelling farther afield and were rewarded in 1998 when Jim won the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association’s national championship in the 750 Sportsman class.

Moving up a notch, AHRMA’s Formula 750 class allows all sorts of exotic machinery so it was a high point of the Becker-Struke partnership when they gained a first-place finish in the class at Daytona in 2003. By then the ancient Norton engine was putting out 84 hp, a level of performance and reliability that the Norton factory engineers had never achieved in their heyday. While Herb took responsibility for shaping metal, it was with the flowbench and computer analysis of his friend, Tim Spiegelberg, that the team gained confidence in the horsepower output they could expect. Dyno testing went on constantly to prove whether their ideas were working.

Never satisfied with the status quo, Herb applied his imagination to every aspect of the motorcycle in an effort to improve its performance. “To get it right you’ve got to have everything right,” he says, so no detail is too small and every fresh idea is worth investigating. He’s always eager to debate and discover new concepts and influences from a broad array of sources not confined to the motorcycle world nor to conventional thinking.

Herb has retired from industry but still puts in long hours in the tidy machine shop behind his house. He produces precisely machined components for friends and acquaintances in motorcycling and has also closed the gap with his youth by building up a pair of classic cars. There is an old-school rail dragster along with a Ford five-window coupe, both with Oldsmobile power though not yet painted in that distinctive pale blue.

Kurt Biegger - Class of 2017

admin — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:38:26 +0000

Kurt Biegger - Class of 2017 admin Fri, 01/19/2018 - 09:38

“Living vicariously through his riders young and old”

Kurt Biegger Racing has been a pinnacle team in the Flat Track racing scene for over 40 years. The mastermind behind these blazing fast bikes now lives vicariously through his riders young and old.

Kurt was a championship rider back in the 90’s in both dirt track and ice racing. His riding career has taken a back seat for now but he is no slouch and has the trophies to prove it. An impressive nine Championships and thirteen Ontario titles to his credit. Between 1994 and 2001, he was exceptional, winning the national 250 Intermediate/Expert championship six times in eight seasons.

While Kurt may not be racing anymore, he certainly knows his way around the track. Now in his fifth decade of racing in Canada, Biegger is the busiest man out there who never seems to have enough time in the day. Between building motors, building bikes, crewing for some of the best riders in Canada and holding down a regular Monday to Friday job, it’s a wonder he ever has a chance to eat or sleep. Most nights will see him working long hours in his home-based shop and race weekends don’t get much easier. Biegger can constantly be found at the track tinkering with his KBR (Kurt Biegger Racing) machines as he searches for that perfect balance between motorcycle rider and track.

Biegger’s first motorcycle was a 1972 Kawasaki KE175 that he pretty well wrecked from crashing so often. His next bike was a ’74 KX250 that he did a few motocross races on. “I did OK and won a few races but I had more fun practicing going round an oval that I found at the old Burlington clay pits.” The Hamilton native was firmly bitten by the oval bug and in 1977 started racing dirt track in the 250 class. “When I first started, I was fast but I crashed a lot until I learned to slow down. I ended up second in points that year though after winning the last three races.”

Given his obvious talent, some people may wonder why Biegger ever thought of putting somebody else on his machines in the first place. The answer is quite simple – it was because of injuries, Biegger says, “I couldn’t get out and race when I was hurt. I knew I had some pretty good bikes at home and it seemed a waste of time having them sit there on race day.”

In 1979, Biegger had one of those injury time outs after being involved in an accident on the street. “My Yamaha RD400 lost a collision with a VW Rabbit that day,” he says. “It ended a promising season as I had won the first race of the year in Woodstock on a Harley XR750. That bike was a beast after riding a 125 the previous season.”

Since that first rider swung a leg over the seat of a KBR machine, the list of riders who have raced on Biegger’s equipment is a who’s who of flat track in Canada. This includes Canadian champions Chris Evans, John Parker, Steve Beattie, Don Taylor, Doug Beattie, Tyler Seguin and Doug Lawrence.

A KBR ride takes some convincing, Biegger admits, in regards to putting someone on one of his machines. “I have to believe that I can help make the rider faster so he can win championships, not just races. I have to see something in them.” There have been many championships throughout the years for KBR riders and in 2013, Biegger helped Tyler Seguin become the youngest racer to win the CMA No 1 plate. “It was a great season and I was proud to be part of what he accomplished.”

KBR riders racked up dozens of wins and a few championships over the years. Sequin reached the winners circle seven times during the 2014 season, won the CMA 450 Expert title and the Flat Track Canada Production Expert Title and finished second in the CMA and FTC Open Expert classes. Steve Beattie won four out of the five races he entered and brother Doug won two races while running a limited schedule and PJ, Kurt’s son, finished second in CMA Open Intermediate.

As each season opens, Kurt is busy with tuning and on-track support for his riders with the desired result of more championships, of course. He will continue to be at the track every summer after a long winter of meticulous preparation in his shop for his KBR Race Team. Perhaps one day, he’ll be able to swing his leg over a bike again and shown them how its done.

