60 replies to this topic

[LaynieKelly]

I am aware that the Swann Series started way before I started going to it in the mid-1980's. It started in the late 1970s didn't it? When did it finish? Who came over and raced? Who won? the bikes, the tracks, the people. If you have stories, memories or comments, here is where you share the stories. Let's talk racing.

[Russell Burrows]

I am aware that the Swann Series started way before I started going to it in the mid-1980's. It started in the late 1970s didn't it? When did it finish? Who came over and raced? Who won? the bikes, the tracks, the people. If you have stories, memories or comments, here is where you share the stories. Let's talk racing.

Well hello, what a shame I know almost nothing about it.

[LaynieKelly]

Well hello, what a shame I know almost nothing about it.

Hello to you too Russell.

[stuavant]

Hello to you too Russell.

This forum on the Swann ought to be good value but its not going far??

[Hasselhoff]

All I know is AJAY never won it, while the winners include Gardner, Wally Campbell, Jeffrey, Croz and McElnea to name a few.

Edited by Hasselhoff, 27 June 2010 - 07:06.

[philippe7]

Who is AJAY please , Hass ? and is Wally Campbell the rider otherwise known as Malcolm( who had the occasional european race on a factory Honda ) ? and where are those who raced there when we need them ? Jeff, Murray, Lukebaby ? And all the Aussies who really must have saved a few press clippings or timing sheets ?

Edited by philippe7, 27 June 2010 - 07:28.

[Coupe Kawasaki]

I found this clip..sorry about the music





David

[philippe7]

That is a close fight, if I've ever seen one ! Who's this with the #3 Honda ?

[lukebaby]

That is a close fight, if I've ever seen one ! Who's this with the #3 Honda ?

Wally Campbell......3 cylinder Honda

[GD66]

... also featuring : 1 Michael Dowson Pitmans TZ750

M Rob McElnea Skoal Bandit RG500.

What that clip fails to display is the series of lurid, high-speed power drifts Gardner was pulling under the Dunlop bridge through turn one....

Edited by GD66, 28 June 2010 - 10:20.

[lukebaby]

... also featuring : 1 Michael Dowson Pitmans TZ750

M Rob McElnea Skoal Bandit RG500.

What that clip fails to display is the series of lurid, high-speed power drifts Garner was pulling under the Dunlop bridge through turn one....

Exactly GD....and the first time that we saw a radial tyre in action on a motorcycle in Australia.....fantastic to watch

[peterd]

Memory a bit hazy on this, but I'll try to add some Swann Series details. If the race dates that year were before Christmas it was the 1982 series, if after it was '83 (obviously). Venues were Sandown, Surfers and Oran Park. I helped Dennis Ireland, who rode his TT-winning RGB. We got backing from Arai, Century Oils and Action Suzuki, and Holden loaned us a van. Dennis brought out from the UK a load of big fat new profile rear Dunlops, which were all the go on the works Suzukis. Or maybe not. (Stu, fill in the details, please) In hindsight, Dennis would probably agree the SS wasn't really the place to try something so new. Then again, he was thinking ahead to the next European season. Anyway, somewhere along the way he binned the RGB and I think we got help with spares from Brett Laverty, who from memory wasn't riding because he was injured.
I do remember that very fast Surfers right-hander, quite possibly one of the most fearsome corners on any track anywhere. Please, someone, anyone, complete the picture for that year!
Interesting aside, speaking to John Pace last year, he said when he quit racing he and Debbie bought a house on the hill overlooking Surfers just to gently wean himself out of racing. Sadly, what was Surfers track is now a very swish housing estate. And the Broadbeach International hotel, scene of some great nights, is gone...

[philippe7]

I'm glad I took the trouble to find and visit this mythical circuit during my one and only visit to Gold Coast in 1997 - the place was already fairly derelict ( only the start-finish straight pictured below was apparently still occasionnaly used as a dragstrip ) but at least it was still there ! The only living soul I saw that day was a very colourful character who was offering tourists flights in his Gipsy Moth from the airstrip in the middle of the track....

[vc1954]

The only living soul I saw that day was a very colourful character who was offering tourists flights in his Gipsy Moth from the airstrip in the middle of the track....

My dad used to fly some of us up there from Sydney. We would hop out of the plane put the leathers on and hop on the bike and go practice Best track in Australia IMO

[timbo]

ABC TV's digital channel, ABC2 ran a series called Late Night Legends a couple of years ago, showing ABC's archive footage of different sporting events.
Along with quite a bit of car racing from the likes of the Tasman Series in the 1960's, they showed the Swann Series from 1984 and 1985.
See if you can beg, borrow or steal a copy somehow.

