Rikard Gustafsson from turbo to nitro
Rikard Gustafsson is a class of his own in Funny Bike. His 6.36 seconds at Santa Pod is still unchallenged and with his Funny Bike the Swede was, more often than they wanted, too fast for the Top Fuel Bikes he had to face. But this season the turbo wizard will enter unknown territory – nitro – as Gustafsson will debut a brand new Top Fuel Bike.
If there would have been a European Championship for Funny Bikes only, Rikard Gustafsson would have won a handful of titles. Already quite a while, the now 47-year-old Gustafsson has been in a class of his own in Funny Bike and respected and admired by racers and fans. And it’s not only the way Gustafsson tunes the bike, it’s also the way he rides it, from the start line to the finish line with the front wheel inches above the ground.
Gustafsson lives just outside Falkenberg, on the west coast of Sweden and is the owner of RG Engineering. “I founded the company in 1992. We work with all kind of motorcycles and engines for both street and racing. Dyno tuning is also a big part of our business. Racing was the reason to start RG Engineering, to make enough money to race. I started to race my street bike and when it became too extreme for use on the public roads, I started to race on the tracks. I only raced in classes that I was able to race with my Funny Bike, like Competition Bike, Top Eliminator and Top Fuel Bike. I am most proud of the 6.36 seconds at Santa Pod, and to be able to do this with my sons and friends”, Rikard says.
But now, in 2015, Gustafsson will start ‘a new career’ with riding a Top Fuel Bike, something he is really looking forward to. The reason for this change is quite simple. “To be able to race on the same conditions in the Top Fuel class. I will do one or two races with the Funny Bike and start testing with the fuel bike in June I hope. Maybe I’ll race some events later this season with it. I see 2015 as a testing year for the new fuel bike. I will race the FIM series and also do some of the EDRS Pro Nordic MC races as a testing opportunity. I don’t know if I’ll race the Funny Bike too in the future, or concentrate on the Top Fuel Bike only, I haven’t made that decision yet.”
As expected the new Top Fuel Bike is one of a kind. “All is special, it’s a 1550cc Puma Engineering engine with 3 valve head, MTC clutch and Bentec 2 speed transmission. I didn’t built everything myself. I got parts made for me from a lot of friends and fuel bike riders like Gerard Willemse, Per Bengtsson, Peter Svensson, Janne Larsson and a lot of help from Marius van der Zijden. Ian King supplied a lot of the parts and Mats Brag and his son Martin helped with welding and making the body.” An impressive list that in combination with Rikard’s design and construction skills, must be a future winner. But what does he like more, riding or building and engineering? “Riding and working on the bike. Building the bike is like another day at work, because that is part of what I do as a profession.” Does he have any goals for this season? “I always do my best, I can’t do better than this.” And that’s how it is. Rikard will be supported this season by Art Fex, Dalhems. Goproactive, Gryviks Åkeri and EK Chains.
For more pictures of the Top Fuel Bike, visit facebook, RG Engineering Top Fuel Bike
