Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126545
day afternoon, shut down again after moat of the record down-runs early Friday morning. The Iaat few downruns and all the return-runs were made on Saturday morning. The moat hotly contested clasa this year was the smallest and slowest, the 50cc Production class, sparked by the arrival of Honda's sleek MBS at dealers acroas the country. Four groups or individuals who were planning to enter other classes realized that the sophisticated and civilized new 'two-cycle could exceed the class minimum of 50 mph. One of these was Jim Ahrens of Arcadia, CA, a successful campaigner of two-cycle Kreidler 50cc race bikes at Bonneville since 1977. Frustrated in his attempt to obtain a Honda, Ahrens quic:kly then bought a Kreidler Florette 50cc street model, which is not nonnally sold here, but one of two in the country. The clasa was completed by two red Hondas and one black one, and a 49cc Suzuki. .... 00 .... 0) The Suzuki proved not fast enough to compete at the Salt Flats' 4214-foot elevation. The Hondas immediately exceeded the class minimum while Ahrens was riding his other bike, then Honda and Kreidler took turns raising the record, with Michael Becker of Golden, CO, owning it at week's end - until the fun resumes next year. Becker's final average of 60.757 was aided by tail winds both ways, as he ran down Friday morning, and returned Saturday. The Kreidler and one of the Hondas which was revving better than Becker's and checked out fast on wann-up, were unable to qualify again Thunday or Friday because of the shutdowns. At the other end of the scale were the two big motorcycle streamlinen, the double-eugiDe turbocharged Harley Jammer and the Kawasaki Lightning Bolt, ridden by Dave CampOlI and Don Vesco, respectively. Both made only three runs, the Jatnmer brea1ting too badly to be fIXed at the salt, and Vesco left in line Friday along with moat (Topl Tom Elrod'. double ~kl went 111.167 for the futeat record of the rneet.IMIcldleJ Jim Am..' redlc:8l11tt1e &Occ KreIdIer.IAbovel The Don Veaco ........1 .... hecllta . . . . of trou.... Twenty-one records set at 33rd annual Bonneville Speed Week I By Dorde Woodruff WENDOVER, UT, SEPT. 20-26 Motorcyclists set 21 new records in 14 classes at the Southern California Timing Association's annual Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Numbers of both motorcycle and car entries 16 increased again over last year; the lines of vehicles waiting to run never let up. Excellent salt conditions and sunny skies romiIed an exceptional ~ which was cruelly truncated. however, by high winds Thunday afternoon and all day Friday, the last day qua1ifying runs are scheduled. The coune was shut down £or pan of Thurs- everyone e1se.~ The two 'lin are at quite different stages in their t. After several seasons' campaigning, the Jatnmer's crew has worked ollt a lot of bugs, and the bike is seriously building horsepower. Gearing was changed for this meet, with a 42-tooth rear sprocket installed to replace the fonner 50-tooth one. A plenum increasing the intake manifold size from 70 cubic inches to 180 evened out the charge to the cylinden. The resulting spunk, contrasted to the 'liner's previous sedateness off the line, surprised CampOlI as he carved a big curlicue off the line on Sunday before settling into a steady run. The summer's chain breakage problem was solved by using a new c.... P-60 P-60 P-60 P-60 A-AB-60 A·AB-600 P-860 P-860 M-AG-8fiO A-AB-860 A-AB-860 A-AG-760 A-AG-760 APS-AG·760 APS-ABG-760 P·1000 M·AG-1000 APS-AG-1300 APS-AG-1300 APS-AG-2000 A-Af.3000 IUnofflcllll) Tsuba1ti chain cloaer to a stock Honda 750 chain of that brand, only with heavier side paltes. A seJni-encloaed chain oiler helped. also. Jammer owner Mil Blair noted that the chain wasn't even hot at the end of a run, that it barely stretched over the three runs, and that it wasn't scuffed or marred. Though the clutch broke on Tuesday's run, Blair was happy with the season's progress, and stated that the runs at the Utah Salt F1ats Racing Association's summer meet, where lines are inconsequential, had really helped them son out problems. Vesco's new KZUOO-powered 'liner came to the salt a\moat untested. It made one aborted run last fall, stopped because the cockpit was fogging in the cool, moist air, and then the weather cloaed in. It didn't get very far after the tow stan on Monday, suffering problems which, though not serious, caused the bike to fall over and mar the other side, not an unheard-of occurrence in Vesco's long career. Although it checked out earlier, the tow release did not check out on the staning line until after some fiddling with the electrics_ Evidently during this process a solenoid was activated for the gear changer, and one engine was in a different gear from the other. Also, salt packed between the rear pulley and its belt, tensioning the belt too much, s10wing the drive and eventuaI1y breaking the belt. Some time was then spent building belt guards. On Wednesday's run the 'liner took off well from the tow release, gaining enough speed that the a1uminum-treaded rear wheel with its incised Xs dug a two-inch deep groove in the salt, a phenomenon not 1iItely to be appreciated by other racers or SCTA officials_ Also a front pulley vibrated loose. Minor damage to the pulley splines was fixed and the wheel rim chall2ed to one with the same grit surface but without the Xs. On Thunday's run the bike again staned well from the half-mile, 40-50 mph tow, but never tracked straight. Later Vesco found that. although he checked the wheel alignment before leaving home, that was apparently the source of the wobble. The plain wheel tread did not cut so deeply, and the bike was ready and waiting on Friday with many othen until the meet was shut down without funher qua1ifying runs. This 'liner has some innovative features, primarily the all-belt drive with its overhead drive line. as well as the aluminum wheels, and it is larger, heavier and more powerful than Vesco's well-tested previous vehicle, crashed last June at EI Mirage dry lake. (Of which he said, "I could fIX it, but it's a major.") Vesco estimates the new bike's weight as 1700 or 1800 pounds, and the horsepower at about 500. He Rider Make Date Michael Becker Michael Becker Jim Ahrena Michael Becker JlmAhrena MarkUngue George Foraythe George Foraythe George Foraythe LHRanlller LHRanlller Mike laFollette Phil Allen Mike laFollette Don Enlllebreuen Glen lafollette Glen laFollette MlkeRo. . MlkeRou John Halder Tom Elrod Hon Hon Kre Hon Kre Hon Hon Hon Hon Hon Hon Hon Yem Hon Hon Hon Hon H-D H·D Kaw Kaw 9121/81 9122181 9123181 9128181 9121/81 9121/81 9121/81 9124181 9f23181 9122181 9128/81 9/24/81 9124/81 9124/81 9f23181 9121/81 9128181 9123181 9128181 9123181 9123181 New Old Record Record 68.439 60.000 67.092 59.481 80.767 76.897 141.334 128.316 121.394 130.476 181.788 184.073 144.887 163.878 148.814 182.134 147.331 168.483 171.994 178. • 183. • 198.967 68.439 67.092 69.481 86.000 140.073 116. • 128. • 128.001 163.228 181.788 144.481 144.887 148.323 180.000 141.733 164.248 189.888 171.914 173.432 188.008