Superstar rider/tuner Richard Gadson is well-known for his success in the sportbike drag and grudge racing world. Now Gadson is going Bagger drag racing in a big way with Live Oak, California-based V-Twin speed merchants 187 Custom Cycles.
“I would like to say that myself and the rest of the 187 team are looking forward to working and growing with Richard,” said 187 owner Patrick Lynch. “We have some big plans for 2022 in the Bagger world, but also have had conversations leading to bigger things outside of the Bagger world.” Hmmmm…….could Pro Stock Motorcycle be in this team’s future?
Gadson rode Mike Beland’s turbo Bagger “Meth Beth” at the Atlanta AHDRA race last year, but his recent work helping Chris Bostick’s NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle has him on an all-motor binge.
“Anything normally aspirated gets me excited,” said Gadson. “I like the challenges of trying to squeeze every little bit out of something that has limited power. So when Patrick called me about racing his Bagger, I jumped right on it. It’s not my normal sort of gig, but I love racing in all forms. I had been paying attention to the all-motor Baggers for a while now and they always peaked my interest. I’m looking forward to getting on it!”
And on it and on it and on it. “Our current plans are to run 10-12 of the larger events,” said Lynch, and that’s scaled back from 2021’s all-out assault that netted then-187 rider Victor Gotay the AHDRA championship. “I’m personally still not happy with the parity among all the different associations, so we may run a few IHDRA, a few AMRA and will definitely be at AHDRA in Sturgis and the Trick-Tools Eddyville Corn Belt race.
“The team will be based around Crystal (Patrick’s wife/rider Crystal Lynch) and Richard, and I have committed to do whatever it takes to have a winning and successful 2022.
“Current 2022 sponsors are Fuelab, Worldwide Bearings, GRC Crankshafts, M2 Shocks, and many more we are finalizing contracts with.
“We are building two completely new frame-up builds for the 2022 season for Richard— an all-motor Pro Bagger and a nitrous Bagger. He will be using the bike from 2021 (a stock Harley-Davidson FLH frame with a 143 cubic inch Milwaukee 8 weighing in at around 540 pounds) as a spare.”
Sounds like it will be a busy winter for Lynch, who also has the daily grind at 187 to keep up with. “We focus strictly on racing and performance bikes,” said Patrick. “We build everything in-house: engines, custom trees, swingarms—you name it, we build it if it’s for a race bike we are prepping.”
2022 Can’t come soon enough for this team.
Find out more about 187 Custom Cycles at https://www.187customcycles.com/
For additional information about the team and sponsorship opportunities, contact Patrick Lynch at pat@187customcycles.com
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