BMW R 90 S racing successes
When BMW shocked the racing world. Pridmore leads McLaughlin on R 90 S twins in the 1976 Daytona Superbike race
Words by superbike.co.uk. Images courtesy BMW Motorrad
New BMW R 12 S
BMW Motorrad’s new BMW R 12 S is an exclusive special model, created as a tribute to the BMW R 90 S.
The 1970s R 90 S was not only one of the most outstanding sport bikes of the mid 1970s, but is regarded as one of the great icons of early superbike racing!
In 1976, the American Motorcyclist Association created the AMA Superbike Championship, to give the growing number of 1000cc four-stroke street bikes a place to race – and bring some variety back to the asphalt race tracks.
The AMA also had a Grand National championship at that time, a series covering five different disciplines of racing;
- Mile and half mile dirt track
- Short track (generally 1/4mile dirt track ovals)
- TT (dirt track ovals with infield jumps)
- The fifth discipline was road racing, which was fast becoming a haven for two-strokes (predominantly Yamahas) and certainly at the expense of the four-strokes!
Pridmore on the Rob North-framed Butler and Smith bike he raced Stateside prior to the new Superbike class being established
Superbike was a silhouette class designed to bring this new breed of 1000cc four-stroke streetbike to the tracks, but was run entirely separate from the Grand National series.
The inaugural season featured mainly Kawasaki Z1s (unwieldy-handling but fearsomely fast four-cylinder beasts) and Ducati’s torquey and nimble V-twins,based on the Imola 200-winning 750SS model.
850cc Moto Guzzis, a Laverda Jota triple and overbored CB750 Honda fours added variety…and then there were the BMWs…
Based on the R90S which, in the run up to the first race, were considered by many to be totally unsuitable for racing. With it’s boxer-twin cylinder heads, likely to drag in the turns when cornering.
How wrong were they proven to be!
The BMW R90S street bikes were turned into racers by BMW’s American importer Butler and Smith, they signed three top class riders.
Two of them already had proven track records in AMA pro racing; ‘Go Fast’ Gary Fisher (a flamboyant youngster, who had proven himself on TZ250/350 Yamahas). He was considered America’s version of Barry Sheene!
Also ‘motormouth’ Steve McLaughlin, a fast racer and a larger than life outspoken character, who would later become the man who launched the World Superbike championship!
The back of McLaughlin’s crash helmet bore the legend ‘Oh My My’ – which just about said it all!
Pridmore did amazing things on a BMW R 90 S production racer too
The third rider was British-born, Reg Pridmore (a BMW dealership owner).
Who had raced Butler and Smith’s Rob North-framed boxer twin in the previous seasons of AMA Grand National racing.
Where Formula 750 road racing machines also included BSA/Triumph triples, Harley’s venerable XR750TT and two-strokes from Yamaha Kawasaki and Suzuki.
‘Rego’s’ rep came from the production racing classes – riding BMWs.
Three out of four ain’t bad
BMW won three of the four championship races that year!
McLaughlin won the inaugural Daytona Superbike race, while Pridmore won at Laguna Seca and Riverside.
Mike Baldwin was the only non-BMW rider to win a race. He took Loudon riding a Reno Leoni-built Guzzi.
But Reg Pridmore won the championship title, a model of consistency having finished second and Daytona and third at Loudon, in addition to his two race wins.
Pridmore, who went on to win the AMA Superbike title in 1977 and 1978 on four-cylinder bikes, was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2002.
According to the his HoF website profile, Pridmore and the 1976 Butler & Smith BMW R90S that stunned the motorcycling world with a championship performance was from what the Germans had dubbed ‘the Teutonic Tourer.’
Rego is quoted thus: “I look back on what we achieved by our success on that bike. I beat a lot of the bad boys and the Japanese and Italian factories. It made a lot of people sit up and say; ‘On a BMW?’ ”
This is 1976 Daytona. Number 24 is Gary Fisher’s bike. That’s Pridmore with his back to the camera
BMW continued to figure in the series with Loudon race winner Ron Pierce fourth in 1977 and Harry Klinzmann, fourth in 1978, again won at Loudon, the tight New Hampshire circuit clearly suiting the boxer twins.
