How the Hooligans will change racing

SUPER HOOLIGAN Part 6

The concept of Super Hooligan road racing harks back the original Superbike class, launched by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1976 in a bid to generate interest in road racing as support for the traditional Formula 750 and subsequently Formula One classes began to dwindle

Superbike was initially conceived as a silhouette class, basically custom-built, hot-rod racers, based on production bikes, like the Z1 Kawasaki, BMW R90S, Ducati 750SS, Moto Guzzi Le Mans, Honda CB750F and Suzuki GS1000. 

The bar-bashing racing of what were essentially naked or semi naked motorcycles with high handlebars (except in the case of the Ducati which came with clip-ons and a half fairing) thrilled the fans. 

Careers were launched: Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Freddie Spencer and Fred Merkel were all AMA Superbike champions in what was then a real handlebar-rattling, cut and thrust class – on and off the track. While the riders were using every trick in the book to win on the track, they were being aided and abetted by technicians back in the pits who used their ingenuity to manipulate the loosely-worded rule book. 

As F750 and then F1 died a natural death, Superbike Production (as it was originally dubbed) became the class to watch. But as the production ‘superbikes’ developed with fairings, so then did the racing class followed suit. AMA Superbike became the premier class of racing Stateside in 1986. Former Superbike star Steve McLaughlin turned promoter and established World Superbike in 1988. But what was a highly individual racing class, began to look like just another racing class with more traditional, fully-faired motorcycles – though a highly competitive one none the less. 

In recent years Stateside interest in AMA Superbike road racing dwindled until Moto America took control of the series in 2015 and began to re-generate interest in the series, helped no doubt by adding the King of the Baggers (KOTB) Indian v Harley fest, and the Roland Sands-inspired Super Hooligan class of hot-rod, naked race bikes based on unlikely cruiser and adventure bikes, to generate that same level of buzz around the sport that those 1970s high-barred superbikes did. 

Some observers have a view that KOTB is an awesome spectacle but lacks variety of bikes (it needs more than Harley v Indian and bigger grids to sustain interest) while the Super Hooligan class is equally spectacular but with real depth and variety, with the crowd-pleasing Harley v Indian war still part of the narrative.

This year, Roland Sands Design introduced the 2024 Super Hooligan championship with a new format promising a multi-manufacturer battle on custom-built street bikes, tuned for traction and the high speeds of America’s most challenging race tracks. 

‘The Mission Foods Super Hooligan National Championship (SHNC), brought to you by Indian Motorcycle and Roland Sands’ – to give it its full and cumbersome title, is presenting 10 rounds of motorcycle road racing at five events across the United States. The season kicked off with Moto America at Daytona International Speedway in March, then onto The Ridge in Washington, Laguna Seca in California, Mid-Ohio and a grand finale in September at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. 

Water-cooled and air-cooled, internal combustion powered, 750cc and up twins – and the new addition of 900cc triples + electric bikes –all line up on the grid to battle for high-bar, streetbike dominance at the fastest tracks in the USA. 

Racers from the world’s premier manufacturers including Harley-Davidson, KTM, Ducati, BMW, Triumph, Energica, and Yamaha fight it out to dethrone the two-time Super Hooligan champions, Indian Motorcycle. 

Guaranteed excitement for fans and racers alike.

 

Here’s the quick and dirty on the rule update. 

Addition of triples (3-cylinder bikes with max 900cc displacement)

Loosening of airbox restrictions for Harley-Davidson Pan America models 

No more separate divisions or points for American V-Twins

Extension of rules to ALL makes and models of air-cooled twins (not just American V-Twins)

Newly added 350 lb. minimum weight to air-cooled bikes (versus 377 lbs for water-cooled bikes) 

Additional VP fuel options

And here’s a brief overview of the rules

Open to all manufacturers of motorcycles. Water cooled or air-cooled 750cc+ twin cylinder, max 900cc triples, and Electric bikes all racing head-to-head in the same class on the same grid. 
 

​Production high-bar street bikes only. Motorcycle must have come stock with top mounted risers and upright handlebars. No bikes with clip-on are permitted.

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Water cooled or air cooled, originally equipped 750cc+, twin-cylinder, four stroke, production street legal motorcycles. Maximum claimed stock production horsepower of 125HP or less. The 150hp H-D Pan America 1250 is now eligible with use of mandatory components to reduce performance to 125hp. ​

Electric street legal production motorcycles with single motor. Water-cooled batteries permitted. No MX or dual-sport type electric bikes allowed. 

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The air-cooled division is now open to all manufacturers. Modifications allowed to the main frame or full custom chassis, naturally aspirated or forced induction, and minimum weight of 350 lbs. ​

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Water-cooled and electric bikes must maintain stock frames with no fabrication allowed. Minimum weight 377 lbs.

Super hooligan part 1 Naked racing Hooligans 
Super hooligan part 2 Roland Sands interview
Super hooligan part 3 Indian’s FTR Hooligan track-tested
Super hooligan part 4 Indian’s Hooligan for the streets 
Super hooligan part 5 Harley’s Hooligan adventure

Words by superbike.co.uk  Photos: Indian Motorcycle and Brian J. Nelson (MotoAmerica race action)