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Hesketh V1000 Vampire

Make Model	Hesketh V1000 Vampire
Year	1982 - 83
Engine	Four stroke, V-twin, 4 valve per cylinder
Capacity	992 cc / 60.5 cu-in
Bore x Stroke	70 x 95 mm
Cooling System	Air cooled
Compression Ratio	9.5;1
Induction	2X 36mm Dell'Orto carburetors
Ignition	Lucas Rita electronic
Starting	Electric
Max Power	82 hp / 61 kW @ 6800 rpm
Max Torque	105 Nm / 78 lb-ft @ 5400 rpm
Transmission	5 Speed
Final Drive	Chain
Front Suspension	Marzocchi telescopic forks
Rear Suspension	Marzocchi air spring preload
Front Brakes	2x 280mm discs
Rear Brakes	Single 280mm disc
Front Tyre	4.10 V19
Rear Tyre	5.10 V17
Weight	245 kg / 540 lbs
Fuel Capacity	20.5 Litres / 5.4 US gal
Standing ¼ Mile	14.1 sec / 99 mp/h
Top Speed	118.5 mph

Conceived by an English lord and built by British craftsmen in the tradition of the Vincent and the Brough Superior, the Hesketh is a natural aristocrat among modern motorcycles. Fittingly, perhaps, it is also extremely rare. The fully-faired Vampire version is the rarest of them all.

The enterprise was not planned that way. Originally, the motor-racing peer Lord Hesketh planned for series production rising to 100 per month, but the original bike ran into trouble with press criticism only weeks before production was due to begin, and its showroom debut had to be delayed for six months while a gearchange problem was solved.

When the production lines did start rolling, it was too late to save the company, and they went into liquidation after a year of difficulties. Lord Hesketh personally revived the machine, building them by hand in his castle stable yard; since then, production has moved to London, to a specialist firm called Mocheck.

The Hesketh ended up as many believed it should have begun - as an exclusive craftsman-built special, offering the best of British motorcycling tradition at a premium price.

That tradition includes many fine concepts of which one is accurate and dependable roadholding. There are some who find the Hesketh's steering a little ponderous, but there is no doubt that it sticks to its chosen line like glue.

Another is a high-quality frame, with noteworthy detail work that it takes a craftsman to perform. The Hesketh has a sturdy nickel-plated frame of straight tubes, using the engine and gearbox casing as a stressed member to mount the rear pivoted fork. The quality of the welding is plain to see.

A third is a relaxed engine with a deep exhaust note that delivers ample power and speed without ever sounding as though it is working hard. So it is with the Hesketh. The 1000cc engine has just two cylinders in a well-balanced 90 degree format. At low revs you can count the individual piston strokes; while four-valves per cylinder, a pair of overhead camshafts, and electronic ignition allow the flexible engine free reign to more than 6000rpm.

Every British motorcycle should be allowed a touch of eccentricity. Hesketh's is the full fairing for the Vampire. Painted an extraordinary metallic pink, it blends complete weather protection with an aerodynamic design that is partly futuristic and unique.

Although capable of well over 125mph, the Vampire is better loping along at 100ph, the engine throbbing gently, the fairing cutting a clean path through the wind.

Here it is at its anachronistic best - a machine that is both ancient and modern. It does not do, after all, to hurry an aristocrat.

Is it a worthy successor to the Vincent? Ah well, that is all in the mind. It is after all the only contender, and very few people are ever going to find out, one way or the other.

Silodrome Review

The Hesketh Vampire, and its predecessor the Hesketh V1000, were developed to revive the glory days of the British motorcycle industry. It’s widely believed that the motorcycles were designed to be the modern successors to British motorcycle high-points like the Brough Superior SS100 and the Vincent Black Shadow.

Much like the SS100 and the Black Shadow, the Hesketh Vampire (and the V1000) was powered by a 1000cc V-twin. Before the almost ubiquitous adoption of the British parallel twin, the V-twin was the king of the hill in the British motorcycle world, perhaps the most famous being the early JAP V-twins (named after founder John Alfred Prestwich) used by Brough Superior, Coventry Eagle, and many others.

Hesketh Motorcycles was founded by Lord Hesketh in 1980 to develop an all-new British superbike to trounce the then-dominant Japanese and return Britain to its position at the forefront of the motorcycle industry. By this time Lord Hesketh was already very well known in motoring circles due to his exploits during the 1970s with James Hunt in the world of Formula One.

Lord Hesketh had founded Hesketh Racing in 1972, the team competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1978 famously winning the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix with James Hunt at the wheel. Hesketh Racing was famous for their flamboyant approach to F1, in some ways it was a foretelling of things to come for the sport, and the team was well known for consuming more bottles of champagne on a race weekend than gallons of race fuel.

As a fiercely patriotic Brit, Lord Hesketh was appalled to see the British motorcycle industry almost entirely collapse in the 1970s. By 1980 he was having meetings with engine developers Weslake to get a new 1000cc V-twin designed with double overhead cams per head, four valves per cylinder, with unit construction that incorporated a 5-speed gearbox.

This all-alloy engine was designed from the outset to be a stressed member, and a nickel-plated tubular steel frame was developed. Front suspension consists of Marzocchi forks and there are a pair of matching Marzocchi shock absorbers in the rear. Braking was accomplished with discs front and back, with twin 280mm discs up front and a single 280mm disc in the rear.

Much like the original Brough Superior SS100, the Hesketh Vampire was designed with high-speed, long distance touring in mind. Its engine was capable of 82hp at 6,800 rpm and 78 lb ft of torque at 5,400 rpm, propelling the bike on to a top speed of 138 mph.

The Vampire’s fairing is shaped from fibreglass, it was designed specifically to help cool the engine while the bike was underway, with rear intakes to send a cool stream of air to the rear cylinder heads. There’s comfortable seating for two with grab rails under the pillion seat, and the windshield was designed to send airflow up over the rider’s helmet.

Although the specifications of the Hesketh V1000 were impressive, the bike suffered from a lack of development time. As a result there were some notable reliability issues, when combined with the relatively high price tag the V1000 struggled for sales. Just 140 or so were built before the company went into receivership.

In 1982 Lord Hesketh decided to try again, he had bought the rights to the defunct Hesketh Motorcycle company and working with a small team he released the new Hesketh Vampire – an updated Hesketh V1000 with a large aerodynamic fairing designed for touring.

Sadly many gremlins remained, sales suffered, and just a few dozen Vampires were built. Although you might expect that to be the end of the story it isn’t – the Brits are nothing if not stubborn. Hesketh engineer Mick Broom established Broom Development Engineering in the 1980s and continued to work out the kinks in the engine.

Over the years he consistently developed the engine into a reliable unit and production recommenced in very low numbers – it would stay in production like this for over 30 years. Pre-existing Hesketh owners could ship their engines to Broom for rebuilding, he would then integrate the necessary updates and ship back the engine with it now running like a Swiss watch.

Source Silodrome