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Pat Hennen
Pat Hennen (April 27, 1953 – April 6, 2024) was an American professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1971 to 1975 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1978. Hennen is notable for being the first American to win a 500 cc World Championship Grand Prix race when he won the 1976 500cc Finnish Grand Prix. His career ended prematurely after he suffered serious injuries from a crash while competing at the 1978 Isle of Man TT race. Hennen was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2007. Motorcycle racing career AMA racing Hennen was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he first became interested in racing motorcycles at the age of 15. After spending four years developing his riding skills in regional races, he entered his first professional event as a novice at the end of the 1971 season. Although his results in dirt track racing were p ...
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Barry Sheene
Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Suzuki MotoGP, Suzuki factory racing team where he won two consecutive Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM List of 500cc/MotoGP World Riders' Champions, World Championships in and . Sheene remains the last British competitor to win the premier class of FIM road racing competitions. Good looking, articulate and charismatic, Sheene was able to harness the power of mass media to transcend the sport and become the best-known face of British motorcycle racing during the 1970s. He was the first motorcycle racer to gain commercial endorsements from outside the sport, including television advertisements for Brut (cologne), Brut cologne. As well as being fluent in several languages, he had a cheeky, cockney persona that endeared him to ...
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San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments defines the Bay Area as including the nine counties that border the estuary, estuaries of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and Suisun Bay: Alameda County, California, Alameda, Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa, Marin County, California, Marin, Napa County, California, Napa, San Mateo County, California, San Mateo, Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara, Solano County, California, Solano, Sonoma County, California, Sonoma, and San Francisco County, California, San Francisco. Other definitions may be either smaller or larger, and may include neighboring counties which are not officially part of the San Francisco Bay Area, such as the Central Coast (California), Central Coast c ...
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Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is owned by NASCAR and led by track president Brian Crichton. The grandstand can seat 80,000 as of 2022. Along with the main track, the track complex also has a roval-style road course. In the early 1960s, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. built the track near Talladega, Alabama, after a failed proposal to build one in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Over its first couple decades, the track gained a reputation as fast, wild, and chaotic, with speeds of over , major accidents, and unusual occurrences. NASCAR's introduction of the restrictor plate and the appearance of pack racing in the late 1980s exacerbated its chaotic reputation, with several "The Big One (motorsport), Big One" accidents involving 10 or more cars. Description Configuration ...
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Laguna Seca
Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved Racing track#Motorsport, road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas, California, Salinas and Monterey, California, United States. The racetrack is long, with a elevation change. Its eleven turns are highlighted by the circuit's signature turn, the downhill-plunging "Corkscrew" at Turns 8 and 8A. A variety of racing, exhibition, and entertainment events are held at the raceway, ranging from superkarts to sports car racing to music festivals. Laguna Seca is classified as an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA List of motor racing circuits by FIA Grade#Grade Two, Grade Two circuit. The name Laguna Seca is Spanish language, Spanish for ''dry lake'': the area where the track now lies was once a lake, and the course was built around th ...
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Loudon Classic
The Loudon Classic, originally named the Laconia Classic, is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held during the Laconia Motorcycle Week at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Founded in 1934 when it was originally sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), the race is one of the oldest motorcycle competitions in the United States. The competition changed locations over the years, starting as a dirt track race before evolving into a road race. From the late 1930s until the early 2000s, the Loudon Classic was one of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the United States, second only to the Daytona 200. History Rally beginnings In the 1910s the New Hampshire Lakes Region became a popular riding destination for early motorcycle enthusiasts. Unlike the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally which originated as a motorcycle race, the Loudon Classic originated as a motorcycle rally. When motorcycle sales began to decline as a result of the introdu ...
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Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. The venue also hosts the 24 Hours of Daytona, one of three races that make up the Triple Crown of endurance racing. In addition to NASCAR and IMSA, the track also hosts races of Automobile Racing Club of America, ARCA, AMA Superbike, SCCA, and AMA Supercross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary high-speed tri-oval, a sports car course, a motorcycle course, and a karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's infield includes the Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., William "Bill" France Sr. to host racing that was held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher ...
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Cycle World
''Cycle World'' is a motorcycling magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1962 by Joe Parkhurst, who was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame as "the person responsible for bringing a new era of objective journalism" to the US. ''Cycle World'' was the largest motorcycling magazine in the world. The magazine is headquartered in Irvine, California. Regular contributors include Peter Egan and Nick Ienatsch. Previous or occasional contributors have included gonzo journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and correspondent Henry N. Manney III, and professional riding coach Ken Hill. Parkhurst sold ''Cycle World'' to CBS in 1971. CBS executive Peter G. Diamandis and his associates bought CBS Magazines from CBS in 1987, forming Diamandis Communications, which was acquired by Hachette Magazines the following year, 1988. In 2011, Hachette sold the magazine to Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comp ...