Its also interesting to hear that housing is now on the site, as it lay idle for years because it was deemed on a flood plain, and development could not go ahead.
In fact I have seen a photo showing the track completely under water, and the only laps were being done by a guy in a boat.

[7okai]

My dad used to fly some of us up there from Sydney. We would hop out of the plane put the leathers on and hop on the bike and go practice Best track in Australia IMO

Coming in one afternoon, Group Leader looked over and asked which way the windsock was pointing or something to that effect.

"That way" with a finger pointing, was the answer.

So they go around and line up. Maybe sometime close to flare and landing the thing, Group Leader noticed that things weren't quite right. The windsock/wind direction was 180 degrees out.

From all reports the actual landing was quite exciting, but handled with skill and dexterity. As they all were

Somewhere at Mum and Dads, are some photos I took at an early Surfers Paradise round. Late '70's?? Mainly an OW31 replica/replica with big #2's on it.

What year would that have been Stu?

The OW31 replica/replica started life as one of the first batch of TZ700A's. The rear subframe was altered to fit better rear shocks in a more "lay down" arrangement. The rider, and bike were retired and later on the monoshock TZ750D came out, which made the old vague handlers obsolete overnight.

To stay in the sport and have a competitive bike, the TZ700 needed a 750cc upgrade, bigger carburettors, new exhaust pipes and mufflers, some nice wide mag wheels to suit the slicks of the day and a monoshock chassis. So, work began.

Peter MacMillan and Ron Taylor of PR Products modified the chasis and fabricated a really nice aluminium swingarm. Back then I would drop in and visit one of the new TZ750D's with a pencil, piece of paper, vernier caliper, steel rule and make drawings of the monoshock mounting behind the steering head, the swingarm dimensions, the fork and steering head heights, etc so that the bike would be as close as possible to what seemed to work. Thanks Muzz

After one full day of testing at Oran Park, I remember the comment from the rider, which was accompanied by a look of sincere determination, and maybe a glint of surprise....simply ..., "I think this thing will work". For me, it was an education 101 on GP bike setup. The rider knew what he was looking for in the bike, and every change improved the lap time. The engine and suspension were in the ballpark and Sandown was the first round.

Luckily, they took all the spare parts because it seized during the Friday practice.

Twice.

Sometimes only one piston will sieze, but both times it was a major meltdown on all 4 cylinders. It turned out to be the fuel, way too much methyl benzine. So with a pair of six port TZ750 cylinders on the garbage can, (no Nikasil service in Oz back then) I think it was down to running the bike with new pistons and the best pair of standard 750 or 700 cylinders that could be salvaged. Not the best way to start the series, and am sure that the engine was not as strong as it could have been, but I remember Stu getting some pretty good results on it. He never gave up.

I'll find'em and scan'em

[rd500]

if you go onto duke video http://www.dukevideo...a-1985-VHS.aspx you can buy the 85 video, ive had mine for about 10 years now i believe the 84 series put an end to aussie champ andrew johnsons career on a honda triple

Edited by rd500, 05 July 2010 - 15:41.

[stuavant]

Coming in one afternoon, Group Leader looked over and asked which way the windsock was pointing or something to that effect.

"That way" with a finger pointing, was the answer.

So they go around and line up. Maybe sometime close to flare and landing the thing, Group Leader noticed that things weren't quite right. The windsock/wind direction was 180 degrees out.

From all reports the actual landing was quite exciting, but handled with skill and dexterity. As they all were

Somewhere at Mum and Dads, are some photos I took at an early Surfers Paradise round. Late '70's?? Mainly an OW31 replica/replica with big #2's on it.

What year would that have been Stu?

The OW31 replica/replica started life as one of the first batch of TZ700A's. The rear subframe was altered to fit better rear shocks in a more "lay down" arrangement. The rider, and bike were retired and later on the monoshock TZ750D came out, which made the old vague handlers obsolete overnight.

To stay in the sport and have a competitive bike, the TZ700 needed a 750cc upgrade, bigger carburettors, new exhaust pipes and mufflers, some nice wide mag wheels to suit the slicks of the day and a monoshock chassis. So, work began.

