Continued...
Hanging names on our toys is nothing new but during the early days of drag racing it received a real boost. Chet had the Beast, C.B. Clausen had the The Brute and then, of course, Lloyd Krant's fuel-burning 105ci Knucklehead was dubbed the Giant Killer. This name was hung on Lloyd's machine by Wally Parks in an article he penned in Hot Rod magazine. Along the way we had double-engined drag bikes like; Bud Hare's Triumph, Double Trouble, which certainly was trouble. From Chicago, Bob Schmidt's Monster and Walter Ross and John Bozzie's The Thing, both of these were Harley Knuckleheads, the preferred ride in those days. There were others, of course, some more creative than others, but if we were handing out awards for the all-time best name for a multi-engined drag bike it would go hands down to Russ Collins (R.C. Engineering) with his triple, SOHC Honda, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.
One of the most successful and longest running drag bikes had to be Lloyd Krant's Giant Killer. Lloyd was a furrier by trade, a very talented machinist by night and a drag racer on the weekends. Jim "J.P." Griffin was his pit man and here is what J.P. Griffin remembers from those wild early years.
In the June, 1952, Cycle magazine staged a drag race, "Jet vs Harley." It featured Louie Castro, on C.B. Clausen's The Brute, racing an Air Force T33 Shooting Star. After a short test run it was obvious the jet was no match for Clausen's Knucklehead. The pilot said, "We're no match for that baby." So, changing gears and air frames, they rolled out a P-51 Mustang. We'll let Cycle take it from here, "... The plane was purposely allowed to accelerate an instant before the Brute was gunned and, to us at the other end, it looked as though the day was lost for the first hundred yards. Then it happened, the Brute began to grab traction. Although the bike was only geared for a quarter mile, at the end of a half mile it was a good four plane lengths ahead of the already airborne P-51 - what a thrill, what a day for the bike boys!" To our knowledge no photos survived from the actual race. It seems that "Harley vs Jet" had more sales appeal. Photos from the Bruce Linsday collection.
"Krant's bike was so dominate for so many years, why, he used Top Eliminator trophies for door stops. Eventually he asked C.J. Hart, the track owner, for cash instead of a trophy. This amounted to $7.50 for fastest run of the day! Lloyd was a super nice guy. I think it was one of the magazines that called him "modest Lloyd Krant." That was true, he was a quite, soft-spoken guy. All the racers were decent guys. It could get real competitive during the runs, but even then, most riders would share information with you, except for fuel ratios, that is. There were a group of Hispanics, most of them from San Diego, who ran some pretty hot cars and bikes. They called themselves the Bean Bandits. Joe Frenadise, another Hispanic, ran a Harley he called the Saint. We raced hard but were friends too.
Hanging names on our toys is nothing new but during the early days of drag racing it received a real boost. Chet had the Beast, C.B. Clausen had the The Brute and then, of course, Lloyd Krant's fuel-burning 105ci Knucklehead was dubbed the Giant Killer. This name was hung on Lloyd's machine by Wally Parks in an article he penned in Hot Rod magazine. Along the way we had double-engined drag bikes like; Bud Hare's Triumph, Double Trouble, which certainly was trouble. From Chicago, Bob Schmidt's Monster and Walter Ross and John Bozzie's The Thing, both of these were Harley Knuckleheads, the preferred ride in those days. There were others, of course, some more creative than others, but if we were handing out awards for the all-time best name for a multi-engined drag bike it would go hands down to Russ Collins (R.C. Engineering) with his triple, SOHC Honda, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.
One of the most successful and longest running drag bikes had to be Lloyd Krant's Giant Killer. Lloyd was a furrier by trade, a very talented machinist by night and a drag racer on the weekends. Jim "J.P." Griffin was his pit man and here is what J.P. Griffin remembers from those wild early years.
