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Question 1: Please say few words about yourself. What connects
you with motorcycles?
I came to Daytona Beach Florida in 1968 because of my
love of motorcycle racing. "Motorcycles have always
been a part of his life. I was weaned on a Wizzer when
I was 12 and cut my teeth on an Indian hill climber at
15 My mentor was Brownie Betar the famous Indian
wrench ,my hero was Burt Monroe the Bonneville racer
from New Zeland." I attended the prestigious American
Motorcycle Institute in 1977 . In 1981 in
collaboration with Alex Longstaff I operated Cycles of
Yesteryears the largest motorcycle museum ever
produced on Main street during Bikeweek. During the
late 80's and early 90's I produced antique motorcycle
shows at the Cabbage Patch. I am now 62 and currently
hold the Guinness world record in Unimotorcycle Drag
Racing
Question 2: How did the idea of such unordinary races appear?
In March of 1988 my friend Bubba and I are sitting on
our favorite bar stumps at the Cabbage Patch slamming
a few beers and reminiscing about what had been a damn
good Bikeweek. It sure was a lot more fun in the 70,s
when you could just ride out here get a cold beer from
Ollie sit outside and wait for the races to begin I
lamented. The police would even block off Pioneer
Trail for the races on Wednesday nights The old
tradition of drag racing in front of the bar had been
stopped by the sheriff several years earlier over
safety concerns because of the large amount of traffic
that now permeated the area roads. Occasionally now
and then 2 bikers would line up in the old cabbage
field behind the bar for an impromptu dirt drag race
but this was also becoming impossible during Bikeweek
due to the large amount of bikers that took advantage
of the free camping offered by the bar. Again I
lamented you know Bubba there just isn't any racing
for the average biker anymore I've raced four wheelers
,three wheelers and two wheelers I guess the only
thing left is one wheelers. Well that statement
certainly invoked some controversy. You mean put a
motor on a wheel Bubba questioned how you gonna do
that? Well as every good bar person knows when
challenged by an engineering problem you simply
request a pen and another beer, grab a bar coaster and
get to work on the problem. The rest of the night was
spent scribbling designs, drinking beer, submitting
ideas, drinking beer, rejecting ideas, drinking beer
till at the end of the night it was decided that the
race should be called Unicycle Drag Racing the trick
being to travel from a standing stop 100ft on one
wheel and that it should be held on dirt to minimize
the injuries from the crashes that would almost
certainly occur during the attempt. Now normally these
sporadic bought with creativity are left in the bar
where they are thought of along with ones sun glasses,
cigarettes, money and the shopping list. But for some
reason this night I had tucked the bar coaster with
the scribbling into my pocket as stumbled out of the
bar to start looking for my motorcycle.
When I left the bar with the bar coaster, with the
scribblings about unicycle drag racing on that fateful
night and life has never been the same since. I went
home that night and threw the contents of my pockets
on the coffee table so when I got up in the morning to
have coffee there was that dammed beer coaster staring
at me. I stared at it through bloodshot eyes and
wondered if it was possible to race on one wheel. Over
the next week the bar coaster seemed to be everywhere
taunting me, challenging me to race, begging me to
compete, till finally I accepted the challenge of
building a gas powered unicycle. The first unicycle
was born in my kitchen the premise was simple a go
cart wheel was attached to the middle of a 2x6 board a
lawnmower engine was bolted to the front of the board
and an old Harley police seat was bolted to the rear.
For the first week me and his friends just sat on this
new contraption and drank beers trying to get the feel
of balancing on one wheel finally a set of handlebars
were added then a centrifugal clutch and a fan belt to
power the wheel a few more beers and the worlds first
attempt at a powered unicycle run was ready. This
attempt proved that almost everything that had been so
carefully planned was wrong it was as if Murphy
himself was running the test. Wrong balance, wrong
throttle, wrong seat ,should have put the beer down,
all resulted in a really smashed face
Question 3: Why is it ONE wheel?
I've raced four wheelers ,three wheelers and two
wheelers I guess the only thing left was one wheelers.
Question 4: Do you think Unimoto has future? If yes, how do you
see it?
Since its inception in 1988 The sport has become an International motorsport
Each year competitors from more countries compete at the World championships
in Sumiswald Switzerland Currently competitors come from
America, Canada, England, South Wales, Holland,
Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Austria It
appears now that Japan, Australia, and Russia will
enter the competition.
Question 5: Russian bikefest "Snowdogs Unimoto" is
held in winter. Doesn't it contradict Unimoto idea? Were any attempts
made to hold races in snow?
Rule 1 states Thou shall only race from a standing
stop to the end of a 100ft strip which is constructed
of an unpaved surface. ?I would consider snow ?an
unpaved surface.
Question 6: How do legals treat such kind of sport? Are there
any problems?
At this time we have no problems with the legals in either America or
Switzerland.
Question 7: How did it happen that Unimoto jumped over the ocean
and came to Europe?
In 1994 at Bike week in Daytona I challenged the world
to race on one wheel. One of the international press a
gentleman by the name of Roger Lorer took photos and
did several articles in Europe. Two Swiss men Nicolas
Paccard and Andre Street held the first unimoto event
in October 1994 in Martigny Switzerland.
Question 8: What Unimoto events are held and where?
Each country holds races to determine who is their
best pilots. The best then compete in either
Switzerland or America to determine who is the baddest
on one wheel. World records are Sanctioned by The
American National Unimotorcyclists Society and then
listed in the Guinness book of World Records.
Question 9: Is this kind of sport dangerous for a racer's life
and health?
Balanced precariously on a single wheel Pilots are
faced with the daunting task of holding their Beasts
upright while screaming down the 100ft track in an
attempt to beat the fastest time and living to tell
about it. Currently top Pilots travel the 100ft in
under 2.5sec and obtain speeds in excess of 60mph so
DA yeah its dangerous.
Question 10: What qualities, in your opinion, should Unimoto
racer have?
Mechanical ingenuity, Daredevil courage, and the
traditional biker quest for adventure
Sidecar Willy
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