38 :OLD BIKE AUSTRALASIA
But the nascent Superbike category was another
thing altogether – the domain of home-brewed
rockets like the Syndicate Kawasaki and the Hone
Suzukis, particularly in the NGK-sponsored Victorian
Superbike Championship which morphed into the
national title in a few short years. In this class, the
XS11 was simply off-spec – the shaft system too
heavy and the machine itself ungainly.
However over the summer of 1980/81, Yamaha
Pitmans in Adelaide – a distributor with close ties to
the factory in Japan – decided to rectify the
situation. In Greg Pretty, their contracted rider, they
had a man of outstanding ability and determination,
who weighed just 53 kg, just what was needed to
make the portly XS1100 competitive in Superbike
trim. But there were other issues...
To start at the beginning, Yamaha had retreated
into its shell following consecutive disasters with
the twin cylinder TX750 – the company’s first four
stroke – and the TX500 – its first twin cam design,
and had guardedly prepared to rectify the situation
(and its badly tarnished image) with its first four-
cylinder four stroke. This was the XS1100 (or XS 1.1
in USA) that broke cover in late 1977, designed first
and foremost as a luxury tourer. That is, until
Yamaha Pitmans got hold of it.
Mal Pitman, the technical chief of the company’s
racing efforts, explains the process that ultimately
resulted in the XS1100 Superbike. “In December
1977 Yamaha brought a crew of a technician and
three riders from Japan, and we tested the bikes in
the eastern area of South Australia; we went up and
down the border with Victoria, 650km rides each
day. They wanted us to do over 180km/h all the
time, so they could check the durability of the
engine. This was the middle of summer, 40 degrees
ambient with the road temperature up around 60.
The rear tyres were lasting 650 km and they were
shredded. We basically brought all the 17 inch tyres
we could find in Adelaide.
“We had a good rider in Greg Pretty – he was one
of the guys that tested the suspension with us – but
he wasn’t familiar with the XS1100 and had always
ridden Kawasaki 900s. On the first day he went into
a corner two fast, and not being familiar with the
XS11, shut the throttle and down he went, decked
the bike. When you close the throttle on a shaft
drive in the middle of a corner, the bottom drops.
When he crashed that bike, the Japanese really
wanted to know if their rollover sensor, or tilt angle
sensor, had worked, and had cut the engine. So
tongue in cheek I told them that when I got to the
bike, it was stopped. It was also in several pieces as
well! So he learned how to ride the bike and when
he went onto Production Racing, he won
everything, but the Superbike was something he
really wanted to ride because they had more
horsepower and he was a horsepower nut.”
Pretty and the XS1100 instantly became the major
force in the 1978 Production Racing season, winning
the prestigious Advertiser Three Hour in April, and two
weeks later, the Perth Four Hour, this time paired with
Mick Cole. In September, Pretty took out the Surfers
Paradise Three Hour, the traditional curtain raiser to
the ‘big one’ the Castrol Six Hour at Amaroo Park.
Teamed with Jeff Miller, Pretty’s Pitman’s team looked
a shoe-in for the Six Hour, and led the race until Miller
crashed the bike and put it out. Although devastated,
the Pitmans team shifted their attention to helping
the Avon Tyres squad, which was also running and
XS1100 for Jim Budd and Roger Heyes. Between
them, they pulled off a master stroke by changing the
rear wheel at half distance and won the race.
The amazing Pretty commenced the 1979 season
where he had left off in 1978, winning the
Advertiser Three Hour again (and covering five more
laps than the previous year, on the same bike), then
snatched the Perth Four Hour, partnered this time by
Jeff Parkin. Teamed with 1978 winner Jim Budd,
pretty and the Pitmans XS1100 again went into theCastrol Six Hour as firm favourites, but lost out to
the Suzuki GS1000 of Alan Hales/Neil Chivas, who
went through the race on one set of Pirelli tyres,
while the Pitmans Yamahas needed a rear wheel
change and finished second, three laps in arrears.
Pretty decided to try his hand in Europe in 1980,
so the Pitmans squad remained largely under
wraps. The face of racing in Australia was changing
too, with the big, bellowing and spectacular
Superbikes – largely home-brewed specials –
emerging as the next big thing over the traditional
grand prix classes. When Pretty returned and faced
the prospect of spending the 1981 season at home,
he wanted to be part of that scene too. His problem
was that Pitmans, and Yamaha, had nothing
suitable for the class. Or did they?
Mal Pitman was one person who was convinced
that the XS1100 could be made competitive in the
Superbike class – but with one major modification.
“Because of (our experience with the model) and our
connection to the factory, Yamaha decided to make
some factory engine kits for the XS1100 to allow
them to go Superbike racing. Unfortunately they felt
the shaft drive was suitable for Superbike racing, and
I didn’t think it was, so they forwarded the bits to my
father and uncles who ran Yamaha Pitmans and said
they’d really like us to build a Superbike. My uncles
basically told them what I’d said; that shaft drive was
a waste of time. But they said, ‘you have to build it for
us because we want to get the coverage’, so I elected
to modify the bike to turn it into a chain drive XS11,
and once I’d done that it made the kit come to life
because you had less weight, you could change the
gearing, and so then we were able to get racing. I had
a local guy who loved bikes, was a machinist and
dabbled with casting, and I showed him the problemPITMANS YAMAHA XS1100 SUPERBIKE
“Pretty and the XS1100 instantly became the major force in the
1978 Production Racing season, winning the prestigious Advertiser
Three Hour in April, and two weeks later, the Perth Four Hour,
this time paired with Mick Cole.”
Greg Pretty ploughs through the rain
to win the Coca Cola 800 with Gary
Coleman in February 1981.The XS11 as it emerged from the shed.Original Solex carbs have been retained
for future refurbishment.