Little-Known Bike That Beats the GREATEST! The Surprisingly Tragic Story of Bill Ivy and his JAWA

[@TheMightyAntar]

Thanks for this, I've just been reading Mick Walker's European Racing Motorcycles book, so it was great to see footage of the bikes I've just been reading about & to see Bill Ivy in action.

[@teamgonzo9289]

Rode a "Jawa-400", dirt bike. I was 10 years old the bike scared the living crap out of me!!! 👍

[@harwoods11]

I'm not surprised at 10yrs old. 😂

[@fjp3305]

I bet!

[@shirleydrury5565]

So sad he was master of his trade ❤sadly missed ❤❤

[@grahamrichards8531]

What a great story - as a Kiwi it reminds me of our very own Kim Newcombe and the 4cyl 2 str Konig. He was posthumusly awarded 2nd in the world 500cc class.

[@karlalton3170]

Bill ivy was a popular young man , like a double of Barry Sheene everybody liked him 😁😁🤘🤘

[@rogernevin7461]

A great rider was Bill Ivy, he would have been a multiple world champion. Rip.

[@Barnabasanon]

Jawa is a brand I remember well from my childhood in the 50s and 60s in Norway. They were of course of a simpler type than these, but still fun bikes and there were many of them.

[@gregnorth6413]

Jawa was the poor man's option, better off on a Bantam

[@Barnabasanon]

@@gregnorth6413 I guess so, as people did not have much money in those days. Simple 2 strokes mostly and a few Triumphs!

[@gregnorth6413]

​@@BarnabasanonOf course, Bill and my other early teens favourite, John Cooper both raced Norton's too.

[@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq]

The Czechs did not have access to advanced steels and other alloys that western developers had. I used to have a 125cc CZ motorcycle, very agricultural but also very reliable as well. Bill Ivy was stunt double in the Movie,"Girl on a Motorcycle".

[@albertgatyas6784]

How does agricuktural bike look like? Was IT a traktor?

[@Kordziel]

As a street bike Jawa and CZ both were as good as BMW in reliability in the fifty's and sixty's. Far better than the British or American machines.

[@rudiknapen4867]

@@albertgatyas6784 first learn how to pronounce agricultural my friend

[@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq]

@@albertgatyas6784 "Agricultural", was a description of the 125cc CZ made by LJK Setright, a Journalist who scribbled stuff for Motorcycle News.

[@olio_benzina]

No, Czech precision engineering, manufacturing and materials technology was first class.

[@jimcockburn4652]

RIP Little Bill Ivy.

[@dilwyn1]

Gone sadly, but will never be forgotten. ❤

[@wayno23]

Great story amazing finding all those archives.

[@wierdbike]

Thanks! Yeah, i was making it something like 3 weeks back then🥹

[@wayno23]

@wierdbike well done , love the 2strokes too 👏

[@donr2176]

We followed motorcycle racing all over the UK from 1965-68. including two Isle of Man TT.s '66 and the Diamond centenary of 1967.. Amazing times, following Bill on the Yamaha V-4s and Mike Hailwood on his Honda sixes. At Brands Hatch one time, my brother [6'2"] rushed up to Bill in the Pits area, saying to him- "Bill- You're my hero; can I have your autograph please?" Little Bill's face just lit up, and he signed my brother's race programme, which he still treasures.....he also obtained Agostini's autograph at the same meeting.

[@larslarsman]

In 12 + minutes one of the best racing bios of Bill Ivy. Thanks. Jawa Motocross bikes. Late 60's early 70's Jawa used to advertise that you did not need to use the clutch at the start of a motocross, just jam it in gear for your start of the race, implying a bulletproof gearbox.

[@G58]

Yet they used FOUR different pronunciations of JAWA - the most important word in the whole video! This is not just lazy, it’s absolutely Ludicrous. They clearly didn’t even listen to the finished video before posting.

