Jeff Willis takes Best-in-Show with 1966 Harley Sprint racer

Story by Bill Kresnak, photos by Bill Andrews

Jeff Willis of South Point, Ohio, rolled his classic motorcycle into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Concours d'Elegance competition amid scores of other immaculate machines.

After seeing the other machines, he didn't think his 1966 Harley-Davidson CRS-Sprint would win the top honors.

He was wrong.

"It's very surprising," Willis said after learning his machine had won the Best-in-Show award in the prestigious event on Sunday, October 5. "It was totally unexpected because there are a lot of nice bikes here."

The Concourse d'Elegance, in its second year, was a popular attraction during the Motorcycle Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Museum next to AMA headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio.

The prize-winning Harley is number 243 of 350 CRS-Sprint race bikes built in 1966. The bike was built to race scrambles, and featured a 250cc, overhead-cam, four-stroke motor. The motor pumped out 28 horsepower at 8,500 rpm, and had a top speed of 84 mph at 9,000 rpm.

Willis said He used to see the bike sitting on a trailer near where he used to ride dirtbikes back in 1972 but he didn't think a lot of it. But he saw it again in 1999 and bought it.

Willis, who has been restoring motorcycles professionally for the past five years, said he'd worked on the bike off and on since he bought it to get it into the immaculate condition that it is in today.

The hardest part in restoring the bike was simply finding the parts, he said, because the Sprint race bike parts were almost all different from the street-going Sprint. All the parts in the motor were different, the fender, seat and tank were different, and even the brake and clutch levers were special.

By taking top honors, Willis takes home a traveling trophy featuring a bust of legendary racer Jim Davis. Last year, John Lovat earned the prestigious award with an immaculately restored 1966 BSA Spitfire Mk. II, which was also on display this year.

So will Willis be back next year?

Yes, he said. In fact, he's in the process of restoring a BSA right now.

© 2003, Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

The 2nd Annual Motorcycle Hall of Fame Concours d'Elegance

Click for a panoramic view of the Concours d'Elegance

Spectators stroll past a few of the many bikes on display.	Autographed by none other than Tom Penton himself.
Tom McKee's H-D Aermacchi Flat Tracker.	Ogling and Indian.
Ray Corlew's 1953 Triumph Terrier T15.	From the custom category: a '72 VR880 owned by Joe Adams.
The British contingent.	First Place, Custom/Specials: Brent Mayfield's 1948 Panhead bobber.
Another Mayfield bike, a Vincent Black Shadow.	Third Place, British: Bill Goetzmann's 1968 Norton Dunstall Dominator
Pure art: a deco Indian rig.	Another shot of Goetzmann's bike.
Steve Passwater's 1975 CB400F: only 5,152 original miles!	How this for a show setup! Kerry Kubena babysits his 1944 BSA WD M-20.

Winners by class Jim Davis Award: Best in Show Jeff Willis, 1966 Harley-Davidson CRS-Sprint Preservation Award Christopher Scott, 1925 Harley Davidson JD AHRMA 1st Ace Classic Cycles, 1970 Triumph/VMC Flattracker 2nd Peter Knick, 1978 Harley Davidson MX250 Champion 3rd Ray Corlew, 1954 Triumph Terrier Competition 1st Phil Franz, 1934 Harley Davidson Hillclimber 2nd Jim Oldiges, 1970 Harley Davidson XR-750 3rd James Stephen Godo, 1974 CCM Grand Prix Motocross Custom 1st Brent Mayfield, 1948 Harley Davidson Bobber, Custom 2nd Joe Adams, 1972 Norton VR880 Commando 3rd Keith Hogland, 1965 Velocette Venom Clubman Veeline European 1st Darrel Spinosi, 1953 Zundapp KS601 2nd Ron Neely, 1965 BMW R60/2 3rd James Stephen Godo, 1973 Bultaco Tiron Japanese 1st Aaron Story, 1974 Kawasaki Z-1 2nd Steve Passwater, 1975 Honda CB 400 F 3rd Bob Brandner, 1972 Honda CL175 British 1st Kerry Kubena, 1968 Triumph Daytona 2nd Ray Corlew, 1953 Triumph Terrier-T15 3rd Bill Goetzmann, 1968 Norton Dunstall Dominator American 1st Richard Spagnolli, 1940 Indian 4 2nd R.B. McClean, 1925 Excelsior SuperX 3rd Michael Shrader, 1954 Harley Davidson FL