| Author | Message | ||
     80rs427 |
I ran across this S1 road racer and added it to the fleet. I just got it home so I don't know much about it. According to the young man I bought it from, it was owned by Hansen Harley, of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which doesn't exist anymore. If any of you know details like who raced it, where it raced, who maintained it, or if you know where I can get pictures of it during that period, please post or email me. If any of you have experience with a bike like this, or recommendations on what to do with it or to it, I'd also love to hear from you.     It has the following "race use only" parts that I have found: frame (serial number 0012), triples, rear brake master cylinder, and swingarm. The frame appears to have been made with no rear peg mounts. It has four extra brackets welded to the rear part of the frame, two of which are cut off (for number plates?). There are also some brackets welded to the frame in the area of the rear brake lever that have turn buckles for stiffening. There is provision for a battery, but is apparently still set up for the small original S1 battery (puke bottle where the regulator usually goes). There isn't a regulator or an ignition box....I assume the charging system is gone. Is there an ignition system that might be installed that did away with the factory ecu? The engine serial number starts in "SS" so I assume it is a S1 (non S1W) engine, and isn't marked "race use only." It has thunderstorm heads. There is a neat looking Zippers performance oil pump and a Jagg oil cooler. It is set up for GP shifting, and the foot pegs are cut down and mounted to aluminum plates bolted to the frame. The wheels are S2/early S1 Marchesini rims with pirelli dragon tires. It has chain drive. For braking, it has an EBC cast iron (rusty) rotor and a newer nissin "Buell" caliper. The rear is a stock rotor and Brembo caliper. Neither system works, not sure if the fluid was drained or leaked. The bodywork is fair at best. The front number plate is cracked by the brake reservoir. The tank is bubbled badly on top by the filler. The tail section has a chunk missing on one side. The seat has a 1" tear on the front edge. I'd like to put together another set of plastics to look better, but leave the originals as-is. The wiring is pretty minimal, and there are some loose wires near the left swingarm pivot that I need to research what to do with. A previous owner kept the air cleaner (I assume it was a CF race unit). He also kept the race muffler. The race header has some flat spots from a lay down, but isn't too bad. Right now I'm thinking I want to get it functional again, with a primary goal of getting it running and evaluate the engine. After that I just want to clean it up and make it as functional and presentable as I can. I don't intent to show it or race it. Again, I'd appreciate any information, advice, parts, or encouragement! | ||
| Ducxl |
Looks like a pretty rare machine.A man here i've met and chatted with spoke to me about a bike he purchased called a ROC S1 Buell which was a limited run of bikes for some Race Of Champions event. Could be one of those.Try pinging "Firemanjim" on this board for more info. | ||
| Dpg |
That ROC bike was up for sale locally for weeks. Not sure it ever sold. I'm guessing the issue is that these are full on track bikes that really would be costly to get them street legal so you could occasionally ride them. The price for the ROC bike was really good and I was tempted, but then thought about what I would do with it. Couldn't ride it and it had never been registered before. A DMV issue for sure. If you have the money and space for a nice collection then these bikes are a great choice. In CA an out of state bike needs to have 7,500 miles on it to get it registered. Safe ride, Gary in Oaktown | ||
| 1313 |
This is NOT a Battle Of Champions bike. Participating in the events of the 1998 event I would never refer to it as a race. But back on the topic at hand. The fact that it is not a BOC bike shouldn't diminish your interest in the bike. It still has a history of being a Buell race bike. Based on the Buell Lightning Series sticker on the race flyscreen, I'd assume that it's still set up as a Lightning Series bike - but it's possible it has been updated in later years. At the moment my memory is a little fuzzy, but I seem to recall seeing this bike somewhere and may have some old timey film prints of it. As for the rider I can't remember that either at the moment. My first thoguht was Billy Graef (who I pitted for at the '98 Battle of Champions) but the poster I have with Higbee, Estok and Graef said that Billy was racing for Hal's. Now that I think about it a little, the pictures I recall seeing of it may have been posted right here on BadWeB. I won't be able to search through my pics until after I get back from NJMP this weekend, but it might be helpful to post this over in the Buell Racing & More section to get the attention of the hardcore racers and racing fans. 1313 | ||
| 80rs427 |
I agree with 1313 that this isn't one of the ROC bikes. I reviewed pictures of Firemanjim's bike and pictures in Battle2win vol 2 issue 3, and it appears they were basically S1W's. They had black frames and black wheels, plus the bigger manta tanks. I did run across a couple Hansen ads in the Battle2win magazine (vol 2 issue 2), one of which I suspect is my bike:  and another that must have been a different class around the same time:  1313, if you can find any pictures, I'd love to have scans of them....even different bikes in the same class in that time frame. Here are a few other detail pictures of the bike:    | ||