Mike Crompton - Class of 2017

admin — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:51:10 +0000

Mike Crompton - Class of 2017 admin Fri, 01/19/2018 - 09:51

“As soon as I saw them racing bikes, I was hooked!”

Growing up in North Toronto, Mike Crompton got involved with mini-bikes and go-carts at the age of 12, and was soon hanging around the garage of local racer Don Willsmith, heading to Harewood Acres for a race in 1968: “As soon as I saw them racing bikes, I was hooked!”

Crompton started working on Suzuki 80s, Honda S90s, and the impressively huge Honda 175 and 305 Super Hawks of the era. Working at a “Dry Marina,” Crompton bought a 500 Triton basket case and then got an engine and transmission from a crashed Norton Commando. He learned a lot building the club racer and was soon working for local racing legend, Ernie White.

Next stops on Crompton’s Bike Shop mechanic odyssey included the Cycle Shop, Nelson’s Honda (where he met fellow new inductee, Nick Kemp) and then the Kawasaki Dealership owned by “Crazy Frank” Mrazek, where he worked on the legendary “Green Monster” Z-1 race bike.

Crompton was also helping long term friend, Chris Manley, whose family owned the Kawasaki distribution rights. Manley was road racing a Big Horn model as well as H2 and H2R Kawasakis, and Crompton headed to Pocono in the U.S.A. and Sanair in Quebec to look after Manley’s fleet.

The new AMA Modified Production class was part of the National program, the predecessor to today’s Superbike category. Yvon Duhamel was at Pocono to race for the Kawasaki factory, and asked to borrow Manley’s production class Canadian 750 H2 two-stroke for the new division.

Manley lent his Canadian production racing Kawasaki 750 H2 two-stroke triple to Duhamel to race in Modified Production against the big four-strokes of the era. Although they had trouble getting through AMA Technical Inspection with their oval number plates and treaded Dunlop K-81 tires, Duhamel walked away with the race win.

Crompton next moved shops to Ontario Honda, formerly Nelson, now owned by Rick Andrews and Murray Brown.

In 1975, he hooked up with rising Junior racer Robbie Meiklejohn to build a unique Honda 812cc four with Weber carbs, and then turned Expert in 1976 with a one-of-a-kind Curtis-Framed F-1 Honda four-cylinder.

In 1979 Crompton went to Daytona with Lang Hindle, working on a Kawasaki 900 Superbike, modifying the chassis in the paddock during the event. Steve McLaughlin witnessed the re-engineering and shortly offered Crompton a job in the new Honda Superbike squad, working with racers Freddie Spencer, Ron Pierce and Roberto Pietri.

“Steve drove me crazy, but looking back in retrospect at everything he accomplished, it was really something,” laughs Crompton of his friend McLaughlin. “Building the Honda team, putting together World Superbike; I was at that first World Superbike race at Donington in 1988 and we were so proud to put a bike on the grid for that race.”

Back home Crompton went to work at Meiklejohn’s Rocket Shop, and also helped National Superbike Champ George Morin with his Kawasaki and Suzuki programs. Soon he was at Leitner and Bush Engineering, and helped rookie Pro “Art the dart” Robbins when he turned Pro for 1982, immediately running at the front on a very special Suzuki GS1000.

Robbins won the RACE number one plate on the Suzuki in 1983, and then Crompton helped Morin with his new Suzuki team for Michel Mercier in 1984. The next year the program got serious with the first GSX-R750 in North America, winning the CMA Title.

While at the season 1986 opener at Daytona, Crompton spoke to Match Races organizer McLaughlin and got Mercier the chance to take part in the UK’s big opening event, racing for the North American Team. Mercier went on to feature at the Match races from 1986 to 1988.

At the first World Superbike at Donington in 1988, Mercier looked set for a historic podium before he fell in oil late in the race.

In 1989, Crompton ran the official Suzuki squad with Miguel Duhamel, dominating early Before Duhamel was hurt testing for Honda in Japan. The team used super-subs Jeff Gaynor and Steve Dick with success, and when Duhamel returned in 1990, he beat Pascal Picotte’s Yamaha at Shannonville for a famous win. Two weeks later in Topeka, Kansas for a U.S. Superbike round, Crompton and Duhamel earned victory working with the works Yoshimura-Suzuki team.

by the early 1990s, Crompton was running his own business (Competition Systems), building many sprint car engines and building bikes for top racers including Linnley Clarke, Jeff Williams, Benoit Pilon and Owen Weichel.

He returned to Kawasaki full time to build engines, eventually taking over the running of the race program as Crew Chief. The squad earned eight Championships in four years.

Kawasaki’s Crompton era with Szoke in the late 2000s is widely held to be the most professional effort ever fielded in the CSBK Series.

Paul Fournier - Class of 2022

Vada — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 22:44:47 +0000

Paul Fournier - Class of 2022 Vada Tue, 02/21/2023 - 17:44

A reputation for building strong race engines and getting the wins

Paul Fournier's reputation as a road racing tuner is strong within Canada and the US. He gets the job done without a lot of fan fare – no fuss, no muss – a highly skilled mentor and friend who is well respected among the race community for his reputation of building strong race engines and getting the wins everyone strives for. He has worked to bring many riders and manufacturers’ championships at the highest levels in North America.

