There never was a circuit like the Daytona beach and probably never will be again.

With its half sand, half road construction it was really 2 different races joined together – literally – in the middle. Since the bikes raced were basically roadsters, how well did they cope on the sand and what change in riding technique was necessary to move from sand to tarmac and back again for 200 miles?   What better way to find out than ask the men who came first and second in 1954 – Bobby Hill and Dick Klamfoth. I interviewed both by phone.

In '53 you both rode OHC Nortons, then the AMA banned them forcing you both to change bike - how did the BSA twin compare with previous bikes?
Hill – I only rode Nortons at Daytona and Dodge city - they were a real challenge on a sandy Kansas track. Harley and Indian had good traction and were best on the dirt, Brits were best on tarmac. The 54 twin was a lovely bike, the gearchange and throttle were very sweet. The 55 twin was not as good – like a different bike.
Klamfoth – The OHC Nortons were really pre-war in design and even when prepared by Francis Beart were slower than the Harleys by 1953. You absolutely could not exceed 6400 rpm on the Norton. When OHC was banned I had to find another bike to ride. It sure wasn’t going to be a Harley! So I went with BSA. You both rode twins in ’54.
 

All the works bikes in ’54 had the special Pike rigid frame – so how did Klamfoth come to race a swing-arm bike?
Hill – I had ridden Indian twins so I thought I would try a BSA twin. And it had a rigid frame like my Indian which I was used to.
Klamfoth – I was given a rigid bike but it went sour before the race. The springer was the only spare – we didn’t even have time to fix the rough jetting. The swing-arm added about 30 pounds to the weight of the bike.

This was the first time you had raced a BSA – what preparation did you go through before the race?
Hill – I arrived a week and a half before Daytona to get familiar with the controls – there was a big difference from my Indian with hand change! We did plug chops by making a mile marker on the jungle road by marking a mile on the jungle where we would stop and check. Before the race the bikes kept at Daytona in a 2 car garage near a river bridge. They were serviced and the carburation set.
Klamfoth – I arrived a week before to get jetting and pipes right. In 54 I did my setup on the Jungle road but it could be a dangerous place because the canopy of trees made it dark and the road under could be wet. At later Daytonas I found a quieter road a few miles away.

First of all, the beach. What was it like riding a road bike on the sand?
Hill – It could be pretty dirty if you got behind someone. I had a powder puff on my glove back to clean goggles and I would change goggles at the fuel stop. You needed a close 3rd gear for the beach if there was a wind like there was in ‘54. The wind could make a big difference to your speed. The start time was when the tide was fully in and it receded as the race progressed. The hardest sand at was at the edge of the tide and that was where you wanted to be. Riders would go from standing starts in rows of 10-12 with 5 second intervals between that they would account for at the end. Klamfoth – The technique was to get your butt off the seat slightly. The wind would put ripples in the sand that were quite hard and could throw the bike about if you crossed them at speed. You often had to run 3rd gear on the sand to keep going. Tyres were not great - but they didn’t know any better then!

What about the tarmac?
Hill – The back straight had lots of undulations. I had a sponge fitted to gas tank – at 130mph on the back straight those undulations would bash your chin bad. As you approached the end of the back straight there were markers on the road you used to tell you when you were 300, 200 then 100 yds. from the corner.
Klamfoth – Chin down on the sand is OK, you would hit your chin off the gas tank on the back straight but holding your head up gives you a real sore neck after 200 miles. The back straight had wavy rubber marks every 50 feet or so showing where bikes had been in the air. If it seems scary then let me tell you about the time I rode round the Isle of Man with Geoff Duke – that was terrifying! Duke told me the key to the Isle of Man was memorising the circuit, but it had taken him 2 years and I believe him.

Finally... what about the corners!!
Hill - It didn’t take long before there were big ruts on the turns. At the corners there was a kind of shale that could be very slippy and you had to get your approach speed just right, on a low gear at 45mph.
Klamfoth - There could be BIG ruts at the corners! Some guys tried to run around them but you were best to stay in them – I chose my favourite groove! Nortons were difficult to slide on the turns but the BSA was much better with more radius. As you left the staight there was a mix of Coral and dirt that was tricky but it was soft sand after that.