Greatest motorcycle racer that EVER lived. That TZ was the only dirttracker he ever rode that was more powerful than the Harleys. There was a kill button on the thing that shut down 1 cylinder to make it rideable but he stopped using it early in the race...of course!
I'd like to see the race Kenny had at Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway now). Started dead last due to a broken chain during qualifying and went from last to first in 6 laps.
37 years later and if you put that same bike back on the mile tracks it would still thump the top caliber XR's. Bike actually made closer to 150hp verses th 125hp they said it had. Bike was actually a TZ700 which makes the embarrassment for HD even greater.Harley's philosophy is if you can't beat'em then get'em banned.Still the greatest mile moment in AMA history,,,s.m.
Listen to what KR says. "They don't pay me enough to ride it". If it was such hot stuff, why did he race it only 2 other times ? Why didn't it win those times ? It was uncontrollable at full speed - For example, in the 2nd and third attempts at racing, Kel Carruthers (the builder / tuner) fitted a kill switch for the number 3 cylinder. The purpose was to help slow the bike into and through corners. See www.superbikeplanet.com/dontpaymeenuff.htm
If you have ever ridden a Yamaha twin(i.e. TD1,TD2,TZ250) on an oval track than you know what it felt like to come into a corner on a 1/2 mile or even 1/4 mile and back the throttle off. You feel like your bike just went into neutral. Because Multi Cylinder 2 Strokes have virtually no engine braking you don't really slow down like a 4 stroke does. It's even worse on a 4 Cylinder 2 Stroke for engine breaking (or lack of). Kenny was bouncing off every hay bale in every corner, because when he backed off the throttle at close to 100mph the TZ just free wheeled and started to go high. When Kenny came into the Pits after the heat race his bike looked like he had gone through a Hale Bay( straw all over the engine cases,etc.) Because AMA didn't allow Compression Releases this is what you can expect when a 150hp 300lb bike comes into a corner. If this had been an average rider on that TZ ; he would have crashed into the Fence during practice.. The only way I would have supported keeping Multi-cylinder 2 strokes in AMA DT Racing would be to have mandatory Compression Releases which the AMA wasn't going to do because being basically still controlled by HD.;They wanted them out of GN Racing. If this had been implemented and the 2 strokes remained it would have been like when HONDA brought out the RS750. HD hardly had any mile track wins FOR 3 YEARS when Shobert was piloting the RS Bikes. 2 strokes would have been even worse for the XR......
Mark, I knew a lot of Michigan Riders going back to Markel era. I still correspond with Rex Beauchamps wife who lives in Waterford. Rex died in a Road Accident on his street Yamaha in 1988. Michigan produced a lot of top Racers, not just the reconizeable National Number Names; I remember a few of them running the outlaw circuit in Kansas,Nebraska,etc.I'm pretty sure Michigan's AMA Regional letter was E when we saw an E Number plate we knew they might be another potential Michigan Mafia Rider down the line..LOL! s.m.
Mark H - Bore and stroke ratio has very little to do with the actual shape of the torque curve. It's all about intake and exhaust timing and the size of the ports. Two stroke or 4 stroke it's the same situation. 2 stroke normally have a narrower torque curve because of the ports being symmetrical whereas the 4 stroke can easily have asymmetrical timing of intake and exhaust opening and closing. Longer stroke engines usually have a broader torque curve because the ports or valves have to be smaller. That longer stroke also limits the RPM an engine of any kind to a lower range than a short stroke. I remember when a piston speed of 4,000 FPS was just about the maximum you could do. Now Nascrash (NASCAR) engines do about twice that without blowing a rod. Metallurgy has come a very long way since I was young.
It was a 750cc engine not a 700cc...in '75 at Daytona (Feb/March) Yamaha gave/sold the 700's to privateers and mere mortal factory riders. Only Ago and Kenny were given the 750 at Daytona, but by November '75 almost everyone had access to the 750 and certainly Kel and Kenny would have had the 750 at their disposal (a guy who raced a fully sponsored privateer TZ-350 (B) in the '75 Daytona 200...and got to take a couple laps in open practice on a TZ-700)
To me the 70’s were a special time for motorcycling. I feel bad for riders now. Bikes are too light too fast and two complex. But like the 70’s everybody’s trying. I was splitting lanes on the 405 in Los Angeles and a driver crossed two double yellow lines and ran me over. That was when I was 69. That was the end. I actually up loaded the video of the crash caught by a Tesla driver with the factory front and rear cameras.
yamahamers - Yep!! The European Sports Car sanctioning body did that to Ford after they stomped the living crap out of all the fancy Ferraris and others 4 years running.