In 1980, AMA Superbike became the premier class of American road racing when it was incorporated into the AMA Grand National Championship.
Honda entered the series and with Kawasaki and Suzuki fielding new generation 1000cc the class, at least for a while, became dominated by four-cylinder machines.
Win in Sunday. Sell on Monday. BMW made the most of its 1976 Daytona success
BMW’s R90S TT Connection
BMW Motorrad participated in the Isle of Man TT for the first time in the 1930s They achieved a historical victory in 1939 when Georg ‘Schorsch’ Meier won the Senior TT with a BMW compressor bike, the R 255 (with a 500cc supercharged boxer twin engine and shaft drive). BMW’s success that was total, with Meier’s teammate Jock West finishing second.
BMW then had to wait until the 1970s to celebrate TT success again. Helmut Dahne had finished fourth in 1973 Production 750TT.
He was third in 1974, with the Production TT now with a 1000cc limit. But compatriot Hans Otto Butenuth went one better, finished runner-up to ‘Slippery Sam’ Triumph-mounted race winner Mick Grant.
Both Germans would have their day in 1976 however, with the all-new R 90 S, with Dahne and Butenuth teaming up to win the 1000cc class of the 10-lap, 373.7mile, Production TT race (they were fifth overall). It was the first solo TT race win for BMW in 37 years since Meier’s Senior race victory.
During the 2016 TT, when BMW celebrated the 40th anniversary of their epic 1976 TT victory, Dahne, then 71, took a lap of honour around the 37.73mile Mountain course one more time on his original race bike.
In a BMW Group press release documenting the event, it was revealed that Dahne, an endurance racing expert as well as a TT stalwart, had ensured the all-new R 90 S was well prepared for the rigours of the ‘76 10-lap TT. It said: “His BMW R 90 SS sporting the standard Daytona Orange finish also seemed excellently prepared – almost 30 kilograms lighter than the road version, fitted with softer springs and featuring various modifications to the engine. He was also backed by a strong team made up of mechanic Helmut Bucher and the second rider Hans Otto Butenuth. The latter was from Dortmund and also had a wealth of experience in motorcycle racing. The fact that he was familiar with both the BMW and the island race course further qualified him for the role of co-rider.
“Butenuth immediately put in an impeccable training lap on the BMW R 90 S. Meanwhile Dahne was confronted with technical difficulties. The intake manifold bolted onto the right-hand cylinder came loose. This problem was solved with a two-component adhesive. Not long after this an entire engine overhaul was required: here the trio joined forces to deal with the setback by fitting a substitute power unit they had brought along with them. The intake manifold again proved unstable, so extra work was done to permanently eliminate the problem with a flexible carburettor mounting bracket: this time the crew believed they had finally overcome all obstacles. ‘We were the fastest in training,’ said Dahne, ‘so I thought I had a good chance of winning the race itself.’ But then the rain set in. The start was postponed several times, which was good for the BMW team since Dahne’s new employer, Metzeler, did not have rain tyres in its programme at the time.
“When the race finally got under way, the weather conditions were ideal. The racers now faced 10 laps covering a total of more than 600 kilometres on the Snaefell Mountain Course. Dahne took the lead right away. His BMW R 90 S was as fast as he had hoped, clearly outrunning most competitors on the numerous bends of the island course in particular. After three laps it was time for the first fuelling stop and rider changeover. Here the BMW team was able to play another joker. The trio had developed its very own fast-filling system which significantly accelerated the fuelling process. Dahne arrived in the pits 30 seconds behind, Butenuth rejoined the race with a ten-second lead. The two other stopovers also went very smoothly, so the two riders were unstoppable. They finished the Production TT race as winners of the 1000 cubic centimetre class and fifth in the overall ratings. ‘The fact that Rolf Steinhausen and Josef Huber also won the 500cc sidecar class at the 1976 TT perfectly rounded off the success as far as BMW was concerned,’ said Dahne.”
Winning style. Dahne skims the R 90 S right-hand cylinder head just inches above the road at Quaterbridge
Helmut Dahne was a huge fans’ favourite on the Island for this kind of action with his BMW production racer
To read BMW’s Tribute to the R 90 S click here!
To look at the Gallery of the Studio Images and Detailed Pictures, click the link below!