Michael Scott | June 22, 2022
Cycle News In The Paddock
COLUMN
End Of An Era
The death of Steve Harris, 77, last week marks the end of an era—when a single or a small group of independent engineers could play a major part in the motorcycle industry.
Essentially self-taught and working with younger brother Lester and old schoolfriend Steve Bayford, Steve built racing and road chassis for privateers and factories, assembled complete motorcycles, designed and sold accessories and played a significant role from street level all the way to MotoGP and World Superbikes.
As well as one-off racing frames for riders including Barry Sheene, Harris Performance Products were also selected (along with French constructors ROC) by Yamaha to build works-replica grand prix chassis for YZR500 engines, run by several private teams between 1992 and 1996.
One of the Hertfordshire firm’s first landmarks was converting Yamaha TZ250/350 production racers from twin-shock to monoshock. Racing star Steve Parrish was an early customer. “Back then, whatever you needed doing—from footpegs to a full chassis—Harris were very good at making what everybody wanted. Steve was the go-to guy.”
Parrish remained a close friend, and had plenty more to do with the firm, including when they developed a chassis for the FZ750 engine, backed by Yamaha importers Mitsui, for British Superbikes.
Harris also worked closely with Suzuki, designing and developing a bike for the factory World Superbike team, and running the team for its early years.
The high point in racing was manufacturing the grand prix chassis and running the Shell-backed Harris 500 GP team from 1992 to 1996.
Steve was always the public face of the firm.
At the same time Harris Performance worked in the background with many firms in the industry, while to most motorcyclists they were best known for the Harris Magnum. This was built in large numbers (“probably more than 1000,” according to Bayford) and through five iterations through the 1980s and 1990s.
Specialist racing engineering was rife in the Hertfordshire/Essex border area, for karts and cars as well as bikes, and after serving his apprenticeship Steve worked in the field before the firm was first established, in an old mushroom farm in Roydon.
Lester Harris recalls: “There were three of us with different abilities that complemented each other. Steve was the instigator, and in many ways the driving force. He was gregarious, always looked at the big picture, and felt that anything was possible.
“At the time, motorcycle technology was quite basic. There were a lot of good engines, but chassis design wasn’t so good.
“The Magnum established the firm. We had built an endurance racing chassis for Mike Trimby and Andy Goldsmith, and Steve said, ‘It’s almost a road bike—it has lights, and electrics.’
“The first version in 1980 wasn’t very good looking, and in 1982 we got Target Design to do some more stylish bodywork for the Magnum 2.” At first it was designed around a Kawasaki Z1 engine, but over the next two decades, versions were made with Honda and even Laverda engines. “The Suzuki GSX1100 was the most numerous,” said Lester.
“Steve was the instigator, and in many ways the driving force. He was gregarious, always looked at the big picture, and felt that anything was possible.” ~Lester Harris
Steve was an inspirational engineer, in an era when independent chassis makers—among them Nico Bakker, Tony Foale and Colin Seeley—were able to improve on the output of the factories. “For Steve, if it looked right, it was right—and it usually was,” said Bayford.
The firm was sold to Royal Enfield, a long-standing client, in 2015, and the Harris brothers retired. After a long illness, Steve succumbed to Parkinson’s disease on June 15. He is survived by his wife, schoolday’s sweetheart Gillian, and two children, James and Katie. CN
HARRIS PERFORMANCE LANDMARKS
1972: Converting Yamaha TX250/350 chassis to monoshock
1980: Harris Magnum Kawasaki endurance racer modified for the road
1980: Chassis for Barry Sheene GP Yamaha
1984: Chassis for Barry Sheene GP Suzuki
1992: Harris-Yamaha 500cc GP bikes
1996: Suzuki World Superbike team design and management
2003: WCM MotoGP chassis