a FLASH - Carl`s Speed Shop

by Mark Marselli and Buzz Kanter.
Photos by Buzz Kanter and Tim Remus
he FLASH (Fastest Legal AllStreet Harleys) race finals, sponsored by Rivera Engineering, Competition Cam's V Thunder and
S&S Cycles, came down to a dramatic Keystone state finaL Two Pennsylvania men,
Jim Young on his powerful! 06 cu. in. stroker
Shovelhead, and Ed Lisowski on his hot 74
inch Sportster, went head-to-head for a record
payday at the Sturgis Dragway in South
Dakota.
You couldn't have asked for a better fmal
match-up for AIM's first-ever FLASH race,
held during the Black Hills Classic. Both
men are Harley dealership mechanics -Jim
T
down when the adrenalin is flowing in a
major way.
The wildest wheelie ofthe night, however,
was accomplished by one of the most experienced riders - professional drag racer
Mike Shute, on AIM's Red Hot Sporty.
Mike, who was trying to tweak a few tenths
off his time, took off in about as vertical a
wheelie as you will ever see, saving it by
throwing himself hard into the gas tank.
"That's the last time I ride someone else's
bike," Mike vowed later, knowing that he
will be reminded ofthat wild ride for years to
come.
Among those who witnessed this memo-
AIM Drag Race Shootout
·In
a
FLASH
Over
First-Ever
Street
Challenge
a Thriller!
at Howell H-D and Ed at Spirit H-D - who
race on a low budget, depending more on
smarts than exotic components. Each man
blasted his way through the field of29 riders
on Wednesday to get to the final run.
Getting there was no small feat. There was
stiffcompetition, including two powerhouse
entries from Carl's Speed Shop in California, one a Sportster that ran a blistering 6.915
seconds at 104.89 mph (it later fell victim to
a bad battery). The other entry, a potentFXR,
also ridden by Doug Morrow, was beaten by
Jim and his Shovelhead in a tight (7.099 to
7.251) race.
Before the racing began, Mother Nature
sent a wake-up call of her own, pelting the
dragway with a blinding rain and hail storm
that blew over several tents and at least one
race bike. The FLASH racers were soaked,
and everywhere you looked riders struggled
to hold on to tents and canopies, some of
which ended up flying away anyway.
"Hey, is this supposed to be the FLASH
race or the SPLASH Race," Bubba, the
ARDRA (All-Harley Drag Racing Association) announcer quipped.
The rough weather fmally passed, at least
long enough for the field to get trimmed
down to the two finalists. There was lots of
action as several first-time drag racers found
out that it's hard to keep the front wheel
62 AMERICAN IRON MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 1993
rable moment was AIM Publisher Buzz
Kanter, who himself has been known to
occasionally ride the project bike on one
wheel. "I was pretty sure that ifanyone could
hold it, Mike could," Buzz said. "Mike didn't
disappoint me or the audience."
The eliminations continued, and even those
who lost were thrilled by the experience.
"It was unbelievable. It was so exciting I
never even saw my tach," declared Tom
Clark of New York, whose stroker ran a
9.436 at 73.89 mph. "Everyone has gotto try
this at least once!"
"When I saw the flyer announcing the
FLASH Race, I was real excited. We knew it
was for us," said Rob Tillson and Frank
Solenberg ofShelbyville, Indiana. Rob is the
man who beat Mike Shute on theAIMSporty,
running an 8.066 at 90 mph.
Eventually, it came down to Jim and Ed.
By now it was late, and before the final run
could be held, the rains returned and they had
to wait till the next day.
The winner of this race was going to walk
away with $3,000 in his pocket, the loser
with $1,500. That $3,000 was more than
either man had ever won before, and is likely
the largest pay-out ever for an organized
street-legal Harley race.
Both men spent the afternoon cleaning
their bikes (look for more tech info on them
in the December issue) and watching others
race. Ed made four or five solid passes and
just to make things fair, Jim was allowed one
"test and tune" pass right before the race. He
lit up his rear wheel and pulled a crowdpleasing 30-foot wheelie. Everything clicked
as he laid down a 6.906 ET at 99.55 mph.
That would prove to be the overall quickest
FLASH time, although being a practice run
it did not count.
The FLASH Race was finally called. The
races pulled out to the staging lane where
Jim's Shovelhead promptly stalled out. He
had turned his gas off after his run and forgot
to turn it back on.
Ed could have pulled up to the starting line
and staged, but instead he waited in a true
show of sportsmanship. Jim kicked twice,
and his stroker fired up. The crowd cheered
long and hard. They had come to see a race.
Nobody wanted to see either bike bow out
this way.
