Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

ers.' FoNtall Va' 56 thousan&hs of a mph faster on his lighter, more aerodynamic, but weaker bike. Seeing that Swanson, who had gOllen the record on Monday, but requalified, Forstall upped his gearing, which he could barely pull against the wind. Swanson, urged on by Bill Wirges, a Bonneville name from the past, read about Bonneville in thi newspaper last year and was moved to give it a good try with his SlTeet bike, an '85 Suzuki GSII50 extensively overhauled courtesy of Vance and Hines. The 750cc class was doniinated by Glen La Follelle's '86 Interceptor in a hot race against an older Honda and two Suzuki G XR750s belonging to club racers. The two GSX owners since they regularly beat Hondas suspeaed the VFR of being ome sort of preproduction Daytona special but La Follelle explained it was a Canadian model offered to U.S. dealers for racing. Bonneville rules do not require a Production class bike to be normally available in the U.S. The record superseded was one of the La Follelles' own, father and son, though a road racer friend of theirs, Craig Morris, rode this time. Winner in the 650cc class was Bill Caterino with the same 1975 Canadian Yamaha RZSOO he set a record with last year, bored out, and compression increased as is commonly done to combat Bonneville's altitude. Production class bikes can be used in higher displacement classes if des.ired. Caterino, a relative Bonneville newcomer but a veteran TT racer, say he has to return it to stock for the street, as he "blows pistons about every day" with the hopped-up version with wbich he was belped by Canadian Yamaha racers. Record seller in the P-25Occ class was DeWayne Stark, a friend of Don Vesco's using the traditional Vesco 444 number. Don himself was a visitor at the alt but did not finish his new streamliner in time to run this year, after blowing up his multi-wheel conversion of the record-setti ng motorcycle 'liner in a pectacular accident last year. They shopped around for the best combination of price and performance in a foreign bike and came up with a beautiful, quiet, lillIe two-cylinder two-stroke, a Suzuki from England. In the rest of the Modified classes (M) and those for purpose-built race bikes (A), the smallest-displacement record bike was the Yamaha YZ of john T. Robson in a chromoly road race frame in the AP -AG-175cc class. YZs are said to be bullet-proof, but running it at 12,000 rpm and 108 mph caused the crank to break A smaller person, as is often done with the tiddlers, rode the bike in this case. james Cardey. Though Robson has extensive experience in drag raci ng and builds large displacement street bike engine of various marques for hi friend, this is his second year of trying at Bonneville with this bike. He did get his record right off the trailer this time. Jim Bickford, builder, and Les Ranger. rider, are members of an ongoing Bonneville team which has come into spectacular uccesses recently, using blown (old SOHC) Hondas in special frames. The fastest one of the group, Ted Gansberger, was not able to ride this year because of a serious family problem, so Bickford and Ranger took up the slack with two records in 650cc lasses of 178 and 180. Having the desired paper in hand, they were going to go all out with fuel during the second half of the week, but their plans were blasted by the storm.likeso many others. The remaining record of the meet was set by another father and son team of which the father does most bUI nOI all of the tuning, and the on most bUI not all of the riding, Cliff and Charlie Clupper of three-wheeler sand drag fame. Tlie Cluppers like many others had a hard time jelling for the elevation last year (their first here), changed to a mailer clas and made other modificationsover sand drag trim this year, and set a record in the gas class before things shut down. They made one change - which they didn't want to discuss at first - and gained 15 mph.lt was to take the aft wing off the bi kes, the entry name of each being The Winged Wonder. The Cluppers used lO be buiding contraaors but got into bikes so much they now build threewheelers and also frames for sand and pavement drags full time. In any particular year there are always bikes which are especially handsome or