HOMEMADE Bike that WON 500cc Grand Prix! How an OUTBOARD Engine Became a WORLD-BEATING Motorcycle?
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- The New Zealand phenomenon built a homemade motorcycle in the 60s that won the 500cc Grand Prix. And how could an outboard 2-stroke boat engine become a world-beating motorcycle? You will find out the answer in today's story.
Enjoy watching! - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I raced the 500 Konig engine in 1974 and 75 in Uk with a bit of success - won 24 races and 5th in british championship. With Dave Hutchens we fitted the engine into my Seeley frame in 74 and in 75 made our own frames. All inspired by Kim and the fact that Gerry Boret lived a mile from me and with his brother Nick raced his Konig powered Renwick sidecar outfit in the World Championships. Dave has lovingly restored the 500 Seeley Konig and also our Daval 500 and 750 Konigs - I get to play on them too at Classic racing meetings🙂
you might know paul Eikenberg then..hes lives here in australia
Very interesting and thanks for sharing...did you happen to make it to Daytona in '75? I raced a Privateer, fully sponsored ride for me, TZ-350 (D) at Daytona in '75. I had two podium finishes in two amateur prelim races earlier in the week and earned my AMA pro/Exert license right at the track so qualified for and raced in the 200. Kenny Roberts won on his new TZ750. I was an 18 year old and Senior in H.S., ended up racing a partial east coast AMA Road Race season in '75 and then I hung up my racing leathers and was off to Engineering College. I've owned a lot of street Superbikes since then but have never raced again. I recently retired from a large American defense contractor as a Principal Aerospace Engineer. My current scooter is a 2023 Ducati V4R with full race kit...she is pretty sporty, haha.
@@stevefowler2112 Never got to daytona (well not to race did get there a few years back on holiday) but did race in the MotoJournal 200 at Paul Ricard in 75. If anything could go wrong it did - the 680 Konig siezed and the 500 caught light! And the van broke down as well around Paris! Still it's all about the memories🙂
@@stevefowler2112the slow boomer on his Ducati always saying “I used to be” 😂
@@petemitchell6788tool😅
That official that refused the hay bales against the wall should have been charged with murder in my opinion.
Cooper. The bastard's name was Vernon Cooper. How could someone be so obtuse, other than an egotistical, hubris fueled desire to be right, Rather than to do what is right? With the improvements in horsepower, speed, handling and riding skill, the obvious next step would be improvements in track construction and safety. That man had no business managing a track.
Just an arrogant asshole for not putting in haybales.
Totally agree. Have said the same myself a number of times. There are other vids on CZcams (with human beings doing the narration) that also mention this incident.
What a tragic preventable loss. It appears to me Vernon Cooper could well be considered culpable here.
Absolutely,, but he is dead
Andy fair comment but so are a lot of other deaths directly or indirectly attributed to this person before and after Nic! "Mike Trimby
Motor Sport Magazine
The man supposed to be in charge was Vernon Cooper, chairman of the ACU, British bike racing's governing body. ... “Cooper was totally incompetent .." .@@andyb.1026
He was certainly painted as a villain.
If you look at his history at the ACU it certainly has many questionable moments. I do not accept peoples personal critism of him just some of his decisions. @@scottcates
The following is taken from my 2 stroke website. At a non-championship event at Silverstone in 1973 he took his customary walk of the track prior to the event. Newcombe had requested that hay bales be positioned before the race on the outside of Stowe Corner but race officials refused, stating they were "not required".
Guess what, Kim Newcombe tragically slid off the circuit at that very corner in the race and collided with the concrete barrier, he died from severe head injuries three days later at just 29 years of age.
An illustration of British officialdoms arrogance at it’s worst, words fail me!
A mark of his incredible achievement is his posthumous second place in the 1973 500cc World Championship.
What an amazing man, highly skilled engineer and a bloody good rider too. Vernon Coopers legacy is very bad, unfortunately many riders lost their lives because of his arrogance and total lack of caring for the safety of the riders. Thank you for this and telling Kim's amazing story.
New Zealander again .....those Kiwis are very ingenious .
Mainly because we were so far away and to get stuff was either really expensive or not able to get, so had to make it. A bit different now with shipping from anywhere in a short time, but the cost still can make it viable to make yourself depending on what it is.
