CLASSIC MOTOCROSS IRON: 1971 VAN TECH HARLEY BAJA 100

BY TOM WHITE

Bill Van Tichelt was a mechanical engineer, and Bill’s father was a toolmaker. Bill’s passion was karting, and in 1961 he designed a reed valve intake manifold for the popular McCulloch kart engine that sold like popcorn at the movies. By 1962, Van Tech had sold over 10,000 manifolds. Just for fun, Bill made a little play bike for a young kart driver they sponsored. Though it was a very basic design that used their own frame, bicycle wheels and a McCulloch MAC7 kart engine, in an informal drag race with a street bike friend, their machine was 100 yards ahead. The next step was to build a sturdier chassis and install a dirt bike engine with a gearbox. They chose a Yamaguchi 80cc engine that was imported from Japan by Pabatco. Yes, the same Pabatco that would later import Hodakas.

Van Tech’s big break came when Grant Industries (Grant piston rings) contacted them about a joint venture in motorcycle manufacturing. The “Grant Van Tech Kit Program” resulted in an assortment of chassis parts that enabled 100cc Honda, Yamaha or Bridgestone owners to very economically build a serious dirt bike. From your donor bike, you could build a Van Tech scrambler, road racer, desert bike or a flat-tracker. The Van Tech frame was lighter, stronger and handled better than any of the other small-bore machines of the day. The frame and rear swingarm kit sold for $595. The seat, tank, fork adapter and pegs would add another $200 to the price. 

MXA’s featured Van Tech uses a Harley-Davidson Baja 100cc engine. Harley’s two-stroke engine came from Aermacchi in Italy and was equipped with a Hooker Header expansion chamber. All Van Tech frames could be purchased with a sculptured alloy tank and the choice of a TT saddle or a motocross seat. Everything else (e.g., wheels, carb, forks, shocks, brakes, triple clamps and bars) came from the stock Harley Baja. There were Van Tech frame kits for the Honda S-90, Yamaha 60, 80, 100, 100 Twin, 125 and 175, Suzuki 80, 100 and 120, Kawasaki 85, 100 and 120, Bridgestone 90 and 100, Hodaka 90 and 100, and Harley Baja 100. Custom options were also available.

For collectors, any restoration Van Tech project needs the polished aluminum tank, double-loop frame (painted in 1966 Ford Guardsman Blue), polished aluminum engine mounts and right-side brake pedal, and the cool TT saddle or Van Tech seat with rear fender loop. Van Tech also made a popular leading-link fork—a real bonus for collectors. The Early Years of Motocross Museum values its featured Harley Baja Van Tech at $10,000.