Kawasaki's Real Eddie Law This Out-Of-The-Crate Racebike by John Ulrich racebikes for sale and the racebikes used ELRs displace 998cc, while Lawson’s by the team is simply horsepower. racebike is 1015cc, with forged pistons, f Rhys Howard’s Superbike looks re­ According to Rob Muzzy, the crew and Lawson’s racebike uses an exhaust markably like Eddie Lawson’s, it's no chief who tuned Lawson to the 1981 Su­ system with tapered headpipes. Muzzy accident. Howard’s bike, like the 29 perbike Championship, a stock ELR concedes that the bikes ridden by Lawson Iother Eddie Lawson Replica KZ1000S1 makes 136 bhp on the race department and Rainey are faster than the ELRs sold racebikes built this year, is outwardly dyno at Kawasaki headquarters in Santa to privateers, but says that either of his identical to Lawson’s. In fact, Lawson and Ana, California. Eddie’s racebike makes riders could put a stock, as-sold ELR into Team Kawasaki teammate Wayne Rainey 149 bhp on the same dyno. Muzzy takes the winner’s circle. ride Eddie Lawson Replicas. Kawasaki readings from the dyno—driven off the “The bike as sold will go faster than the Motors Corp. race manager Gary Math­ engine’s countershaft sprocket—and average guy can ride it,” says Muzzy. ers bought four of the new replicas for the mathematically factors them to obtain “The motorcycle is capable of beating any team, telling reporters that it was cheaper horsepower produced at the crankshaft. of the privateers out there, because it’s to buy bikes from the factory than to build Muzzy calculates horsepower that way better than their bikes. The problem is them from scratch. because that’s the way engineers at Ka­ that guys buy them and start having them The bikes are sold to racers through wasaki’s factory in Japan figure horse­ modified, changing the cams and having normal dealerships, for $10,999. As this is power, and the standardized method sim­ somebody port them. The major head written, 15 of the 30 have been sold. plifies communication. work is already done. Maybe it would ben­ They've been put to good use, winning The major engine pieces are all there, efit from a good racing valve job, because endurance races and club races, as well as according to Muzzy, including the crank­ the seats are cut kind of rough at the fac­ carrying top privateers to good finishes at shaft, transmission, camshafts, CD igni­ tory, but when guys get in there and start AMA National Superbike events. The tion, clutch, and major cylinder head making major port changes, they just are ready-to-race racebikes sold by Kawasaki work. Like Lawson's, the engine is based taking a good bike and making it slower.” aren’t capable of winning Superbike on the 1982 KZI000J, which has a new If he were running a privateer race races, though, excepting the specific four cylinder head casting incorporating port effort, says Muzzy, he'd make the same ELRs assigned to Lawson and Rainey. design changes with roots in Kawasaki’s changes to an ELR as he makes to the The biggest difference between the successful 1981 Superbike effort. The Kawasaki team bikes. But Muzzy won’t 30/CYCLE WORLD Photos by David Dewhurst son Replica, the KZ1000S1 Needs Some Work...But It’s Close. discuss just what those changes are, and months. They’d be okay if you could take gears, just valves and guides and seals and says that if he didn’t know what they are, it apart new and go through it and bring it some tach drive parts.” he’d leave the cylinder head stock and go up to specs, but just getting information is But Harold agrees that the ELR, as de­ racing. difficult. livered, doesn’t have enough power. ELRs come with 33mm CR Keihins “And the parts prices are staggering. A Howard ran the bike stock at his first race, and 31mm restrictors, and Lawson and swing arm is like $769. An ignition rotor is the spring AMA Superbike race at River­ Rainey run with either those carbs or with $540. A stator is like $300. side, California, but crashed. The spill 35mm CR Keihins and 31mm restrictors, “They’re good bikes, and Harry likes bent the end of the bike’s crankshaft, depending upon the racetrack. Lawson’s the way it works and it seems to make which is exposed through the ignition bikes also have a little more trail than the good power now, but by the time Kawasaki cover, and the motorcycle needed work. ELRs. Otherwise the chassis are identical gets its act together the year will be over Harold took it to Ken Augustine, known down to the forks, shocks and brakes. and the bikes will be useless.” for his work with the BMW Superbike The privateer with the