[@ahsnap9103]

Back in the day starts were in neutral with clutch hand on helmet. 70 and 71 in my area before it went to rubber band starts. There was some gear jamming going on. And you got turned backwards if you jumped early.

[@johnbellamy6449]

we remember Bill Ivy and will always cherish that .

[@terrygreen4449]

He is still much missed. I used to watch him race at Brands Hatch in the late 60s and was at the IoM TT in 1968 when he became the first rider to lap at over 100mph on a 125. Fully the equal of his friends Giacomo Agostini and Mike Hailwood, he had fantastic courage and determination. It was truly scary to watch how close he came to those stone walls. One of the giants of the motorcycle racing world.

[@bakhirun]

The completion of a 100mph lap on the square-four Yamaha was a final and brutal humiliation to the fond "world beater" fantasies cherished by the British. Nevertheless, the factory Yamaha and Suzuki riders were known to have a real "quick draw" on the clutch, as the Japanese machines were prone to seizure early on. Redman once remarked that when drafting the RD-56, he would watch for a telltale puff of smoke from the expansion chambers signaling a lockup of the pistons. Time to move sideways and slip by.

[@terrygreen4449]

@@bakhirun "world beater" fantasies - How true! The only time I ever got a letter to the press published was in 1965 when I wrote to MCN pointing out that we were witnessing Japanese bikes sweep the world before them in small capacity machines and British manufacturers, who dominated the big bike scene at the time, needed to dramatically improve their designs and reliability before the Japs started moving up to larger capacities. First Honda did it, then Suzuki, Yamaha, et al. The rest, as they say ... I still have a soft spot for Velocettes, however. The Venom, to this day, still holds the 24 hour endurance record for under 500cc with a speed set at Montlhery of 100.05mph.

[@howardosborne8647]

I was born on the island and remember Bill's incredible lap on the 125 Yam. He is still often mentioned for that achievement all these years later.

[@donr2176]

@@howardosborne8647 we were there and saw him! Fantastic times!

[@donr2176]

@@bakhirun The Yamahas were V-4s.. We were there at the IoM TTs. John Hartle did a 100 mph lap there also on his stock Triumph Bonneville. a great achievement!

[@jimcockburn4652]

"Little" Bill Ivy wasn't a big man but he was all man with a huge heart. He was a master behind the bars of race bike and his passing was a tragedy both to his family and the racing community.

[@jeanclaudevivier7126]

Très bon pilote et meilleur ami de Mike Hailwood 😉

[@porkiepie65]

That engine is a work of art, even by todays standards. Mind you 2 stroke tech in the East was mind boggling.

[@mikecartlidge5355]

You have to wonder if different design bearings were available, that coupled with today's quality racing two stroke oil? Yes in reality we have the East to thank for the sports two strokes of the 1970's and 80's.

[@marekfoltis8293]

Perfect video!! Thank you Vlad!

[@barnabaskiss2888]

My car (a fine Honda CL7) has the number plate with the letters IVY, so I remember this talented man with respect often when I drive.

[@luddite6239]

Another fascinating video, thanks. I'm lucky enough to live only 20 miles away from Sammy Miller's museum, so I've actually seen the Typ 673 at 5:17 in person - an incredible piece of engineering.

[@martykath4427]

Good stuff, I only got to ride late 60s Cz dirt bikes and they were great. There were a few 250 and 350 road bike models about in Australia at the time but Japanese models swamped the market in competition and domestic sales.

[@wernerschneider4460]

Remarkable docu. Thanks a lot.

[@asadhussain1974]

😮woooowwww i love these classic (vintage)machine's they look so cool ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@asadhussain1974]

Thanks for making this video about these bike's they're one of my favorite bikes i always feel happy to learn more about them. Appreciate your work👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@geoffoliver6788]

Our local lad, Little Bill Ivy was a Giant in my eyes. I believe he could have been Formula 1 champion the way he was doing in cars and he did not really want to race that Jawa, the real tragedy was that his Mother heard of his death via a news bulletin !!