Paul Fournier's fascination with engines and competition began in 1973, at the local dragstrip. Success there eventually brought him to motorcycles and road racing. He developed skills not only on the technical side of engines and chassis, but also in picking team members and providing the support they needed to develop their own skills. His ability to remain calm and stay focused in high stress situations was due to the confidence he held for his team. He shared his knowledge and experience freely, worked tirelessly into the early morning hours to ensure attention to every detail that would often become the catalyst for a win.

Many of Paul's biggest accomplishments came while working with fellow hall of famer Pascal Picotte, but he also worked with other Hall of Famers, Steve Crevier and Mario Duhamel, among others. He has headed teams and built motorcycles that won for Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Buell, and Ducati. While working with Yamaha and Picotte, he won back-to-back 'Tuner of the Year' trophies in 2003 and 2004.

He has had success not only on the road race track, but in ice racing, flat track, 4-wheeler competition and snowmobile dragsters. He constantly strove for more understanding of what made horsepower, and what didn’t, as well as what kind of delivery was needed to make that power work.

He has been a tremendous mentor to many trackside tuners, engine builders and crew chiefs. He has provided a great example with his tremendous work ethic, grace under pressure, and thoughtful approach to development and problem solving. Most also remember his gallows sense of humour, necessary to cope with the stresses of a serious racing effort.

There aren't many in Canadian road racing who have worked harder, had such a competitive spirit, and has provided such mentorship.

Paul lives in St. Paul d'Abbotsford with Edith, his wife of 46 years. They have 2 daughters, Chantal and Sophie who admire their father’s accomplishments in all things. He enjoys playing guitar and in particular playing the music of Elvis Presley. He has made several trips to Graceland, the first of which was with Edith, on the back of his motorcycle. While there, he even performed and recorded some Elvis music at the Sun recording studio! He has also participated in Elvis tributes to some acclaim.

Paul was mostly retired, but was still involved in building engines for people who enjoy fast things.

Paul passed away November 17, 2021 and inducted posthumously.

La réputation de Paul Fournier en tant que préparateur de courses sur route est solide au Canada et aux États-Unis. Il a livré le travail sans beaucoup de fanfare - pas de blabla, pas de chichi - un mentor hautement qualifié et un ami qui est bien respecté parmi la communauté de course pour sa réputation de construire des moteurs de course puissants et d'obtenir les victoires pour lesquelles tout le monde se bat.

Il a travaillé pour amener de nombreux coureurs et championnats de constructeurs aux plus hauts niveaux en Amérique du Nord.

La fascination de Paul Fournier pour les moteurs et la compétition a commencé en 1973, sur la piste d'accélération locale. Le succès là-bas l'a finalement amené aux motos et aux courses sur route. Il a développé des compétences non seulement du côté technique des moteurs et des châssis, mais aussi dans la sélection des membres de l'équipe et en leur fournissant le soutien dont ils avaient besoin pour développer leurs propres compétences. Sa capacité à rester calme et concentré dans des situations de stress élevé était due à la confiance qu'il avait pour son équipe. Il a partagé ses connaissances et son expérience librement, a travaillé sans relâche jusqu'au petit matin pour veiller à ce que chaque détail devienne le catalyseur d'une victoire.

Bon nombre des plus grandes réalisations de Paul sont survenues en travaillant avec un autre membre du Panthéon de la Moto, Pascal Picotte, mais il a également travaillé avec d'autres membres du Temple de la renommée, Steve Crevier et Mario Duhamel, entre autres. Il a dirigé des équipes et construit des motos qui ont gagné pour Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Buell et Ducati. Alors qu'il travaillait avec Yamaha et Picotte, il a remporté les trophées « Tuner of the Year » consécutifs en 2003 et 2004.

Il a eu du succès non seulement sur la piste de course, mais aussi dans la course sur glace, le flat-track, la compétition de quatre-roues et les drags de motoneige. Il s'efforçait constamment de mieux comprendre ce qui faisait la puissance et ce qui ne l'était pas, ainsi que le type de transmission nécessaire pour que cette puissance fonctionne.

Il a été un formidable mentor pour de nombreux préparateurs, constructeurs de moteurs et "team managers." Il a fourni un excellent exemple avec sa formidable éthique de travail, son calme sous la pression et son approche réfléchie du développement et de la résolution de problèmes. La plupart se souviennent également de son sens de l'humour plein d'entrain, nécessaire pour faire face au stress d'un effort de course sérieux.

Il n'y en a pas beaucoup dans le domaine de la course canadienne qui ont travaillé aussi fort, qui ont eu un tel esprit de compétition et qui ont fourni un tel mentorat.

Paul habite à Saint-Paul d'Abbotsford avec Edith, son épouse depuis 46 ans. Ils ont 2 filles, Chantal et Sophie qui admirent les réalisations de leur père en toutes choses. Il aime jouer de la guitare et en particulier jouer la musique d'Elvis Presley. Il a fait plusieurs voyages à Graceland, dont le premier avec Edith, à l'arrière de sa moto. Là-bas, il a même joué et enregistré de la musique d'Elvis au studio d'enregistrement Sun ! Il a également participé à des hommages d'Elvis à quelques acclamations.

