Thursday’s Child

Returning to the salt on Thursday morning we all were looking forward to the day.  Jim needed to prove the bike capable of accomplishing the mph goal and I hoped to get a chance at the next license level.

Jim’s first run was a success as he was able to run 107.813 mph on a 97.320 record.  It was a big lift to everyone and we looked forward to the next one for him until he mentioned that the run had been done in third gear rather than fourth as it wouldn’t shift.  The entire 2nd mile was run at 8,000 rpm.  While those of you used to Japanese bikes may not see the significance, the British twins owners and Harley riders know what a mile at those rpms can do.   On his next run, even though the bike did shift into 4th gear, the valve train showed its unhappiness with a rather lot of noise and the bike was parked, but not until having run 10 mph over the existing record.

The Ducati began the show with a missed call on the jetting and an early termination to make the needed changes.

Day One

The trip to the SCTA World Finals at Bonneville Speedway October 2-6, 2007 provided mixed results for the Team MS/Motorcycle Performance racing effort.  I did surprise myself with the speed I answered “yes” to the question of coming back next year.

I want to thank the Home Team for their efforts:   Fred Weege (motors and electronics), Nick Moore (wheels, tires and suspension), Steve Dale (paint and bodywork), Bill Shields (trailer and procurement) and my wife Patty (patience and sense of humor).

Also the Away Team:  Jim Haraughty (coaching and procurement), Bob Crook (rig driver, gear and mechanicals), and Chris (Louie) Lamour (mechanicals).  Without both of these groups’ efforts, the project never would have gotten off the ground.

The first day there was designated as Tech Inspection.  We arrived at the speedway at 2 a.m. their time and spent the night in a parking lot at the truckstop occupying that exit on I-80.  Needless to say, everyone was a bit slow on the uptake, but soon the anticipation of getting on the salt restored the vigor lost in a cramped, cold truck.

Approaching the entrance onto the salt itself you became aware of the expanse covered by the salt flats themselves.  Once we were waved onto the flats, the drive to the racetrack was another 8 to 10 miles.  As the sun came up we were joined by more racers heading out, sometimes 4 wide going 60 to 70 mph towards the pits.

Aspirations

As we began this expedition it appeared to be the attempt at the Production Pushrod Gas record.  The project soon took on a life of its own.

Jim Haraughty of Team MS ran last season at Bonneville during the SCTA event known as Speed Week.  We were peripherally involved with the preparation of the bike, a 1967 Triumph TR6 he previously raced in AHRMA, a vintage roadracing organization.  Due to a few issues with the bike on the salt, a full-power run wasn’t possible.  This led to the comment “If you want to go next year I’ll come along to help”.  Little did I realize…..

During the course of the following year work progressed on the Triumph to improve the power delivery.  While working on the motor the thought occurred that this would be a possibility of sitting around out there for days with nothing to do.  The next thought that went fleetingly through was “why not build a bike?”  Little did I realize……

Having undertaken quite a number of ventures in the past that I had no initial experience in I suffered no delusions of ease or simplicity.  Drawing upon experience in diverse fields of endeavor such as roadracing at Daytona, Top Fuel Motorcycles at Gainesville, TranAm cars, Top Fuel Dragsters at Indy, Funny Cars, and cylinder head porting, helped but there were still many unanswered and unasked questions.  Anybody who thought they were going to go out there and be successful the first time combined the two unpleasant qualities of arrogance and ignorance.  The best to be hoped for was attaining realistic goals, licensing to the capabilities of your equipment, and not damaging yourself and whatever you were in (or on).

Deciding on a power plant platform was narrowed to two.  The Suzuki Hayabusa is a phenomenal unit with sturdy construction and good power output right out of the box.  Ducati offered the 999 platform that we really didn’t  have as much experience with, but after seeing the movie the possibility of a reduced frontal area and vehicle height held possibilities.  It would also be the only one of its kind in the world, a feature that held appeal for its individuality but obstacles due to its being untraveled ground.

In the end the Ducati won out and its durability and package size proved to be two distinct benefits.  There is also a certain snobbish cachet to the marque that helped mitigate the humble origins of the project.

Having a 200mph plus goal in mind and not a lot of time to do it required the use of a boosted motor package.  Naturally aspirated required too much skill, time and knowledge to accomplish the goal.