Does anyone have HotRod Mags from 1950? I'm looking for a feature on Chets 1950 Top Eliminator Harley; the Beast
Yo Hermit, ya might want to do an intro, you will get a better response. If you don't the flood gates are gonna open on you!...just a warning
A great hairy and wild bike, finless cylinders, big port knucklehead. Wild on the cam timing and it ran 2nd and high only. British 650s weighed half as much and eventually beat "the beast" by totally tippin the can. So- are you a yuppie creep who's gonna spend $250,000 to0 duplicate it and display it at Pebble Beach? In a glass case?
I'm sure somebody does... but most of us here build cars. But if collecting a magazine article is as high a goal as you've set for yourself, go for it.
Its common practice to do a proper intro here on the HAMB.you know tell a little about yourself and car/projects/goals nekkid pics of the girlrfriend etc etc......
Hi! you don't know me, I've failed to introduce myself (even though thats rude) but could you drop whatever it is you are doing on Christmas eve and cater to my wants/needs? Does that about cover it? I think I just heard reindeer on the roof, I'll get back to you after the new year. Frank
Iv'e got the magazine and the story, but no intro. you get no info. Gotta keep the tradition going here.xmas or not. bah-humbug
Hi, A little intro before I make my request. I'm mainly a "bike guy" from the midwest but I'm currently working on a '68 Camaro rag top ralley sport, welding in new trunk exten. inner wheel wells, and rear quarters. I'm 62 & a retired construction high press. welder. As I said, mainly a bike guy but I hung around with some car guys in the 60's but couldn't afford a fast car but could build a fast bike, Nortons, Triumphs and Sportsters, we went to the drags a lot. Anoka, Brainerd, Tenora a outlaw track in Wis. I still race flatrack bikes, a Trackmaster Triumph and a "77 XR750 Harley. Went to Bonneville last year with a vintage altered class 1955 Harley Panhead. Had some problems on a new build with no miles. Burnt out 2 sets of coils on' a Mallory Uniltite ignition. Was running 5800 rpm in 4th when I entered the the 3rd mile timing trap and burnt out another set of coils, the motor just quit. With the gearing that works out to about 145 mph. way over the record. Anyway saw the thread about Chet Herbert's "The Beast" and I always was interested in some info. on it for curiousity sake, so if you could share the article with me I'd appreciate it. Thanks, Buck.
Here is Al Keys on Chet Herbert's "Beast" fuel burning Harley at Santa Ana in 1950. Herbert can be seen in the background in his wheelchair. Keys set top speed of the meet of 121.62 and did so a half dozen times there that year.
Hey the guy said no intro no info. This is the first I've seen of this site and anyone claiming info on "The Beast". I would sure like to get a copy of the article in Hot Rod. Thanks, Buck
Buck, scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on the Jockey Journal and you will find tons of bike stuff.
Thanks Frank, It's never good to assume, but I assume you're the same Frank Spittle that used to run Fuel Harleys.
This thread will go dormant again soon since the only interest here in two wheelers is vintage minibkes but it should be known that one of the greatest car guys in the history of motorsports got his racing career started with Harleys. Doug was a spitting image of his father when he was 20.
choptop4, By that time Herbert was totally into 4 wheels and was running a streamliner, I think Beast IV at Bonneville. I think by 1952 he was pretty much done with his bike. He liked the Harleys' roller tappets and started grinding roller cams for automotive engines, the first to do so. He was quite an innovator, one of the great ones of his time. The first 4 wheel streamliner he built had I believe a fibregalss body also the first to be built. Google pics of Beast III, a real beauty, restored and at Pebble Beach. Buck