| Throttle
By Chris Knap/The Orange County
Register
A
LEGEND SURROUNDED BY ALLIGATORS
Gearhead Dan Gurney Chases
his Concept of the Ideal Motorcycle at his Santa Ana Shop.
 Dan Gurney's
always done things his own way, and at age 68 he's not about to change. Not even
if he breaks a few bones in the process.
Gurney is the legendary Santa Ana gearhead who co-founded All American Racers with
Carroll Shelby in 1965. Today he is the sole proprietor of AAR, and his shops stretch
more than a block in south Santa Ana.
If you don't follow racing you may never have heard of Gurney, a big, good-looking
blond guy who is a hero to most every Southern California
hot-rodder older than 25.
In the 60's, Gurney was famous for beating the biggest names in international racing
with a Formula One car — the Eagle — of his own design. In the 80's All American
Racers startled its fans by signing a long-term contract with Japanese maker Toyota.
And in the 90's he is again flouting conventional wisdom by forsaking the ubiquitous
Reynard chassis and chasing victory in the Indy Car series with an Eagle chassis
designed by his own team and powered by an 800 horsepower V8 Toyota.
But this story's not about Champ Car racing. It's about the two-wheeled, real world
kind of racing that takes place every Sunday in Orange County, when hundreds of motorcycle
riders blast up the winding Ortega Highway.
"I've been a fan of motorcycles for a long time" Gurney says. "I've
enjoyed some bikes more than others…and you don't ever know exactly why". One
thing he didn't like was the way bikes traditionally handle — lifting the front wheel
under hard acceleration, lifting the back under hard braking. Dan wanted something
with a lower center of gravity, a bike on which you could crank the throttle or slam
the brakes without getting thrown off. In other words, a bike that handled more like
a race car.
His first attempt was a Honda XL350 that he dismantled and stretched so the seat
could be lowered to just above the chain. The rider sits with his feet forward. That
configuration makes the bike hug the ground and explode off the line like a dragster.
It won't do a wheelie.
A machinist at AAR said the long, low, mean-looking thing resembled an alligator
— and the name stuck. Alligator I was powered by a single-cylinder engine, which
makes for a narrow profile (that's good) and lots of low-end torque (ditto). But
single-cylinders vibrate something terrible. They don't make as much high-end horsepower
as modern four —cylinders. And they're darn hard to start. Gurney recalls an old
single-cylinder BSA Victor that backfired when he cranked it, kicking the starter
peg upwards, tearing off his sneaker and nearly breaking his ankle. To a tough guy
like Gurney, that's impressive. He likes one-cylinders.
Since building that first Alligator ten years ago, Gurney has spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars trying to improve on the concept. That's an amount that most men — even
most racers — would consider folly. Each new alteration is tested on Ortega, not
just by Dan and his sons, but by famous racers like Eddie Lawson, Mike Smith and
Eric Buell. "They are wild-looking contraptions", says Dave O'Connell,
a British bike enthusiast who rides Ortega. "Every time Gurney shows up on one
there is always a crowd around him".
One of the newest versions, known as Alligator III, was damaged just after Christmas
when Gurney slowed up for some flashing lights and an AAR mechanic riding "hell-bent
for election" hit him from behind, knocking Gurney off the bike, cracking his
ankles and breaking his wrist. Dan ordered the bike repaired — and kept the mechanic
on staff. "He's relentless. Tenacious", says son Alex. "Almost to
an extreme".
Currently on the fabrication bench at AAR are two Alligator IV's, the closest thing
yet to the production motorcycle Dan hopes to sell some day. With a chrome
moly-frame,
Brembo racing brakes, self-learning fuel injection and carbon-fiber bodywork, the
newest Alligators really bite. The target is 80 horsepower, a 300-pound total weight
and 150 mph — from an engine AAR will build from scratch. Dan hopes to be ready for
street customers within three years, although he says the costs are so high right
now that he'd have to sell the bikes for $400,000. Son Justin says a realistic target
price is $10,000.
David Edwards, a 15-year writer for Newport Beach's Cycle World, says the Alligator
is "an iconoclastic project, way different than anything else on the market
right now". But Edwards rode the Alligator on Ortega and he says "I've
got to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. It's a combination of a motorcycle and
a little race kart. Your butt is skimming right over the ground. It really does give
a feeling of intensified speed".
Most industry observers say if there was a market for this type of motorcycle, the
industry heavyweights would already be there. Gurney hopes he has carved out a niche
small enough, and can build a motorcycle good enough, to own the category.
"There are people who know a lot more than me about this business that tell
me I'm barking up the wrong tree", Dan smirks, "But this is the tree I
want to bark up".
 "He
likes one-cylinders."
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