Peter MacMillan and Ron Taylor of PR Products modified the chasis and fabricated a really nice aluminium swingarm. Back then I would drop in and visit one of the new TZ750D's with a pencil, piece of paper, vernier caliper, steel rule and make drawings of the monoshock mounting behind the steering head, the swingarm dimensions, the fork and steering head heights, etc so that the bike would be as close as possible to what seemed to work. Thanks Muzz

After one full day of testing at Oran Park, I remember the comment from the rider, which was accompanied by a look of sincere determination, and maybe a glint of surprise....simply ..., "I think this thing will work". For me, it was an education 101 on GP bike setup. The rider knew what he was looking for in the bike, and every change improved the lap time. The engine and suspension were in the ballpark and Sandown was the first round.

Luckily, they took all the spare parts because it seized during the Friday practice.

Twice.

Sometimes only one piston will sieze, but both times it was a major meltdown on all 4 cylinders. It turned out to be the fuel, way too much methyl benzine. So with a pair of six port TZ750 cylinders on the garbage can, (no Nikasil service in Oz back then) I think it was down to running the bike with new pistons and the best pair of standard 750 or 700 cylinders that could be salvaged. Not the best way to start the series, and am sure that the engine was not as strong as it could have been, but I remember Stu getting some pretty good results on it. He never gave up.

I'll find'em and scan'em I reckon that was 79 as we had usd a TZ750 from Donny Pask during the year. It was either end of 78 or 79 on your dad's bike. Warren Willing and myself drove down with Murray Sayles in his Transit Van with a V6 motor to Sandown that year. It broke a ball joint half way to Melbourne which put us in a ditch. All I remember was standing on the side of the road with my thub out and hitching a ride in a semi trailer!! Arrived a bit late but the bike was a weapon if not a bit troublesome

[husky410]

Ah, I recall reading about the Swann Series in Motorcycle News every year. You always knew that the GP's weren't far off when the Swann started. Now were they held prior to Daytona or after?

[philippe7]

This Swann Series thread certainly deserves more input . By chance this morning as I was browsing the web I noticed there was a new gallery on this very good site , previously mentioned here for its Lakeside galleries http://deejay51.com/...road_racing.htm I shamelessly borrowed the following pictures ( thank you, deejay 51 , whoever you are ) said to be from the Surfers Paradise leg of the 1978 Swann series

As I just gave the Where and When, remains the "Who" . Clue : all pictured are members of this forum ....







Oh, and do check out the galleries on the page linked above....there are many more !

[GD66]

Good find, Philippe ! I wish we'd seen more of the mysterious #2 on a 350 over the years.

[vc1954]

I remember that race cos my bike was chattering so bad that my eyeballs nearly fell out And if my memory serves me correctly.....Chas won from my best mate Bob Gregor, Graeme Mcgregor, me then Stu And Warren and maybe Lenny next.....tough fields back then

Edited by vc1954, 13 September 2010 - 09:20.

[Hasselhoff]

This forum on the Swann ought to be good value but its not going far??

We are all ears Stu, Jeff, Murray?...........You are the blokes who rode in it

[timbo]

A couple of photo's from the Swann Series at Oran Park.



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And the 250ccGP support race.



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[philippe7]

There again, brilliant - and intersting - pics . Who is this Freddie Spencer lookalike riding this "NR" Honda ? Is this the same 750 NR ( oval pistons ) which made an appearance in a 24 hours Bol d'Or one year , ridden by a trio of "journalists" , one of which was Malcolm Campbell ( who was much faster than the other two , Ken Nemoto and Jean-Luc Roy IIRC ) . Would this be Campbell riding then ?

[timbo]

It is the Honda NR750 and ridden by Malcolm Campbell.

Malcolm is much, much more than a racing journalist.
He is a multiple Australian Champion and is thought of highly enough by Honda Japan to be trusted racing such bikes.
He is a top bloke as well, and very down to earth in the tradition of a lot of Australian motorcycle racers.

[philippe7]

It is the Honda NR750 and ridden by Malcolm Campbell.

Malcolm is much, much more than a racing journalist.

Oh yes, no question about this, I called him a "journalist" as this his how he was qualified in the (french) press during this endurance race ( which was actually the 1987 LeMans 24 hours, not the Bol d'Or ) and we discussed the thinking behind this strange team of riders some years back.....