[@josecarlospoggian5460]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏Thanks a lot , simply spectacular!

[@Screamingdeathcult]

A very interesting watch .

[@tagomago2178]

I had no idea! - Thank you

[@lesmontgomery6498]

Saw Bill Ivey doings wheelies at the top of the straight at mosport canada in 1967. Also old jawas threw the clutch out wh you moved the gear lever

[@alanoffer]

I’m old enough to remember little bill ivy going round druids at brands with his leg literally hooked over the seat hanging off the bike

[@peterjackhandy]

Me too! He was all over that bike, like a monkey, getting the weight distribution 'zackly.

[@aranuicdb2]

So advanced!

[@tonybyrne7573]

very nice thank you

[@alangraham8926]

I was gutted when I heard about "little" Bill Ivy great heart. It was rumored he put motor cycle chains inside his leathers so he could make the qualifying weight for his ACU license. Can anyone confirm this?

[@clivedavies5618]

Yes, it's true though it was to get his weight up when he first raced on the Continent at the Dutch TT. He weighed in 6lbs under the minimum limit of 9 stone and the FIM stewards told him to come back wearing his helmet and boots - which he did with chain hidden in them and was then 4 lbs over the minimum. "Remarkable!" said the officials though I suspect a sympathetic blind eye was being turned.

[@alangraham8926]

@@clivedavies5618 thankyou sir ! It has been one of those things I had "known" to be true BUT could never validate with facts!

[@clivedavies5618]

There are often old copies of "Motor Cycle" magazines on ebay and two that would interest you have articles by David Dixon on Bill. 26 August 1965 : "Underweight Dicer" which includes the story of the chain weights and Bill's early career. 25 November 1965 "Wack it early, Wack it hard!" about Bill's unique racing line round Brands Hatch including his two wheel drift round what used to be called "Bottom Bend" - "Worth a second a lap" said Bill "If you survive!" Like many small men Bill had a tremendous power to weight ratio and used to amuse his friends by walking up and down on his hands. He could lift a G50 Matchless into the back of a transporter unassisted! Best wishes, Clive D.

[@alangraham8926]

@@clivedavies5618 oddly enough I would of had that copy as I had every edition from 63 to 1972 when I joined the merchant navy when and Mum & Dad decide it was well past time to clear out my room!

[@timcolledge6813]

RIP Bill Ivy 🙏

[@ikess1]

I've a 76 cz 472 with the 350 Jawa engine . It's a lot of very slow fun 😁

[@johndeere1951a]

I raced Yamaha and Honda two-stroke bikes in the 70's and 80's. The complicated engine internals and that sound frightens me. Breakage and seizures paramount in your mind. Frightening❗. God speed little Bill Ivy 🥀🏆✌️

[@gregnorth6413]

I could never understand how Honda's revving so high, stayed the course.

[@straightchad8059]

What a history ..... struggle ,tragedy , finally a win , continuous bad luck

[@harwoods11]

Bad luck or just poor resources and availability of technology

[@clivedavies5618]

Bill's death was an unfortunate combination of events - he had both hands off the handlebars fiddling with the strap of his helmet when one of the big end cages broke up locking the engine solid and the bike out of control struck a nearby concrete pillar fatally injuring Bill when his helmet came off. Had his hand been on the left hand handlebar he almost certainly could have whipped the clutch in and survived. At the time all two strokes were prone to seizing and riders habitually rode with one finger on the clutch lever ready to whip it in. Bill was only riding for Jawa to help fund his car racing and he planned to quit bikes altogether when he was receiving enough sponsorship.

[@howardosborne8647]

It was the main bearing ball race that disintegrated and locked the crank solid.

[@ivansemanco6976]

@@howardosborne8647 As I heard from old folks involved in moto racing in Czechoslovakia at time, problem lies in wrong bearing type selected. This was reason why Jawa lose court. Maybe rumors, I dont know.

[@LemonDrizzleGang]

As described in the video Did you watch it ?

