Brook Henry
Brook Henry
CW INTERVIEW
BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO OLD DUCATIS
MATTHEW MILES
BROOK HENRY BUILDS HOT-ROD Ducatis. His efforts have produced, among other things, a raft of engine components, a chassis-complete with rising-rate rear suspension-and numerous race wins. During a recent trip to the U.S., the 40-year-old New Zealand native sat down with us for an insight into the passion that has consumed the better part of his adult life.
Q How did you get started?
A In 1979,1 set up a general engineering business in Australia. I really wasn’t planning to make motorcycle parts, but I bought a Ducati 750 Sport, which promptly blew the big end, like they all do. Since I couldn’t get one, I
remanufactured it. People heard about it, and asked if I could make them one. That got me out of general engineering, which I didn’t like anyway, and into repairing Ducatis.
Q Your company, Vee Two, concentrates on Ducati’s old-style bevel-drive engines. Why?
A In some ways, they’re the worst bloody things that ever sucked air through a carburetor, but I like the engine. It’s got charisma. I’ve redesigned the thing-clutch, transmission, bottom end, etc-to get it to work better mechanically. I’ve always applied an engineering approach to my motors, rather than just trying to make more horsepower.
Q How did the Alchemy chassis come about?
A My race motor was making more than 100 horsepower, but the bike wouldn’t handle. So I built a monoshock frame, which was a bit better. I showed it to a friend and told him
what we wanted-a short wheelbase with rising-rate suspension. He messed around with it and said it couldn’t be done, not with rising-rate suspension. We tried relocating the shock, but nothing worked. A friend of his came up with a system similar to what we have now, but much more complicated. We fiddled around with it, made a few changes and came up with the current design. Owen Coles raced it all over Australia and New Zealand, and when he didn’t crash or blow up, which wasn’t that often, nothing got anywhere near it.
Q And the street version?
A After we finished fourth at Daytona in ’91, Owen went off to Europe and I went home. As it was, I just didn’t have the time to put into racing. With the Alchemy, we figured there were lots of Darmah and 860 owners who could use a chassis with rising-rate suspension, quick steering and a short wheelbase. I’m convinced there are lots of guys who, if they knew about us, wouldn’t need much prodding to get their old bikes back on the road.
Q The Alchemy is a natural for BEARS (British, European, American Racing Series) competition. Do you like the series?
A BEARS racing is made for me. It’s going to be huge, and I’m getting geared up for it. At the moment, it’s the fastest growing class in Europe and it’s going to happen in America. There’s lots of guys who want to race a Ducati, but can’t afford an eightvalve.
Q You also manufacture a variety of components for newer Ducatis. Is there a chassis in the works?
A We’ve actually designed such a bike, but we haven’t put it in production. The standard bevel-drive chassis is really dated; with the Alchemy, you can use the powerplant and late-model suspension to come up with a really nice bike. But there really isn’t anything wrong with the new 900SS frame, or a 916’s. To make a chassis for that would be like trying to reinvent the wheel.
Q What is the future for Vee Two?
A Next year, we’ll be concentrating on classic racing, and I want to get my original RV-1 going again and race that, or maybe a late-model 900SS, in BEARS. Also, I have to decide if I’m going to produce a belt-drive conver-
sion kit for the old engines, or if I’m going to channel development work into my own engine. Also, there are quite a few engine bits for the eightvalve and late-model two-valve engines that we’ll manufacture. We’ll definitely be busy. S3