| Jeffb |
Is this the bike that was listed on appleton's craigslist? I have been trying to call the guy for a week about it. His ad said it was missing exhaust and carb but it was a former race bike. Jeff | ||
| 80rs427 |
Jeff, it is the Appleton bike. I was expecting the carb to be gone from the description in the CL ad, but when I got there only the air cleaner and muffler were missing. I drove 860 miles round trip to pick it up. My son found this quote today: Daytona 1997 SHAWN CONRAD (No. 12 HMC Hansen Rcg Buell 1200) -- "I really had to ride to get through all that traffic after starting on the back row. It was real exciting. The bike worked great and the Bridgestone tires hooked-up excellent. This is our first actual Buell race so it's great to be on the podium. I managed to pass Graeff on the banking. I was able to hold enough of an advantage in the infield so that the next time I got out on the banking I was able to pull away without him drafting past. These Buells are real exciting and fun to ride." | ||
| Jeffb |
All I can say is, "you suck". Seriously, that is an awesome bike for an awesome deal. Jeff | ||
| F_skinner |
Cool bike and great find John. Frank | ||
| 80rs427 |
Thanks guys. I had myself talked out of buying it once....it didn't make sense to buy a bike I can't ride on the street. The young man didn't have any pictures, so I had to ask a hundred questions on the phone. My son is coming home tomorrow and we might try checking it out and maybe try getting it to fire up. I'm curious how it runs. Here are some more "race only" pictures:    and more details:     | ||
| Smoke |
track bike. run it like it needs to. no dmv registration or insurance required. lots of fun too!! have fun. change all fluids!!! oil, brake, fork, shock, etc. constant loss electrical, no stator, rotor, vr.-quicker revs. like the shifter-no slop. tim | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Interesting "extra" stay bars in the sprocket shot above. I'm betting you feel a lot more vibes on this bike... | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Yeah! I love all of the tiny gussets welded in here and there. What a great thing to have. | ||
| Rick_a |
Cool bike. That bike looks like an Pro-Thunder class bike. | ||
| Jasonl |
The front brakes on that bike are monstrous. Check out that photo. Dual setup as well. | ||
| Rick_a |
They used a couple stock replacement EBC rotors, with the left side run backwards using a metric bolt pattern Nissin caliper and an adapter. That is a lot of brakes. | ||
| 80rs427 |
I worked on the S1 today. I discovered that there weren't any rear brake pads on it. I had a used set in my spare parts bin, so I put them on. I've got the rear brakes working, but not great...I think there must be a bit of air someplace that I couldn't get out. The throttle cable (pull only) had lots of slack. I found out that somebody must have pulled the throttle hard open and it stuck there. I got it popped back, and it is working right now. The magura throttle housing works really well. It's simple and easy to remove the cable at the housing ....a really neat design. I also figured out the wires that were dangling on the left side of the bike. They went to the starter relay. Once I sat down with the '96 S1 shop manual it didn't take long to decide what wire went in which slot. I had to replace a couple terminals and I soldered all of them. I put a battery in it, and it rolls over great when I hit the starter toggle, with no funny sounds. I pulled the plugs and they are firing. I want to get the front brake working before I start it, but I'm getting anxious to hear it run. I wrote a parts wanted ad looking for some things, but if anybody has a carbon fiber race air cleaner or race muffler (doesn't have to be perfect), that would really help. I also want to paint a different set of bodywork to look better. Does anybody have a S1 front fender (black would be even better), small gas tank, tail section, race flyscreen, stock seat, or bellypan sitting around? A non-flattened race header is on my Christmas list too. | ||
| Brinnutz |
I've got a blue small tank that needs to be painted again. | ||
| 80rs427 |
Brin, email sent about your small tank... | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Replied to your pm regarding the belly pan. -Mike | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Some might cry "Blasphemy!" but if you want to run the bike on the track you might want to wrap the headers that are on there. For a couple of reasons: race headers are expensive and rare, the set you have is functional, the wrap will hide the battle scars and it might also help protect the pipes if the bike is ever laid down again. oh yeah, awesome bike! I'm green with envy.  | ||
| 80rs427 |
Curtis, that is something to consider with the header wrap. I've read a few threads about it, and I haven't made up my mind if it causes damage to the pipe or not. It would definitely look "racy", but I'm not sure it would look period correct. I haven't found any pictures other than the HMC ad which doesn't give much detail. In the ad the bike isn't sporting a belly pan. Does anybody know if it would have been required on the S1 in order to race? I don't see any mounts either....what do they generally mount to? | ||
| Drhacknstine |