@@BrickNewton Yep, spot on mate. I'm from the era when we had to build it ourselves or go without. That's a stand out combination of skills here in the US.
Big respect to all of you. The biggest my dream is to visit NZ, look into legendary V1000 and so on… Regards from Ukraine! Peace🫠🤝
Did you manage to track down anything on the BSL 3d printed 2stroke 500 gp bike? Made in New Zealand by some of the former Britten Guys whilst he was convalescing?@@wierdbike
Didn’t hear anything, sorry…)
This has long been my favorite two-stroke racing motorcycle. An amazing underdog story.
I remember him well, and the man who refused to make the track safer with just a few straw bales has Kim's life on his hands. That crash did lead to the start of the movement to make tracks safer......
If you know the wall is there you must just ride a bit slower?
Hence why he was referred to as “Vermin Cooper “
The track marshals name should put on the race track urinals, so we can honor him properly@@rgvnut
@gbone7581 that's a very stupid comment
@@gbone7581 Its a race you nitwit! no one rides slow in a race!
I never heard of this great man. Another New Zealander!
Here's another one you may have heard about: John Britten. Built his own bike from the ground up, and beat the rest of the world.
RIP to both innovators and fellow Countrymen.
I was dead certain this was going to be about Britten. What is it about kiwis and fast motorcycles? These two were of course preceded by Burt Munro. Hats off to those who had success with limited budget and loads of hard work and innovation.
It's just that we Kiwis rephrase "Impossible' into "I'm Possible"
Great story! Another great underdog legend was Jon Ekerold from South Africa who became world champion in 350 class despite being ignored by all the factories and racing under the cloud of apartheid.
Yes,I now him.....,jonny "Opstalan" I called him in the days he was racing in Holland.....we raced him many times......those where the day's whit a low budget off money.....
As a Brit who lived in New Zealand for 14 years and is a citizen of NZ also. Kiwis consistently punch above their weight and their level of ingenuity is second to none. A beautiful country and beautiful people.
Hard to beat a man who could ride and diagnose, and repair his own equipment.
It should be the rule for all forms of motor-racing. Design, build and maintain your own machine (buy your components obviously). I'm sick of these bumfluffed F1 youths - their only talent being lucky to be born into a mega-rich family with a silver spoon up their date. Take away the 1000-or-so factory support staff and reduce your "team" budget to your fortnightly dole payment; live and drive to each circuit in a van - sleep between shifts working on the vehicle, attend qualifying with the skin of your knuckles ripped off, extinguish your smoke before you put your helmet on, and let loose one last loud breakfast fart as you climb onto/into your machine.
Saw this machine and another Kiwi masterpiece, the Britten when i visited NZ 15 years ago when Kevin Swantz was a guest rider at Pukekohe Raceway. I was blown away. Ps I'm from SA.
Kim Newcombe was a fantastic racer and sadly never reached his potential..
Absolutely true!
I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing the Koenig when i was invited to participate in a classic competition bike demonstration ten years ago.
That's a very special bike with a fantastic sound!
True David & Goliath story, well done!
Nice to see Barry
What a true working man hero RIP
What an awesome video,. Tragic lost to the motorcycle world. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you🥰
Nice Tribute! I'm Always Glad To Learn More About The History Of Motorcycling. Thank You.
Glad you like it. Thank you too🤝
Kim Newcombe is an absolute kiwi legend that 99% of kiwis don’t even know about!!
It’s an unfortunate by-product of a lop-sided love affair in our small nation of anything rugby orientated.
Tim Hannah has researched and written a book covering Kim’s life and I would highly recommend obtaining a copy and reading it,I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Tim’s generosity and received a copy from the gentleman himself.
same Tim gave one & signed for me what a awesome guy he is i hung out with him for weekend him & John Britten's old race buddy Lindsay williamson .Highly recommend the book to all ..
I had the privilege of going to the movie preview of "love loss and speed" in Auckland . And seeing Rod and his replica at Pukekohe Classic festival. More than two strokes and you're a wa**er..
Man you're covering stories that no one does and they are interesting and outright insane sometimes ! Hope your channel blows up because in my opinion the subscribers don't match the quality of your content !
