A few more Sam Simmons "Buzz Bomb" pics.

Sam Sam Simons writes in with a few more of his "Buzz Bomb" pics

Hello Steve, Here's an old project for a friend wanting an 1/8 mile old school dragbike based on something 'unusual' (non RDe350/400,in other words). It's a combination of CB160 chassis,Kawa A7 350 mill,T200 front end,Yam DT rear,T125 tank,etc.,a real parts bin concoction . New internal parts were a real challenge, with zero performance pieces available (now or back then). All in all,a fun bike to build.... Best regards,

I love this bike..

Yamaha BW 80's. A pair of Sam Simmons Specials.

Sam Simmons sends in this pair of beauties.

He Writes:
Hi Steve,
Hope you're doing well. Excellent ( new) site (as usual!!). I recently
redid a couple of Yamaha BW-80's,so here are a few pictures for you...
Surprisingly,both BW's were still in the hands of their original
owners,one in MO,the other in IL.
 Both were in good overall condition,but pretty tired in the 'Engine Dept'
. I 'stretched' the suspension on mine,while my wife's is stock. Once the
exhaust  and intake systems are de-restricted,carb's rejetted,these
little shits  fly...almost 50 mph.

They're great little bikes for  swap meet transportation,and perfect for
inexperienced trail riders.

Best Regards,
Sam Simons

Holy Smokes! 50mph on these must be a hoot!


I like the Kenny Roberts colors!

Sitting Pretty!  Some nice clearance there!

How to raise em up!

Very Nice work!

The before pic!

The Sam Simmons built Kaweasaki A& "Buzz bomb"! with build pics.

Here's the story from Sam:

Hello Steve,
I'm sending pictures of a past project that I shared with a friend,who wanted something different for vintage 1/8 mi. drag racing. He selected the Kawa A7 350 mill,and
we combined a T500 swingarm,CB-160 chassis and T200 front end .The intent was to create a simple,minimalist,fun machine that would be entertaining to ride
and powered by an engine other than the venerable RD350/400. As you know,the A7 mill is a very good performer, compromised ,unfortunately by the lack of
replacement internals and after market performance parts that the RD boys enjoy......Fortunately,the owner has sourced spare NOS internals to keep this bike running
for quite a while......

That is too cool Sam! As always, Keep em coming and Thanks Again!

 

  

  

  

More From Sam Simons. A 2-stroke Care Engine in a bike Chassis.

Maybe this is what Gave Boss Hoss their idea! LOL. Interesting how one is transverse and one is inline.

Sam Writes:

Hello Steve,
I'm also a fan of the early SAAB model 93 & 96 cars,having owned several some 30 years back. I'm
presently looking to buy another one.
So,in my Internet travels,I happened across these SAAB powered two wheeled hybrids. One is powering
either a Ural or Dneper ;the other a BSA chassis.
These little cars are loads of fun to drive.There are several great videos on YouTube about them.....

Thanks as always! Sam. Much appreciated!

Time to check in on our friend Sam Simons and some of his latest projects!

First an update on his KX500 "Tracker" Project!
Sam Writes:
Hello again,Steve- I've altered the rear suspension 'dogbones' so the rear height now matches the shortened front forks,and attached the JEMCO to see what the ground clearance result was.....good. The tank is (of all things) a Royal Enfield 350 unit,just stuck on the see what it would look like....I'd be very tempted to use it(with minor mods) if it weren't for the severe clearance feature on it's underside(necessary for the RE cylinder head) which helps expose the KX's frame tube,unfortunately....The rear subframe will require surgery to get it much more horizontal than it is now....tankand seat style are still unknown.....I've found a custom RZ/LC radiator source (in AU) that lookslike it will work,and allow me to use a /traditional/ looking gas tank....whereas,if I use the KX'sradiators,any tank that I use will look terrible because of the reliefs required to clear them... A bit of progress.....






Next Lets take a look at some REALLY tricked out RD Head work he's been doing! Sam writes:

Hi Steve, This idea came from my friend with the RD400 dragbike. The inserts are the commercially available units in various chamber volumes intended for similar use on the Banshee mill. I did up a set of RD heads to accept whatever sizes he chooses. Neat idea.......