The HMC ad looks like an "as raced" ad to me. Don't think yours ever had a belly pan. And +1 one the wrap. At least till ya find a header and muff. Have you concidered a megaphone with reverse cone for now. They sound Sooo good. Maybe a sportster ham can air cleaner, complete,Flea bay $9.00 + shipping. Shot black, until a CF race air cleaner can be had. Ah, never mind, I just saw "period correct". I'M thinking function first, then detail at leasure. Oh, seen this http://www.ccsracing.us/x/results/1997/97portland.html Placed 3rd in the Buell Lightning Series in 1996 (Message edited by Drhacknstine on September 08, 2009) (Message edited by Drhacknstine on September 08, 2009) (Message edited by drhacknstine on September 09, 2009) | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Not sure on the racing requirements, my Sgt raced a couple seasons and needed a pan on his R1. I ended up doing track days only on my bike and a belly pan wasn't needed for that, even though we were running on the same track. Perhaps depends on the track(s) and/or series. I believe our local dealerships race X1 has a belly pan, I'll post a pic if I can scrounge it up. Best bet is to check the local race series you will enter to see what their regs require. If you don't need it, it's one less thing keeping you off the track, the expense can be difficult to overcome. | ||
| Blazin_buell |
Very cool find !! I had a chance at one on the Bay 5-6 yrs back and now seeing this thread I wished I had jumped on it. Have fun! | ||
| Drhacknstine |
I'd say this bike was setup and ran in the North American Sport Bike series.I don't remember any of the bikes runing belly pans in the lightning series. The nasb only had a life span of 1995 to 1999. As I pointed to in my other post I believe it was 3rd place in the 1997 4th round of the Buell Lightning series. So I hope this gives you a place to start your research. How about factory records, I would assume Buell made that frame and has records of the original order, they are just a call or Email away. | ||
| 80rs427 |
I had thought about asking Buell who the original owner was, then I remembered Court saying they have extensive records but won't share them. It sure won't hurt to give them a try, thanks for the tip. I did google HMC racing over the weekend and I see they moved on to Ducati and now KTM. I sent an email to Mr. Hansen asking for anything he might remember about the bike. There are "lightning" and "nasb" stickers on the flyscreen, so you are probably correct about running in those series. I have seen the lightning stickers on ebay and even on the race ecm's, but I didn't associate it with a race series before. I'll keep my eyes open for a new lightning sticker for my planned new set of plastics. | ||
| 80rs427 |
I did some internet searching yesterday and came up with some Lightning Series race results. Shawn Conrad was consistently among the top finshers, with Shawn Higbee dominating. While the listing is for the rider, I am assuming it was the number 12 HMC Buell as well: 1997 Lightning series Round 1: Daytona Speedway, March 2, 1997 Placed second: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Shawn Higbee Third: Todd Evans Round 2: Rosamond, CA, March 16, 1997 No record found of participation or finish First: Shawn Higbee Second: Eric Bostrom Third: David McGrath Round 3: Road Atlanta, June 22, 1997 Placed sixth: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Trip Nobles Second: Eric Bostrom Third: Chuck Graves on Higbee bike Note: Shawn Conrad (12) was leading lightning series point standings after 6/22/98 Round 4: Portland Raceway, July 20, 1997 Placed third: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Shawn Higbee Second: Billy Graef Round 5: Road America, August 3, 1997 Placed fourth: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Eric Bostrom Second: Billy Graef Third: Shawn Higbee Round 6: Pocono Raceway, August 29-31, 1997 Placed fifth: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Shawn Higbee Second: Billy Graef Third: David McGrath Round 7: New Hampshire Raceway, October 1997 Placed second: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Shawn Higbee Third: Brian Conley Note: after October race Higbee had 7 points lead over Conrad for first place Round 8: Daytona Speedway, November 2, 1997 No record found of participation or finish First: Tripp Nobles Second: Eric Bostrom Third: Shawn Higbee 1997 Lightning Series final points standings: 1. Shawn Higbee 235 points 2. Shawn Conrad 224 points 3. Billy Graef 214 points 1998 Lightning series No record found of series races prior to May 10 May 10, 1998 Road America Placed third: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Billy Graef Second: Shawn Higbee July 5, 1998, Buttonwillow Raceway Placed Second: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Billy Graef Third: Brian Conley Note: Conrad now sixth in points August 30, 1998, Road Atlanta Placed second: Shawn Conrad (12) First: Chad Healy Third: Richie Morris Note: Conrad now fourth in points September 13, 1998, Miami-Dade Homestead Placed first: Shawn Conrad (12) Second: Chad Healy Third: Brian Bodine Note: Conrad now third in points October 30, 1998: Lightning standings: Graef 147, Conley 132, Conrad 129, Bodine 127, Healy 114 No record found of remaining 1998 season race at Daytona or final points standings. HMC racing, along with Mitch Hansen & Shawn Conrad won 1999 Pro Thunder series on a Ducati 748 | ||
| 80rs427 |
I composed a letter and mailed it to Henry Duga asking if he has any records or recollections of it. I sent an email to Mitch Hansen of HMC a few days ago, but I haven't heard back from him yet. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Sounds like you bought a piece of [Buell] history, cool find! Hopefully they will give you some additional info on your bike. |
