I’ve never hidden my unabashed admiration for EJ Potter. He was one of the coolest guys I ever got the speak to for interviews and general conversation and I believe that he had one of the neatest careers in the history of drag racing. From the V8 bikes that launched him to the wild and weird contraptions he dreamed up and built to race for the crowds of the 1960s and 1970s, the guy was a mechanical genius and a speed obsessed maniac (in a good way!). As we reported, Potter passed away last year and now that he is gone, some of his old stuff is hitting the block on eBay. The first thing is Widowmaker #7, the last bike that EJ built and rode as part of the famed Widowmaker line of V8 exhibition cycles.
Potter last rode this bike in 1999 at the Super Stock Reunion at Virginia Motorsports Park. We’ve run video of EJ’s runs that day which were wild because he climbed on this bastard after being away from it for like 15 years! As you’ll see if you watch the videos, he rode the bike like he had been doing it all along.
This machine is being sold by a man named Clyde Hensley. Hensley owns this bike as well as at least one of the early bikes that EJ rode which he had named “Bloody Mary”. Apparently he will be selling off all of his stuff over time, so we’ll keep you updated on when that bike and the collection of Ed Roth stuff he has amassed hit the airwaves. I thought it was pretty neat that Hensley referenced the story about all of the hot rodding heroes that passed away in 2012 in this listing as I wrote the story and passage in it about Potter. I always thought it was an honor that I could call EJ up and chat or ask him questions about a story I was working on and he would listen. I miss being able to do that.
One last thing that is significant about this bike over all of the others, it was the fastest. EJ rode this one to three records including AHRA marks and most importantly the Guinness World Record for “World’s Fastest Motorcycle” in the early 1970s. Amazingly this motorcycle with its alcohol injected small bloc Chevy, direct chain drive and insane kickstand launches (with wheel speed of 200+ mph when it came of the stand) would run 8.70s at over 170mph through the traps! Michigan Mad Man indeed!
We hope this bike goes to a great home and a place where it can be viewed by lots of people and maybe even taken to events and displayed. It is a great piece of drag racing history!
Thanks to Corey Stainbrook for the tip!
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That bike is BAD @$$! who needs a clutch drop when you can just drop the tire!
Yes, the thing is soo clean and simple!
I saw EJ in 1965 when I was 10 years old. I have been hooked on drag racing ever since.
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Last “runs” were on the old Moroso Motorsports park road course,
as the people running the Hot Rod power tour wouldn’t allow him
to run due to his lack of a licence…
I told them if they actually had a licence for this sort of thing,
Potters would be carved in stone and have the number “1” on it…
Always wanted to ride a V8 Bike but a direct drive one like this still scares me? Then again those stupis Boss Hoss bikes with the engine longways seem more stupid so Guess I’ll drive a Widowmaker then!
May be the coolest thing ever done IMO!