Vale Paul Hallam

Paul Hallam, the Australian engineer who almost changed the Superbike World Championship landscape in the late 1990s, died on Friday, July 5.

Paul Hallam was the son of Frank Hallam, the designer of the Repco Formula 1 V8 engines that powered Jack Brabham to world championships in 1966 and 1967.

Paul and his brother Andrew learned under their father's tuition at the family's Geelong factory but Paul's interest gravitated to marine engines and then motorcycles.

He was a genius ahead of his time. A partnership with leading motorcycle retailer Rod Hunwick in 1994 was intended to lead to the production of three Australian-designed and built 90-degree V-twin motorbikes.

The first prototype model was the Boss, a 1350cc design intended to provide Harley-Davidson-style cruising looks with a modern V-twin powerplant and chassis/suspension.

It looked too futuristic to appeal to the Harley traditionalists – and the reported price of more than $30,000 excluded all but the most committed of buyers.

Just as the Boss was Hunwick's pet project, so too was the provocatively styled X1R Hallam's baby.

The bike was intended to be capable of competing the Superbike World Championship with a reputed 171hp in race trim – around 50 per cent more than the competition of the day.

Even street versions were said to be good for 141hp.

The engine was a fully stressed member of the frame and the rear shock was mounted ahead of the front cylinder and connected to the rear monoshock by a 'ram rod' design that has subsequently been emulated.

Hallam likewise envisaged pneumatic valves for his V-twin racer, fed by gasses drawn from within the combustion chamber and funneled through the cylinder head. Had the concept made it into production it would have been the first production engine in the world to use the technology.

After taking something of a hiatus from the public sphere, from 2014 Paul was heavily involved with the Australian Harley-Davidson-themed lifestyle television program, H-DTV.

A talented rider and passionate Harley fan, Paul originally worked with producer Steve Dundon as a camera bike rider, but his enthusiasm and encyclopedic knowledge soon saw him co-hosting the program, along with being heavily involved with the annual 'Brighter Days' Harley-Davidson festival in Bright (Vic).

When he wasn't travelling far and wide for H-DTV, he was sought out by motorcyclists intent on extracting maximum performance from their bikes, a task to which he applied his engineering genius with great skill and fervour.

Those talents extended well beyond motorcycling, however. Over the years Paul could also be found building guitars, working with race boats – he was even a gunsmith.

Paul died in hospital from complications, while undergoing treatment for MS.

Vale Paul Hallam, who history will note joins a pantheon of truly visionary Australian engineers.

He is survived by his wife Catherine, sons James, Ted and Bill, and grandson Dusty.