Paul est en grande partie à la retraite maintenant, mais est toujours impliqué dans la construction de moteurs pour les personnes qui aiment les véhicules rapides.

Rick Hobbs - Class of 2018

Vada — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 01:13:31 +0000

Rick Hobbs - Class of 2018 Vada Thu, 01/24/2019 - 20:13

Rick’s first race as a professional mechanic was very memorable when his rider, Eddie Lawson took the win

Rick grew up around motorcycles and cars, his father raced in the 1950’s and had motorcycles when he was young. Rick loved to clean his Dad’s bikes and pretend to ride them, Dad noticed and brought home a Suzuki step-through 50cc. After many moves across Canada they settled in Whitehorse, Yukon when Rick was 12. He got another motorcycle (Kawasaki 100cc) when he was 14 and spent many hours riding, racing and repairing (sometimes in his bedroom when it was cold!) his understanding mother looked the other way!

Rick worked in his father’s body repair shop part time after school then full time job when he finished high school. His dad noticed that his heart wasn’t in the job and knowing how passionate Rick was about motorcycles, encouraged him to go to motorcycle repair school. After completing school, he worked at several jobs and wound up in Vancouver B.C., getting a job at Vancouver Suzuki as service manager. Gary Goodfellow owned the shop, was just starting to do some roadracing and needed help at the track preparing the bikes. Rick volunteered and spent many evenings at the shop and weekends at the racetrack, learning and trying to improve the bike’s performance. He loved it.

After brief time in Hawaii, Rick returned to Vancouver and connected with Tom Walther, working on his 3 racebikes in 1986 then on his 600 and Superbike in 1987. Unfortunately Tom passed away from injuries sustained at a race in Japan near the end of ’87. Rick had moved to Toronto in anticipation of Tom racing for Suzuki Canada in ’88. When this didn’t happen he took a service manager position at McBride Cycle in Toronto, then began working for Art Robbins on a part time basis. When Art retired from racing, Rick worked for Paul MacMillan on the Ciampini Racing team to finish out the ’88 season.

Still working at McBride Cycle, Rick was also working with Steve Crevier, whom he had known from his time in Vancouver. Steve Wyatt (R.I.P) and he worked together on Steve’s 3 racebikes (Aprilia 250, Yamaha 600 and Yamaha OWO1 Superbike). They had the good fortune to win all 3 Canadian RACE National Championships they competed in, a dream season!

The following year (still at McBrides) Rick worked for Michel Mercier on another Yamaha OWO1 Superbike, Michel won the RACE National Superbike championship for ’90, then retired. Rick stayed with his FAST racing team for ’91/’92, working for Linnley Clarke. They wound up winning the 600 RACE National Championship 2 years in a row and just missed out on the ’92 Superbike title by a couple of points.

At the end of the 1992 race season, Rick returned to California accepting a job with Vance & Hines Racing, to work as a chassis mechanic for Jamie James. Jamie was injured and couldn’t ride at the first race of the ’93 season, the Daytona 200. None other than 4 time World Champion Eddie Lawson would fill in for Jamie. After a very long hard week, Eddie wound up winning, making Rick’s first race as a full time professional mechanic very memorable! In 1994 he built engines for Jamie in 600 Supersport and was his chassis mechanic in Superbike, Jamie would win the AMA 600 Supersport title and missed out on the Superbike title by a single point!

In 1995 Rick continued as Jamie’s chassis mechanic and also built engines for Tom Kipp in 750 Supersport, Tom went on to win the ’95 AMA 750 Supersport Championship.

At the end of the 1996 season, Yamaha decided to take their Racing program in-house so Rick went to work at Yamaha USA, working with Tom Kipp. At the end of the ’97 season Rick accepted an offer to work for Kevin Erion Racing, working as crew chief and engine builder for Eric Bostrom, Tripp Nobles, Randy Renfrow and Kurtis Roberts. Eric went on to win the AMA Formula Extreme Championship that year.

In 1999 they had a smaller team with only 2 riders, a big relief as the workload in ’97 was huge! Their riders were Nicky Hayden (R.I.P) and Kurtis Roberts, both racing in AMA Formula Extreme and 600 Supersport. Nicky won the 600 Supersport Championship and Kurtis won the FX Championship. Kurtis went on to win the 2000 FX and 600 Supersport Championship as well.

From 2001 to 2005 they had a lull in Championships, but worked with a bunch of great riders including Roger Hayden, Mike Hale, Mark Miller, Jake Zemke, Josh Hayes, Alex Gobert and Hawk Mazzotta.

2006 saw a return to Championship status with Josh Hayes on the 600 FX bike. Aaron Gobert also won FX races and finished 2^nd to Josh in FX final points. 2007 was another FX Championship for Josh Hayes, again with Aaron Gobert finishing 2^nd in points.

A change in rider lineup with Jake Zemke taking over for Aaron Gobert and Josh Hayes returning. Jake won the ’08 FX Championship in a close fight with his teammate Josh Hayes.

