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14th July 2010
After some 25 years the steel-framed 1983 Honda RS850R, as campaigned by Team Bike in 1985 (see The Bikes section for details) has finally seen daylight again. A feasibility study is currently underway and the outcome is likely to contain the words 'difficult', 'time consuming' and 'expensive', so no change there, then. Progress reports will appear here as and when, but obviously don't wait up. (More, unrestored pics can be found in the Latest News gallery.)
29th May 2010 FORTHCOMING EVENTS Festival of 1000 Bikes, Mallory Park, 10th-11th July Brian Howell and Ian Martin will be parading the Team Bike CB1000R and That's Racing RC30 respectively on Sunday 11th. As many other HLR machines as possible will be on display on both days. http://www.mallorypark.co.uk/VMCCFestivalOf1000Bikes2009
Silverstone Classic, 23rd-25th July Ian Martin will be parading the Team Bike CB1000R on 24th and 25th. Other HLR machines will hopefully be on display. http://www.silverstoneclassic.com
3rd May 2010 RENEGADE REVISITED Well, who’d have thought it. Almost 31 years after Bike magazine’s ‘Renegade Racer’ article appeared featuring Howard Lees’ café racer RD350 road bike, it’s popped up in the media again, this time on the Sydney-based, internationally-renowned Bike EXIF site. See it here: http://www.bikeexif.com/yamaha-rd350#more-9284 Shameless plug for Bike EXIF Bike EXIF is “a daily dose of the coolest motorcycles: new and classic café racers, custom bikes, vintage track weaponry and iconic design masterpieces”. Occasionally this means daft choppers and other arty-farty creations with metal grips, car tyres and minimal brakes and suspension, but for the most part the bikes featured are pretty cool, So, subscribe to the free daily email and keep abreast of the important things in life. www.bikeexif.com
8th April 2010
Further to the announcement below we're pleased to report that at Pembrey over the Easter weekend Ian Martin had a 5th on the Team Bike CB1000R, a 4th on his Team Bike replica 350LC, and perhaps most impressively, a 1st in the CRMC's Post Classic 500cc air-cooled class on the repaired but unrestored RD350B Renegade – Howard Lees' first project bike. Well done Ian. Howard would be proud. And thanks to Ian Lucas for facilitating the RD's return to the HLR fold.
Ian Martin & Renegade — 1st at Pembrey, Easter 2010
27th March 2010
In case any visitors to this site should find themselves at a loose end in South Wales over the Easter weekend, they might derive some comfort from knowing that, accompanied by some of The Team, Ian Martin is to race the CB1000R, his 350LC Howard Lees rep and the RD350 Renegade at Pembrey on the Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th April. This will be the Renegade's first on track appearance in over 30 years. For further details see http://www.crmc.co.uk/next_meeting.html
8th February 2010
2nd February 2010 Click this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ObSLGzwFpk for yet more footage of the Team at Spa! Thanks to Team Jam Racing (www.teamjamracing.com) for the video.
2nd January 2010 Click this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNszX4G6Jlw for footage (by Tim The Team Bike Tourer) of a Team Bike pitstop during the 2009 Spa Classic 4hr endurance race. Stephane Mertens hands over to, er, himself!
25th November 2009
This is a complete no-brainer so please visit the site and sign the petition: Defend Francorchamps!
16th October 2009 Following all the frantic activity in late June and early July there's little to report, except:
Mag cuttings with relevant coverage of Spa and Goodwood have now been posted in the Recent Press Cuttings section of the Photo Gallery pages, just a couple or three clicks from here...
WINTER PROJECTS '09 (NB. these are intended, not carved in stone): Continue sourcing of parts and expertise for damaged Harribox FZR750. Repair work to start soonish.
Ian Martin to build a replica of the 1982 season Team Bike CB900. Engine details aren't yet known, but it will be built/prepared by Brian Capper, and properly fast – faster than any goddam Moto Bel Guzzi.
A CB1100R frame/chassis is needed for another project, or two. If you know of anything suitable for sale, please email contact@howardleesracing.co.uk.
A gear-drive HRC RS750/860 V4 motor to be built for the Team Bike VF750F. (NB. This could take until Spring 2020, at least.)
And last but not least, Howard Lees' '75 RD350 café racer, aka The Renegade, had slipped from the Team's grasp, but thanks to Ians Martin and Lucas it's now safely back in HLR hands. No immediate plans for it, other than to re-fit the original TZ fairing and "give it a bit of a tidy-up".
2010 EVENTS: Spa Bikers' Classic, 18-20th June – Ian Martin intends to attend, probably to parade the 'new' Team Bike CB900 rep, unless the cash/support is found to race it in the 4-hour...
VMCC Festival Of 1000 Bikes, Mallory Park, mid July (date tba). Possible attendance with one or more or all HLR machines.
Of course, any or all of the above is subject to possible change.
8th July 2009
Team Bike at the ’09 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and more...
No results to post here as motorcycles aren’t timed on the challenging Goodwood hillclimb (thank God), but suffice to say that the team enjoyed a superb long weekend in sunny Sussex.
Speaking as a humble Propellant Replenishment Technician, I was pretty chuffed, not just to ride the Team Bike CB1000R and VF750F up the hill, but to be out there sharing the course in front of tens of thousands with the likes of Doohan, Biaggi and Corser.
Special thanks to Ian Martin, who slaved tirelessly after his excellent Spa result to prepare the VF for the Goodwood FoS. The VF hasn’t run since Le Mans ’85 and, with its gear-drive race engines not currently together, that meant fitting a standard VF motor for Goodwood (thanks again to Ian Lucas for that). That in turn meant cobbling together a custom wiring loom, fitting newer tyres, repairing/refitting the exhausts and silencers, making the filler cap fuel-tight and more besides. With more time after Spa Ian would doubtless have made up some rear number plates and sourced some front pads that had a little bite when cool. But no matter; a seriously good time was had by all.