In the June, 1952, Cycle magazine staged a drag race, "Jet vs Harley." It featured Louie Castro, on C.B. Clausen's The Brute, racing an Air Force T33 Shooting Star. After a short test run it was obvious the jet was no match for Clausen's Knucklehead. The pilot said, "We're no match for that baby." So, changing gears and air frames, they rolled out a P-51 Mustang. We'll let Cycle take it from here, "... The plane was purposely allowed to accelerate an instant before the Brute was gunned and, to us at the other end, it looked as though the day was lost for the first hundred yards. Then it happened, the Brute began to grab traction. Although the bike was only geared for a quarter mile, at the end of a half mile it was a good four plane lengths ahead of the already airborne P-51 - what a thrill, what a day for the bike boys!" To our knowledge no photos survived from the actual race. It seems that "Harley vs Jet" had more sales appeal. Photos from the Bruce Linsday collection.
"Krant's bike was so dominate for so many years, why, he used Top Eliminator trophies for door stops. Eventually he asked C.J. Hart, the track owner, for cash instead of a trophy. This amounted to $7.50 for fastest run of the day! Lloyd was a super nice guy. I think it was one of the magazines that called him "modest Lloyd Krant." That was true, he was a quite, soft-spoken guy. All the racers were decent guys. It could get real competitive during the runs, but even then, most riders would share information with you, except for fuel ratios, that is. There were a group of Hispanics, most of them from San Diego, who ran some pretty hot cars and bikes. They called themselves the Bean Bandits. Joe Frenadise, another Hispanic, ran a Harley he called the Saint. We raced hard but were friends too.
J.P.
Griffin in the saddle of his 80 inch Harley stages for
a run. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"Lloyd's father, and Lloyd, were furriers in LA. Lloyd was a genius when it came to machinery. He built some of the special equipment they used in the family business. His drag bikes were incredible. He raced both an 80 inch Harley, on gas at first, and his big bike, the 105 inch Knucklehead, only on fuel. On the 105ci bike he made his own cylinders out of steel, not cast iron. Then to stroke it, he took two rods, cut them, and welded in the additional length. They held together! Oldsmobile pistons were his favorite and for valves he would buy International truck valves, shorten, and machine them to fit. If I remember, these were two inch valves. Lloyd ran a Harley 3-speed transmission, but would start in second, then shift to third.
The jet was no match for "pilot" Louie Castro, on The Brute. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"There were no drag slicks back then. We used 16-inch automobile recaps. Most of the guys with big inch Harleys would start them with the help of another bike - tire to tire. Lloyd would just kick start his! His bike was so fast that often, if the fast car guys would show up and see Lloyd was running, they would turn around and go home. Off the line they couldn't touch him but they would start to catch up on the top end. Until real drag slicks were available a really fast bike could beat any car.
Ross and Bozzie's, The Thing. A very sanitary bike. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"At first we raced on the street. Main Street south between LA and Long Beach, right next to the power lines, was a favorite spot. Word would get around by phone, some street bikes and maybe 10 to 15 cars showed up and we would run. We didn't have a flag, the starter just waved his hand! I ran a pretty fast 61ci Knucklehead that I stroked to 68 inches with 80 inch flywheels and 74 inch barrels and pistons. I had polished the ports and installed a Chet Herbert cam. It would run 104 mph on gas. Lloyd also ran on the street with his 80 inch Harley."
We asked J.P. if there we many Indians drag bikes. "They were really rare. Racing on the street they were okay, but at the strip they were outclassed by the Harley overheads."
J.P. mentioned that at first they raced at C.J. Hart's Santa Ana track. But the sport spread quickly. "We had one early race at an old Army blimp base near Santa Ana. Some Colonel gave us permission. But when he saw us running over 100 mph, he threw us out!
Bob Schmidt's double-engined Harley, the Monster. Cute Whizzer gas tank, but watch out for those exposed chains. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"Bob Corbit started the first night drags at his track in Saugus, California. I was the first announcer at that track. There was a hill behind the starting line, so we raced from there toward the street. Not a good idea. When a few of the fast riders went through the fence, across the street, and into a farmers field, he turned it around and we raced toward the hill. Safer, but not by much. You had to build horsepower in those days, you couldn't just buy it."