Honda pulled all roadracing support after 2009, Rick left for a job with a company building an updated version of a McLaren M6 CanAm car. In early 2011 he took a position at Graves Motorsports, working with Chris Clark on his Yamaha Superbike for the 2011 season.

In 2012/13 Rick worked as crew chief for Josh Herrin, winning the AMA National Superbike Championship.

From 2014 through present day Rick is the crew chief/engine builder for Cameron Beaubier, racing in the MotoAmerica FIM/NA Superbike Championship. Cam won the championship in 2015 and 2016 and is leading the 2018 championship as this is being written.

Nick Kemp - Class of 2017

admin — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 15:16:43 +0000

Nick Kemp - Class of 2017 admin Fri, 01/19/2018 - 10:16

“He hasn’t been stumped yet”

Nick Kemp was born in Toronto April 3, 1949, a surprise twin to parents John and Nettie Kemp. As a child, he always showed an interest in mechanical workings. To the frustration of his siblings he was most interested in working parts, but not always motivated to put things back together.

Nick became the go to kid on the block for bicycle and wagon repair. The family split their time between Toronto and Keswick. His racing career started in 1959 when he entered the first annual Keswick Soap Box Derby using found parts (baby buggy wheels 2X4s and rope) he built his own car and was crowned Soap Box Derby Champ and perhaps this was his inspiration to set out on a life “striving to create the awesome.”

Nick Kemp is one of Canada’s most accomplished motorcycle builders and is well known for his innovation in design, engineering and building of bikes in various areas of motorcycle racing.

Other areas that his mechanical genius influenced were from his first 150 Honda bought in 1967 to his Kawasaki A1SS Avenger. In 1972 he set a lap record at Mosport in a ride referred to as “inspired madness.” Riding his A1SS Avenger that after 15 laps, went from last place to first, he set a 250cc production lap record and passed reigning #1 plate holder, Jim Dunn.

When not racing, he carved pistons along with Mike Crompton, from blanks of aircraft aluminum. For snowmobile racer, Mike Weatherill, he refurbished the factory twin track Formula One racer with an intricate hand-made steering linkage and chassis parts of carbon fibre and Kevlar. Another innovative project was a Yamaha TZ250 engine used by Martin Schubert at Daytona in 1984.

Nick Kemp, a former Honda Canada trouble shooter, has been a mechanic and rider in a range of motorcycle events from road racing to Hill Climbers and Drag Bikes. As a builder and mechanic, he is known for innovation and craftsmanship in all forms of racing. His particular skill, in the area of mechanics, was described by Damian James in an article in Cycle Canada 1982, as a man “whose hands act like socket extensions.”

Nick was the team mechanic since 1976 for the William’s Pro Hillclimbing. His mechanical innovations brought a multi-cylinder Honda to professional Hill climbing; the first of its kind fuel injected running on 100 proof nitro resulting in over 200bhp. This combined with his swing arm suspension revolutionized the sport creating better times up the hills and resulting in eight World Championships, 40 state championships, 5 Grand National Championships and 10 Canadian National Championships as other teams tried to redesign in order to keep pace with Nick’s ingenuity.

When Williams had his eye on the 750cc class, after being ribbed by his friends about when he was going to play with the big boys, John and Nick came up with a six cylinder Benelli Sei which is actually a CB500 look alike. Nick estimates he has put 900 to 1,000 hours into this two-wheeled missile. The Benelli puts out about 300hp on 100 per cent nitro and redlines at 14,000rpm. With such a short running time, there’s no chance to change gear so all but 2^nd gear have been removed. Starting the Benelli takes two people who know exactly what they are doing.

When Williams and Kemp first fired up the bike, neighbours three km away from William’s Markham home came down to find out what was making the unearthly noise. The use of pure nitro means the oil must be changed after every two-run event since build up of nitro blow-by turns the coolant into a highly volatile fuel which can explode with massive violence.

Nick’s skills are further enunciated in the mechanical innovations of his “Blue Bonneville Bomber. The first world class street legal drag bike was based on a Kawasaki 1300cc water cooled engine and the suspension and modifications were all designed by Nick. Owner, builder and bike won Best Engineered and Best in Class in major events such as the International World of Motorcycles and Toronto Speed Sport. Nick continued to pursue his interest in this and later altered this street legal bike to a wheelie bar version and then eventually to a full lie down bike. His innovations were picked up by Mike Laws race team and continues to do well.

Largely self-taught, he continues to explore the workings of engines and moving parts eager to engage in any unique project. There are no secrets, just knowledge and ideas to be shared in the process of peeling back the curtain on the impossible and sooner or later, he’ll make it work – he hasn’t been stumped yet.

Marcel Nadeau - Class of 2022

Vada — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 20:05:17 +0000

Marcel Nadeau - Class of 2022 Vada Tue, 02/21/2023 - 15:05

Marcel had a “good eye” for spotting talent

Marcel, like so many other young men in the 1950’s, became very interested in engines. Previously licensed as an aircraft technician and engine mechanic, he pursued a career in the world of motorcycles that lasted for most of his life. This commenced when he began working as a mechanic, first for Ray Gref and then at Bentley Cycle, Eastern Canada’s distributor of Harley-Davidsons.

