Eric Shepherd

Best time : 10.46 sec and 124.20 mph or 200 kph

Eric began racing bikes in the 1974 on 350 RD Yamaha's and a TA 125 GP Yamaha at the Pukekohe road racing circuit. This early try at racing only brought moderate success. After two serious road accidents the bikes were laidEric with his TA 125 GP Yamaha up and when racing no longer looked an option they were sold along with his two Norton's. Looking back at that decision he says " I was making fabulous money at the time but had absolutely no common sense, I should have hung on to them".
The next fifteen years were taken up with mortgages and the like but desire to get back to it was always there. So after purchasing a very nice 500 Mach 3 Kawasaki to add to his latest collection of bikes he went to the winter series at Champion Dragway to give it a whirl. " I figured if I didn't make a complete idiot of myself during the winter I'd take on the main summer series". So in 1990 he entered the Et Bike series at Champion. "Winning that year came quite easy, maybe too easy, but that year I won the points series. After that season the bike wasn't going any slower but it sure felt it". It was definitely time to speed things up a bit. So the decision had to be made, what to do next. "I had the choice of tweaking the 500 up or buying something else, I didn't really want to do anything to the 500 as it was in such good condition and good ones are thin on the ground these days". The only thing that he had to hand were the remains of an early Mach 4 750 Kawasaki he had bought a couple of years before. It really was a basket case, just a couple of tea chests full of parts. It was going to be one of those "I'm going to restore that thing someday". So that was it, the 750 got the hacksaw treatment. "I figured that the 750 was a pretty quick bike and squeezing a bit more out of it wouldn't be too much of a problem, was I ever in for a shock". When the H2 first hit the track it was slower than the 500 coughing and spluttering it's way to 14 second runs. A short sharp reminder that there is no such thing as easy horsepower on one of these, get it wrong and the horsepower vanishes faster than a fart in the wind. The next two seasons were spent chasing from problem to problem with the bike barely making it now into the high 11's. Something was fundamentally wrong with the way the engine had been set up but there was no one in NZ who had any experience in building this type of motor who could be asked for advice. So in desperation the IDBA in the US was phoned to see if they could give a contact person to help out. Eric was given the name and number of Chuck Simpson who after listening to the sad tale gave him the name of a racer in Texas by the name of Matt Park who he reckoned was the man when it came to H2's. "I thought I knew a thing or two about two strokes when I phoned this guy up but after about 5 minutes I realised I had just failed kindergarten for the third time, it was time to shut up and listen to the teacher". After many long conversations on the phone the best advice was to ditch just about everything and start the engine from scratch. Eric figured that now the best option, goaded on constantly by Ken "just buy it" Stolpman, was to order up a whole new top end from Matt. "I remember thinking there just ain't nothing like hearing someone say, well, how fast do you want to go? I said to him that I'd be happy to get the bike into the nine's to which he replied, oh I thought you were going to ask for something hard". Without the help of Matt Park the bike probably would have disappeared along with the money it was gobbling up. The rebuilt bike still had teething troubles but Eric could now actually feel the potential waiting to be tapped. Personal circumstances meant that the bike had to be laid up just as this potential was being realised. With luck and having those last problems sorted the bike will be back for the 2001/02 season.
When I started this project I had some clear objectives and things to achieve, however along the way I wanted to build a bike that was both different from anything else around and one that people would remember, if nothing else I'm sure this 30 year old stroker has left it's mark on drag racing in New Zealand.
Special thanks to Tracey for not worrying about the dwindling bank account.
                       to Sam for assuring his dad he wasn't a nut case
                and to Matt and Pat for their friendship, help and continued encouragement.
 
Frame 1972 H2 Kawasaki, lengthened 20% and racked 5 degrees. Owner built square section swing arm incorporating the air tank. Eric Shepherd's C/PRO bike at Champion Dragway
Body H2 replica. Designed and built by Eric Shepherd.
Front Wheel S1 Kawasaki hub and forks with a Bridgestone slick
Rear Wheel Z1 Kawasaki with a Goodyear 7 inch slick.
Engine 1972 H2 3 cylinder Kawasaki 750cc triple on C14 racing fuel. Max H.P. at 11,000 rpm.
Heads 3 stage squish.
Chambers FBG. Pro Pipes Eric Sheperd and Bike
Carburettors 3x 40mm Lectron Power Jet Pro
Ignition Dyna ignition with 2 step launch control and Shift Minder.
Clutch FBG Lockup.
Gearbox 5 speed FBG Pro.
Weight Fully fuelled, 163kg
Eric Shepherd at Champion Dragway

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