Thank you, you shot right into my heart right now! That’s why i’m doing this, i love it. Regards from Ukraine to all of you, people. Peace🥹🤝
@@wierdbike
Slava Ukraina 🙋🏼♂️
What a story! The arrogance of managment across the UK then killed not just people but the bike & car industries too. Godspeed Kim ❤
That bike sounds Soo ANGRY! 👍 Awesome!
I raced a TZ750 in the Netherlands myself but there were some konigs around in those days ('80s). Hans de Wit (still racing his bike, I think its him at 4:41), Armin Zeh and Dick Alblas are some names that spring to mind. If I remember correctly Dick Alblas build Yamaha TZ cilinders on his engine with a modified rotating disk intake. Wheels and belts everywhere , a beautiful piece of art. Those bikes were fast to, Armin Zeh still winning races in those days.
Yes and not to forget Hans Hutten who was successfully with this nice screaming bike in the Netherlands. As track Marshall I have seen him racing up close.
@@HAMOTORHans Hutten was before my time. I got my license with the NMB in 1980 at Amsterdam@Sportpark Sloten.
My next door neighbour had one in his sidecar outfit he used to race , awesome tool .😁😁🤘🤘
Fantastic video but such a sad ending to such a great story. There's definitely something about the New Zealanders.... I don't know, maybe there's something in the water down there... LOL
Not only the guy that this video is about but also Burt Munroe and his 1920 Indian record holder and also John Britten and his Britten V1000 superbike. All similar stories and from the same country.
You've left out perhaps the greatest of them all: Andrew Stroud. Had he been less of a family man committed to raising an enormous family, he'd have likely run the world championships full time and won multiple. He ran here and there just a bit in the GPs, but never a full program, never with world class equipment. But he may have been the most gifted racer of his generation. Would've been fascinating to see him running head-to-head, on a regular basis against the likes of Rainey, Schwantz, Doohan, Gardner, Lawson.
It's the terrain certain rides in New Zealand are amazing used to have a ride where the goal was 1000k's in 5 hours around some of the windiest country you've ever seen only had to stop the timer for four towns on the whole trip.
My dad had one of these engines in his micro midget dirt car and was track champion with it.
Wow, the ending hit a bit hard. I was so focussed on the incredible the technical info 👍
That very Konig had it's originas in 1950's boat racing. I had the 2 cylinder 250 cc version. The opposed 4 had varying length tune pipes like a trombone for better power throughout rpm range. My little 250 cc was rated around 60 hp. The adaptations he made were amazing... These are normally piston port motors and yes they like cold water for power! The Konig with it's flat design was very popular in racing sidecars, but this is the first time hearing about Mr Kim and his 500cc bike.
Great video, thanks 😊
PS We can only guess that the different design and high power was because it always was a methanol burning race motor... There are none of the usual elements of a street machine. The dimensions of the rods, pistons and carbs are extreme also... The carbs had revolving internal drums giving an open bore the size of the piston diameter... Special ♡
Not methanol, that went out in the late 50s. 102 octane petrol I do believe.
I think it was because of Kim that it was usad in side cars. Kim sold the motors . I think he had involvment in the race boats aswell.
@@patrickporter6536 Exactly, my motor was late 50's and I assure you, the wild carbs would never meter gasoline. The motor WAS designed for exotic fuels only. If you have ever raced then you know "gasoline" is not one compound. Bad fuel after the 50's was one of the biggest detractors of power. Good racing fuel even with nitromethane and castor bean oil has always been available● The rest is politics and marketing. Even at the Grand Prix level
Cheers 🍻
He looks like Mat McConaughey. Someone needs to make movie of him
Agree!
Think they'll make him kiss a transtesticle like they did Burt Munro in TWFI ?
Smashing Idea Mate!!!
Would make a GREAT film!
Too bad hollywood sucks these days..
Dam shame that 20-30 hay bales cost to much and Very well could have saved this mans life !
Cooper's reaction to Kim's concern and request of that turn and for less $30 this man could have done even more great things for motorcycle racing !
paul Eikenberg who also raced the konig lives here in australia..he gave me a copy of a photo taken by a czech photographer of him riding the Konig in 72.
Great video to watch at 4am.