Marcel learned valuable skills from the “old school tuners” at Bentley who had been active in various forms of racing and were pleased to pass along timing tricks. It didn’t take too long before he became involved in racing and building “fast” motors. Dirt track racing was very popular in Quebec and Ontario.

Marcel was promoted to the position of service manager and did such a good job that he was offered a position in management at a new affiliated business, Montreal Motorsports. This firm was BSA’s Canadian distributor for Quebec and the Maritimes. Sitting behind a desk was not his thing and he soon became Montreal Motorsports’ “road man.” His role was visiting the network dealerships to promote their bikes, take orders and provide service training for their mechanics. Marcel made many valuable contacts and new friends.

With racing growing rapidly in popularity, Marcel expanded his involvement in the field: first by building faster motors and bikes that had a reputation for being reliable, then becoming involved with track management and promotion, eventually becoming part owner of tracks at St. Martine and St. Mathieu. Marcel would bring Bentley’s bus with a mobile canteen and washroom for lady fans which was very well received.

Marcel’s bikes were winning Provincial and Canadian Championships in dirt track and ice racing. He had a “good eye” for spotting talent and offered support. He was also recognized as a racing authority and provided new riders with wise advice. One of these was arranged by Mike Lilly for Don McHugh who won many titles on Marcel’s BSA Gold Star. There were many others and it was considered an honour to receive Marcel’s support.

In order to have more time and a flexible work schedule, he set up his own bike shop in Montreal.

About this time, a young, slightly “wild” but very talented rider was being introduced to racing by two of his friends, Yvon St. Pierre and Roger Brassard. Marcel saw him in action and was very impressed. Soon Yvon Duhamel, was racing Marcel’s bikes and being coached by him. Marcel and Yvon made a very successful racing team. A couple of years later they decided to head south and compete in the USA. Yvon says that was a really big jump in the level of competition. At an early race in Syracuse (on a mile track) Yvon was doing very well so a Harley team member ran over his left leg to slow him down. Yvon recalls the incident with a knowing smile, “I guess I had a lot to learn.”

Yvon’s first trip to Daytona in 1961 was, he recalled, “the most exciting motorcycle event in his life.” He remembered finishing 11^th at that famous venue and well pleased with his results against a large field of top riders, many with valuable factory support. Marcel was also delighted and after this he and Yvon spent countless hours driving thousands of miles across the US to big races. Marcel’s “race savvy” helped the talented Yvon master some of the famous American tracks like Daytona, Laconia, Springfield, Mid-Ohio and many others. In the 7 years when Yvon rode Marcel’s bikes, he was the winner of the CMA’s number one plate five times. Yvon was recognized as a top level road racer and big international racing teams came calling. Whenever needed, Marcel was always available for advice or support.

Even today, Marcel’s exploits are legendary in racing circles in Quebec. His contributions to racing and his successes are still remembered across Canada and in the USA.

Marcel made huge personal sacrifices and made many generous donations of his time and modest resources to pursue his dream. With Yvon he was able to realize his dream to put Canada near the top of respected racing accomplishments.

No one knows better than Yvon how important a role Marcel played in their team’s climb to success. It is most fitting to have Marcel and Yvon together again as a respected team in the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Marcel Nadeau

Marcel, comme tant d'autres jeunes hommes dans les années 1950, s'est intéressé de près aux moteurs. Après avoir obtenu une licence de technicien d'aéronefs et de mécanicien de moteurs, il a poursuivi une carrière dans le monde des motocyclettes qui a duré presque toute sa vie. Cela a commencé lorsqu'il a commencé à travailler comme mécanicien, d'abord pour Ray Gref, puis chez Bentley Cycle, le distributeur de Harley-Davidson de l'Est du Canada.

Marcel a acquis de précieuses compétences auprès des "tuners de la vieille école" de Bentley, qui avaient participé à diverses formes de courses et étaient heureux de transmettre des astuces de chronométrage. Il n'a pas fallu longtemps pour qu'il s'implique dans les courses et la construction de moteurs "rapides". Les courses sur piste de terre battue étaient très populaires au Québec et en Ontario.

Marcel a été promu au poste de directeur du service et a fait un si bon travail qu'on lui a offert un poste de direction dans une nouvelle entreprise affiliée, Montreal Motorsports. Cette entreprise était le distributeur canadien de BSA pour le Québec et les Maritimes. Rester assis derrière un bureau n'est pas son truc et il devient rapidement le "road man" de Montreal Motorsports. Son rôle consistait à visiter les concessionnaires du réseau pour faire la promotion de leurs motos, prendre les commandes et donner une formation sur le service à leurs mécaniciens. Marcel a établi de nombreux contacts précieux et s'est fait de nouveaux amis.

La popularité des courses augmentant rapidement, Marcel s'est impliqué davantage dans le domaine : d'abord en construisant des moteurs plus rapides et des motos qui avaient la réputation d'être fiables, puis en s'impliquant dans la gestion et la promotion des pistes, pour finalement devenir copropriétaire des pistes de Sainte-Martine et de Saint-Mathieu. Marcel apportait le bus de Bentley avec une cantine mobile et des toilettes pour les fans féminines, ce qui était très bien accueilli.

