The prettiest BMW F800 ever. Ron Wood flat tracker.

[arcticXS]

I honestly think no flat tracker ever has looked this cohesive and beautiful, not even the XR750. I mean, just look at those exhaust pipes. Perfect bends, and long, slender megaphones.
In some ways, the BMW 800/ 900 inline twins are just as much a successor of the XS as the various Yamaha 700 models. At least I think so.

 

[halfmile]

Me Too.

 

[Jim]

That's some pretty slick engineering... I don't care who ya are....


The inevitable mass forces with first and second order two-cylinder engines are neutralized using a previously unique balancing mechanism. Instead of conventionally via balancing shafts or counterweight shafts, the oscillating mass forces are compensated via a joint system guided centrally on the crankshaft with a defined arrangement of counterweight masses: an eccentric shaft arranged opposite the crank pin on the crankshaft bears what is known as a balancing con-rod. This con-rod is joined to a balancing swing arm. The kinematics are designed so that the balancing con-rod moves up and down in the opposite direction to the two engine con-rods. Due to the guidance via the relatively long swing arm, the piston rod end moves in a virtually straight swivel motion. The distribution of masses across the piston rod end and swing arm have been chosen so that the mass forces from the swivel motion in each crank position counteract the relevant oscillating mass forces of the crankshaft drive (piston and con-rod share). As a result the mass forces of first and second order are eliminated virtually entirely, resulting in low-vibration engine operation. A further major benefit of this elegant design is the low noise level, since no typical drive noises are emitted by gear wheels or chains.

 

[kopcicle]

and...
https://motoridersuniverse.com/news...p-the-engine-similar-to-ducati-supermono.html

 

[Mailman]

Ron Woods......

As soon as I saw this original post last night it brought back such memories. I absolutely loved motorcycle racing back in the 70’s. All the old legendary racers of that time. I subscribed to Cycle and Cycle World and as soon as I would get my new issues, I’d absolutely devour the racing news. One of my favorite racing teams of that time was builder / tuner Ron Woods and racer Alex Jorgensen. At that time Harley was not the only winning team, Yamaha , Triumph, BSA , Kawasaki, they were all competitive. Ron said that he didn’t build his first Norton for any particular reason other than he had one available to him. But the fact that they not only were racing a Norton ( one of my favorite bikes! ) but they were actually winning, really got me going back then. Alex Jorgensen took two Grand National titles on a Ron Woods Norton.

Here’s a good article on Ron Woods,
https://www.cyclenews.com/2020/12/article/archives-column-ron-wood/

The Norton’s couldn’t beat the Harleys by pure horsepower and the Norton’s were tuned to the upper limit , Ron said if he tried to squeeze any more power out of them, the motor would grenade. So he designed his own lightweight frames, they were over 40 lbs lighter than the Harleys.

This one was his most famous frame, large but very thin walled tubing was not only very light, but it also carried the engines oil supply. He also was known to have developed the first adjustable rake on the steering head.

Ron Woods was truly a legend and a naturally gifted designer. He died just a couple of years ago. Here is another website with some really great flat track photos, lots of Yamaha racing bikes.

https://gramho.com/explore-hashtag/ow72

 

[Norton7d]

I saw that BMW at the Stockton Mile years ago...besides its looks, it also made a wicked sound at WOT.
Here I am talking to Mr. Wood at Stockton....we were talking about Nortons.

 

[Bewarethemoon]

Ron Woods......

As soon as I saw this original post last night it brought back such memories. I absolutely loved motorcycle racing back in the 70’s. All the old legendary racers of that time. I subscribed to Cycle and Cycle World and as soon as I would get my new issues, I’d absolutely devour the racing news. One of my favorite racing teams of that time was builder / tuner Ron Woods and racer Alex Jorgensen. At that time Harley was not the only winning team, Yamaha , Triumph, BSA , Kawasaki, they were all competitive. Ron said that he didn’t build his first Norton for any particular reason other than he had one available to him. But the fact that they not only were racing a Norton ( one of my favorite bikes! ) but they were actually winning, really got me going back then. Alex Jorgensen took two Grand National titles on a Ron Woods Norton.
View attachment 186917
Here’s a good article on Ron Woods,
https://www.cyclenews.com/2020/12/article/archives-column-ron-wood/

The Norton’s couldn’t beat the Harleys by pure horsepower and the Norton’s were tuned to the upper limit , Ron said if he tried to squeeze any more power out of them, the motor would grenade. So he designed his own lightweight frames, they were over 40 lbs lighter than the Harleys.
View attachment 186910

This one was his most famous frame, large but very thin walled tubing was not only very light, but it also carried the engines oil supply. He also was known to have developed the first adjustable rake on the steering head.
View attachment 186912 View attachment 186911
View attachment 186913 View attachment 186914
View attachment 186915

Ron Woods was truly a legend and a naturally gifted designer. He died just a couple of years ago. Here is another website with some really great flat track photos, lots of Yamaha racing bikes.

https://gramho.com/explore-hashtag/ow72

That Norton is absolutely gorgeous!

 

[Norton7d]

At the time, I was talking to him about Jorgy and the famous pic from the San Jose Mile; which hangs on my living room wall.
My next project is to get back to my Norton, which has went neglected for 20 years...ain't it funny how time slips away.

 

[GLJ]

At the time, I was talking to him about Jorgy and the famous pic from the San Jose Mile; which hangs on my living room wall.View attachment 187275

Remember a quote from a flat tracker back in the day.
He said "You haven't lived till you've thrown a bike sideways at 100 MPH."
I guess I haven't lived yet and probably never will.
Those guys must have had custom made leathers in order to zip their pants up.

 

[hovel]

Thanks for the inclusion of the beautiful Norton. There is more info and pictures on BIKEEXIF. Look at the length of the intake tract. There's a lesson there.