Customers can become best friends

Customers can become best friends...a story from 2016 which is still ongoing about my buddy Paul Schaeffer.

It all started like this:

serial number plate ending with customer's (Paul's) initials

testing the frame assembly for fit, before shipping

ensuring the tank fits onto the frame without any movement

Paul has been an avid racing motorcycle builder for many years. CMR got to know him through Team Classic Racing USA's captain Dave Crussell. Paul saw the team's new Australian Phillip Island International Challenge bikes being made ready by CMR for the big PIIC Races in January 2016,  and decided to build one. He ordered a CMR Suzuki XR69-GS1100 frame, swing arm, aluminum fuel tank and rear suspension package so he could have the bike ready for testing,then finding a rider for it, for the 2018/19 races in Australia.

fitting the Hindle exhaust to ensure maximum ground clearance

installing the fully floating rear brake torque arm to clear exhaust

Paul's finished colour scheme less fairing left side

Paul's finished colour scheme less fairing right side

Jorge Guerrero testing ground clearance at speed, knee to track

Jorge ready to go!

Jorge Guerrero, Ottis Lance, Paul Schaeffer

Dino Swims and wife Margaret with Jorge

Dino Swims and Ottis Lance

 Here is what the quiet Texan said about the 2019 effort:

• Jorge Guerrero was riding this bike for his very first visit to PI
• David Hirsch assembled the bike for Paul to take to PI in 2019
• Ottis Lance helped assemble the bikes
• Mike Petipas lent his help throughout

All the above are Texas boys. There was also huge support from our Aussie friends.

• Scott Owen, the master engine builder, spent all night before qualifying 2019 to rebuild the engine
• Anthony Bann loaned his entire race kit, tools, tire warmers, etc.
• Paul also mentioned Roger Gunn, Peter 'Bundy' Minahan, Mick Reese and James Ridgeway for putting the team up in their homes
• Paul can't forget Dino Swims who helped tremendously on and off the track. "He is a legend."

For the 2020 campaign in January 2020:

• Jorge Guerrero will be riding again
• David Hirsch has been working nonstop on the bike
• Mike Petipas has been helping with bike preparation again
• Steve Upchurch at Capital Racing Service repaired the 'B' engine in time to ship our crates to Australia
• Keith Hertell at VonHertell in San Antonio tuned the bike with the new carbs

Paul will have the support of his Aussie friends in 2020

In a recent text was Paul's final note of thanks, much appreciated by the team at CMR: "If it wasn't for you, Denis Curtis and CMR, none of this would be possible."

Congratulations to Josh Hayes and Team USA, PIIC 2019

Josh Hayes 2019

Josh Hayes 2019

On January 27th, 2019 CMR Racing Products achieved a career-defining win, when Josh Hayes scored Team USA's first International Challenge victory in race 4 at Phillip Island, Australia. The International Challenge is a series of four races between teams from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK and sometimes Ireland.








Held every January, the PIIC is one of the most prestigious classic motorcycle races in the world, second only to the Classic TT at the Isle of Man in August each year.

Dave Crussell, Josh Hayes, engine guru Larry Cook celebrating
Josh's win in Race 4

And this is how the story began:

Dave Crussell, Team Captain of Team USA, used a CMR frame kit for his Yamaha TZ750 for racing in the inaugural Classic TT on the Isle of Man in 2013. Dave was so impressed with the handling of the bike, completing a fast lap of 107.55 mph with very little practice on the track due to weather and accidents on the island.

He commissioned CMR to build five Australia-spec Yamaha F1-FJ1250 frame kits for Team USA to compete in the 2016 Phillip Island International Challenge.

Great results in 2016 led to Team USA returning to  PI in 2017 and 2018. Denis was invited to accompany the team in 2018. The team had impressive credentials: Colin Edwards, 2x World Superbike champion, Jason Pridmore, 2x World 24-hour Endurance champion and Jake Zemke, 4x AMA champion, all riding on CMR frame-kitted race bikes.

Colin Edwards

The team performed really well, with Jason Pridmore coming to within 0.3 seconds of the lap record, his first time at PI. After the races, Jason told Denis that the CMR-framed Yamaha F1-FJ1250 was "the best-handling bike I've ever ridden."

Denis and Colin Edwards

Jeremy McWilliams, #1 Team UK rider, told Denis that Jason's CMR-framed Yamaha was "impossible to catch" in the more technical sections of the PI track, and that Jason's bike was handling better than McWilliams' own Harris-framed Yamaha. Music to Denis' ears. Jeremy claimed that if Team USA had better engine reliability in 2019, they would be unbeatable.

After the races, Jeremy brought Roger Winfield, UK Team Captain and owner of most of the team's bikes to speak with Denis. Roger asked Denis how CMR frames differed from the Harris frames his team was using, and why the CMR frames handled better.

Team USA 2019

In January 2019 Team USA returned to Australia for the PIIC races, ready for combat. For the past five years Australia and the UK had dominated; 2019 saw Team USA earn their share of podium honours.

Team Captain Dave Crussell and Jason Pridmore attracted a number of very competent US riders. Dave expanded his Mojo Yamaha stable of CMR-framed bikes from three to six. The team ran three additional CMR-framed F1-XR69 machines for a grand total of nine CMR-framed bikes: Dave Crussell, #17 and Barrett Long, #29 rode CMR-framed Mojo Yamaha TZ750s. Micheal Gilbert, #55, Josh Hayes, #4, Larry Pegram, #72 and Steve Rapp, #15 each rode a CMR-framed Mojo Yamaha F1-FJ1250. Jason Pridmore, #43, rode a CMR-framed Yamaha F1-FJ1250 owned by Ralph Hudson, and Dale Quarterly, #5, rode a CMR-framed Yamaha F1-FJ1250 owned by Carry Andrew. Jorge Guerrero, #219 rode a CMR-framed Suzuki XR69-GS1261, owned by Paul Schaeffer.

Micheal Gilbert's CMR-framed Yamaha F1-FJ1250
owned by Dave Crussell

Four of the Team USA racers, all of CMR-framed bikes, were in the Top 10 of accumulated points in the four-race series: Josh Hayes place third, Larry Pegram 5th, Micheal Gilbert 6th, and Barrett Long 10th.

Over the previous five years, Team Australia and Team UK had dominated. In 2019 Team USA came within 43 points of winning top honours.

Thanks to Team USA for believing in CMR Racing Products!