Jim smoked his rear tire
and staged. If he could
duplicate his earlier ride,
he knew he had a good
chance of riding away
with the Lightning
FLASH title and $3,000
in cash and prizes.
Ed was all too aware of
that. He knew he had to
cut the light. The starting
lightswentgreen,andEd
was already off. His bike
shot nearly straight up in
a spectacular wheelie. He Did someone say "SPLASH Race"?
finally brought the front
red-lighted.
end down, and blasted down the track.
The audience went wild. An old kickstart
By that time, Jim was long gone. He pulled Shovelhead stroker had taken on the entire
a 7.220 ET at 98.25 mph, with a slow reac- field to win. Jim was all smiles as he rolled
tion time of .614 that he later explained was into the pits. Jim and Ed, surrounded by fans,
from watching the wheelie. Ed ran an 8.491 embraced each other, knowing full well what
ET at 95.54 mph, which was moot as he had each had gone through to get to the fmals.
"There's no loser here," Jim said. It was a
well-deserved moment of celebrating. "My
feet don't touch the ground," he declared.
Sounding a bit like the Terminator, Ed said
"I'll be back next year, you can count on it."
"You can't believe how close I came to not
coming here at all," Jim said later. "I bust the
pinion shaft racing the weekend before, and
I didn't get hardly any sleep trying to replace
and some valves. But I said to myself 'Hey,
I can't give this up without trying.' "
The quickest official ET record went to
Doug Morrow and his Sportster at 6.915. Jim
Young, meanwhile, was Mr. Consistent,runningthenextfourquickestETs: 7.046; 7.071;
7.099and7.115.
The fastest record also goes to Doug
Morrow's Sportster, a 104.89 mph. Second
fastest went to Maiko Savaria's Sporty at
10 1.12, followed by Jim Young's Shovelhead
at 98.90, 98.46 and 98.25 mph.
The five quickest riders were as follows:
Big Twins
1. Jim Young
2. Doug Morrow
3. Earl Burley
4. Greg Coen
5. Yancy Webster
7.046
7.251
7.581
7.785
8.036
Sportstcrs
1. Doug Morrow
2. Ed Lisowski
3. Maiko Saravia
4. Tom Roach
5. Allen Clevenger
6.915
7.258
7.414
7.570
7.964
Jim Young ran hard to earn the FLASH
title, which he will defend next year at
Sturgis against all comers. It goes to show
that there is still plenty of life in those
glorious old Shovels.
Why did we hold the FLASH race?
There's no lack of riders out there who
say they have the fastest street-legal Harley
around. But talk, is cheap. Backing it up
is what counts.
We wanted to run a real street bike race.
No laydown frames. No wheelie bars. No
nitros or turbos -just a bunch of fast,
factory-framedstreetbikesrunning headsup, single eliminator style, just like in the
old days. The call went out and the response was there, both from competitors
and sponsors.
If you are planning on being in Sturgis the
week of Aug. 8, 1994, and you have a fast
street-legal Harley, consideryourselfinvited.
Will you be the one to stop Jim from taking
~
top honors two years in a row?
We want to thank all the sponsors who
helped make the first FLASH Race happen.
We thank and encourage you to support the
following:
Lead Sponsors: Rivera Engineering; Com-
petition Cams' V Thunder.
Supporting Sponsors: S&S Cycles;
ARDRA; Sturgis Dragway.
There are stiII a few FLASH Race T-shirts (L
thru XXL only) and pins left over from the
event. To order these collector items please
call (203) 855-0008 or write: AIM's FLASH
Race, 6 Prowitt St., Norwalk, CT 06855. The
shirts cost $15 and the pins are $3 each plus
shipping.
LOCK IT
It's here! Introducing the COMPACT
DISC-LOCK, the new high security
protection system, designed to be
attached to the disc brake of your
motorcycle for the ultimate protection.
• Made of hardened forged molybdenum
steel with an armored lock.
• Resists attacks form bolt cutters, jumper
jaws, sledge hammers. saws, cold
chisels.
• Mounts easily on the front or rear disc
brake. and is plastic coated to leave
discs unscathed.
• Bright yellow color acts as a deterrent.
• Fits Harley, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda,
Kawasaki, Ducati, and more!
•
''/Vow available in Chrome!"
ORDER RISK FREE!! ! Backed by a
manufacturer's 5-year warranty along with
a 6Gday money-back guarantee! Insurance
diSCOUnts may apply. AccEPT NO IMITATIONS!
Now Only $79.95 + $3.95 S&H
VS/MC/AMEX • PATENT PENDING
NOVEMBER 1993 AMERICAN IRON MAGAZINE
65