Amazing story thanks for sharing
Always loved the engine concept. Perfect minimalism.
1973, the season with two dead men on 500 cc top ten... But I did smile a little when it was said that the man König didn't want to have anything to do with motorcycle racing after Newcobe's death - it's not like those racing boats are exactly safe, either. Crash at those speeds and the water is like concrete, and then you drown.
I got to meet Tim Hannah here in NZ at the Nelson street races he gave me one of the first copies of his book & signed it for me The Kiwi on the Konig ,,i couldn't put it down read it in 2 days sad sad story what a legend..
Yes, I have a copy myself. I tried to put the ISBN up here for others who aren’t in NZ, but the algorithm won’t let me
Wow, what a legend!👍💪🏆
When I first stumbled upon your channel, I was wondering if you were going to do this motorcycle. The Kim Newcombe Documentary "Love Speed and Loss" is an incredible but ultimately sad watch. Highly recommended
Kim is the one of my favorite stories🫠
very good story telling . cant wait to see more !
Many years ago I put a Scott Atwater 12 HP outboard engine on a Rupp mini bike, added a cooling system and CVT transmission, I played around with it a lot, it was fast and powerful,,much fun was had with it, I'm sorry I didn't do any scientific testing or record anything, just a fun project for me, I had to take it out on the road to see what it would do and go in trouble with the police, we negotiated a deal because they started laughing when I answered their questions, like what engine is that?,,brand of bike,,obsolete min bike,,outboard engine??,,the officer said,,I'm not going to write this down on a ticket,,it's crazy,,just take this thing back home and we will forget we ever saw you today, OK,, I agreed and went back home,,hurt my feelings and killed my fun,,oh well, funny, true story from my youth.
I had a Scott Atwater 7.5 hp that was branded as a Firestone outboard. My brother in law has it now, it is over 60 years old and still runs! I traded him for an Evinrude Big Twin 35.
Awesome little know story!
Full RESPECT
Thanks so much for sharing. 😉👌🏻
Brilliant story cheers
The response of the track manager is unsurprising. Old farts have been around for millennia. But that the other racers didn't present a united front is less understandable.
The same is still happening ( Isle of Man ) ...
Isle of man is a mans race track but you forget back when that started bikes went a lot slower than they do now.. technology has changed so much and men have lost touch with being men..
So sad.
Completely compelling video. Thanks for posting
Thanks for your Channel.
Another quality video.
Thank you
Glad you like it🤝
Incredible engineering by Kim..
Well done Kiwi. 👍👍👍.
Depressing as hell. Fabulous.
0:27 that belt set up 😮 i had to pause it . ive never seen them change angles like that
look at the belt drive on a Chev Corsair
honda...ummmm... n500? the mini lookalike...
lol, my slasher made from an old mower deck?
twisted belts arent that big a deal, certain design rules apply...
@@paradiselost9946
Ive never seen them used that way , i didnt even know they could run in multiple directions 😂
Chev CorVair, Renault R5 also, as far as I recall, vee-belts on those though..
I was at Silverstone when he crashed. We were further round the track from Stowe so didn’t see the crash - fortunately. Comms in those days were really bad I seem to remember. We didn’t know the story until much later. As several others have commented, the Konig had a much extended life in sidecars
I just love those 4” tyres,unreal
so well researched.
Amazing!
Watching from auckland nz. Good work on the video.
I remember this incident and also Vernon Cooper...who was a bit of a hot headed arrogant man, not a nice chap.
Bit like Dave Dixon another know it all, bully.
(I knew him)
RIP Kiwi...you were a true talent...
Very cool!👌
It's very disappointing that Kim's tuner and bike fabricator and preparer, Rod Tingate, did not get a mention in this clip.
Rod was instrumental in Kim being able to achieve his fantastic results.
Rod was Kim's brother-in-law (and mechanic).
He had the Konig engine in a go-cart when I met him in 1995 but he subsequently put it back into Kim's bike and did demo laps at the Historic championships.
Wow 😲
Awesome 👍🏻
Wow just 10 seconds into the video and I'm subscribing. Love the historical film and photo's. Too many you tube videos now days use stock film. Great stuff man
This is risky, but always stunning. Thank you!