VERY neat Idea!! Thanks Again Sam!

An amazing 6 cylinder JAWA. Wow!

Sam Simons sends in a really amazing bike that he came across on the net. What an amazing piece of work. Sam Writes:

Hi Steve, I found this unique example on a Czech website recently,what a piece of work. UK's Allan Millyard has done some impressive Kawasaki multis, but I think this engine overshadows Allan's work because of it's unusual design, and it's relative scarcity of numbers. To me,the major most challenge in building a multi is not adding the cylinders,but instead it's in finalizing the drive train so that the countershaft sprocket remains in proper alignment to the rear wheel. This is where builders have to extend and support the original output shaft, or resort to offsetting the engine or using a jackshaft somehow that mars the appearance of the finished bike. That's what impresses me most about this 6 cyl Jawa,it looks absolutely factory. The builder utilized the engine's left/right hand cylinder design to his advantage,too. Very Well Done!

Well done indeed!

The BUZZ BOMB!!!

What a cool ride! Another fine Sam Simons Special!

Sam Writes:

Hi Steve,

Well....it's a friends bike;he wanted to do a 'period' 1/8 mile drag bike,and asked me to help.

He wanted to campaign something other than the usual(and successful) RD 250 or 350,sohe decided on an A1/A7 powerplant.We did this bike 3-4 years ago,Steve,so I'm bound to overlook a few details...but here goes-

The basis for the chassis is a spare CB160 Honda unit that I had,combined with a Suz T500swingarm and Suz T200 front end. I also had an extra Suz T125 tank,so it was cavitized toallow room for the ignition components underneath-those 160 frames are small! I addeda front downtube (4130) to secure the engine and hydraulic steering dampener. I used 18 ga304 stainless for the fuel tank located under the seat. The rear wheel is a 17" rim laced toa Yam DT something for the conical brake feature.

The ignition system was a bit of a challenge,because we used a Dyna unit that requiredfabbing a baseplate and rotor to work properly with the Kawa 1/2 speed arrangement.Cutting away the crankcases to the minimum was another time consuming task,butthere was so much material needing to be removed to achieve the right look.

The engine- is actually fairly mild in tune-the bores were later plated as I recall. A1/A7 internalshaven't been plentiful for many years,and because of this the owner sourced fresh pistons,ringsand rods for multiple sets of spares in both 250 and 350 sizes. We both have another chum thathas successfully roadraced this same type of engine,using stock internals,with very goodsuccess and longevity,so there was some 'technical encouragement' that this bike would 'work'....The chambers are some Aircone sections,rolled to the owners 'specs',and I later TIG'd themtogether.

I honestly don't know how well the bike runs,as it's been under '/continual development/' sinceit's initial completion(beat on the owner,not /me/....). One future upgrade will likely bethe addition of nitrous oxide(injected into the bottom of the crankcase,each side),asan alternative for the lack of high performance internal bits found for other,more commonengines such as the RD.I don't have any current pictures to provide you(I've asked the owner to take some),buthere are a few taken back in the early stages of the project.

I appreciate your interest,Steve.Sam

(PS- The last pic is good for a chuckle or two. Here in Indiana,there are some very ingenioussouls......able to 'transform' what appears to be a exercise bike speedo/odo into a tachometer.This 'precision instrument' was on a small RD that a friend purchased.He couldn't pass uptaking a pic of it before removing it....)

Sam Simons latest BEAST!

Got a note from the legendary Sam Simmons recently and he attached a pic of his latest Project. Hol Moly! Can't wait to see the finishd work!

Sam writes:

"my entire collection has since been scattered across the USA,I still like to build'something different'; which leads me to mention my present undertaking,a KX500 StreetTracker.I'm mid-build,so to speak,and about to make decisions on seat,tank,fenders,etc. As you cansee,the Suns & Metzlers are on,and the suspension shortened 4". My new low pipe from JEMCOarrived last week.You know the routine,assemble,test,change,test,disassemble for cosmetics,then reassemble. I hope the horsepower is worth it!!"

No Doubt!