The AMA was right to ban it, but they should've done it more respectfully. They let Yamaha start the season with it, they should've paid compensation for lost investment. HD's now totally obsolete, paying the price for AMA 's favoritism.
All the horsepower in the World doesn't mean anything if it isn't tracktable. This Yamaha Spun the Tire the whole front and back straightaway. The only reason Kenny was able to Slingshot past Springer and Keener was he lucked out and picked a line coming on corner 3 where the TZ actually hooked up and wasn't getting Wheelspin the whole Straightaway.The reason Carruthers put a kill switch on cylinder 3 was what I just said; too reduce Wheelspin coming off the corners when your hard on the Throttle... These Multicylinder 2 strokes have almost zero engine braking coming into a corner; In fact they almost free wheel; one of the reasons Kenny was clipping the hay bails. This Bike was packing essentially a MotoGP Engine of the Day in a chassis that was 50 lbs lighter than a Moto-GP RRer. Probably less than 20 guys in the World that can ride a Moto-GP Bike to its Full Potential. That Bike was a Monster; Now your Modern GP Bike Engine is putting out more than a 100hp than that TZ had....
This video gives me chills every time I watch it.
I was at Indy and watched that race crazy exciting.
An inline 4 cylinder 2 stroke!... BEAT THAT. Love you Kenny ❤️
"King Kenny"" AWESOME!!!!
Just awesome!
The King . Taking that Stanislaus County California dirt tracking and showing how it’s done
Goooosebumps !
Greatest motorcycle racer that EVER lived. That TZ was the only dirttracker he ever rode that was more powerful than the Harleys. There was a kill button on the thing that shut down 1 cylinder to make it rideable but he stopped using it early in the race...of course!
I'd like to see the race Kenny had at Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway now). Started dead last due to a broken chain during qualifying and went from last to first in 6 laps.
37 years later and if you put that same bike back on the mile tracks it would still thump the top caliber XR's. Bike actually made closer to 150hp verses th 125hp they said it had. Bike was actually a TZ700 which makes the embarrassment for HD even greater.Harley's philosophy is if you can't beat'em then get'em banned.Still the greatest mile moment in AMA history,,,s.m.
Listen to what KR says. "They don't pay me enough to ride it". If it was such hot stuff, why did he race it only 2 other times ? Why didn't it win those times ?
It was uncontrollable at full speed - For example, in the 2nd and third attempts at racing, Kel Carruthers (the builder / tuner) fitted a kill switch for the number 3 cylinder. The purpose was to help slow the bike into and through corners.
See www.superbikeplanet.com/dontpaymeenuff.htm
If you have ever ridden a Yamaha twin(i.e. TD1,TD2,TZ250) on an oval track than you know what it felt like to come into a corner on a 1/2 mile or even 1/4 mile and back the throttle off. You feel like your bike just went into neutral. Because Multi Cylinder 2 Strokes have virtually no engine braking you don't really slow down like a 4 stroke does. It's even worse on a 4 Cylinder 2 Stroke for engine breaking (or lack of). Kenny was bouncing off every hay bale in every corner, because when he backed off the throttle at close to 100mph the TZ just free wheeled and started to go high. When Kenny came into the Pits after the heat race his bike looked like he had gone through a Hale Bay( straw all over the engine cases,etc.)
Because AMA didn't allow Compression Releases this is what you can expect when a 150hp 300lb bike comes into a corner. If this had been an average rider on that TZ ; he would have crashed into the Fence during practice.. The only way I would have supported keeping Multi-cylinder 2 strokes in AMA DT Racing would be to have mandatory Compression Releases which the AMA wasn't
going to do because being basically still controlled by HD.;They wanted them out of GN Racing. If this had been implemented and the 2 strokes remained it would have been like when HONDA brought out the RS750. HD hardly had any mile track wins FOR 3 YEARS when Shobert was piloting the RS Bikes. 2 strokes would have been even worse for the XR......