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Yamaha TZ750
The Yamaha TZ750 is a series production two-stroke race motorcycle built by Yamaha to compete in the Formula 750 class in the 1970s. ''Motorcyclist'' called it "the most notorious and successful roadracing motorcycle of the 1970s". Another journal called it the dominant motorcycle of the era, noting its nine consecutive Daytona 200 wins, starting in 1974. Another triumph of note was when Joey Dunlop rode to victory in the 1980 Classic TT during the process of which he upped the lap record on the Snaefell Mountain Course to an average speed of . This is also the fastest recorded lap of the Mountain Course by a Yamaha 750cc two-stroke machine. It was rated by journalist Kevin Cameron as one of the five most influential motorcycle designs: its monoshock suspension, high-strength frame and wide tires were necessary to handle the high engine output, and became standard for sportbikes. Twin TZ750 engines powered the Silver Bird motorcycle land-speed record setting streamliner moto ...
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Yamaha Motor Company
is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, motorboats, outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was established in the year 1955 upon separation from Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. (currently Yamaha Corporation) and is headquartered in Iwata, Shizuoka, Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka, Japan. The company conducts development, production and marketing operations through 109 consolidated subsidiaries as of 2012. Led by Genichi Kawakami, the company's founder and first president, Yamaha Motor spun off from musical instrument manufacturer Yamaha Corporation in 1955 and began production of its first product, the YA-1 125cc motorcycle. It was quickly successful and won the 3rd Mount Fuji Ascent Race in its class. The company's products include motorcycles, Scooter (motorcycle), scooters, motorized bicycles, boats, sail boats, personal watercraft, swimming pools, utility boats, fishing boats, outboard motors, 4-wheel All-terrain vehicle, ATVs, recrea ...
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Motorcycle Frame
A motorcycle frame is a motorcycle's core structure. It supports the engine, provides a location for the steering and motorcycle suspension, rear suspension, and supports the rider and any passenger or luggage. Also attached to the frame are the fuel tank and battery. At the front of the frame is found the steering head tube that holds the Swivel, pivoting Motorcycle fork, front fork, while at the rear there is a hinge, pivot point for the swingarm suspension motion. Some motorcycles include the engine as a load-bearing stressed member; while some other bikes do not use a single frame, but instead have a front and a rear subframe attached to the engine. Materials In the early days, motorcycles were little more than motorised bicycles, and consequently frames were tubular steel. While the use of steel tubing is still common, in modern times other materials, such as titanium, aluminium, magnesium, and carbon-fibre, along with composites of these materials, are now used. As differen ...
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Rickman Motorcycles
Rickman Motorcycles was a United Kingdom, British, independent motorcycle chassis constructor established by brothers Derek and Don Rickman. The firm manufactured motorcycles from until . History Initially the frame designs were for Motocross, scrambles, and then for road racing. Later, in 1966, road bikes were produced as well. The first street legal bike used a Triumph Bonneville engine. Rickman initially supplied frame kits to the public, as no major British motorcycle manufacturers would sell motorcycle engine, engines separately. The frame kits were built for many engines, including Triumph Engineering Co Ltd, Triumph twins, Birmingham Small Arms Company, BSA singles and Matchless. In the mid-1960s, Rickman also produced road-racing frames for AJS 7R singles, and in the 1970s they began selling chassis kits for Japanese bikes like the Honda CB750 and Kawasaki Z1. The road bikes were the first to use disc brakes both front and rear (a joint project with Lockheed). Other in ...
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Suzuki GT750
The Suzuki GT750 is a water-cooled three-cylinder two-stroke motorcycle made by Suzuki from 1971 to 1977. It is the first Japanese motorcycle with a liquid-cooled engine. The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan includes the 1971 Suzuki GT750 as one of their ''240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology''. Introduction The prototype Suzuki GT750 was shown at the 17th Tokyo Motor Show The , called (TMS) until 2023, is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recog ... in October 1970 and launched in Japan in September 1971 as a sports tourer (GT standing for Grand Tourismo) and was developed from the Suzuki T500 with an extra cylinder and liquid cooling. Marketed as the ''Le Mans'' in the US and Canada, it was nicknamed the "Kettle" in Britain, the "Water Bottle" in Australia, and the "Water Buffalo" in ...
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