No, strangely enough he was teamed up ( if I remember well ) with two "other" journo-riders ( did Mal sometimes work as a writer ? ) , one french ( Jean-Luc Roy ? ) and one Japanese whose names escapes me ( Ken Nemoto maybe ? ) . Mal was by far the quickest of the threesome, many people wondered what the thinking was by Honda behind this rather unusual combination of riders , apparently it was just to enforce the fact that this oval-piston racer was just entered as a "technical prowess" that was soon to be outdated anyway ( and not homologated either by official endurance rules ) and that the idea was just to display the bike on track, without pretending that this would be the next world-beater, as what would maybe have been interpreted by the media if they had put aboard the top-gun official factory riders of the time .

edit : and a bit of googling led to this :

http://www.motorcycl....._nr750 87.htm

The link above still works and gives a good insight in the (short) career of the 750 version of the NR , which seems to have been limited to this endurance race and then the Swann Series , which the NR won in "december 87" so that would be when your pic is from timbo ?

[Hasselhoff]

Timbo great shots but I feel they are some years apart as the shots of Niall McKenzie and Alan Carter are from the Bob Jane 350 series in '85, but great shots as I said. You don't have any of Geoff McNaughton on the orange Bob Jane bike from that series do you?

[timbo]

Timbo great shots but I feel they are some years apart as the shots of Niall McKenzie and Alan Carter are from the Bob Jane 350 series in '85, but great shots as I said. You don't have any of Geoff McNaughton on the orange Bob Jane bike from that series do you?

You may be right. They say the memory is the first thing to go, and I can't remember what the second one was.
philippe7 said that the Malcolm Campbell Honda NR750 would be from 1987, which would be right.

I don't think I have any photo's of Geoff McNaughton, but I'll have a look around and see what I can come up with.

[philippe7]

...and who is this ? The helmet looks like the one of Roger Marshall but I don't recall him with Suzuki GB ?

[philippe7]

Timbo great shots but I feel they are some years apart as the shots of Niall McKenzie and Alan Carter are from the Bob Jane 350 series in '85

This does make sense, McKenzie rode for Silverstone Armstrong in the 1985 and 86 Grand Prix seasons . In '87 he had moved up to the 500 class for Honda HB and stayed there a few years, so I would agree that the Campbell pic is from end 87 and the McKenzie/Carter shots from end 85 .

[timbo]

...and who is this ? The helmet looks like the one of Roger Marshall but I don't recall him with Suzuki GB ?

International riders in the Swann Series always used a letter instead of a number, and I've been told that it is Roger Marshall using the letter "R", probably because Rob McElnea was using the letter "M".
I've since been informed that there were two Honda NR750's, brought out by Honda, One for Malcolm Campbell, and another for Rob Scolyer.

[Hasselhoff]

there were two Honda NR750's, brought out by Honda, One for Malcolm Campbell, and another for Rob Scolyer

Yeah I reckon that shot is Scolyer as Wally would have had number 3 and was a wee bit trimmer than Rob.

Edited by Hasselhoff, 29 October 2010 - 04:29.

[lukebaby]

Yeah I reckon that shot is Scolyer as Wally would have had number 3 and was a wee bit trimmer than Rob.

Roger Marshall.....100%

[bella]

Anyone got any pics of Wil Hartog when he did the Swann series 79 or 80 when he was beaten by Steve Trinder ?.

[Hasselhoff]

Anyone got any pics of Wil Hartog when he did the Swann series 79 or 80 when he was beaten by Steve Trinder ?

Do you mean in a couple of races? as I don't remember that Steve Trinder ever won the Swann Series, but maybe I'm wrong? Croz won it in '80 on the XR69 and Trinder was on a Total Dick RG500 and I recall he crashed a lot. Did Greg Pretty win it in '79?

[GD66]

Do you mean in a couple of races? as I don't remember that Steve Trinder ever won the Swann Series, but maybe I'm wrong? Croz won it in '80 on the XR69 and Trinder was on a Total Dick RG500 and I recall he crashed a lot. Did Greg Pretty win it in '79?

No records to go off here, Hass, but I think Croz and Trinder had a win apiece at Oran Park, later in the series Trinder had changed to riding the Taylor/Ansett TZ750 at AIR and he had a big one in the esses and really smashed his leg. But he was right on form up till then. Huge series.

[bella]

I can remember Trinder and Pretty but not Crosby, Ron Boulden keeps popping into my head, did he do the series as well ?.

[exclubracer]

...and who is this ? The helmet looks like the one of Roger Marshall but I don't recall him with Suzuki GB ?

Definitely Reg on the Gixxer 1100 nicknamed 'The Beast'. He rode for Suzuki GB for a few seasons in the '80s, mostly with Skoal Bandit sponsorship IIRC. Whatever happened to them? They seemed to disappear suddenly, perhaps tobacco tea-bags weren't to everyone's liking!

I remember him looping it on a warm-up lap at Cadwell's start-finish straight in '88 I think, quite a bit of frantic spannering and to-ing and fro-ing to the Padgett's spares van for Nigel Everett!

