Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

T his time it wa s th e Worl d Car Top Sk i Reco rd . Co lo rado ski s peedster Sea n Critla nd managed to ma ke a 162.162 m ph tuck stay toge th er w hi le pe rch ed o n th e back of motorcycle dealer a n d reco rd -hol d er R ick Vesco's strea m liner ca r. And h is busi ness associa te Ca li forn ia n Kir sten Cu lver o b tai n ed th e wom e n 's rec o rd a t 153.06 1. See king car top reco rds seems to be what th e fas test dow n hi ll ski ers do wh en no su itab le steep, lo ng sno wy slo pe is a vai labl e in eith er th e no rth ern or so uthern h emisph eres. O r ma ybe j us t to see how fast o ne ca n hold a tuck. According 10 Cu lver, it ta kes bendi ng wa y forward no t to be p u lled off by th e a irs trea m . Th e skiers s treamlining was inter esting, incl uding skin -t igh t sui ts. pos t-leg airfo ils , a n d hel m ets re m in isce nt o f early motorcycl e Land Speed Reco rd a ttempts. Oth er r iders: Bob Thompson fina l ly made hi s Luftmeister-turboed BMW tw in go fast Saturda y - but a lso ; because of the p roblem wi th th e cl o cks , go t n o ti me . Th ompson, a fter meltin g a pis Ion a t th e Ju ly m eet, fou nd ou t .t ha t wh en usin g m ax im um boost for ra cing. th e high rpm air bl eed in th e Keihin ca rb need s 10 be so lder ed shu t to a voi d lea n-o u t. Also , hi s tim ing was o ff, so he had ins ta lled a KV elec tro nic igni tion 10 rep lace th e po ints. And got a Yamah a TZ750 fair ing . N ev adan Frank M o l i t or o f " Wretc he d Ra ci ng" ra n a Ka wasa k i ZI R to a top sp eed o f 123.796 . Th is m od el was first seen a t Bonn ev ill e in t he ha nds o f Kaw as aki tun er and o ld Bon nevi l le hand Jack M urp h y, sin ce retired . Murphy , kn o wing tha t th e bike's cl ass y bu t sharply -angled fairing made the b ik e go slower , too k it off . Sin ce then, how ever , a nd beca us e ma ny produ ctio n bik es now co rne wit h fairi ngs , p rodu ct io n class ru les no w requ ire th em lef t o n if t hey a re stoc k. Th e instigators of th e new SCTA th ree-wh eel er class, fa ther and son team . Cali fornians C l iff and C harl es C lupper return ed to the Salt Flats .w i th th eir Vance & Hines 1425cc Suzuk i-engin ed bik e whi ch is a co nsis tent winn er at the sa nd d rags . As many do at firs t. th e Cl u ppers had tu n in g prob lems becau se of th e e levati on a t Bonnevill e. Th eir fas t run was 161.870 , lead ing to a USFR A record o f 161.435, but no t qu ite as fas t as at Speed Week . Air d ensi ty was qu it e differ ent at this meet , and th e Cluppe rs wer e no t a lo ne in having difficu lty wi th je tti ng . Th e la yd ow n o f this lo ng bi ke is aerodyna mi cally effic ie n t; th e class shows promise to be in terestin g. O u tside of possib le speed attempts o n p riva te time. this meet was the last of th e season at Bo n neville. A co u p le of hea vy rains m ad e its oc currence iffy, b u t the sa lt was so d ry i t was a ble to absorb th em an d not get soggy. In fact, a part from s tron g w in d s Sa turday af ternoo n w h ich fin a ll y sh ut th e co urse d own for the day , co nd itions we re a bout th e m o st id ea l ever seen at Bon nevill e, w ith coo l, den se ai r a nd a fa ntastic co u rse (th o u g h it was a little short for the fastest veh icl es - o n lv abo u t eig h t m iles to tal ), . Bo n n eville bu ffs ho pe thi s season's grea t salt dep o siti o n from th e last two yea rs' flo od waters , makin g up in part for th e da mage du e to years of brine ex tractio n fo r potas h recovery, holds fo r a few more seasons. Seve ra l very fast bikes proved o u t th is yea r a nd shou ld go even fast er ne xt. An d at th e to p of th e hea p w ill be th e two H a rl ey stream li ne rs . T h e J am m er is sla ted to be ba ck , totally rewor ked . An d Tenacious. test ed thi s year, and w i th further time on th e dyno th is w inter to work out th e n it ro us svsrem •sbould be.reildy.· '" '." I I " " ,', • Motorcycle World with Larry Huffman ffi i s racing across California via satellit e T his Sunday's special guests are: Mo to rcycl e P ro ** TERRY VANCE ** Stock Drag Race C ham p io n and On Di rt Mot orsports ' Publisher LOU PERALTA ** ** Topics r ange fro m s tree t bik es t o d irt bikes to s u percross, motocross a nd d rag ra cin g. World·wid e race results with Warren Reid a nd Dr . Carver's Sp orts Medicin e feature . Ca ll in a nd ta lk with a ll th e to p pers onal it ies . a nd be a pa rt of motorcycle wor ld. 1-( 8 0 0) 228-5249 or (71 4) 661-1962 Spo nsored by: LECTRON~M.. Carburetors Testing Completed! Thanks To Jim Vreeke for winning the last three AFM/ Kerker Series Races and The Kerker Superbike Championship with Lectron Carbs. For FZ-750s • Increased Horsepower • Better Throttle Response • Smoother Power Delivery Th ese FZ Carb Kits A va i lable At Da yto na Pro-A m October 18- 20 . Factory t ec h n ic ians ava ilable at track f or de livery and ass istance . Ava ilable On ly From : • Marine Craft 93 16 Wheat la nds S uit e C Sa n tee . CA 92071 . 619 /562 -7787 MICHELIN Ninja 600 & FJ -1 100 D.O.T. Approved Street Legal Highest Perfonnance ~. rM UNBEATABLE P . BOX B61 • WILBRAHAM . MASSACHUSETTS 01095 ,O 4 13 · 734 -62 11 - Outsid e M assach usetts 800 -6 28-4040 Subscribe to Cycle News (213) 427-7433 West. (404) 934-7850 East. ~-- by - . EXlRUDEf-O\JE: THE BAJA ADVENTURE Two and Four Stroke ATV • Kart• • Jet Ski. Ride the unlimited primitive beauty of Baja California. We arrange all the details for a great ride . You've dreamed about it . . . do it. S nowmob iles. Road Racers 8800 E. Compton Blvd .. Paramount, CA 90723. (2 1 3 ) 531 -2767 • • • • • ALHAMBRA YAMAHA Sales. 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