best results on an * * * team (in 1976, when the team dominated ELR is Harry Klinzmann, who used his Superbike racing) and consulting with bike to win a Budweiser 500 endurance (As an aside, parts for privateers have American Honda’s Superbike effort. race, finish second in another Bud race been a problem for years. When Gary Augustine and Harold went through and win an exhibition race held in con­ Nixon and Erv Kanemoto ran a KR750 the engine, removing burrs; straightening, junction with an Indy car race in Cleve­ and were close to winning the Formula 750 cleaning, and welding the crankshaft; land. Klinzmann was the top privateer in World Championship, they couldn't get surfacing the cases; lightening and balanc­ Superbike racing last year and is always parts. Dirt trackers with XR750s have ing the pistons; shaping the combustion near the front of the privateer pack. At complained long and hard about not get­ chambers to meet Augustine’s ideal and, Laguna Seca Klinzmann raced with ting parts. As long as racebikes and race- at the same time, matching combustion Honda’s Roberto Pietri, Kawasaki’s bike parts are made in small lots, factory chamber volumes; checking piston decks Wayne Rainey and privateer Thad Wolff teams will get first call and parts for every­ and contours; porting the cylinder head; for much of the race, eventually finishing body else will be spotty at best, the possi­ clearancing the head for bigger cams; sixth, the first rider without a factory bike. ble exception being Yamaha and the TZ Klinzmann disagrees with Muzzy’s series.) evaluation of the ELRs. “It was way too * * * slow when we got it,” says Klinzmann, who is sponsored by Racecrafters, a Ka­ Which brings us to the Eddie Lawson wasaki dealer and high-performance parts Replica owned and campaigned by Cana­ retailer. “We ran it on the dyno and only dian Rhys Howard. Howard, 21, is an up- got 116 horsepower out of it. After we did and-coming rider in his first year of Super­ a lot of work on it we got 126 horsepower, bike racing. He hasn’t set the world on but it took half a year to get it where it fire, but has made steady progress with his feels fast enough.” ELR. His best finishes have been in club According to Klinzmann, the extra races and Canadian Nationals, a first on horsepower came from cylinder head port­ his home track of Westwood (near Van­ ing by his tuner, Pierre DesRoches, and couver); a third at Sanair, Quebec; and a from the installation of camshafts from first at an AFM race at Sears Point, Cal­ Web-Cam. The porting improved flow 30- ifornia. At AMA Superbike Nationals, 40 percent as measured on a flow bench, Howard crashed in his Riverside debut, says Klinzmann, and the cylinder head finished 14th in the rain at Elkhart, and came with rough-cast ports painted black, broke in practice at Loudon. Like Klinz­ just like a street bike’s. Klinzmann feels mann and Lawson, Howard abandoned that his bike would make another four or the bike’s stock quarter fairing, which ini­ five horsepower if he could get the 1015cc tiated a wobble at top speed. pistons used in Lawson’s bike, but says Dave Harold, who tunes for Howard, those pistons are for factory team use only. didn’t have the problems encountered by DesRoches agrees that the ELR as de­ DesRoches and Klinzmann. “We were livered wasn’t fast enough, but goes lucky,” says Harold. “We got one that had further. the transmission shimmed right from the “You can't get parts for them. The factory, but those other guys should have transmission was real loose in the crank­ dropped the pan and checked theirs be­ cases, and the gears needed shimming. fore they ever went racing.” Some of the gears were contacting each Harold and Howard haven’t had prob­ other where they shouldn’t have been. lems getting parts, either, reporting that Popping out of gears is the normal prob­ their orders through Steve Baker Ka­ lem, and now the dogs are all worn on wasaki (near Seattle) were filled quickly. some of the gears, and I can’t get new “Most parts are no problem,” says Harold, Cut-off crankshaft, crankshaft cap, and welded- ones—they’ve been on order for two “but then we didn't need any big stuff like up cases are standard. Pipe is from Kerker. OCTOBER 1982/31 Kawasaki's Rea! Eddie Law opening up the tappet bores; installing adjusted to his liking. So Howard, like num calipers and mag hanger plates new valve springs, titanium collars, tap­ Klinzmann, switched to MX Fox Super­ and disc rotor carriers, and giant, slotted pets and Megacycle camshafts; and put­ bike Shox, which come with a complete discs.