Carriage House Plans: Vance And Hines

Vance And Hines

Vance became the most popular rider in the sport of motorcycle drag racing during the late 1970s and 1980s. He earned a total of 14 national drag racing championships before retiring as a rider in 1988. Vance, along with engine builder Byron Hines, parlayed their drag racing fame into a highly successful aftermarket business called Vance & Hines.Vance & Hines also became involved in road racing in the 1980s, becoming one of the top AMA Superbike teams and winning championships and numerous prestigious races, including the Daytona 200 and the U.S. round of the World Superbike Series.Born in Bristol, Virginia, on November 26, 1953, Vance's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 3 years old. Vance was raised in the nation's hotbed of motorcycling and hot-rod activity. In the mid-1960s, Vance saved money from his paper route and bought a mini-bike frame in which his dad installed a small engine from a lawn edger. Vance spent countless hours riding his mini bike up and down the gravel road next to the railroad tracks near his home in Lawndale. From there, Vance moved up to a Honda 90, later a Honda 350 and finally one of the new Honda 750 Fours in 1970.