History of MPS Racing
Motorcycle Performance Specialties or MPS Racing as it has become known was formed in 1980 as a partnership to manufacture the first electric over air shifter. It was a part time company at that time with the president, Dan Rudd, being employed full time at a motorcycle dealership. Differences with the partners in 1981 allowed Dan to buy out his partner. MPS continued as a part time venture making the MPS mixture control unit for fuel injected Kawasakis and a boost kit for the 750 Turbo. As far as we know the Mixture Control Unit was the first aftermarket product for electronic fuel injected motorcycles. In 1986 Rudd decided to devote full time to MPS, designing the first Auto Shift Control using a 1984 Kawasaki 750 Turbo as the test bed. Campaigning the bike in IDBA Competition Eliminator in 1986, he earned the #1 plate and set 5 national records.
The business was growing very quickly so the decision was made to put his own racing endeavors on the back burner and concentrate on business concerns. During those non racing years he worked with many racers, both sportsman and professional, to develop many new products and industry firsts. These products include the MPS Air Clutch, MPS Electronic Engine Kill, MPS Adjustable Switched Clutch Lever, MPS Line Lock, MPS Tether Kill Switch, MPS Pro Pushbuttons, and the MPS Hydraulic Clutch Release. In 1993, with business interests secure Rudd came back to race again in the ET Bracket class, the class he considers one of the hardest to win. He finished #2 in AMA/Prostar's Pro ET class in 1993 and #7 in 1994. He didn't race in 1995 and came back in 1996 and won the AMA/Prostar World Finals $10,000 Pro ET race!
The Suzuki Hayabusa was introduced in 1999 and MPS started R&D on aftermarket performance parts for it. The Hayabusa changed the course of MPS becoming its specialty. Since then MPS has manufactured many parts for the Hayabusa and stocks all types of engine components as well as air shifters, nitrous kits, billet big blocks, electronic fuel injection components, quick access clutch covers and many other parts. In 2005, Dan built a Top Gas Hayabusa powered bike to compete in AMA/Dragbike and SEMDRA events. Using it as a test bed for standalone ECUs and nitrous systems. Components developed on this bike have been used on several of the quickest Pro Mod Hayabusas resulting in ETs in the 6.60s at over 200 mph in the quarter mile and 4.0s at 174 mph in the eighth mile. Dan received accolades for his work with Sportsman racers in 2006 from AMA/Dragbike winning the Sportsman Mechanic of The Year award. Dan continued racing Top Gas until 2011 when he partnered with Mike Thyen, a long time race pal, on a electronic fuel injected, Hayabusa powered, Pro Mod. We debuted the bike at Bristol, TN in June of 2011 with a best ET of 4.36. By the end of the 2011 we had equaled the quickest the old bike had been with carbs at 4.23. The bike is currently the "World's Quickest Hayabusa" with an ET of 4.08 @ 174 MPH and has won several races.
We would like to thank all of our customers for their continued support of our products. Their successes are our reward for doing our job well. Our philosophy is when you win we win. We pride ourselves in having the product knowledge and the willingness to share it with our customers. Not only do we sell these products, we know how to use them and how to install them correctly. We race sportsman categories ourselves, so we know what we are talking about.
Dan Rudd
Owner MPS