Big thanks too to Stephane Mertens who phoned from Belgium on the Friday evening to ask if he could ride the CB at Goodwood the next day. With Mat Oxley elsewhere on the Saturday, that was a complete no brainer. Thanks Stephane for joining us at short notice at both Spa and Goodwood. You’re a star and a true gent.
Thanks also to Big Al for transporting the bikes to/from Spa and Goodwood (we hope the posh Drivers’ Club fry-ups and cream teas provided some recompense) and to Hilkka and Mikael for making the trip from Finland and, of course, for trusting us with their bikes.
As Howard Lees Racing currently has no further plans to participate in high profile events in the near future, thanks should now also go to (in no particular order): Brian Capper of BGC Performance Engineering for the CB’s engine rebuild prior to Spa and for extracting the VF from the bowels of his emporium. Brian Howell and Zed Zawada for their varied efforts and generous monetary contributions. Anne Zawada for her much needed and appreciated catering at Spa. Jeff and Tracy Turner for the boozy BBQ and accommodation during Goodwood. FoS consultants David Dew and Hugo Wilson for inviting our two Hondas to the FoS. Oliver Aerts of Bikers' Classics for his valuable assistance before and during Spa. Dermot Wrycraft for making the trip from Dubai to Spa (and for building and maintaining this site). Luc Ghys for the fantastic ‘Peter Fonda and the Team Bike Honda’ photos. Ex Bike editor Dave Calderwood for some good FoS photos and for bravely sanctioning Team Bike 30 odd years ago. The current Bike magazine for continuing in similar vein, and to the team’s other sponsors and partners listed a little further down this page, most notably Norfolkline Ferries, Rock Oil and Dymag.
Photos from the Goodwood Fest and Spa can be found in the Latest News Pictures gallery, with recent press cuttings, believe it or not, in the Recent Press Cuttings gallery, with more of both to be added soon.
Finally, biggest thanks of all to the dearly departed Howard Lees and Dave Chisman for starting the whole crazy thing off in the first place. Cheers m’dears – Brands, Spa, Goodwood and the 1980s were all amazing, but hopefully we're not quite done yet.
Tom Stewart
24th June 2009 Team Bike Top Brits at 2009 Spa 4-hour Classic Despite finishing a very creditable 5th overall in the third Spa 4hr Classic race at the Bikers’ Classic event on 20-21 June, Howard Lees Racing’s first endurance weekend in 18 years didn’t start well. Intended no.1 rider, Belgian Herwig Lemmens, crashed at 120mph on Thursday’s Spa trackday. The battered and bruised Lemmens wasn’t up to riding from then on so he phoned his old pal Stephane Mertens who jumped at the chance of partnering virtual novice Ian Martin on the ’83 season Team Bike Honda. Mertens qualified the original, unrestored 980cc CB1100R in 18th (out of 68) but was up to 5th at the end of the first lap of the first 2.5hr leg on the Saturday. Riding two consecutive sessions he briefly took the lead on lap 22 and handed over to Martin soon after. The team’s progress was hampered by the appearance of safety cars and a subsequent red light at the end of the pits immediately after that second pitstop, but Martin completed the damp first leg in fading light in 3rd place. The track was wet again for Sunday’s 1.5hr second leg, but this time Mertens shot from 18th to 3rd in the first lap. Now that’s class. The bike continued to run sweetly, as did the third and final pitstop, but, after a few scary moments on the damp and oily 7km track, Martin eased his pace and brought the bike home a safe 5th. Final results are here: http://www.ris-timing.be/~vitesse//4hours/2009/4hr2.htm Race images: http://eng.bikersclassics.be/index.php/Bikers-Classics/Galleries/2009
The ’83 and ’84 season Team Bike Honda endurance racers (CB1000R & VF750F) will be in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 3/4/5th July.
More pictures from Spa are in the latest news gallery...
5th May 2009
With the Spa 4hr race on 20-21 June fast approaching, we thought we'd better announce, (to the best of our current knowledge), who's doing what and who's helping make it all possible once again:
Any other organisations which may be interested in partnering the revived Team Bike are invited to contact: contact@howardleesracing.co.uk
6th April 2009
Early last year we reported on Hilkka's '83 season Team Bike CB1000R and '87/'88 Team P&O/MCN Harris FZR750 being returned to the UK from Finland. In June we winched Mat Oxley's That's Racing RC30 down from the skies above Camden, and then, for the big Brands reunion in early October, Dermot Wrycraft's '87 Team P&O/MCN Yamaha FZR was dragged from a barn and made to run in public again.
Now we bring you news and pics (see Latest News gallery) of the most recent HLR machine to see the light of day – Brian Capper's Team Bike Honda VF750F – the one that finished second in both the Le Mans and Spa 24hr races in '84.
Unearthed somewhere in deepest Devon, the VF has since been described as 'furred-up but looking cool', so with a little TLC, the replacement road bike engine mentioned below and a squirt of Mr Sheen it should be running and presentable in good time for the summer's activities, also mentioned below.
20th March 2009
Further to Goodwood's invitation for the '83- and '84-season Team Bike Hondas to participate at this year's Festival of Speed (3rd-5th July) the '83 CB was also invited to attend the Goodwood Festival and Revival pre-season press launch event held on 19th March. As you can see from the photos in the Latest News gallery, the sun shone, Oxley rode the CB1000R for the first time in 25 years, while Ian Martin also experienced Goodwood's hill for the first time. The champagne and luncheon provided were both delicious, thanks.
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Latest News When we were originally putting this site together, some seventeen years after the Team's last race, we didn't suppose there'd be much in the way of news to report… |
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10 years going for it |