Darcy Gray,
Freelance
Published: Friday, May 26, 2006
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Here for Photo 1 - Click Here for
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EDMONTON - This year's
Harley-Davidson drag races might definitively show that the bike with the most
intelligent geometry will also post the best race times.
Two local residents have teamed
up with an American bike-racing champion to design a completely new engine
"program" known as the "Derringer" engine. It features a
one-piece crankshaft that they trust will give them a competitive edge during
the 2006 drag-bike racing season. Using their imagination, their experience and
the Internet, the three shared and compared designs until they all agreed upon a
blueprint that is so hot it might spontaneously combust.
If it were possible to patent
the geometry used to build the "Derringer Engine," which comes with a
one-piece, side-by-side automotive-style rods and massive Top Fuel-style main
bearings crankshaft, the math would be priceless.
"When we first started in
1993, nobody had a one-piece crank in the Nitro Pro Dragster class. We still are
the only Canadian ones," said Jerry Gordon, Edmonton resident and crew
chief.
Gordon, along with rider Al
Miles, says that creating their custom-made crankshaft reminded them of the
memorable quote by Wilfred Grenfell: "If we face our tasks with the
resolution to solve them, who shall say that anything is impossible?"
Both men say the efforts they
put into developing horsepower and tune-up specifications in their racing bike
paid off during the 1997 All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) season.
Based in Pfafftown, North Carolina, it is the biggest Harley drag-racing
association in the world.
In 1997, they finished as
runner-up in four races and in two semifinal races until they lost the final
race by only six-ten thousandths of a second. However, they did win the No. 2
plate in association at the end of the '97 season. They accomplished this using
a conventional Harley-Davidson-style five-piece crank and much modified cast
Harley-Davidson engine cases.
They say they believe they lost
the 1997 championship races because they could not completely perform the
necessary engine repairs in the time allotted between rounds at the season final
race.
The engine configuration was the
problem. It was inherently weak, especially in the crankshaft/rod assembly
department.
The crank bearings were
constantly failing. The Canadian duo had fine-tuned their machine to the point
of perfection, only to split the crankshaft roller bearings in half or
"grind them into powder" under phenomenal detonation pressures.
Perhaps like others on their own
racing circuits, the trio's success masqueraded as their failure, but in their
case the repeated breakdowns had really spoiled the mood.
"It got to the point where
we were spending more time fixing motors instead of racing them," Gordon
said. "It was no fun anymore. We actually had to detune the motor just to
stay in the race. We could rebuild any part of a motor in an hour, but it took
up to 30 hours to build a crankshaft and engine cases."
"By the year 2000, out of
frustration we introduced the Edmonton manufactured Silver Bullet engine
program," Miles said. "This featured billet engine cases and a much
improved crankshaft system."
By 2002 this motor program was
blossoming. Although they labored through many motors, they did find some
success and they were rewarded with two consecutive Pro Dragster Championships
in the CMDRA (Canadian Motorcycle Drag Racing Association). They used this motor
program in 2003 to win five out of six races, but were still breaking engine
parts.
They sold their 2003
championship bike to put the cash into research and development for a new bike
and a more durable engine design.
Johnny Vickers, a U.S.-record
champion in the same fuel class, joined the pair, contributing extensive time
and effort to their private war effort.
They needed only one year to
crunch the numbers and design a solid engine program complete with new engine
case, cylinders, and with a one piece crankshaft that is compatible with
automotive-style rods and shell-style bearings.
This new system, which
incorporates special bearings that are used by NASCAR as well as Honda, takes
over from the original five-piece Harley Davidson roller bearing design that had
regularly failed the team.
"Every piece is custom
made. The crankshaft was built by a custom auto crankshaft builder called Moldex,
in Michigan," said Miles.
"We're confident we'll get
back to where we were in 2003 and beyond with this design," Gordon added.
"The metallurgy of this metal is so sophisticated that describing its
chemical makeup would require a lot of space on a piece of paper."
It's hoped the design will
achieve low-to-mid seven second times at 180 m.p.h. or more, covering 0 to 60
m.p.h. in as little as the first four feet of the quarter-mile strip. With an
unorthodox small displacement of 120 cubic inches and a 45-degree V-twin
cylinder design, their customized creation is called the Derringer, named after
a small but powerful handgun.
The bike's body resembles a
popular Harley-Davidson design Sportster but it is not a Harley Davidson
product. As a completely customized motorbike, this new Canadian-made Derringer
packs more than 400 horsepower and is built to withstand the rigors, anomalies
and intense explosive pressures that nitro methane fuelled motorcycles create.
These engines are available at Hi-Per Cycle in Edmonton.
Even at 200 horsepower, the new
bearings can withstand far denser air-fuel pressures than regular gasoline. The
group believes the flat, long Honda bearings will better withstand the intense
explosive pressures of Nitro-methane.
Miles and Gordon say they are
ready for the competition and will be racing at Edmonton's Castrol Raceway June
17-18, as well as Aug. 12-13 as part of the CMDRA Nitro Harley show.
"This is a brand new
program no one has ever done before," Miles said in reference to their
machine. "When one U.S. racer found out what we had going, he said he
believed many competitors will have reason to be fearful once we get this beast
working."
© The
Edmonton Journal 2006
