Bonneville Speedweek
BONNEVILLE SPEEDWEEK
POOR CONDITIONS LIMIT RECORD ATTEMPTS ON WENDOVER'S DIMINISHING SALT FLATS.
ALTHOUGH 71 AMA records were broken during Bonneville Speedweek, poor salt conditions and high winds prevented any attempt at bettering the 265-mph mark set by Harley-Davidson last year.
According to SCTA starter Bob Higbee, the first two approach miles and the last three miles of the shut-off area were bumpy. As competitors found out, that left roughly three miles of smooth salt in the middle of the course, which wasn't really much of an advantage.
Considering the conditions, two of the records set are rather remarkable. First, Warner Riley set a new APS-A-3000 mark at 200.298 mph, and in so doing became the 11th motorcyclist to exceed the 200-mph barrier. Riley's partially streamlined rig is powered by a 1480-cc Sportster engine running on fuel. Riley, incidentally, also built the fuel-burning Twin used in last year's successful world land speed record run for bikes.
And, on Friday, Don Vesco went 182.278 mph in a 250-cc streamliner on gas. Prior to this, the S-C-250 class record was held by Harley-Davidson at 176 mph. Vesco also tried for and set a 350 gas record. Surprisingly, the 350 in the same streamliner was slightly slower at 180.814 mph.
Besides Vesco's record holder, a couple of interesting liners made their debuts. One was a doubleengine Triumph rig built by George Conboy of Chino, Calif. Before any runs could reveal its potential, though, a fire damaged it beyond immediate repair. Damage would have been less extensive, had the engine compartment fire extinguishers functioned. As it turned out, the mandatory firewall is all that prevented Conboy from sustaining a serious injury.
Bill Wirges planned to campaign his double Kawasaki Mach Ill-engined liner, but he was also plagued with mechanical difficulty. A malfunction in the skids kept him from getting underway.
One liner however, in a somewhat modified state, turned out to be a real crowd pleaser. This 1920 Indian-based machine is owned and driven by 72year-old Bert Munro of New Zealand. As a streamliner, his Indian is unsafe because it doesn't have a firewall, roll cage, or fire extinguishing system—all equipment not required when the machine was originally constructed.
Earl Flanders told Bert that his Indian could -» compete as an open bike if he removed the side panels. Bert, a true sportsman, did just that, and, after a debate concerning his age, proved his ability by running close to 160 mph through the traps.
Liners had their problems all right, but several small-bore competitors were running strong. Doral Eckhardt of Long Beach, Calif., reached 100.447 mph on a partially streamlined 100-cc Suzuki. The most impressive part of this record is that it was set on gas!
Equally impressive was Melvin Nichols, who set two records with a stock-framed, stock-engined, 99-cc Kawasaki. First he went 94.24 mph without a fairing for the C-C-100 record. Then, with a fairing on the same machine, he captured the APS-C-100 class at 99.595 mph.
And, if that doesn't impress you, Philip York rode a fuel-burning, 99-cc Honda Mini-Trail 92.867 mph in the C-A-100 class.
In larger displacement categories, Kawasaki was well represented, no doubt because of their extensive contingency program. Mach Ills were abundant in all stages of tune—some supercharged, some running on fuel, some modified but running on gas—you name it. Fastest of the lot was Robert Isley's stock-engined gas, APS-C-500 Mach III at 144.317 mph. Isley's machine incorporates a modified frame and partial streamlining.
Three-fifty Kawasaki Threes haven't been approved as production engines yet, but Tony Nicosia ran a basically stock one in the A-PS-AG class. He turned 123.167 mph, which was good enough for the record.
What about future record attempts on Bonneville's diminishing salt flats? If conditions improve, a new double Honda Four-engined liner will try to become the world's fastest motorcycle. And don't count out Vesco's twin-engined Yamaha, which held the record briefly last year.
As for record attempts in the years to come . . . well, that all depends on the productivity of the Kaiser Potash Plant which is currently, with Bureau of Land Management approval, removing 100,000 tons of salt each year. If salt removal continues at its present rate, eventually there won't be enough area left to conduct top speed runs on. This is unfortunate because it's doubtful if many records can be set on the Bonneville Mud Flats of the future. 0
