1990 Jawa SOHC Four-valve Long Track Racing Motorcycle, Frame no. N-007 Engine no. 896-247

Important Collectors' Motorcycles and Spares
1990 Jawa SOHC Four-valve Long Track Racing Motorcycle
Frame no. N-007
Engine no. 896-247
The sports of speedway, grass track, and long track racing are closely related, the principal differences being the composition of the track surface and the length of the circuit, long tracks typically being 800-1,000 metres in length compared to around 400 metres or less for a speedway venue. The machines too share many basic characteristics, though long trackers are lengthier and have two-speed gearboxes and different, longer-travel front suspension. With their much longer straights, long tracks allow for significantly higher speeds. Long track engines will, generally, be tuned for greater top-end power to take advantage of these long straights.

Just as in speedway, the JAP engine ruled the roost in long track's formative years, before the Czech-built Jawa/ESO began to assert itself in the early 1960s. In turn, Jawa's dominance of both speedway and long track racing would be challenged by the four-valve Weslake engine, and Jawa responded by introducing a new double-overhead-camshaft, four-valve motor in the late 1970s. Available in speedway/long track variants as the Type 894/895, this engine was adequately powerful (producing up to 65bhp) but rather top heavy, and was superseded by the more compact, single-overhead-camshaft Type 896/897, this being the final development of Jawa's classic upright single.

As well as winning the Speedway World Championship Final on six occasions, Ivan Mauger won the World Long Track Championship three times: 1971, 1972, and 1976. When he finally retired from active European competition in 1985, Ivan switched to promoting events, and this particular machine was used by several riders during his long track promotions in the 1990s. The machine was supplied by Jawa as a rolling chassis, and built up by Ivan to his own specification. Ivan fully restored this bike in his Australian workshop in 2004/2006 and used it consistently after he had retired from competitive racing for demonstrations while promoting Long track racing throughout Australia and New Zealand.