|———————————— Videos by Ferrous Head ————————————|

1974 XLH1000 Sportster. I have two of these and they are a candidate for best Sportsters ever built.

Sportons are based around Harley Davidson 900 Sportster engines. Housed in replica Norton Featherbed frames - a formidable combination in Historic Racing. ³⁾

First Dyno run on the new Generod Sporton Mark 2 was just to get an air/fuel map to see how my guesses on the jetting and timing worked out.

First laps on the New Sporton Mark II as Gene and Rod tour around Lakeside at a leisurely pace.

From this XLF thread: "Fake" S&S with pics and a video

I was curious about the cheap S&S Shorty E's being sold on Ebay for $59. I decided at that price to buy one to see if they were a usable item. From the outset I only wanted a carburetor to replace a worn out unit on an engine that I was giving to a mate. The engine is slated to go into a Historic racing sidecar and I hadn't really intended this carb to be used for racing but it may well end up on the track if it performs as well as a real S&S.

As I'm in Australia shipping to weeks. The seller was so embarrassed (it was not his fault) he refunded me $3 – so the carb was only $56 in the end. It arrived, well packed and included in the box was more than I expected. 8 main jets as well as 6 intermediates. There are two cable brackets, short and long style and a fuel filter. Doe whatever reason there was also a 10mm spark plug?

I forgot to specify which bike the carb was for so it wasn't necessarily jetted correctly for the engine I have. My fault. But I paid less for all of this than it would have cost me for the jets included if I bought S&S. You have to think about that. I did a side by side comparison and this is a direct copy minus the S&S logo.

I couldn't fault the materials or machining. The real S&S I was comparing it to had an Enduroshine finish, probably the biggest difference between the two. The installation was very straight forward. The whole swap only took about 30 minutes. I did have to replace the throttle cable as the carb that was on there was a Super B that uses a cable with no nipple on the carb end. So, I pushed the bike out into the yard and fired it up.

A couple of caveats on this. It is still winter for us here in The Great Land of Oz. It was very chilly (for me) last night dipping below 40 degrees. In addition, the engine hasn't been started in months. Battery is pretty near dead, I should have put it on the charger. So a cold engine, weak battery, straight drag pipes, no air cleaner and no tuning whatsoever. Typical Ironhead territory I would guess. Oh, in the video you can see me playing with the enrichner. Normally with these you have an air cleaner that contains a lever to do this. I just did it by hand.

I would hazard a guess and say the carb is a little lean on the bottom and mid range. But it's within a size or two at most. When fully warmed I'm pretty sure it would have sat there and just idled with a steady beat.

Conclusion.
This won me. This carb can replace every Linkert, Tillotson, Keihin, Bendix and Super B out there. I suspect it will replace a Shorty E just as well. I will buy another one just to go into my toolbox. What a great diagnostic tool. I will now be able to confirm my ignition problems really are ignition problems. No instructions came with it, but these are very simple carbs. They will respond to tuning just like a real S&S. Actually, like any carb ever made.

Videos from the track.

The Sporton bites the dust. Mac Park December 2013. A Period 3 Unlimited Sidecar powered by a Harley Sportster (Ironhead) engine.

Day 2 of the Queensland 2021 Historic Road Racing Championships. Here you can see the impromptu changes made to help our Passenger.
Padding on the seat, tape across the deck, removal of one hand hold.

The start of Race 1 at Morgan Park 2021 Queensland Historic Road Racing Championships.

Race 2 of the Queensland Historic Road Race Championships.

First part of the video shows the acceleration of the bike compared to the other guys ¹³⁾ . In the second start I didn't get enough traction and the big Hoosier just spun allowing Milto to get past me. We were first into turn 1 in every other race. It's a shame but we don't have the video of us going bush or when Rod Amshaw lost it and speared across the track in front of us. We went out in Practice/Qualifying and found the engine STILL wasn't running correctly in the mid range. I have been working on this problem for some time and thought I had cured it. Not so. Despite that we eventually qualified third on the grid. I was happy with that as the bike was sliding everywhere. Nearly spun it at the hairpin and was drifting clear across the track coming onto the main straight. I'm afraid I gave my passenger a bit of a scare. Don't worry, he paid me back later.

You can't really hear it on the video but the engine was 8 - stroking sometimes in the intermediate range. It meant I wasn't able to drive out of the slower corners very well. Once I got through that it pulled like a train and I was able to pick up 30 yards on them.

In the video when you see the front wheel jerking right that's because the back end is coming around.

Video: Gene Lopeman and Rod Dangerfield having fun in the sun at the 2019 Queensland Historic Road Racing Championships.
We ran 3rd overall. Happy with that.

The bike looks decidedly different with the new tank on it. ¹⁵⁾ I'll be doing a fiberglass seat to match the sidecar fender and I'll also make a tank cover so I can do a new paint job on the whole plot. We found a minor problem with the spark plug leads at the end of day 1 and we were hoping the problem was cured. Not completely it seems.

Rules dictate the bike can't be any lower than 65mm above the ground. I'm at 70mm (2 - 3/4 inch) all around. Rear portion of the seat just barely has clearance for the rear tire. Rules dictate 22 inch as minimum diameter for the rear tire and I'm at about 23.

Racing a sidecar is all about traction when it comes to the turns (and off the line). Because we are limited in tire choice/size the front tire becomes the limiting factor. Ideally the front holds on just a bit more than the back. You need the back end to break loose first and then you ride on the throttle. When I have everything just right all three wheels are drifting and I steer on the throttle. Same as you do in the dirt, only it's blacktop.

Video: Day 2, killing time before racing starts and footage from race 3.

First year I raced my sidecar, I took it to Broadford in Victoria. While I'm sitting in the pits working on the clutch adjustment, two old guys walk up. They walk around it and point out things to each other. First guy says, “I saw that thing race back in 1962”. Second guy says nothing. I say, “No, I built this bike from scratch. myself, over the last 3 years.” They both turn and walk away. But I hear the first guy say (loudly) to his buddy… wait for it …. “That guy's a LIAR. I saw that very same bike racing back in 1962.” So now, I guess I REALLY have a Historic Race Bike! (Ferrous Head) ¹⁸⁾

The World's fastest period 3 Sidecar decimates the field in a handicap race at Broadford Victoria. The Marston Brother Bruce and Graham take you on a race with them as they give up nearly a lap to slower riders in a handicap race. They still manage to pass everyone and win by nearly half a lap. This combination of rider, passenger and sidecar have won every major race in Australia in the past 3 years. Harley Davidson powered - what else?

This may read like an entire chapter in my life but I just feel I need to explain some things. ¹⁹⁾
Firstly, I had to fire my Camerawoman because when I got home to check the video on Saturday night there was no video for Saturday's racing - only qualifying. She forgot how to turn it on. 2 buttons. Sidecar people. Sigh. But I do have video and although it is a bit shaky it's a lot better than I thought it would be. I was forced to move the camera p on the handle bars at the last minute. The mount is plastic and I never get it tight enough no matter what I do. So halfway through it does put it's own slant on the race.

Please bear in mind we have 3 different classes on track at the same time. Period 3, Period 4 and Period 5. There are major differences between the periods in terms of engine choice, wheel diameters, tire widths brakes etc etc. A typical P4 runs a Honda 4 engine and is described as a “Kneeler” as the rider lies down on the bike (Lower center of gravity, less wind resistance) disc brakes etc. P5 go even farther and run things like 4 valve Suzuki 1300's running on slicks. So, the difference between 1960 technology and 1980 technology. I put this info in because some will wonder why I'm not running at the very front of the field. I am only at the front of my “Class” Period 3.

We only got 1 fast lap in qualifying. I missed a gear coming into Hungry and we 'Went Bush“. Still, that one lap got me 7th on the grid overall and 2nd in P3. In front of some P4's and 1 P5.

I know this is log winded but as I only really have this one video I would like to explain what happened. In the video you can see us enter the track from pit lane. We then do one lap attempting to keep “in formation” in relation to our allotted grid spots. As we come past the tower if we are here we should be they drop the flag and we are racing. It worked “pretty much” that way. I got an “OK” start and tried to hang o to the rear of the P4's and P5's in front of me. First lap was good and I put some distance up on the guys behind me though I wasn't quite able to stay with the guys in front. But on the second lap coming out of “The Carrousel” (Turn 2) as I went for 4th gear - nothing! You can hear the engine rev and I tried a couple times to get it - just not there. I tried again on the front straight but it just wasn't there. I made a decision to try and at least finish the race as I needed the points - I knew that. Not a great idea. I ran another lap with just 3rd gear just waiting for the others to go past me down the straight. In any case they guys behind me started catching me and on the last lap you can see my arch rival, Milto (on a P3) and a couple of P4's get past me.

Anyway, for what it is, here it is. Oh. Turn your volume up. The camera is enclosed in a plastic case (Gopro) and it muffles the sound which everyone tells me is “Glorious”.