[@CharlesStettler-kp4ot]

c'est tout juste....la vida tombola ? rip ❤real champion❤...

[@johnr6292]

So many errors in this video I hardly know where to start, Jawa was never a serious threat to MV or the Japanese, the 350cc six cylinder MV that Agostini tried was built in the late 1950s but was in reality slower than the 350cc four due to the engine being a mile wide & robbing the rider John Hartle of cornering speed Ago hoped it may have been the answer to Honda’s fabled RC167 297cc six but compared to the Honda the MV was a boat. The 1970s saw the phenomenally fast 350cc Yamaha two stroke twins dominate GPs with rising star Jarno Saarinen forcing MV to abandon the 350cc triple for an all new four cylinder bike but that failed to hold back the two strokes from Yamaha, Kawasaki & Aermacchi H-D. When little Bill broke the Brands Hatch 350cc record by one second on the Jawa he was only repeating what he did the year before but he was not riding a 350 he was riding the 125cc V4 Yamaha he also smashed the formula 750 lap record at the same time on that jewel of a 125.

[@ericsissenwein3601]

Deadly decade in all motor sports.

[@gregnorth6413]

Can't imagine Hamilton and his colleagues at a riders briefing in those days...

[@johndeere1951a]

Czech CZ manufactures the finest firearms. Great designers and engineers, bikes and guns 🇨🇿👍👍 🇺🇲✌️

[@Porkypies6m]

all that technology in those motorcycles and yet no one had a decent helmet

[@gregnorth6413]

I bought a Kangol helmet at Kings of Oxford. It's BS covered RAC approved racing accreditation. It cost a bit more but was reassuring.

[@nervo6321]

Don’t forget Jawa dominated world speedway with their engine from the 1960’s up to the current day.

[@chrisbraid2907]

Dominated ? JAP shared wins in many Speedway's ... They were an English Four stroke ridden by the likes of Ivan Mauger of NZ ....

[@gregnorth6413]

Of course two strokes were very successful in off road formats. Rickmans used Bultaco engines for years.

[@cidertom5140]

Sounds like the fuel mixture or cab tuning

[@billlawson5571]

Bill ivy was the bollocks!

[@markbliss1370]

Thanks for the video. Just a couple of observations. The development of the bike was stopped by the communist puppet government, who was following orders from Moscow. Frantisek Stastny would probably go on winning the 1961 world crown had he been given a visa to travel to the West to race. The government was afraid he might do the same thing as Ernst Degner who defected with his MZ motorcycle in '61 and Suzuki used his tech knowledge to build its two stroke. Motorcycle racing was hugely popular in Czechoslovakia during the 60-70-80's. Weekend crowds of 250,000 were common occurence. Unfortunatelly Jawa racing was hugely underfunded and couldn't keep up with the development. In speedway they dominated for some four decades. The brand is still barely alive selling rebranded Chinese middle class motorcycles. The Indian build Jawa has recently released a nice retro looking bike. Thanks again for a great little doco.

[@axelknutt5065]

Why is there a photo of Owen Wilson in the thumbnail ?

[@pnblondon1087]

Read 'No Time To Lose' the biography of Bill Ivy by his friend Alan Peck.The best book about motorcycle racing I've ever read.

[@ELECTRICMOTOCROSSMACHINE]

Amazing history.

[@Team-fabulous]

The likes of Jawa and MZ alway where the brunt of a joke because of their strange looking utilitarian road bikes but their competition machines were certainly something special..

[@timcolledge6813]

They certainly were !!

[@eyangelosmixalopoulos2740]

@WierdBike I would like so much to see a video about the "Lito Sora" or the "Johammer J1" motorcycles that are so unique and weird.

[@wierdbike]

Will see, thanks)

[@dezinke3862]

Here we go again the mad man from Ukraine my brother from another mother 😁 with a tale few have heard !

