PADDY HOOK,S HARLEY

 MANY YEARS AGO I DID A MOTORCYCLE MECHANICS COARSE AT TIVERTON COLLAGE.
WE HAD A GUY THAT TAUGHT US THE FUNDERMENTALS OF MOTORCYCLE ELECTRICS. HIS NAME WAS PADDY HOOK.
HIS DAILY COMMUTOR WAS A FIREBLADE BUT ONE DAY HE BOUGHT HIS TRACK BIKE IN FOR US TO LOOK AT AND IT BLEW MY MIND. THIS IS IT. OR HOW WE SAY IT DOWN ERE " YER TIS".
IT STARTED LIFE AS A NORMAL 1340 EVO,

 PADDY HOOK WAS ,AND PROBBELY STILL IS, A BIT OF A WIZ WITH COMPUTORS. HE WORKED FOR FORMULAR 1  CREATING 'ON BOARD DATA' STUFF, THEN GOT POACHED BY LUCKY STRIKE SUZUKI TO WORK WITH RIDERS LIKE KEVIN SWANTZ AND ALEX BARROS.
AFTER HE LEFT SUZUKI HE STARTED BUILDING THIS CREATURE IN HIS KITCHEN.

 USING FRAME GEOMATRY DESIGHN PROGRAMS, THAT HE CREATED FOR SUZUKI, HIM AND A VERY GOOD MATE OF HIS CALLED ALEN WELSH OF WELBRO ENGINEERING (WHO SADLY DIED AT HIS WELDING BENCH A FEW YEARS LATER) MADE THIS 'OIL IN' FRAME, MOVING THE ENGINE UP AND FORWARD (FOR INSANE HANDELLING) AND ALLOWING THEM TO RUN TWIN WEBBER DOWN-DRAFT CARBS'.
THE SUSSPENTION IS PURE GRAND PRIX- HAND SELECTED KAYABA FORKS AND REAR SHOCK THAT KAYABA GAVE HIM  AS A 'THANKYOU' FOR SOME DESIGHN WORK.

THE ENGINE HAS BEEN SHORT-STROKED TO REDUCE THE CAPACITY TO 1232cc TO COMPLY WITH THE UNDER1300cc LIMIT FOR HIS CLASS. IT NOW RUNS MODIFIED F1 COSWORTH PISTONS AND A ONE-OFF CRANK, UNDER 4VALVE HEADS AND NO HEAD GASKETS. IT ALSO USES A BOB NEWBY CLUTCH, IT IS ONE OF HIS CLUTCHES THAT I USE ON MY TRIUMPH AND HE IS A TOP BLOKE TO DO BUISINES  WITH.
PADDY RECONS IT PRODUCES ABOUT 135BHP- THIS COMBINED WITH PHENOMENAL TORQUE AND WIEGHING ONLY 310 lbs, CREATS A BIKE 1  1/2 TIMES MORE POTANT THAN HIS FIREBLADE.
IVE NEVER SEEN IT RACE BUT I HERE THAT IT HAS SPAT HIM OFF MORE THAN ONE CAUSING NUMEROS BROKEN BONES.
HE HAS SINCE GOHN ON TO BECOME Dr PADDY, ALTHOE RATHER UNSUPRISINGLY HIS DOCTORATE IS IN ENGINEERING AND NOT MEDICINE. THIESE DAYS HE SPENDS HIS TIME FURTHER DEVELOPING A NEW GENERATION OF BALLISTIC-PROTECTION MATERIALS THAT HE INVENTED AS PART OF HIS UNIVERSITY RESEARCH. PADDY HAS ALSO WRITTEN A NUMBER OF BOOKS INCLUDING MANY ON MOTORCYCLES, MILITARY HISTORY, NATURAL HISTORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY.