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1977 Race Inc. RA-7

Race Inc. RA-7 Airfoil Top Tube - Original Condition / Original Owner


     Purchased new in 1978 from Hank & Frank Bicycles in Oakland Ca. when they were still on E14th St next to Lake Merritt.  This frame is in it's original, survivor condition - original classic 1970's gold anodizing, original head tube and down tube decals.  Purchased as a complete, the stem & forks (1978 1st gen), and bars are original to this bike.   This frame has the diamond dropouts, large triangle above the brake bridge, uncommon Airfoil TT, and the pre-1978 bisecting weld of the lug behind the BB.  Ano and decals are far from perfect, but the frame itself it in beautiful shape - all the way down to the drops (the og dropout washers, always).  No damaged seatpost mast, no chain rub, no cracks or re-welds.   
      This bike has been a rider since the day she was new, and still is today.  As a result, she is not era-correct and you can see the evolution through the decades.  Almost all the parts replaced were bought new at the time from Hank & Frank, because I never went anywhere else.  That would include the brake sets, wheel sets, head set, bottom bracket, seat, power disc, and pedals.  Some parts (seatpost, cranks, chainring, and some hard-to-find small stuff) have been sourced over the past decade in mint condition (nos, show mounted, or whatever).  I've been riding this bike for so long, it's like a pair of favorite driving gloves.  Fits like a second skin - no thinking necessary, the bike just responds to my wishes.  And I'm very close to how I always wanted her when I was a kid.  1st pic is most recent.
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    I have chronicled a history of the RA-7 at the bottom of this page.   
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BREAKDOWN:

Frame:  1977 Race Inc. RA7 Airfoil TT
                 original anodizing, original HT & DT decals


Forks:  1978   Mongoose / DeCoster            (original)
                  1st Gen., og condition
                  7/8" legs, lrg. boss
                  nos decal - incorrect, better colors

                 
Stem:  1978 Mongoose Gold Stem           (original)
                  1st Gen., og condition, og decal
   Headset:   Tange MX-2
  Headset Lock:  Tange LP-440   
   Dirt Skirt:   SST
                      Yeah, it's installed upside down on purpose... fear of trapped water.


Bars:   Race Inc. - 23.5" x 7" rise           (original)
   Grips:  ODI Rogue

Cranks:  Takagi Cr-Mo 180 mm x 28 tpi
   Bottom Bracket:  Tange Seiki Co. loose ball, 28 tpi

   Bottom Bracket Lock:  6061 Al, 28 tpi  - Custom made
   Bearing Cap:  ODI Mushroom
   Spider:  Tuf Neck Power Disc
   Chain Ring:  Tuf Neck - 46t
   Chain:  KMC Z Chain
   Pedals:  Suntour XC-II

Rims:  Araya Super 7x - 36h
   Hubs:  GT Mohawk - 1st Gen, 36h
                    precision sealed, hollow axle, rear flip-flop
   Freewheel:  Shimano SF-MX30 - 16t
  Tensioners:  Sinz         **** 5/2013  I decided I don't like the look, they're gone.
   Tires:    I thrash on tires - whatever I'm riding

                 

Brakes:  Dia Compe MX1000
               F/R set, dated 4/82 & 5/81

   Line:   Odyssey
   Levers:  Odyssey Pitbull
   Hoods:  Dia Compe
   Sleeves:  Tioga
   Pads:  Kool-Stop Eagle 2 


Seat:  Mongoose - padded, leather
                            - made by Velo
   Seatpost:   Tioga Layback Chro-moly
                     Tioga Stamped, 13/16"
                      og chrome and decal
   Clamp:  Atomic Industries
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Stored:  Original Ashtabula Cranks - dated 1978
              Original Schwinn Headset
              Original Schwinn Bottom Bracket - 28 tpi
              Original (to the Calipers) Dia Compe Tech-2 Brake Levers

Head tube Angle:       70.5°
Fork Rake:                  15/16"
Seat tube Angle:        68°
BB Height:                  12"
Wheelbase:                37.5"
Crank Length:            180 mm
Gearing:                    46t x 16t
Weight:                      22.3 lbs  

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4/20 2013 ride

   


Some older pic's with the original Ashtabula cranks (now stored)





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                                                           Race Inc. RA-7 History
                                            The Race Inc connection to FMF, Cycle Pro,
                                                SE Racing, Peugeot, Laguna, and more
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   Bill Bastian starts a frame fabrication company in 1973, under the name Race Inc (BMX Action, June 1983, pg 41).  As an OEM, the first contracts the company receives are thru AAA for the Rascal, and Kawasaki for the BX series.  The Rascal only enjoyed a very limited run as it was not really marketed at all.  The Kawasaki frames came out just as suspension frames were going extinct, and instead of going to a rigid frame design, the motorcycle company decided to bail out of BMX in 1977 (?).  But you can see with these frames, especially the Rascal, how the concepts for the RA-7 were starting to form. 

     Bill B develops his concepts, and in 1976 starts production of the first Race Inc frames - what will become known as the RA-7, one of the first 6061 T6 Aluminum Alloy T.I.G. welded BMX frames.  Every step in the process has an almost fanatical attention to detail.  Each frame is fixture welded - clamped solid until the entire welding process is complete.  After welding, the frames are stress-relieved for one hour at 650°F to remove stresses that may have occurred in the tube junctures from welding.  Tension in the tubes can cause the frame to slightly twist out of alignment as it heats and softens.  This step is a bonus feature;  Bill could have manufactured his frames without this step.  After stress-relief, the frames are heat-treated to approximately 1000°F then spray quenched in water.  Each still soft frame is inserted in a special frame fixture and meticulously checked over by hand, confirming specifications and alignment.  The frames are then "cooked" for eight hours at  650°F to bring them up to T6 hardness.  The craftsmanship is impressive, even by today's standards.
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    The RA-7 is a Pro size frame with a 20" top tube, and a Jr version was also made (the RA-8).  The most distinguishing characteristics are the aluminum alloy material, the looptail design, the welds (the "stack-of-dimes" effect), and the diamond dropouts.  These first frames were missing the brake bridge until late '76, when it was added and other modifications were considered for the upcoming year.  Most of these frames do not have serial numbers, and of those that do have them, they are located on the bottom bracket shell.  There is no organization to these numbers.  These first frames have Race Inc's first generation decals (oval, blue on chrome). 
***Opinion:  I have pic's of these BB numbers on early [i]'76 Race Inc's and FMF's, and '77 Cycle Pro's - og finish/decals.  I also have pic's of all three companies, same years, all og, without any numbers.  And pic's of subsequent years, same results.  Early numbers may be 4 - 6 digits long?  Up to 8 digits long -  for the late 1970's?  I don't know.  In doing this research, I came to understand that Bill B wasn't the most organized person, and identification markers for later archive purposes were not really his concern.[/i] ***
 
    In early 1976, Scot Breithaupt forms the BMX division for FMF.  Bill makes both of his frames available to Scot, to be sold under FMF's name as the "Team Replica" and the "Jr Pro".  That year, Scot Breithaupt and Jeff Utterback take the RA-7 (Team FMF) to #1 and #3 in the NBA Nationals (BMX Action, Dec 1976 & Feb 1977). 
    Also in late 1976/early 1977, the RA-7 was marketed to Peugeot as the Race 1 MX (BMX Action, Feb 1977, pg 16).  Peugeot later changed the name to the CPX-500 (1978?).  Remember, up to this point, Race Inc has been purely an OEM fabrication shop.  Although the company finally had a logo to attach to their frames - and even had big name racer Harry Leary sportin' their colors (BMX Action, Dec 1976, pg 23) -  Bastian did not seem to be interested in marketing the Race Inc name. 
    An alteration is done to FMF's RA-7, and a hole is punched out of the front gusset, probably to differentiate between companies.  Two years later, Laguna puts out an advertisement for their GT, featuring the RA-7  with this same hole in the front gusset.  However, it seems that most Laguna GT's sold did not have this front gusset hole.  I don't know.  The only Laguna GT I have seen with this feature is in this advertisement (BMX Action, Oct 1978, pg 30). 
    ***Opinion:  This front gusset hole is known primarily as a feature of FMF.  When I found this ad, it blew a rather strong held theory away.  I'm thinking it's possible that this front gusset hole originally was meant for any RA-7 that was not a Race Inc.  But because that required organization, that quickly went out the window.  Laguna ended up getting whatever RA-7's were available, as did Cycle Pro.  This might help explain why some early RA-7's have serial #'s on the BB housing and some do not.  Scot kept with the plan, and most FMF's ended up with this front gusset hole.  This is all speculation.  I say most because I have come across unconfirmed FMF's without this gusset hole.  I feel more confirmation is needed before I can truly separate any of this info from "opinion".  ***   

    In 1977, Race Inc experiments with modifications to their Pro size RA-7.  A brake bridge is added, the size of the triangle behind the seat mast is altered (at random, it seems), and a different top tube is introduced - taken from Bill's earlier work, borrowed from the Kawasaki and Rascal.  When I was a kid, we called it an Airfoil top tube (also BMX Action, Sept. 1979, pg. 32), and it seemed to me to be the logical progression for the RA-7, to eliminate the space between the top tube and down tube at the head tube, completing the triangle (seat mast - head tube - bottom bracket) and making a structurally stronger frame. 
    With the exception of the brake bridge (a permanent addition), these modifications did not replace the original RA-7, they just became different unofficial "models".  No name or model number distinction was ever made, but both of these top tube designs were sold under Race Inc (In my mind, I call the Airfoil design the RA-7A).  Both were offered and sold under the Cycle Pro label, and sold as the "Spoiler" (Round TT) and the "Foiler" (Airfoil TT).  Race Inc and Cycle Pro were the only companies to offer the RA-7A.  Both Race Inc models came with Race Inc's second gen, and more familiar, decals (shield, blue and red on white).  The blue oval decals were not used again and are primarily a feature of the '76 frames.     
   
    As a "rule", Race Inc was the only company to have the RA-7 done in blue anodizing.  However, like any good Race Inc "rule", this one is broken as well - this time by Cycle Pro's Spoiler.  Some came in blue ano.  I don't know if CP got any Foiler's in blue, as I have only seen one blue ano RA-7A.  It's a Race Inc here in the Museum, og condition/decals, and doesn't have the diamond dropouts (post-1979).  This rule is complicated by the fact that Laguna did an RA-7 in blue epoxy, and further complicated by Laguna doing some of their other frames in blue anodizing - just not the RA-7.   Laguna did have an anodized RA-7, but only in gold.
***Opinion:  Because of Bill's lack of organization, I believe the only way to tell the difference between these companies selling the RA-7 is by the original decals.  Almost every rule has exceptions, and many examples of such exceptions.  I think the man just liked to make BMX frames, and liked to modify them.  I even have pic's of a blue ano, no brake bridge RA-7 (1976, no decals, no serial #'s) that doesn't have the gusset over the bottom bracket.  That says something, I just don't know what ***

    1978 sees Scot B leaving FMF and forming SE Racing.  Bill and Scot design and produce SE Racing's JU6, Jeff Utterback's signature ride.  Scot looks for ways to improve efficiency, and eliminates a complication that will open the door for new idea's later for SE Racing.  The lug behind the bottom bracket on the RA-7 is a complicated piece to make in the mid '70s.  It was made by rolling a section of flat aluminum stock to form and shape the flat, oval tube.  Then it was welded down the seam before it was applied between the BB and the chain stays.  SE Racing hires Alcoa Inc. to make the tooling necessary to create a seamless flat/oval tube - and floval tubing is invented, having never existed before in BMX.  Once SE starts making this seamless flat/oval lug, they went on all RA-7's made by Race Inc, regardless of what company's decals were to go on - and the bisecting weld of this lug was history.  This is one definitive way to date the RA-7, but only as it confirms 1976 & '77 (with the weld) or 1978 to 1984 (without).  This is one rule that is concrete. 

    In mid/late 1979, Bill replaces the diamond dropouts on the RA-7 with SE Racing's style of dropouts.  This is another definitive date point, and the beginning of the RA serial numbers.  Unfortunately these numbers, again, have no logical progression.  And it is difficult to tell the difference between a "new dropout" 1979 or 1980.  For this reason, frames with RA serial #'s are considered 1980+.  But, in true Race Inc fashion, there are exceptions (of course).  There are some RA-7's with diamond dropouts out there that have RA serial #'s - I even have pic's of a Raleigh Rampar with diamond drops and RA #'s (it's not an RA-7, but still interesting).  In my research I have come across some bazaar combinations, which just backs up my theory of Bill just wanting to make and modify frames - a kind of mix-and-match mentality. 
    Bill and Scot continue to work together until 1981, when Scot takes SE Racing "in house".  Even after the "split", the two continue to work together.  Bill still uses Scot's floval tubing and dropouts.  In 1981, SE Racing puts out their second (of three different) versions of the Basher, which is an Aluminum alloy RA-7 (round TT).  Race Inc fabricated the P.K. Ripper to SE Racing's specifications in the 1980's (BMX Action, June 1983, pg 42).  An interesting side-note; there are a handful of P.K.'s out there with the diamond dropouts (maybe 5), and they are very rare. 
    In 1983, Race Inc comes out with the RA-10, which is an Aluminum alloy, round tube, geometric copy of the looptail PK Ripper.  And in 1983-1984, Perry Kramer rides and manages the Race Inc BMX team with Mickey Lundy.  Race Inc closes shop in 1984.  The RA-7 was made the entire time the company was in business, but was never sold by Race Inc as a complete, only as a box package.  The first, and only, complete bike Race Inc put out was the RA-24 in late 1983 (BMX Plus, Oct 1983, pg 64).
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A full bibliography of my research to follow.  Feel free to discuss and/or correct.