![]() “The transmission is a BSA A10 unit that I rotated 90 degrees, sealed and machined a carrier for a disc brake to be mounted on the countershaft behind the clutch. There is an engaging appeal to hand pumping some more Castrol into the old girl from the stunning system that Max has handcrafted. The lubrication is total loss on these vintage items and although Max experimented with a return system that he developed himself, he decided the relatively low oil consumption meant it was worth keeping things simple. Their stunning lines and deep colour a combination of a nod to the classic British machines of old and Hazan’s signature brilliance. This meant running it on alcohol was out of the question and as Max tells us, he wanted to be able to “fill it up at the pump.” Both the fuel tank and fender are made from a mix of 6061/5052 Aluminum. Wanting to be able to keep the weight down and the lines clean, the fuel tank is just 1 gallon. The centrepiece is of course the 497cc single cylinder JA Prestwich Industries engine, a mechanical masterpiece that Max displays in all its glory. It works well and yes, there is a stop should there be any failure of the straps but with the length of the lever arms in the linkage there is very little tension on the bands themselves.” How’s that for a centre stand? I think I may have tested every rubber strap/band on the internet from all over the world but the perfect spring rate was actually found in a pair of $3.00 Husky tarp straps I came across at Home Depot after a month of searching. The front end is also predominantly solid Chromoly but as for how it’s sprung, I’ll leave that for Max to explain, “I have no idea where I got the idea for the front end but it uses a set of rubber straps as springs. The chassis itself is made from 0.125” 4130 Chromoly steel and as a standalone piece is a work of art in and of itself. The giant Firestone front tyre with chunky Michelin rear give an exaggerated Speedway appeal a little tip of the cap to the engine without taking anything away from the overall design. The front hub was just another random idea to clean things up too,” explains Max as nonchalantly as ever. Apparently there was a shortage of 23″ clinchers so I had to get a little crafty. “The rear wheel is actually an MX wheel (KTM) with a modified hub and a clincher rim that I had to cut and re-weld to reduce the diameter from 24” to 23”. With alcohol slurping speedway bikes such a rich part of the JAP history, the decision was made to maintain the elegant simplicity they offer, with the engine as the centrepiece, but without just creating a race bike wannabe. his level of talent and the ease at which it comes is almost unfair. In no more than an hour he had the layout down and the basic dimensions decided. ![]() Decades later and Max was on the hunt, “After a couple days of searching good old Southern California came through with a 1938 500cc race motor less than 40 minutes from my house.”īack at his downtown LA workshop, Max began the design process in the way he always does: engine up on the bench, two wheels in place and then a rough sketch is commenced. In the early half of the 20th century just about every British manufacturer had used one at some point and just as many were shipped overseas. Here, finally, was Max’s chance to create a build around the legendary JAP single cylinder engine. “There was a local speedway track that we went to every Thursday night…I got my first whiff of methanol and castor oil.”įast forward to 2018 and a client showed Max a picture of a 1940’s black race car he found in a book and said “I like the feel of this,” and left the project at that. During the summers in Northern England, there was a local speedway track that we went to every Thursday night we could get a ride and although JAP wasn’t being raced anymore, I got my first whiff of methanol and castor oil,” Max remembers fondly. My parents went their separate ways when I was around three years old and I grew up splitting my time 50/50 between my Mother in England and my Father in New York. “I have been wanting to use a JAP engine for as long as I can remember. But in his latest work we get perhaps our greatest insight yet from the vivid memories of a childhood Atlantic crossing comes the extraordinary Hazan Motorworks 1938 JAP 500. His creations are known the world over, museums count them among their most prized possessions and even the late great Anthony Bourdain spent time trying to understand what makes Max such a master of his craft. The truth is we’ve run out of superlatives to describe the motorcycle building genius that is LA’s Max Hazan.
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