OK, OK! So its been a while since the last update. But I am going to stay on track from here out. I promise (again!!!).
Not sure when it was but it must have been in the late '60's the first time I saw Lee Iron-Man Irons. I've been told Lee was not the man who invented this stunt, but he is still my hero. He performed at Tri-City Dragway in Saginaw, Michigan. Iron-Man did a variety of stunts, but his most exciting one was skiing behind his motorcycle on steel shoes.
In 1977 I couldn't stand it anymore and I had to have my own set of steel shoes. I remember tracing out my boot on a plate of steel in the shop of Russell Allen Cycles (off the 59 freeway in Houston, TX). My first set of steel shoes gave real meaning to the phrase "clod hoppers". Never the less, I was off to Houston International Raceway to try them out. I started off by having someone drive the bike and try to pull me from a complete stop. It was treacherous! The first thing I learned was the faster you go the less friction there is between the shoes and the asphalt. So getting yanked from a complete stop was like getting pulled out of your shoes. But soon I was flying down the racetrack.
Within a dozen passes I felt comfortable enough to try it solo. I discovered approximately 40 mph was a good speed to perform this stunt. Any slower and the shoes grabbed too much and the bike was too unstable. I use a manual level actuated throttle lock on the bars. In the beginning, I didn't climb very far off the bike. I was paranoid that I would get off the bike and then not be able to climb back on. So I would shimmy off the back of the seat part ways and then scramble back on. I'm sure it looked strange because I was hugging the back of the motorcycle in a most peculiar way. I was also testing out my ability to steer the bike from back there. With no one at the controls this could be a concern. But, there really seemed to be no great difficulty in it.
The number one question I get asked is if I lock my steering? The answer is NO. A Motorcycle will stay up and run a straight line until it hits something or runs out of gas. (Ask me how I know!) And in fact, I actually steer the bike while skiing by forcing the bike to lean. I do this by pushing down with one hand and pulling up with the other. Steering to keep the bike in the center of the track really doesn't take much effort.
At dragstrips most of the audience prefers to sit near the starting line, so in an attempt to execute the stunt near the starting line, I take off from just behind the tree and climb through the gears quickly until I reach third. Then I pull down the throttle lock lever and bail off the back of the bike. I've learned to do it with a bit of a bounce much like a gymnast on a balance beam lifting himself with his hands. At this point my hands are near the front of the seat with thumbs on the top and fingers on the sides. When my feet hit the pavement I instantly feel the drag pulling me back. At the same time, the bike is still accelerating as it comes into its power range. So it's as if the bike drives out from under me while my hands slide down the sides of the seat. I only have one chance to catch the grab bar at the back of the seat but I've always managed to accomplish it (with at least one hand). If the track has been recently prepared with "traction compound" or if there is a lot of rubber down on the track, I feel a much greater pull in my arms. There have been times at NHRA national events where I was not sure I could climb back on the bike. Fortunately, the traction always lessens when you cross the finish line. And from there until the end of the pavement there is always enough room to get back on the bike. I have a kill switch mounted right behind the seat which is my only option to slow the bike down. I have found that it is much easier to crawl back on the bike when it is slowing down so I use it every time.
These days, I prefer to perform this stunt at approximately 60 mph although I have been clocked as high as 90. Holding on with just one hand is really not difficult except I must position the hand in the middle of the grab bar first or I will pull the bike causing it to lean (and turn).
When the track has a lot of traction I typically find deposits of rubber on my shoes after a pass. At night the shoes do produce sparks, however, with the traction compounds being used these days, not much. Sparks were critical when my career was starting out because I was performing at a lot of local Saturday night race events. As I started going to bigger events, all of my shows became daytime shows. If I wanted to make more sparks I could do so by using titanium, like the wheel-stander cars do, but that is one of those things I never got around to. (Bob Rigel's "Hemi Under Glass" is my favorite wheel-stander.) My shoes are made by Ken Maley in Corona, California. They are very similar to those worn by flat track racers except mine are flatter for better heal / toe control (and I have one for each foot). Ken's shoes are without a doubt class "A". They get a little hot from dragging on the pavement but not bad.
Around 1985, I recall going to Phoenix Firebird Raceway and attempting to spin around from skiing frontwards to skiing backwards. First, I would cross my hands so my left hand was at the right most position of the grab bar. I would let go with my right hand and throw my arm to whip me around until I was facing backwards and then reach behind me with my right hand and catch the grab bar. It had to be done with a little bit of a snap so I could get the momentum to carry me all the way around. A similar approach is required to continue back around to the "normal" position. I practiced this stunt with one of my best friends Pat Buyer at the bars. Good thing too because after executing it two times successfully the third time was a charm. I lost my balance, fell and found myself being dragged by the motorcycle. I had fallen before while skiing behind my bike but I always managed to pull myself back up to the standing position. This time however I was on my back and I could not pull myself up or turn myself over. I tried for about half the length of the track before giving up and letting go to slide to a stop. The announcer, Johnny Moto, was stumped and didn't know what to say but the audience went wild! He got me up in the announcer's tower afterwards and asked me all kinds of questions. I recall making comments about my best friend dragging me behind my own motorcycle! I never did try that stunt again. Not because it scared me but because it affected the steering too much and I knew I could not do it solo. It was fun, it was a learning experience and it destroyed a set of leathers.
I rate stunts on two different scales: the difficulty (i.e., skill required), and the risk if something should go wrong. This stunt is a medium in difficulty with a fairly low risk. When I talk about risk, I'm referring to my risk. The risk to the bike is actually much higher. Just ask the folks at Gainesville about the bike that motored its way riderless half way down the track before catching the guardrail. But it didn't stop there. It continued to power its way the rest of the way down to the end of the track where it wadded itself up. Meanwhile, I was left sitting out in the middle of the track. But the point is, when I have fallen, I always fall clear of the bike, and the only thing I have to deal with is the burns from sliding down the pavement. I am assuming a safe riding place when I say this. A nice wide open track with no other traffic on it. That assumption has not always been the case. Just ask my in-laws about the family reunion in 1978. They will never forget that story!
Many thanks go to Bartels' Harley-Davidson for their support. Stunt riding is a form of pushing the frontier of what one can do on a bike. For every idea that I've had that works, there are dozens that have not. The team at Bartels' Harley-Davidson has been invaluable in my pursuit of all stunts.