Keep your helmet and leathers on, buddy, we'll be back at the strip in the next issue, with the inventive Clem Johnson and Barn Job, Bill Martz & Tommy Auger's fuel Vincent as well as Bob Weir's Triumph Thunderbird, Guided Missile (132 mph on fuel) which was putting pressure on Lloyd Krant's big Harley.
At the drags somewhere in SoCal. Lloyd with his 105 inch Harley on his way to collecting yet another Top Eliminator trophy. Note how casual things were in the early days. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
How the "other" guys started their machines. From the Bruce Linsday collection. •
Reprinted with Permission.
"Lloyd's father, and Lloyd, were furriers in LA. Lloyd was a genius when it came to machinery. He built some of the special equipment they used in the family business. His drag bikes were incredible. He raced both an 80 inch Harley, on gas at first, and his big bike, the 105 inch Knucklehead, only on fuel. On the 105ci bike he made his own cylinders out of steel, not cast iron. Then to stroke it, he took two rods, cut them, and welded in the additional length. They held together! Oldsmobile pistons were his favorite and for valves he would buy International truck valves, shorten, and machine them to fit. If I remember, these were two inch valves. Lloyd ran a Harley 3-speed transmission, but would start in second, then shift to third.
The jet was no match for "pilot" Louie Castro, on The Brute. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"There were no drag slicks back then. We used 16-inch automobile recaps. Most of the guys with big inch Harleys would start them with the help of another bike - tire to tire. Lloyd would just kick start his! His bike was so fast that often, if the fast car guys would show up and see Lloyd was running, they would turn around and go home. Off the line they couldn't touch him but they would start to catch up on the top end. Until real drag slicks were available a really fast bike could beat any car.
Ross and Bozzie's, The Thing. A very sanitary bike. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"At first we raced on the street. Main Street south between LA and Long Beach, right next to the power lines, was a favorite spot. Word would get around by phone, some street bikes and maybe 10 to 15 cars showed up and we would run. We didn't have a flag, the starter just waved his hand! I ran a pretty fast 61ci Knucklehead that I stroked to 68 inches with 80 inch flywheels and 74 inch barrels and pistons. I had polished the ports and installed a Chet Herbert cam. It would run 104 mph on gas. Lloyd also ran on the street with his 80 inch Harley."
We asked J.P. if there we many Indians drag bikes. "They were really rare. Racing on the street they were okay, but at the strip they were outclassed by the Harley overheads."
J.P. mentioned that at first they raced at C.J. Hart's Santa Ana track. But the sport spread quickly. "We had one early race at an old Army blimp base near Santa Ana. Some Colonel gave us permission. But when he saw us running over 100 mph, he threw us out!
Bob Schmidt's double-engined Harley, the Monster. Cute Whizzer gas tank, but watch out for those exposed chains. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
"Bob Corbit started the first night drags at his track in Saugus, California. I was the first announcer at that track. There was a hill behind the starting line, so we raced from there toward the street. Not a good idea. When a few of the fast riders went through the fence, across the street, and into a farmers field, he turned it around and we raced toward the hill. Safer, but not by much. You had to build horsepower in those days, you couldn't just buy it."
Keep your helmet and leathers on, buddy, we'll be back at the strip in the next issue, with the inventive Clem Johnson and Barn Job, Bill Martz & Tommy Auger's fuel Vincent as well as Bob Weir's Triumph Thunderbird, Guided Missile (132 mph on fuel) which was putting pressure on Lloyd Krant's big Harley.
At the drags somewhere in SoCal. Lloyd with his 105 inch Harley on his way to collecting yet another Top Eliminator trophy. Note how casual things were in the early days. From the Bruce Linsday collection.
How the "other" guys started their machines. From the Bruce Linsday collection. •
Reprinted with Permission.