Mark, I knew a lot of Michigan Riders going back to Markel era. I still correspond with Rex Beauchamps wife who lives in Waterford. Rex died in a Road Accident on his street Yamaha in 1988. Michigan produced a lot of top Racers, not just the reconizeable National Number Names; I remember a few of them running the outlaw circuit in Kansas,Nebraska,etc.I'm pretty sure Michigan's AMA Regional letter was E when we saw an E Number plate we knew they might be another potential Michigan Mafia Rider down the line..LOL! s.m.
Mark H - Bore and stroke ratio has very little to do with the actual shape of the torque curve. It's all about intake and exhaust timing and the size of the ports. Two stroke or 4 stroke it's the same situation. 2 stroke normally have a narrower torque curve because of the ports being symmetrical whereas the 4 stroke can easily have asymmetrical timing of intake and exhaust opening and closing. Longer stroke engines usually have a broader torque curve because the ports or valves have to be smaller. That longer stroke also limits the RPM an engine of any kind to a lower range than a short stroke. I remember when a piston speed of 4,000 FPS was just about the maximum you could do. Now Nascrash (NASCAR) engines do about twice that without blowing a rod. Metallurgy has come a very long way since I was young.
It was a 750cc engine not a 700cc...in '75 at Daytona (Feb/March) Yamaha gave/sold the 700's to privateers and mere mortal factory riders. Only Ago and Kenny were given the 750 at Daytona, but by November '75 almost everyone had access to the 750 and certainly Kel and Kenny would have had the 750 at their disposal (a guy who raced a fully sponsored privateer TZ-350 (B) in the '75 Daytona 200...and got to take a couple laps in open practice on a TZ-700)
That is one pissed off sounding scooter and Kenny is a Bad Man!!!
kenny was just on the dave despain show on mavtv. cool man
I saw a video of the race once but can’t find it now?
when you've got a "bone doctor"...that's a pretty good indication that you are a Bad MF'er!!!
To me the 70’s were a special time for motorcycling. I feel bad for riders now. Bikes are too light too fast and two complex. But like the 70’s everybody’s trying. I was splitting lanes on the 405 in Los Angeles and a driver crossed two double yellow lines and ran me over. That was when I was 69. That was the end. I actually up loaded the video of the crash caught by a Tesla driver with the factory front and rear cameras.
kennys 2 stoke put a hurtin on those hds .that's why Kenny is king. we cant beat it so lets ban it.
yamahamers - Yep!! The European Sports Car sanctioning body did that to Ford after they stomped the living crap out of all the fancy Ferraris and others 4 years running.
The AMA was right to ban it, but they should've done it more respectfully. They let Yamaha start the season with it, they should've paid compensation for lost investment. HD's now totally obsolete, paying the price for AMA 's favoritism.
Banned BULIT
" If it's not an H-D then you can't race it " Harley Davidson
increible kenny grandisimo
All the horsepower in the World doesn't mean anything if it isn't tracktable. This Yamaha Spun the Tire the whole front and back straightaway. The only reason Kenny was able to Slingshot past Springer and Keener was he lucked out and picked a line coming on corner 3 where the TZ actually hooked up and wasn't getting Wheelspin the whole Straightaway.The reason Carruthers put a kill switch
on cylinder 3 was what I just said; too reduce Wheelspin coming off the corners when your hard on the Throttle...
These Multicylinder 2 strokes have almost zero engine braking coming into a corner;
In fact they almost free wheel; one of the reasons Kenny was clipping the hay bails.
This Bike was packing essentially a MotoGP Engine of the Day in a chassis that was
50 lbs lighter than a Moto-GP RRer. Probably less than 20 guys in the World that can ride a Moto-GP Bike to its Full Potential. That Bike was a Monster; Now your
Modern GP Bike Engine is putting out more than a 100hp than that TZ had....
Hi Alexa
Banned BULIT