Great video 👏🏼👏🏼‼️
Very Cool Bike
This in content to watch shows a legend who died young and has been buried by time
I own a few of the König outboards, lovely engines.
Obrigado por contar essa história incrível,eu precisava disso e não sabia ! Continue o bom trabalho !
Muito obrigado!
Legend!!!
Ruhe in Frieden König Kim Newcombe. Männer wie du machen, das die Welt sich dreht.
cool vid! cheers!
Awesome ❤❤❤
🙏🏻 Kim Newcombe.
Legend.
I want to see part two!
Loving this kiwi channel 🤙
Wow this story needs to be made into a film💚🇬🇧🌱
There’s a documentary been made titled ‘Love,Speed and Loss’.
Unfortunately, its not entirely truthful to its subject, and has much fictional and irrelevant content included.
Dam A Hole Track Manager!
Yeah…
@@wierdbike im betting he was brought in for questioning. and he was forced to update track safety. maybe even arrested. i really dont know honestly
full respect to true biker
I once had the pleasure of seeing one of these in action and speak to the owner who must have bein around 80 years old. He came in last I believe but it was Nice to see it
To put Kim's ability into perspective, he had never ridden a road bike, only offroad dirt bikes. He gained a road licence in 1971 at the start of initial testing of his Konig. He gained a racing licence in 1972 and died in early August 1973 at a time when if he got a top placing in his next Championship race, he would have won the World 500cc Championship that year. He was posthumously awarded 2nd place, ahead of Agostini. From a report in the NZ Herald.... "As the racing concluded at Silverstone, Vernon Cooper asked what happened to the "silly bugger" who fell off at Stowe corner.
"I believe he was carted off to hospital with a bump on his head," one of his minions replied.
"It might be best to put some straw bales in front of that damn wall, after all," Cooper said. "You'll find plenty in the storage area and, if you grab a couple of marshals, it won't take more than a few minutes. Then you can join us at the bar."
Wow thats a great story David vs Goliath.
Nice video ❤👍🏼
Thank you!🫠
wow, im a kiwi and just heard of this guy . so we had Bert Monroe, on his Indian, Kim Newcombe with his boat engine racer and then Britten all being world leaders In innovating, impressive,
There is a lot of great engineer out there please follow him build something great and show the world your talent
8:35 Barry Sheene always with a smile on his face.. ☺️
I wonder what "magic" this boat engine had that gave it such an advantage, 2 strokes were well understood by then, it was hardly down to the expansion pipes and Kims riding prowess alone ?... 🤔
I have an episode about bike builded in memory of Batty Sheene😉
@@wierdbike Thaks, I'll look it up !
😎👍☘️🍺
Water cooled?
@@gbone7581 Water cooling was used on motorcycles as far back as 1908... 🤔
@@peterfitzpatrick7032 but the racing 2 stroke motorcycles were air cooled at that stage.
Well, what a tale ! And what a sad ending.
theres a great book written about his life, cant remember the title but worth the read.
Wat a talent
Nice content
Thank you!🫠
As a Kiwi, I'd not heard of him, yes my bad. What a talent. Imagine the tales he & John Britten tell over a beer or up there in heaven.
Read the book KIM... This guy was a rock star in Europe
Recommend the book "Kim on a Konig". A teally great read.
Vernon Cooper was in charge of the 1983 500cc GP at Silverstone, the race is on CZcams.
Me and my father have bought one of these outboards here in Argentina. I try to look up on the web how to restore, but info in english is very hard to find
The Motorcycles were so much faster than the tires of the day could handle .. Amazing Story ..
Kenny Roberts Protested unsafe Tracks quite a bit ..
Rumour has it that Barry Sheene and Steve Parish burnt down a toilet block in protest to get better safety and facilities.
Lol " in a better country "
ANZAC love
I also recommend the biography of Kim Newcombe written by Tim Hanna (no terminal ‘h’), titled “The Kiwi on the König”
You'd have to wonder if he had 'target fixation' with the wooden wall that he was obviously concerned about.
Beat me to it
I doubt it. This unfortunately was the era of next to no track safety and promoters not caring. Someone not dying during a race weekend was the exception rather than the rule.
I raced in that era, about 6 top class riders died every season 😢