Les motos de Marcel remportaient des championnats provinciaux et canadiens en course sur terre et sur glace. Il avait un " bon œil " pour repérer les talents et offrait son soutien. Il était également reconnu comme une autorité en matière de course et donnait aux nouveaux coureurs des conseils avisés. L'un d'eux a été arrangé par Mike Lilly pour Don McHugh qui a remporté de nombreux titres sur la BSA Gold Star de Marcel. Il y en a eu beaucoup d'autres et c'était considéré comme un honneur de recevoir le soutien de Marcel.

Afin d'avoir plus de temps et un horaire de travail flexible, il a ouvert son propre magasin de moto à Montréal.

À peu près à la même époque, un jeune coureur un peu "sauvage" mais très talentueux a été initié à la course par deux de ses amis, Yvon St-Pierre et Roger Brassard. Marcel l'a vu en action et a été très impressionné. Très vite, Yvon Duhamel a participé aux courses de Marcel et a été entraîné par lui. Marcel et Yvon ont formé une équipe de course très performante. Quelques années plus tard, ils ont décidé de partir vers le sud et de participer à des compétitions aux Etats-Unis. Yvon dit que cela a été un grand saut dans le niveau de compétition. Lors d'une première course à Syracuse (sur une piste de 1,5 km), Yvon se débrouillait très bien et un membre de l'équipe Harley lui a roulé sur la jambe gauche pour le ralentir. Yvon se souvient de l'incident avec un sourire entendu : "Je suppose que j'avais beaucoup à apprendre".

Le premier voyage d'Yvon à Daytona en 1961 a été, se souvient-il, "l'événement moto le plus excitant de sa vie". Il se souvient d'avoir terminé 11e sur ce célèbre site et d'avoir été très satisfait de ses résultats face à un grand nombre de pilotes de haut niveau, dont beaucoup bénéficiaient d'un précieux soutien de l'usine. Marcel était également ravi et après cela, Yvon et lui ont passé d'innombrables heures à parcourir des milliers de kilomètres à travers les États-Unis pour assister à de grandes courses. Le "sens de la course" de Marcel a aidé le talentueux Yvon à maîtriser certains des célèbres circuits américains comme Daytona, Laconia, Springfield, Mid-Ohio et bien d'autres. Pendant les 7 années où Yvon a roulé sur les motos de Marcel, il a remporté cinq fois la plaque numéro un de la CMA. Yvon a été reconnu comme un coureur sur route de haut niveau et de grandes équipes de course internationales ont fait appel à lui. En cas de besoin, Marcel était toujours disponible pour des conseils ou du soutien.

Encore aujourd'hui, les exploits de Marcel sont légendaires dans le milieu de la course moto au Québec. Ses contributions à la course et ses succès sont toujours présents dans les mémoires au Canada et aux États-Unis.

Marcel a fait d'énormes sacrifices personnels et a fait de nombreux dons généreux de son temps et de ses modestes ressources pour poursuivre son rêve. Avec Yvon, il a pu réaliser son rêve de placer le Canada au sommet des réalisations respectées en matière de courses.

Personne ne sait mieux qu'Yvon à quel point Marcel a joué un rôle important dans l'ascension de leur équipe vers le succès. Il est tout à fait approprié que Marcel et Yvon soient à nouveau réunis en tant qu'équipe respectée au sein du Panthéon Canadien de la Moto

Jimmy Sehl - Class of 2009

admin — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:11:09 +0000

Jimmy Sehl - Class of 2009 admin Fri, 09/29/2017 - 16:11

“A great mechanic, tuner and unbelievable friend”

A successful race tuner in Canada must be the soul of generosity, as otherwise few or none could afford his services. Neither purse money nor sponsor dollars, especially in earlier days, could provide adequate compensation for the endless hours of solitary effort that go into building a winning machine. If they truly counted their time, most race mechanics would find minimum wage something to look forward to.

Pursuing the next race win, year after year and decade after decade, with a long list of rider talent requires a special level of commitment. That commitment is synonymous with Jim Sehl.

Jim Sehl from Northern Ontario Motorcycle on Vimeo.

Jim is the big brother of his generation of Sehls, and the man who consistently put winning machinery under both his younger siblings, Dave and Doug. Jim was a racer, himself, and knows first-hand what’s required when the green flag drops. He supported all the Steel City Riders events, riding scrambles, trials, ice races and hillclimbs on AJS, BSA and Triumph, and also had a go at road racing in the early 60s. Jim settled on dirt track and raced his 650 Triumph on a variety of circuits; his favourite was a TT course at Medina, N.Y., where he rode until 1974.

Jim was born in Woodstock, Ontario in 1941 and has always worked with his hands. In his early days, Jim worked as a car mechanic in an alignment shop but, around 1967, was talked into taking up the motorcycle trade by Lloyd Weston. Lloyd owned a motorcycle shop near Guelph and was an energetic promoter of all things motorcycling. He had a scrambles course set up behind the shop and, during the five years he worked for Lloyd, Jim began competing there.