[@TWOlb-nn7uw]

Crazy sound

[@AlexPalletteBoxing]

That 2 stroke sounds like hornets from hell

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

i'm old and I remember JAWA

[@gringoloco5989]

Jawa and CZ were produced long before the Russian " liberation " in 44/45. Many car and bike brand have died and only a few survive today.

[@ghichens3418]

MMM ! I think Phil Reads mind games and head messing with Ivy had more to do with this dear chaps demise than you may think !!

[@donr2176]

Yes!! I have just read a biography about Phil Read and the writer talks of Phil being taken [at his request] to the place where Bill lost his life.. The writer said he saw Phil crying there and looking vey sad. He was there a while, and it was quite moving. He said something like "I hope Bill will forgive me" [ the 125 and 250 cc Champs fiasco] It showed me a side of Phil I had not seen before, and I liked him a little more. ~

[@StreakyP]

"Front brakes 4 piston"??????... they look to be cable operated so no hydraulic pistons.... don't you mean four leading shoe?

[@roadracingrelics]

Harry Hawking? Hilarious! That's not even an error, since no rider by that name ever won any world championship event. Completely made up. Try Gary Hocking.

[@clivedavies5618]

Yes, something definitely lost in translation! Gary quit bike racing after winning the '62 Senior TT and was making a name for himself in car racing when he was killed in a practice crash just 6 months later in South Africa.

[@keithgoodrick-meech3921]

The really sad thing is that Ivy agreed to ride Jawa because he was trying to get the finance for a Grand prix career, I would have loved to see how he would have done in a Grand prix car.

[@bureauoflandmanagementblm3828]

Needed colder heat range on spark plugs detonation will destroy engine in on lap.

[@duke6389]

MZ was an East German Manufacturer, MZ = Motorradwerke Zschopau, not Czech.

[@marcbrasse747]

It is very probable JAWA was not able to invest in the research in metallurgy and lubrication needed to solve the seizing problems. Bring in the Japanese.

[@ReinhardPriller-ck9ny]

dont agree: Jawa was extremly sucessful in Long Track and Speedway. These motors are at the edge and despite of engineering st the limits very reliable.

[@marcbrasse747]

@@ReinhardPriller-ck9ny Don’t get me wrong. Not dissing Jawa. Also see my other remark. 😁

[@marcbrasse747]

@Turnipstalk Indeed! 😁

[@dcbain]

Quite a well made video. 'tis pity about the narration: it's amateurish.

[@captaintoyota3171]

Big 2strokes just sound like they want to hurt you

[@gregnorth6413]

Even at home, you could get the two stroke compression up to about 11/12-1 for little expense.

[@rodshephard3837]

Awesome video!

[@DarrenFinley]

Sounds like a formula1 car! LoL!😎👍

[@jw8556]

Yep sub standard components is definitely a factor with jawa and still to this day some of there motor components are dare l say it Absolutely crap as there new bearings are like worn out Japanese ones and some of there castings seem to be of similar quality and that is for there more resent (2010) 500 solo efforts never the less l still have a couple in my shed

[@ikess1]

I've a 76 350. It's definitely built from melted down soviet tanks 😁

[@jw8556]

@@ikess1 yeah not the best but they have had some successful speed way riders

[@ikess1]

@@jw8556 for sure there's sometimes about these old tanks thou.

[@raymondo162]

4:11: "four-piston drum brakes......" OH NO they are NOT. there's NO pistons involved in THOSE drum brakes mate

[@marcbrasse747]

The winners always rewrite history. Modern 2 stroke racing technology was invented under Kaadens leadership an thus “socialist”.

[@dezinke3862]

I would simply say "white people".

[@cpuuk]

And the phrase you were missing about the brakes is 'Four Leading Shoe Front Brake' (4LS). Single Leading Show Rear Brake for Bill (SLS). I would hazard a guess that Bill found the rear to be over-braked and prone to locking up, hence the downgrade to SLS.

