Several folks have been asking lately, so...

REQUIREMENTS, CONSIDERATIONS & PREPARATIONS
FOR VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE ROADRACING

There are many things to consider before you can go vintage bike roadracing, whether you intend to do one or two races just for fun, or run an entire season and contend for a championship.

One of the first things to decide is what particular series you intend to race in; several factors will play into this decision including motorcycle classes available in the series and tracks where series events are held. Annual membership dues vary from series to series, and can be significant.

Depending on the series, fielding a bike can range from very inexpensive to ridiculous. Some of the sanctioning bodies with more liberal classes allow near-stock older bikes with nominal safety measures such as lockwiring and oil retaining equipment, with “street” tires; the cost to prepare a bike that will pass tech and maybe even be competitive in these series can be just a few hundred dollars for an old Honda 350, and a few hundred more for tires and preparation. On the other end of the spectrum are those classes with very strict vintage bike requirements where the cost of a vintage race replica bike is easily in the thousands, with much more spent on ensuring competitiveness and longevity.

The biggest key to setting up a race bike is reliability. The bike MUST finish the race, or it is useless, no matter how many thousands of dollars you might spend on trick race parts; build it by the book, and by the rules. If you do have the pockets to spend on race bits, don’t just stuff them into a tired old engine; they can’t turn a slug into a bullet. Concentrate on making sure every part and component is in good condition, and well within tolerances, then build from there.

Another major expense in racing a vintage bike is travel. Some sanctioning bodies have regional series where three to five races are run within a single state, or in close neighboring states. Other series are spread out from coast to coast. If you only intend to run a few races a year, this may not be as important as concentrating your resources on fielding a competitive bike.

Obtaining a license to roadrace vintage bikes is unbelievably simple. If you can ride a bike reasonably well, and have the confidence to get out on a track with other riders in close proximity at relatively high speeds, you can attend racing schools where even the bike and leathers are provided; you just show up with cash, a checkbook or credit card. Most roadracing schools require riders to have their own bikes & safety equipment, typically full-face helmet and full leathers, gloves and boots. For racing school, you do not necessarily need to use the bike you intend to race; you can use any nominally prepared bike. Reading a few books on the subject, such as Keith Code’s “A Twist of the Wrist”, is a good idea if you have never ridden fast on a bike.

Depending on the sanctioning body and/or series, new riders are required to not only attend racing school, but also attend a minimum number of events and perform track worker duties before being allowed to race as a novice.

Something worth considering, especially for those on a budget, is Endurance racing. You can obtain a racing license and become part of an endurance team where the cost of the race bike is shared by the members; if you have really good friends, and are a relatively good rider, you might even be able to get a ride for free if your attitude and abilities will help the team be competitive.

Starting out by volunteering at the tracks, and helping your friends in their racing efforts, loading and unloading, setting up pits and campsites, working on bikes, buying rounds of burgers or pizzas; all of this will go a long way toward building positive attributes in becoming a future race team RIDING member, even though you don’t have a race bike of your own.

You never know when a racer is getting ready to hang up his leathers, but is watching people in the racing community, looking for a rider he can put on his bike so that he can stay active in the racing scene. One thing for sure is that when they are looking, they aren’t always just looking on the track where the fun and excitement is happening with the celebrities; they also spend plenty of time in the pits and around the track where the faceless, thankless work is done.

Sponsorship is something else to think about. The big race teams aren’t the only ones that get backing from manufacturers, suppliers and distributors; even small-time privateers manage to talk their business associates and friends into backing them up with a season’s supply of race fuel, tires, oil & spark plugs, spare parts and any number of other items that all add up such as race entry fees, travel expenses, food and lodging.

The key to being a good self-promoter is to being well informed about your entire racing program, from the sanctioning body & series, it’s sponsors, venues where races are held, to media that covers the events, etc. If you can put together a convincing sales pitch for your potential sponsor to get their name out in the public eye, you will be rewarded for your efforts. Drafting some simple ideas for sponsor exposure including proposed graphics on vehicles and racing leathers, pit banners, promotional flyers, and guarantee that you’ll mention them prominently in the winners circle, will help round out a good presentation to a potential sponsor.

Another great program is contingency money; different vendors offer contingency prizes for racers using their products, and prominently displaying their logos on bikes & equipment. Basically, free money for sticking stickers on your bike!

I am a firm proponent of doing regular business with local dealerships, even if I do a considerable share of my business on the Internet; this relationship will serve as the basis for discussion when the time comes to seek out potential sponsors. You stand a much better chance of snagging a new set of race tires from a dealer that knows you well, than you do from a shop where you’ve never showed your face, much less bought a set of spark plugs.

Something that gets overlooked sometimes is that you can have just as much fun racing a scruffy old 250cc Blue-Smoker on a tight little track as you can have on a 1000cc Vintage Superbike at Daytona (well, nearly as much fun). Once the green flag drops, if you’ve got a bike in front of you, the object is the same – to get in front of them!

Personally, I think if I can do it, anyone can do it. So what are you waiting for?

Paul Zuniga, Laredo, Texas
AHRMA rider #142, Historic Production Heavyweight, 1969 Triumph 650 Bonneville


Typical expenses and considerations when formulating your plan:
Track School, Roadracing License, Bike for obtaining license, Travel expense to racing school if not local
Expense for track workdays if required by sanctioning body
Racing bike & setup
Safety equipment including leathers, helmet, gloves, boots, back protection, etc.
Race bike consumables including racing fuel, tires, oil, spark plugs, etc.
Series membership fees / annual dues, AMA membership / annual dues (often required)
Travel expenses to races, Track entry fees, Race entry fees, Camping, lodging, food, etc. at race events

Links to resources:
American Historic Racing Motorcycles Association www.ahrma.org
American Motorcyclist’s Association www.ama-cycle.org
Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association www.cmraracing.com
WERA Roadracing Association www.wera.com
Lone Star Track Days www.lstd.com
A Twist of the Wrist http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... enow600-20
Bynum’s – Links to sanctioning bodies, schedules http://www.geocities.com/~bynums/

Valuable and thoughtful post, Paul.

I agree, thanks Paul.

Would you consider sponsoring me.?
I'd like three bikes and a van to start with, and you can be the Mechanic.........
AC.

Sure, I'll sponsor you.

Send a check for $150,000 and the van, bikes, and leathers with my logo on them will arrive in 10 days' time.

My uncle & cousins have a Chevy franchise, i can drive off the lot within an hour of a phone call, as long as it's in inventory.

I can get on the vintage racing forum and pull a couple of race-ready bikes out of the classifieds in about 10 minutes.

The leathers can come off e-bay in 2 to 3 days.

The logos and patches will take at least a week.

bwolfie wrote:I knew it. Although since the vans are chevys they probably won't make it.

Don't be so sure.

My '04 pickup has 110,000 and never spent a day in the shop 'till last month when they replaced all the O2 sensors & catcons. GTO (gas, tires & oil) only.

Paul, I will send you a cheque for $150,000.00, if you'r silly enough to try and cash it.
I could here my bank manager laughing from here.
AC.

Im still young (28). Id like to in the next 10 years or so start some vintage racing. Id like to keep things going when all you old farts stop riding:)

Do they require a state driver license to issue a race license?

hobot wrote:Do they require a state driver license to issue a race license?

No.

OK -ohoh.

They don't care whether you know how to drive or not, only whether you can RACE safely.

Apparently, there is a difference...

Is there a system of qualifications to acquire your race license similar to auto road racing? I know before you are aloud to get into head to head aggressive passing, you must be signed off by a certified driver.