Russ Collins, 1970s drag racer

[DataDan]

Anyone ever see top fuel motorcycles run?

I never saw this bike, but I did see its successor and others at Orange County International Raceway in the 1970s. The spectacle, the sheer audacity of the machines, was a big part of what got me interested in motorcycles beyond the CB350 stage.

Russ Collins was one of the pioneers of the sport. Not just in drag racing, but also in developing performance parts for Japanese fours, which made possible "super bike" roadracing in the '70s. RC Engineering was where Vance & Hines got their start in the performance business.

Collins has passed away at age 74. Very nice obit at Cycle News.

 

[KazMan]

thanks for this Dan Russ bikes and Sandy Kosman bikes were very fun to watch and even better to look at!

 

[russ69]

...I never saw this bike, but I did see its successor and others at Orange County International Raceway in the 1970s. ...

I spent a lot of time at OCIR. I mostly remember the bikes before Russ Collins came into the scene. Joe Smith's 8 second fuel Harley and others. Collins changed top fuel bikes and everyone else was playing catch up. RIP Russ.

 

[firstbuell]

IIRC, that's the "Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe" underneath RC in that foto

Cook Neilson was formerly a serious Sporty drag racer, so "Cycle" had some great articles about Russ over his career

R.I.P. Russ Collins

 

[Climber]

That's what you could truly say was 'laying it all on the line'!

It would take huge brass balls to grab a handful of throttle with that beast!

Russ Collins

 

[redtail]

Back in the mid seventies, when I was racing short track locally, one of the venues was Fremont raceway. It was right next to the Fremont Drag strip and my racing buddy and I saw that they were going to have drag races, since we've never gone, we decided it might be fun.

If you've never been, it is absolutely amazing the power these cars and bikes have, holy shit! Back then, spectators could get pretty close to the staging area where they did their big smoking burn outs on bleach. You could feel your whole insides vibrate, not just the ground, those things are absolute beasts.

Russ Collins

 

[fourtogo]

The Sorcerer . I got sit on this machine when the rolling chassis was dropped off. At Viles Paint and Design in Signal Hill Ca. . It was huge bike to throw a leg over, I could only imagine how heavy it was with a fully loaded engine pod. I was working just down the street at Beach City Chevy.

 

[Beauregard]

If you can't get it done with twelve cylinders and two wheels you might as well light it on fire and push it off a cliff.

Rad.