Edited by exclubracer, 29 October 2010 - 21:04.

[Hasselhoff]

I can remember Trinder and Pretty but not Crosby, Ron Boulden keeps popping into my head, did he do the series as well ?

Croz won it in '80 on the Team Heron Suzuki F1 GS1000 (XR69). Not sure about Boulden I don't remember him ever featuring.

[GD66]

Pretty sure he won the last leg of the 1980 series, the TZ750 had the legs on Croz's XR69 on Sandown's long straights. That was the meeting where Gardner dragged the Peter Molloy CB1100R Honda out of the van and got Mamoru Moriwaki's attention with a big dig under dodgy track conditions. Moriwaki was sitting right behind us, willing Gardner on just as much as we were, but without the drunken revelry, obviously...

[Hasselhoff]

I'm sure you are right, Bouldens 750 had the legs on plenty of people. Crosby led by 50m onto Conrod in '79, it wasn't enough.

Edited by Hasselhoff, 31 October 2010 - 04:39.

[ravenous25]

Roger Marshall did the Swann Series in 1987 after he'd won everything that year in the UK - and when he got back to the UK, he found out that Suzuki were getting rid of him! Kev Magee or Mike Dowson won it that year I think.

It was in either September or October '87 when he looped the bike at Cadwell - pulled a wheelie coming out of Barn, flipped it, and slid all the way along the start and finish straight on his front - ended up right outside the medical centre so slid for a good few hundred yards, perfectly ok though.

[ravenous25]

AJAY was Andrew Johnson and was one of Australia's top riders in the late 70's/early 80s - wasn't he the first Australian to get a 3-cylinder Honda?

I remember Motocourse from about 1983 or 1984 saying he should have gone and raced in Europe but he never did.

His son, Shannon, is one of Australia's top riders now, regularly finishing in the top 5 of the 600cc and Superbike races - real nice guy.

[rd500]

does anyone remember anything about the 86 series, i remeber reading at the time that magee got lawsons yzr500. did he win?
86 must have been the last year of the gp bikes as all the superbike pics are from 87.

[rd500]

in the 85 video its very clear that dowsons 750 even had the legs on robs rg500, at surfers that year even wg on the spencer v4 took a good few gear changes to get alongside the tz 750 and as mentioned before the slides at the first corner wg was pulling off were classics.

[Roogazza]

in the 85 video its very clear that dowsons 750 even had the legs on robs rg500, at surfers that year even wg on the spencer v4 took a good few gear changes to get alongside the tz 750 and as mentioned before the slides at the first corner wg was pulling off were classics.

I think I recall an old friend (dave Hiscock) winning the Swan around 83? I do remember seeing Wal Campbell on the V3 just pipping Gardners V4 ....84 ?? G.

ps I'll drop Dave an Email he'll probably enjoy this site.

Edited by Roogazza, 08 August 2011 - 20:17.

[Hasselhoff]

does anyone remember anything about the 86 series, i remember reading at the time that magee got lawsons yzr500. did he win?

I think he may have won 2 races but McElnea definitely won the series.

I think I recall an old friend (dave Hiscock) winning the Swan around 83? I do remember seeing Wal Campbell on the V3 just pipping Gardners V4 ....84 ??

Pretty sure Gardner won '83 '84 '85 and yes Mal Campbell on a V3 beat Gardner on the V4 in 2 races in '85 but Gardner still won the series.

AJAY....wasn't he the first Australian to get a 3-cylinder Honda?

Yes for Bathurst '83.

Edited by Hasselhoff, 09 August 2011 - 02:08.

[Roogazza]

Pretty sure Gardner won '83 '84 '85 and yes Mal Campbell on a V3 beat Gardner on the V4 in 2 races in '85 but Gardner still won the series.

oh ok, I remember seeing Dave winning some, maybe earlier ?? He was on one of those Roberts thingys.

[racer69]

The series was still running as late as 1988, the third round that year was the first meeting at the 'refurbished' Phillip Island

Regarding Andrew Johnson, didn't he retire close to the start of the '85 season, which allowed an 'out of work' Mal Campbell to take over the bike for the series. Mal's win against Gardner in the first leg at Oran Park would have to be one of the best motorcycle races i've ever seen.

Didn't Dowson get a YZR500 in the '86 series as well?

A great series for its time, especially as it gave us Aussies a glimpse of the GP bikes. It would probably be abit difficult to replicate it these days though..

Edited by racer69, 11 August 2011 - 10:19.