In 1972, Jim moved to Hamilton to work at PK Sports for six years, then became a partner in Power House Honda in Hamilton and Oakville until 1983. He then spent three years at Doug’s Cycle in Grimsby until owner ,Doug Ratcliffe, closed the business and moved to Florida to sell computers. After a short stint at Suzuki Plus in Hamilton, Jim found his niche at Baldwin’s Cycle in Dunnville and worked there close to 20 years.

Jim and his wife, Marilyn, have three children, Jamie, Bob and Scott, all of whom competed on motorcycles. Nowadays, it’s Jim’s grandchildren carrying the Sehl family name to the race track.

Jim’s always been interested in how things work and ways to make them work better, and his motorcycles are state-of-the-art. He sourced the best frames from Trackmaster, Sonic and Rickman Metisse, and wrapped them around his favoured Triumph engines. After his attention, they rivaled the best from the Triumph factory in England or from Rod Coates at the company’s headquarters in the Eastern U.S. It was all Jim’s handiwork, done in his basement or garage on his own time — small wonder that ambitious riders beat a path to his door for tuning services.

The recipients of Jim’s expertise included his brothers, Dave and Doug, Michel Mercier, Moe Fraser, Chris Evans, Bob Harpwood, Corky Keener, Buck Brown, Bobby Stevens, Jim Gill — and the list goes on. Says dirt track legend, John Parker, Over my 42-year racing career, Jim Sehl has been both a help and an inspiration to me as a rider and as a tuner. He has always been willing to help others and share his knowledge. I don’t think there’s a tuner in Canadian history on pavement or dirt that has won or been instrumental in as many No. 1 plates as Jim Sehl — somewhere in excess of twenty.

Michel Mercier says, Jimmy is a big part of my success in my motorcycle racer career. He gave me confidence, and tuned and maintained the next machines with which I could show my talent. Jimmy, you deserve to be recognized as a great mechanic, tuner and unbelievable friend.

Bob Work - Class of 2014

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 21:08:49 +0000

Bob Work - Class of 2014 admin Tue, 10/24/2017 - 17:08

A mechanical genius and a successful team manager

“Bo” to his friends, born in 1939, grew up in East Vancouver and became involved with performance tuning drag cars and motorcycles at an early age. Bob owned many of the hi-performance motorcycles of the day, a Manx Norton, BSA Gold Star, an Ariel Red hunter and a HD KR dirt tracker that is now in the Deeley museum. He also tried his hand at all types of competition such as scrambles, road race and dirt track. These bikes all had a tendency to fall down when he raced them so Bob decided it was best that he do the tuning and leave the racing to the more gifted rider.

Bob became Canadian National Service Manager for the Yamaha distributor, Pacific Seaboard Ltd. in 1962. When Trev Deeley Ltd. took over the reins, Bob soon took on the additional responsibility of race director. Upon hiring Yvon Duhamel in 1967, he created his first successful Yamaha road racing team.

With a National number one plate in Canada, Yvon won the CMA Webster Trophy that year. Over the next three years Bob and Yvon would win the Daytona 250cc twice, take second at the 200 mile and set a record qualifying at over 242.8 kph that still stands today. In 1968 Yvon was the top AMA 250cc racer with Trev Deeley riders Mike Duff and Pete Kellond finishing 5th and 8th respectively. In 1970 Yvon would finish 3rd in the 250cc in his last season with Bob Work and Yamaha and 4th overall in the AMA standings. Through his many years at the Daytona races, Bob would be responsible for up to 9 riders sponsored on Yamaha products, most of them Canadians.

In 1972, Bob offered a Yamaha road race bike to Steve Baker, a 17 year old dirt track star from Bellingham, WA. Steve would soon translate his dirt track skills into success on the asphalt.

By 1976 Bob had tuned Steve Baker’s Yamaha race bikes to a total of 9 Canadian Road Race Championships. The International success of Team Baker/Work was recognized that year with an Ambassador Award from the Canadian Motorcycle Association. Their hard work and years of racing experience was rewarded in 1977 when their team won the World Formula 750 Championship.

During the 1970’s Bob’s race director responsibilities encompassed all motorcycle genres. Bo’s ability to ID talented riders produced many Provincial and National Championships. Riders such as Ron Keys, Yvon Duhamel, Mike Duff, Zoli Berenyi Jr., Billy McLean, Jim Allen, Paul Germain, Larry MacKenzie, Ross Pederson, Dave Aldana, Jim Dunn, Keri Nissinen and Hiekki Ylonen were among the list of Yamaha Motor Canada sponsored riders.

Bob’s mechanical genius contributed to the development and refinement of many Yamaha products. Bob Work was also instrumental in the creation of one of motorsports’ most notorious motorcycles, the TZ750 Flattracker. Kenny Roberts managed one Grand National win in 1975 at the Indy Mile before the AMA banned the over powered bike from the series.

It was Bob Work’s success as the Yamaha Race Team Manager that is the hallmark of his career. He has helped Yamaha riders to earn over 50 Canadian National Championships, 7 White Trophies, 3 Bill Webster Awards, close to 100 Provincial Championships and 1 World Championship. Such influence on the Canadian motorcycle industry may never be equaled.