The Bar Hodgson Collection - Racing Motorcycles


Over the coming year we will be featuring an extensive photographic presentation of bikes from the Bar Hodgson Collection assembled by country of origin as originally published in Motorcycle Mojo Magazine, author and photographer Glenn Roberts, reproduced here with kind permission. This presentation of the last in the series features the Racing motorcycles originally published in the Sept./Oct. 2005 issue of Motorcycle Mojo Magazine.
admirable characters by Glenn Roberts Photography by Glenn Roberts	Aprilia - Ducati - Honda - Kawasaki - Norton - Rotax - Suzuki - Velocette - Yamaha
To many of us, motorcycles and riding are more than hobbies, it's a lifestyle. That being said, getting on your bike just to get from point A to point B is only a small part of motorcycling. Even in the dead of winter when motorcycling isn't an option we attend bike shows to see what's new, buy some trinkets for our steel steed and check out and purchase clothing for the upcoming riding season. Gone are the days when the general purpose motorcycle had to deal with everything you could throw at it. Now we have trials, off-road, dual-sport, sport, sport-touring, touring, cruiser and a few others I haven't mentioned. Who knows how many others styles will be created in the future in order to open a new market segment.
	One of the most exciting areas to watch in this great sport of ours is racing. There are as many types of racing as there are types of motorcycles. Although the general purpose bikes of yesteryear did their fair share of racing, one thing has been consistent from the early days of motorcycling, if you wanted to race and win, you needed a purpose built race bike. These race specific bikes have special hardware and people with the technical skill to put it all together in order to squeeze out that extra bit of horsepower. Most race bikes are, without doubt, different than their regular street counterparts.
In this final installment highlighting the motorcycles from the Bar Hodgson Collection, we feature some of the collections racing motorcycles. Most of the bikes in the collection have some sort of bond to Canadian history and many of the race bikes are no different. Many have been raced by Canadian racing legends like Yvon Duhamel, Lang Hindle, Art Robbins and Pascal Picotte to name but a few. Also included are bikes with significant history in the racing world such as the legendary Norton Manx, the Twin Shaft 'Works' Velocette 'Double Knocker' and the Ducati Factory 'Works' Corsa World Superbike. I want to give a special thanks to Bar and Hedy Hodgson for their incredible knowledge and never ending enthusiasm while preparing this series. Also a big thank you to Ken Livingston and Dave Hall for slugging the bikes around during the past year, especially on the days the mercury hit the mid-30's.
1987 Aprilia 250 Grand Prix Racer 250cc two stroke tandem twin.
	Factory World-level Grand Prix machine using the Rotax engine, ridden to two Canadian Pro-250 GP titles by many time Canadian Champion Steve Crevier.
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1983 Can-Am 250 Grand Prix Racer 250cc two stroke Rotax tandem twin.
	Made by Armstrong in Great Britain using Can-Am's Rotax engine. This bike is serial # 001 and is believed to have been raced in Canada by Claude Leroux.
1984 Ducati TT2 750cc four stroke V-twin.
	Based on the Pantah street bike, the TT2/TT1 bikes were successful predecessors to the current Superbike Dynasty. Although Ducati's model TT2 normally used a 600cc engine, this bike was very late in the production run when they installed 750cc engines in anticipation of the new 750 class. This bike was raced by 11 time World Superbike Race winner Stephen Mertins.
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1991 Ducati 888 World Superbike 926cc four stroke V-twin.
	Full Ducati Factory 'works' Corsa World Superbike originally built for Factory Ducati rider Giancarlo Falappa.
Although the model is an 888, the 'works' Corsa's ran a 926cc. Later ridden by current Canadian Superbike Champion Pascal Picotte to victories in AMA Superbike and Battle of The Twins races as well as wins in the Canadian Series.
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1970 Honda CR750 750cc four stroke four cylinder.
	Essentially 'kit bikes' using a donor motor and Honda Racing Department racing parts, this multi-time Daytona Formula 750 class racer was acquired from VRRA member and former Honda Canada Vice President Tom Faulds.
1984 Honda VF750R Superbike 748cc four stroke V-four cylinder.
	Ridden by Former Canadian Superbike Champion Rueben McMurter to 3rd place in the AMA Superbike Championship. In original as-raced condition.
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1970 Kawasaki H1R Grand Prix Racer 500cc two-stroke triple cylinder.
	Full Factory Grand Prix racer once raced by Canadian legend Yvon Duhamel
1981 Kawasaki KZ1000 'Hindle' Superbike 998cc four stroke four cylinder.
	Equipped with the extremely rare Factory S-1 engine built for Eddie Lawson and few others. Including features such as twin spark plug cylinder head, close ratio transmission and magneto CDI ignition. This is one of two bikes used by Lang Hindle to win the 1982 Canadian Superbike Championship. Restored for the Bar Hodgson Collection by Ken Livingstone
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1993 Kawasaki ZX7R Superbike 750cc four stroke four cylinder.
	'Canada's most successful Superbike', ridden to 2 National Superbike Championships by Steve Crevier & Michael Taylor and the RACE Superbike Championship by Jordan Szoke.
1959 Norton Manx 500cc four stroke single cylinder.
	One of the Legendary Manx Production racers that were the choice of all levels of Road Racers for over a decade. This bike was acquired from VRRA member and former Honda Canada Vice President Tom Faulds.
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1979 Suzuki GS1000 Superbike 1023cc four stroke four cylinder.
	Canadian Superbike Legend Art Robbins rode this bike built and sponsored by Leitner & Busch. Restored for the Bar Hodgson Collection by Peter Derry.
1984 Suzuki RG500 Grand Prix Racer 500cc two stroke square four cylinder.
	Factory Grand Prix Team machine ridden by Brit Trevor Nation who was leading the Isle of Man TT on this bike when he ran out of gas with the finish line in sight.
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1987 Suzuki GSX-R750 LTD Superbike 750cc four stroke four cylinder.
	Ridden by Gary Goodfellow on the 'Suzuki Boutique Team' along with teammate Michel Mercier. Restored for the Bar Hodgson Collection by Kemp Archibald.
1989 Suzuki GSX-R750R Superbike 750cc four stroke four cylinder.
	Canadian Suzuki Team bike originally raced by current Ohlins Factory Race suspension technician Jon Cornwel. Restored for the Bar Hodgson Collection by Bar Hodgson and Ken Livingstone.
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1951 Velocette 'Twin-shaft' Grand Prix Racer 350cc four stroke single cylinder.
	One of only 3 remaining in the world of 4 built by the Velocette factory. Velocette won the 1949 and 1950 350cc World Championships using these machines featuring bevel-driven twin overhead camshafts, 5 speed TT gearbox, 7-gallon alloy TT gas tank and many magnesium components including the crankcases and wheel hubs.
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1970 Yamaha TA125 Grand Prix Racer 125cc two stroke twin cylinder.
	Stunning example of one of the early Yamaha production Grand Prix bikes available to racers.
1974 Yamaha TZ350 Grand Prix Racer 350cc two stroke twin cylinder.
	Original condition as raced by Jim Gill in the mid-seventies to win the then National Level BRIMACO Series Championship.
1977 Yamaha TZ750D 750cc two stroke four cylinder.
	Once raced by Eric Buell of Buell Motorcycle fame, then by Dave 'Dutchman Racing' Schlosser. Affectionately known as 'The Beast'. Recently raced to many Vintage Racing wins by staff members and guest riders Dave Lloyd and Steve Bond.
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Originally published in Motorcycle Mojo Magazine, by author and photographer Glenn Roberts, reproduced here with kind permission.