[@howardosborne8647]

'a more aerodynamic cykinder layout than the Yamaha'?....this bike was fully faired therefore the cylinder vee layout had no bearing on the aeridynamics whatsoever.

[@peterjackhandy]

Faired or not, the tighter 'V' meant a lower profile.

[@Rekzkat297]

"Harry Hawking a.k.a Gary Hocking another slap dash production with a robot voice.

[@kenhill3135]

Drum brakes don't have pistons, you meant shoes.

[@freemenofengland2880]

Weird - Was it AI??

[@TheBlibo]

This could have been a great informative video but ruined by robot voice

[@leadsolo2751]

Huh ? What did this Ruin ?? (Unless U don't understand English spoken at a normal - not ssssllllllllooooooooooowwwwwww - pace 🤣🤔

[@TheBlibo]

@leadsolo2751 I understand English perfectly well its just that it was a robot voice that made a few mistakes that a human wouldn't. I would rather listen to a person who was not a confident reader and struggled with a few words than one of these text to voice devices

[@adobedirtblues1321]

It’s not a robot

[@george-ev1dq]

@@leadsolo2751 well, the bike is a Jawa not a Java

[@SpaNT650]

You ment to say parallel twin

[@frankraw9991]

And Gary Hocking not Harry Hawking. Lol. Bill was a brillianr rider, even on a big single. I took a photo of him and his friend Mike Hailwood in Hippy clothes and flowers at Oulton Park.

[@slowerthansound]

4 piston drum brakes!

[@AutodidactEngineer]

It*

[@Jawar90]

Jsem hrdý na svůj národ český a srdcaře kteří z lásky a ne pro peníze jezdily nebo stavěly skvělé motocykly. Vývoj a potřebné investice zastavila komunistická vláda (rusáci) pokud by nebylo omezení které bylo věřím že by Jawa byla stále na vrcholu motocyklového žebříčku. Stejně tak motocykly Čz.

[@philipbrackpool-bk1bm]

If you want to see bill ivy ride watch girl on a motorcycle that’s him thrashing that Harley around.

[@harrysnyders9850]

The least you could do is spell Agostini's name right, in your rant.....

[@Patshes]

🆒😎👍!

[@rockawaysam]

Bill Ivy did not die but suffered brain damage which curtailed his racing career. I met his ex-wife who told me he was living in Kent and had remarried. Mind you this was in 1995 or thereabouts.

[@peterjackhandy]

Nah - Aliens kidnapped him & he's alive & well on Beetlejuice 5

[@G58]

Please use real voices. This utter nonsense. Enough already.

[@Lightw81]

Strange voice over with American terminology and missing words but an English or maybe South African accent.

[@Stevexnycautomotive]

He wasn't too smart.

[@robertopinci]

The engeniere went to Japan at Sizuki brand

[@Alienbikers-in-India]

Word/brand JAWA pronounces like YAWA!!! It make some million people puke when we/they hear J instead of Y sound.

[@MerleDoughty-yw6cl]

Its a Jawa not a Java.

[@G58]

FOUR different pronunciations of JAWA - the most important word in the whole video! This is not just lazy, it’s absolutely Ludicrous. You clearly didn’t even listen to the finished video before posting.

[@lance8080]

Buy Harley’s

[@allanhughes7859]

TWO STROKE TWO STROKE TWO STROKE WHERE HAVE ALL THE FAIRIES GONE ??????????????? GONE TO ROUST EVERY ONE AND WHAT A SHAME NO MORE HAIR ON THE BACK OF THE NECK NO MORE HELLS TO BREAK WHERE HAS ALL THE FUN GONE GONE TO HELL EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!SORRY KIDS OF THIS DAY YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AS THE POWERS THAT BE WILL ..............YOU KNOW WHAT AND IF YOU DO NOT YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TRUST ME!!!

[@G58]

FOUR different pronunciations of JAWA - the most important word in the whole video! This is not just lazy, it’s absolutely Ludicrous. You clearly didn’t even listen to the finished video before posting.