The Muscle Mile
THE MUSCLE MILE
How fast is a turbocharged ZX-11 in a one-mile sprint? Mr. Turbo and the East Coast Timing Association provide some impressive answers
NICK IENATSCH
STANDING ANKLE DEEP IN BRINE, surveying the temporary lake that used to be the Bonneville Salt Flats, Mike Beckett and Tom Sarda knew there had to be a better way. The year was 1994 and the pair of land-speed-record enthusiasts had trailered their immaculately prepared cars from North Carolina to western Utah in search of untethered straight-line velocity at the big doggy of all speed meets held annually in Wendover, Utah.
For the second year in a row, though, the trip was a complete wash as unseasonable rains ruined the world's fastest salt lick. The long drive back to North Carolina cemented their resolve, and by the time they crossed the state line, the East Coast Timing Association was formed. Two years later, I showed up for Cycle World, hoping to set a few records, courtesy of Mr. Tutho's Terry Kizer and one of his monster Kawasakis.
LAURINBURG/MAXTON AIRPORT, NORTH CAROLINA, SATURDAY A.M.
Kizer and crew slumped inside the Chevy diesel that had pulled the Mr. Turbo rig from Houston, Texas. Rain washed over the trailer that held some big horsepower in the form of Kizer's street-legal Kawasaki ZX-1 1 turbo, more accurately described as a ZX-1 160. "This is our first stroker kit," Kizer explained. "The crank has an extra 5mm and the pistons are 2mm over stock, so it displaces 1160cc, while our past engines have all been 1109cc. We've got the 1109 turbo kits super-reliable, so we're trying something new."
Someone knocked on the window to report, "The weather man says the rain should end just after noon, so we'll start running at 2 p.m." The Chevy emptied and Team Mr. Turbo (4014 Hopper Rd., Houston, TX 77093; 713/442-7113) got to work as the drizzle lightened.
At Bonneville or El Mirage Dry Lake, rain would ruin the entire weekend, but the ECTA (704/684-3009) runs on a cement runway that dries quickly and thoroughly without the iffy traction of salt or dirt-and none of salt's cor rosiveness. Unfortunately, the Laurinburg/Maxton Airport can't offer the course distance of Bonneville or even El Mirage; top speed is measured after a run of only one mile.
SHAKEDOWN RUN...AT RECORD SPEED
A slow reconnaissance drive down the ECTA course may not be advised. Its patina of mismatched concrete, rough asphalt patchwork and loose stone combines with a few remaining puddles to strike fear into a rider's heart. Ignore that. At speed, the course's flaws are easily swal lowed by Mr. Turbo's stock-chassised ZX, and it "cruised" through the traps at just over 182 mph on its first run, loaf ing along at 8500 rpm in sixth gear. The speed, 12 miles an hour faster than Scott Guthrie's previous two-wheeled ECTA record, caused officials some concern because they had specified an "easy first pass." But as they would dis cover, 182 mph was indeed dawdling for this machine.
Not that it didn't scare me, though. Guthrie, multi-time Bonneville record holder and long-time 200-mph club mem ber, had described the ECTA course as a one-mile run-up followed by a 30-foot speed trap, then three-tenths of a mile of straight shut-down area followed by a dog-leg turn to the left and another half-mile of shut-down area-at least, that's what I thought he told me. Imagine my shock and surprise when I sat up after the traps and found that the course didn't dog-leg left, it dog-legged right and I was still careening down the track at over 130 mph! I made the corner, barely, and chastised myself for not pre-walking the course. Certainly food for thought if you're headed to Laurinberg with a big number in mind.
Kizer and his crew live in a world of big numbers. By the third run, we were into the 190s.
RIDER'S-EYE VIEW
From a rider's perspective, the ECTA course is extremely challenging on a bike this fast. Given only a mile to work with, the launch is closer to a quarter-mile blitzkrieg than the usual Bonneville roll-out. Add to this some transmission problems that made the ZX's gearbox a possible hand grenade if mismanaged. Kizer explained, "We had Steve Rice make us some different internal gear ratios, including a taller sixth, but the machine shop messed up and we didn't have time to redo them. Subsequently, second and fourth gears don't have the full number of engagement dogs, so be gentle with them, and first gear isn't too strong, either."
Despite the warning and my light use of first, second and fourth gears, the big Eleven squirmed and bucked as the rear Metzeler ME2 grappled for traction all the way into fifth gear. The chassis ran straight and true at speed, so the biggest challenge involved launching the machine aggres sively without wasting too much time wheelying or blowing the tire away. Or breaking the gearbox.
TUNER'S TROUBLE
The ZX returned from the first run with a fine haze of coolant coating the upper right fairing. A quick diagnosis found that the radiator cap wasn't containing the pressure. Kizer had never seen that before, so we diapered the area with cloths to catch any further leaking fluid and re-ran the machine. The leak persisted. It wasn't a significant problem, though it worried Kizer. "You know," he drawled, "we might be pressurizing the coolant system through a leaky head gasket. I use stock gaskets, but this new motor has a whole lot of
compression." Kizer went on to admit that he and cohort Mo Parsons had negative-decked the pistons at 50-thou sandths, but the stroker crank and the new Orient Express/Wiseco pistons teamed with the stock combustion chamber to deliver an 11:1 compression ratio, about two compression points higher than most streetable turbo bikes. "But hey," Kizer continued, "we put it together and were completely out of time to make major adjustments. We broke it in on the dyno and loaded the trailer. The next ver sion will be a few points lower."
SUNDAY EXPECTATIONS
The ZX's bumped compression ratio could be heard at the exhaust muffler. This engine sounded like a Top Fueler, barking with an excitement I haven't witnessed in previous turbo bikes, the power coming in earlier and harder than any Mr. Turbo Kawasaki in history. We uncorked a 195.9-mph pass to end the first day of ECTA's two-day meeting, and hopes were high for a 200-mph Sunday.
I'~ 4~4J~ I spun the tire too long in third and fourth gear on Sunday's first run, the cold Metzeler scrabbling for traction on the cool, early-morning cement and effec tively ruining any chance for 200 mph. We had dropped the gearing (17/36 to 17/39) to better pull the 0.9:1 sixth gear (stock is 1.03:1), and the tighter gearing made the acceleration that much more exciting. We adjusted the rear tire pressure and fought the urge to make another run immediately, instead allowing the bike to cool while the crew checked it over. Kizer gave the nod and we fired the bike for what everyone thought would be a serious number.
The boost gauge twitched as the clutch came out and moments later the speedometer needle passed 100 mph in a blur, racing across the dial as I rolled the throttle against the stop in third. I aimed the machine just right of the lane's center, using body English and light bar pressure. I had resisted the temptation to soak second because that had resulted in wild wheelspin and minimal forward progress before, and as the tach touched 10,500 rpm in third I knew the shift to fourth was coming earlier than during any previous run. This was a good one.
Just as that thought flashed through my brain, though, the head gasket let go in a big way, bathing me in hot, sticky coolant and white steam at 160 mph. "I saw the gas ket let go from the timing tower," Kizer said later, "but up until then it looked mighty good."
RETURN ENGAGEMENT
In some ways, it's good Kizer's stroker experiment didn't run too fast the first time out. With a "mere" 195.9-mph showing, Kizer wants to return in April of `97. Mr. Turbo will take the winter to troubleshoot the stroker 1160, and our 1996 record of 195.9 mph will face a serious challenge. Get it right, Terry, and I'm guessing ECTA will count among its membership a streetbike that runs well over 200 mph in a standing-start mile.
Nick Ienatsch was the founding editor of Sport Rider maga zine. This is his first article for Cycle World.
