Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Luftmeister President Matt Capri and his BMW K100RS were clocked at 184.804 on the EI M irage dry lake. He thinks he can go even faster. Luftmeister seeks 200 mph aboard street-legal BMW unintirriidated when he first rode the BMW at EI Mirage in 1986 u p to 161.29 mph. And he decided to look for more top end. The Kloo was dead-straight stable and rea ched a speed only 12 mph slower than the all-time BMW record. That lo ng-sta nding record, o nce the absolute motorcycle speed record, was set in 1937 when Adolph Hitler wanted to show the world the superiority of German engineering. . Capri bettered that old record many times, but he and Luftmeister technical advisor Mark Volkomener co nt in ued the speed search because it developed th e company product line and impressed the customers. Capri 's ex perience with speedy Bavarian machines goes back to the earl y da ys of Superbike racing, when Reg Pridmore was the man to beat. Along with Helmut Kern, Capri bu i lt, th e race bikes for Steve McLaughlin and Pridmore, who won the championship aboard the Butler and Smith-sponsored machine. Luftrneister's record machine is a far cry from those pushrod, opposed twins. At the heart of the KIOO's swiftness is a lightweight, IH I-o uilt R H B52 turbocharger, which spins at 150,000 rpm under 12 pounds of boost, Capri said. It hooks up to a L uftmeister exhaust. compression and medium- high boost so we have no turbo lag on the bottom. The bike rips your arms out a ll the way through." In addition, the four-cylinder motor features new cams, titanium retainers and lightweight wrist pins. The 'cran ksha ft, 'rods, pistons and clutch have been computer ba lanced. The head has been ported and uses a laser-cu t copper gasket. Of course, the gearing is higher than normal. However, the pistons, rings, rods, rod bearings and mains are stock. When tested on the Branch Flowmetrics Dyno, the engine cranked ou t ·152 horsepower a t the rear wheel, without straining. "We didn't go full bore with it," Capri said. "But we made lots of runs to 8000 rpm and eight pounds of boost. The bike normally runs 10,000 rpm and 12 pounds of pressure." The motor produced over 100 footpounds -of torque, starting at 6000 rpm - which pegged off the Branch gauge, Capri said. . "We kn ow the bike . .. is making over 200 horsepower to the ground at 12 pounds of pressure and 10,000 rpm," he sai d. "We know it's making that because we see the speed that it 's going." Despite the h igh output, ' Capri claims the KIOO manages 57 mpg, with the tall gearing in place. By Tyrone van Hooydonk • Photos by van Hooydonk & courtesy of Luftmeister When you th in k about high-performance motorcycles, BMW probably isn' t the fir st name th at springs to mind. ·Most p eop le are more likely to th ink about sedate tourers and sidecar rigs. Bu t don't tell that to Matt Ca pri . . . . HIS Luftmeister BMW IS the fastest street-legal bi ke known to the Southern California Timing Association. On May 15, on the dry lake of EI Mirage in California, the 1985 KIOORS was clocked at 184.804 mph by the SCTA. And Capri, the president of L uftrneister, thinks the bi ke can go faster . "We know that, on pavement, the bike is capable of going over 200 mph," he said. The 200-mph mark is Capri's goal for the 980cc turbocharged K-bike. He intends to reach that speed at Bonneville in August. No machine in the 1000ccclass has ever recorded a speed of 200 mph at Bonneville, street legal or otherwise. And the group has included supercharged streamliners. The record for 1000cc machu!,es IS 194.511. The mark was set In a class for supercharged bikes with road race fairings and extended frames ' with a wheelbase of at least 72 inches. "We think we'll break the record," he said. "If we continue to spend the time and the money, it's just a matter of time. I'd like to do it. No one else has been able to do it on a street bike. " Topping the record would be the capstone of the Luftmeister KIOO project, which began in 1985, shortl y after the Paramount, Californiabased company began experimenting with turbos. The bike had been through some drag-strip testing 'and Capri was curious about the bike's top speed potential. Capri, 46, said he was The IHI turbocharger nestles behind the front wheel and in front of the , water pump. It' s normally set at ,12 pounds of boost for the reco rd ru ns. The K1 OO's cockpit: In the top center position is the tachometer. Beneath that is the turbo boost gauge. The two knobs mounted to the front of the top triple c lamp control turbo boost and fuel injection pressure. Othe r important modifications are in the ignition and the fuel -injection systems. The new ignition does not have a rev-limiter, as does the stock item, which shuts down at 8,500 rpm. " T he new fuel injection pumps more gas into the cylinders than the stock system, which has a ret urn line to the gas tank. The new, adjustab le system restricts the amount of returning fuel as the turbo's boost pressure . bui lds up, so gas goes into the motor, not back in the tank. , "Nobody runs 10.2:1 compression and 12 pounds of boost," Capri said. " T hey'd blow them up. Can't get any fuel in. We've been able to run stock Capri said that 50 to 75 more horsepower are available with a nitrous-oxide system that is a lready installed o n the machine. Bu t it has never been tried because o f the traction trouble. If he bea ts the gas-power record ' while at Bon nevill e, Capri said he will hook u p the nitrous oxide bo ttle on the next run. So far, one motor has been lost, when aftermarket valve springs were being tried, Capri said. However, with stock springs, he sai d the engine doesn't Seem to want to break. The engine is he ld in place by a stock Irame without added gussets, The K100 easily' produced 152 HP at 8000 on the Branch Flowmetrics Dyno . Luftmeister claims the motor makes over 200 HP at 10.000 rpm .

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