functional or both but which do not set records. Notable were the two blown Tridents of Big D Cycle ridden by jon Minnono - a successful team of the past. These ingeniouslymade bikes went well but not quite fast enough, one sleeved down for tbe 650cc class and one bored out for the IOOOccclass. APS-AB-IOOOccespecially, with its fast record of 194 set eight years ago by the American Turbo Pak team, is tough. At over 188 mph, this Big D bike was the econd fastest non-streamliner motorcycle of the meet, yet did not qualify. Other interesting pieces were the long, low, handcrafted H-D KRI 000 of Hallen and Connolly, and the similarly shaped Kawsaki of FST Racing (DeWayne Stark and Don Vesco). Salt Flats racing is gaining in popularity. But the state of the speedway is precarious. The Salt Flats, a remnant of huge Lake Bonneville of the Ice Age 10,000 and more years ago, is in delicate balance, both because of variation in the weather, and because of interference by man. Annual precipitation in the area is normally only four or five inches; rains are necessary for the annual flooding which redeposits the flat white surface of mixed alt crystals. But too much rain is just as bad or worse than too lillie. Good deposition is ever more necessaryas ontinued potash mining of the underlying brine'reduces its salt content. (That i ,a greal quantity of brine is pumped off to the Kaiser plant, evaporated, and millions of tons of sa It are left on the floors of the ponds as a useless by-product.) A couple of decades ago, in a dry spell and as the effect of mining was beginning to be apparent, racers were crying doom on account of dry. rough saIl. On the contrary, during the last few years the weather has been lOO wet. often causing meets to be ancelled or shortened, or only a part of the cour e to be sufficiently dry to use. According to BLM ranger Gregg Morgan the first two miles of the course never dried out sufficiently this year to be properly prepared. The first meet scheduled, the Utah alt Flats Racing Association's weekend event in late july, about the earliestthatthe salt can be ready in these wet years, was rained out by storms j ustthe Thursday and Friday before. (This, when it can be held, provides valuable development time to serious Salt Flat racers.) Another U FRA meet heduled for OClOber 5-6 is subject. of course, to the vagaries of the weather; the later in the season. Ihe more difficult it is for the salt to dry out after rain. Another serious threat to the alt appeared this year. due again to the recenl wet years. the West Desert Pumping Project. As most people know, the Great Salt Lake, the principal remnantof Lake Bonneville. has increased in size unbelievably in spite of a cenwry's confidel1l predictions that it would shrink under upstream irrig-alion use. In order 10 save from inundation millions of dollars worth of roads. railroad tracks. industries, govern- Vincent-mounted Dave Matson turned in the fastest run by a nonstreamliner bike when he logged a 217 mph pass using nitro. Floridian Scott Guthrie added four new records to his growing list of Bonneville accomplishments. Guthrie rode a '7B Yamaha TZ. melll facilities. and even homes and ranches, the state is constructing huge ponds between the Salt Lake and the Flats inlo which to pump as much of the errant lake as possible. Nobody wants 10 flood the Flats, but Salt Flats hydrology is nOI perfectly understood, and there is concern thatlhe dike not far from the north end of the course will leak. State engineers have done their best to design it so that this doesn't happen. bw nobody knows for sure. • Results NEW RECORDS APS-AG-175: John T. Robson Jr.(Yam) 105.351. P-250: FST Racing (SUI) 111.81 D. MPS-AF-5OO: SCali Guthrie (Yam) 173.610. APS-AG-5OO: SCali Guthrie (Yam) 169.890. APS-AF-5OO: Scott Guthrie (Yam) 166.752. P-650: Caterino (Yam) 142.444. M·AF-650: Scott Guthrie (Yam) 157.306. A-A8-650: 8ickford & Ranger (Han) 178.750. APS-A8-65D: 8ickford & Ranger (Han) 180.733. P-750: 8lackie's Spacial 1 (Han) 151.238. P·looo: Dublin Kawasaki (Kaw) 166.629. P-13OO· Cal Swanson ISUI) 162.878. P- 1300: Larry ForstalllSul) 166.Z14. A3-PS-AG- 1300: The Wingad Wonder (SUI) 163.659. MPS-AF-2ooo: DAve Matson (Vin) 205.757. 11

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