:) Anyone know what happened to the factory HD XR1000 "Lucifer's Hammer", when it was retired from AMA BoTT roadracing in the eighties. It was ridden by Gene Church and Ole #9 Springer. Gene dusted me off on the backstrech at Daytona during BoTT practice in 83. Man, that was a race bike! If I hit the lotto, and it still exists, I'm going for it! :clap

I've heard the name but I can't place it....


Was that one of the Sputhe iron heads????

Stevo,

In 1982-83 the factory race team with the blessing of Race Team Manager Dick O'Brien converted an old XR750TT factory roadracer for AMA Battle of the Twins roadracing. I believe the frame was from the factory bike that Mark Brelsford was riding at Daytona in the early 70's, when he collided with another bike and burst into a fireball. He was badly burned and retired shortly after.

The frame was reinforced and a new swingarm was added. Modern forks and piggyback shocks were added along with wide magnesium race wheels with GoodYear slicks.

The engine was a highly modified Evo XR1000 twin carb. Can't remember the dyno numbers, but it was over 100bhp.

The bike got a black and orange factory paint sheme and the name "Lucifer's Hammer." Gene Church and Jay Springsteen both rode the bike in AMA competition. All of us who saw and heard it will never forget it!

Sorry, the only photo I have of Lucifer's Hammer is copyrighted. :(

Is this it? Found in the "A-Z of Motorcycles" Possibly repainted!
Lucifer's Hammer 1983 Harley engined Egli - Switzerland

http://www.ozebook.com/a-z_files/egli-1983-lucifers-hammer.jpg

no this is the bike , and it was not an evo head it was a thunder head
http://www.davegess.com/buelhist/rr/lucham2/images/gench001.jpg

Good Job Flathead 45. We have a winner! Looks like Gene Church.

Flathead, Youdaman! Here's some more info and specs I found!

Motorcycle: Racers - Lucifer's Hammer, 1983
Date: Sunday, October 31 @ 15:26:35 PST
Topic: Motorcycle

Lucifer's Hammer, 1983

In the spring of 1983, Lucifer's Hammer was the first big twin for a decade to carry Harley-Davidson's famous black and orange racing livery on to the Daytona speed bowl. It certainly did so with distinction, taking the great Jay Springsteen — better known as a dirt-track rider but certainly no slouch on tarmac — to victory in the Battle of the Twins event. In October of the same year, Gene Church began a love affair with the same machine when he rode it triumphantly in the BoT finals, also held at Daytona.


The Hammer represented one of those bouts of enthusiasm and expertise with the big twin that were often typical of Harley-Davidson. The germ of the project began when Dave McClure rode a prototype XR1000 street bike at Daytona the previous autumn, which suggested that a full-on racer project might succeed. Once race-boss Dick O'Brien got the go-ahead to build what would become the Springsteen machine, he set his hand-picked team into action. Engine work was put in the hands of Don Habermehl, while racing legend Carroll Resweber (four times AMA champion for Harley, 1958 to 1961) put his considerable talents into the chassis, and Peter Zylstra oversaw the design. To some extent, the machine was also a test-bed and publicity statement for the XR1000 roadster unveiled at the same Daytona meeting, another project which very much carried the O'Brien imprint.

The engine consisted of a modified competition XR750 bottom end and light alloy heads mated to iron Sportster barrels. Twin 42mm smoothbore Mikuni carburettors took care of induction, feeding exotic 110 octane aviation fuel-for nothing less would handle the engine's giddy 10.5:1 compression ratio. To improve combustion, each cylinder boasted twin spark plugs, fired by a total-loss racing ignition system.

In dyno tests, this device had put out a brutal 106bhp at 7,500rpm, but fears about reliability caused Habermehl to impose a rev ceiling of 7,000rpm, at which point the big twin was pumping out 104bhp. Since even this equated to a dizzying mean piston speed of 4,430 ft/min (l,350m/min), the precaution must have been wise. Not only was power prodigious but the spread was enormous, too, coming in strongly by 4,000rpm. A four-speed gearbox was more than adequate. Resweber's chassis employed the very XR750 frame comprehensively crashed by then-AMA champion Mark Brelsford at Daytona fully ten years before the Hammer's 1983 win. The basic single spine and twin tube cradle was heavily reworked with extra gussets and bracing, mated to an all-new box-section swing-arm.

The rest was essentially an Italian affair: front suspension was in the hands of a pair of 1.57in (40mm) Forcelli Italia forks, with twin Fox gas shock absorbers at the rear. Brembo supplied the brakes: twin 11.8in (300mm) floating-front disc brakes, with a 9.8in (250mm) disc at the rear. These ran on Campagnolo magnesium wheels, 16in (406mm) front wheel, 18in (457mm) rear, both shod with Goodyear racing slick tyres. Dry weight was a remarkably lean 2851bs (130kg) and top speed an even more impressive 158mph (254kph).

After its winning Daytona debut, Gene Church went on to take the HOG-sponsored Hammer to three AMA Battle of the Twins titles.

All of this success was not really too bad for a bike that began its life as a ten-year-old scrap!



SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: ohv V-twin

Capacity: 60.9cu in (998cc)

Transmission: 4-speed

Power: 104bhp

Weight: 2861bs (130kg)

Wheelbase: 56in (1,420mm)

Top speed: 158mph (254kph)

There were 2 Lucifer's Hammers, the first described above, the second being a Buell RR1000. I can't tell for certain, but I believe the one pictured above is LH2, the RR1000.

http://www.nrhsperformance.com/pictures/genechurch.jpg

Here's Gene with LH2, sans bodywork. The motor was a marriage of an XR750 lower end with an XR1000 top end. The chassis was a Buell RR1000, the second RR1000 that Erik made. As I understand it, this bike still exists, in pieces, at Don's shop.

The third RR1000 he made carried VIN #1 and is owned by Devin Battley (Battley Cycles, Gaithersburg MD). I own RR1000 VIN #50, the last one he made. He had to make 50 production versions to homologate the bike for AMA.

I think the bike in the previous post is this one. Note the Dymag wheels on both bikes, I don't think LH1 used them.

Man, you guys are good! Great pictures and detailed info. :clap
Brings back good memories. If I remember correctly, HOG and Tiley's HD were the major sponsors. I'd love to see LC-1 brought out for the Daytona AHRMA vintage races. :D

Later,

Springer competed at Mid-Ohio a couple of years ago on one of these XR based road racers. Don't know if it was the "original one", but it wasn't the VR-1000. Of course, he won his class!!!!!

Greg

Is this it? Found in the "A-Z of Motorcycles" Possibly repainted!
Lucifer's Hammer 1983 Harley engined Egli - Switzerland

http://www.ozebook.com/a-z_files/egli-1983-lucifers-hammer.jpg

Just noticed this one isn't even XR or XL based,it's a big twin early Evo FXR based.:D

83 was a cool year but... I was blown away at Daytona in 97 when Sundance wheeled out the "Daytona Weapon".

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b57/chuckactor/ga_ra_02.jpg

I was racing, OK maybe crashing an RS125 back then. I was wandering the pits prior to the BOTT race and saw the most amazing Sportster I have ever seen. The team from Japan had built this amazing racebike around a XL motor. Anyway, here is a link to their gallery.... http://www.sundance.co.jp/gallery.html

Chuck

This history is really cool. I never knew about this stuff before you guys brought it up. Are there any other sportster superbikes i should know about in the racing world? Where there ever any successful bt based racers? well anyways, that is just a super sexy bike, and i would like to thank you guys for the history lesson.

Chuckactor,

I too had a 96 RS125 for a short time. It had been to many years since my TZ Yamaha days and I couldn't get my old broken body to do it justice. Ended up trading it for a vintage TR3 Yamaha. The RS is a very cool bike.

Later,

I believe Don Tilley still owns that bike, and the last I knew Gene was working for him, in NC.

I remember the Sundance bike, they were pitted right near the Britten, I have a old t-shirt with the "Daytona Weapon" on it.

I have one with Gene on the Hammer, too.

This thread is quite old, but if anyone out there still accesses it (i\... is there anybody OUT there...?) I just thought I'd add my 2cents wot\rth to the Lucifer's Hammer history. I was surfing around for some information and maybe some fotos and I stumbled onto the forum thread. I was "around in the early eighties when the BOTT class was formed, and I remember reading in one of the mainstream bike rags about the genesis of the Lucifer's Hammer BOTT project. According to the article, the original racebike was in on display in the lobby some Harley facility, I remember it being the Milwaukee HQ, but my memory is fuzzy. Anyways, according to the story, when the HD race guys got the idea to go BOTT-ing, they went right into the lobby, picked up the bike and carried it off right before the stunned eyes of the receptionists! Don't know if it's true, but it sure sounds cool! Thanx
'Joe

Ther was only one Lucifer's Hammer. The Later version Tilley built was Lucifer's Hammer II. The original was started when Harley saw the chance to compete once again at Daytona in the BOTT series. The original started as a frame under a bench in HD's race department. I have heard stories of who's it was and one that Babe Demay had used the frame several times. Key is "Obie" never got rid of anything. The first version was built by Harley, and Springer raced a few times to a couple victories. the MOCO retired it until giving to Tilley to beat the Duc's. Tilley did amaxing things to add power and reliabilty to the bike. He enlisted Gene Church who was flattracking for him at the time and the story goes on. Coolest quote about this bike is when Tilley and I belive Jamie James were at Dayton on the VR 1000's and had practiced faster and qualified better than the factory team. Someone told Tilley good job, he said you have to be joking. We ran xx mile an hour faster and had a better qaulifiying time in 86 with the outdated Lucifer. Can't remember the exact words but basically said this thing is slow compared to it. The bike is who know's where, I am sure Don know's. The II was modified and later run with a Buell engine I believe. Either way Don Tilley is the real story behind that bike. What Harley started he wrote history books with.

Lucifer's Hammer

LH2

LH3

last i heard lucifers hammer was on display at tilleys h.d try logging on to the website you may be able to find out via the contact us link. seems like its been at least 10 years ago that i heard that tho

http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/6817/19373.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o151/otpyrk/10062_PH-1362m.jpg?t=1226887215

don't think that thats the hammer, note the triumph style front drum brake