Wow! You have to love boost! It's amazing what a bit of pressurized air can do to an engine. This bike runs unbelievable now, maybe a bit too good.
We arrived at Bub with high expectations. Although we didn't reach our goal of 200mph we did break the AMA National record and ended up with a new record of 191.989mph. Dynojet - F/L Racing now has the fastest 600cc siton motorcycle.
The first run of the weekend ended up being a real eye opener for myself. We started on the short course which meant we had 2 miles to get up to speed and then were timed for 1 mile. About half a mile before the timed mile I opened her up (well I thought I did but the data later showed I was only at 70%) and the bike just started going sideways. I am not talking about a little wheel spin here I am talking a serious high speed wobble that just would not go away. Even with all this drama we went 191 which was good enough to qualify for the record. In talking to the crew I was just about ready to pack it up and go home as I was not sure I would have the stones to give the bike anything more.
That thought soon passed as I now have the Bonneville bug and I am determined to get over 200mph. The backup pass would be in the opposite direction which at this time gave us a tail wind so things were looking good. On this pass the bike felt really good approaching the timed mile and as soon as we passed the flag, 'POP' was all I heard as the bike lost all power. I pulled in the clutch expecting parts to start flying past my head but then I noticed the engine was still running and sounding good. While loading it on the trailer we noticed one of the boost tubes had come loose. Definitely disappointing but we could be picking up fragments of parts so things could be worse.
The next day we got in line to try it again. This time we started on the long course which gave me plenty of time to ease into the power and get up to speed. Another good run and not quite as squirly but we still only went 191. The track was extremely loose and others had stated that it was not nearly in as good as shape as last year. This equated to extreme wheel spin and rooster tails 30ft high behind us. Not what I would call the ideal setting to take a street bike to 200mph!
So an hour later we were back at the 9 mile marker ready to back up the run again with a nice tail wind. Everything was going great (except for wheel spin still) and once we entered the timed mile I hit some loose salt which put the bike in a pretty good tank slapper. Unfortunately it was bad enough that I had to roll off the throttle. I know, I should of manned up and held it open but that one had me a bit nervous. The data showed I rolled off to 30% throttle but we still went 192mph which meant that we broke the record. Next time I am putting on a throttle stop so it's either win it or bin it!!
Due to the weather, we were not able to get in anymore runs for the weekend. All in all it was a learning experience and fun time. We'll be back in October to try it again.
Anyone have knobbies that can withstand 200mph?
