Visit to Thunderdome

[Kansas Bad Man]

We took the liner back to the pits.  As the builder of Lambky's Liner/Black Lightning, and as Crew Chief of the machine, with two of my best friends riding, the crash impacted me a great deal.  Responsibility.  It's mine and only mine to give my riders a safe ride.  With these intense emotions surging through my head and heart, I ordered a thorough inspection of all the nuts and bolts of the liner.  This took approximately 2 and 1/2 hours which finished off the day.

                                      Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                  Bub Meet Day Four

I'd told the crew to arrive early--first light.  I found the meet slipping away hour by hour, and I was having trouble getting a handle on the tune.

Denis had a rider's meeting at dawn, where he told us Cliff had passed.  We paused for a heartfelt moment of silence.  Although I didn't personally know Cliff Gullett, (I had just met him last year) like all of the landracers, I felt a great sense of loss for one of our own.  My deepest condolences to the family and crew.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We made all the final checks and took the liner to the zero.  Hartmut was strapped in.  There was very little waiting time.  Ack was waiting for the wind to die down to make another run.  the zero mile starter told us the track was ours.  The liner was started.  I gave Hartmut the "go ahead" signal.  Here again the clutch was locking up at low rpm.  Hartmut stumbled out of the hole.  When the tach reached 3000 rpm. the engines stopped as if the ignition had been turned off.  Hartmut pulled well off the course and aborted the run.  I thought, "What the heck now?"

I decided to just pull the bonnet and see what we could do without taking it back to the pits.  You could see the zero from where we were working on the bike.  It sure hadn't made it very far.  I was quite embarrassed, as my confidence level had been high going into the meet, but it was slowly being shattered one run at a time.  I really didn't know what to do about the problem.  I told Lenny to take the tach out of the system--I thought it could be a short causing the problem.  Then I by-passed the external ignition switch, thinking it might be a faulty switch.  This took about 30 minutes.  We took the ailing liner back to the zero for another go.

Same thing happened on the next run.  At exactly the same spot the engines shut down.  Hartmut aborted, getting the liner off the track.  Once again, the bonnet came off.  The only thing I could think of was that it wasn't ignition, but fuel starvation.  This time we pulled the belly pan
and checked the fuel filter.  I was certain that this was the problem, and we were going to find a plugged fuel filter.  we broke the line to the pump and turned on the fuel--that wasn't the problem.  A half inch steady stream of alcohol was observed.  We buttoned the body back on and took it back to the line.

                                        Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                      Bub Meet Day Four

So run #3 went like this: We were given the go by the line judge, Lenny started the engines; the engines died.  We kept trying to start the engines until the batteries were just about to give up, and discovered that we'd forgotten to turn the fuel on after checking for a plugged up fuel filter!  I suspect I wasn't the only one who thought, (whole world watching) thaat we were beginning to look a lot like the "Marx Brothers", me being "Groucho", the incompetent leader of the group.

Don managed to turn the fuel on without pulling the pants.  We got some jumper cables; used the battery out of the tow trailer, and we were back in business.  We got the go again; Lenny started the bike, and Hartmut was on his way.  THE ENGINES QUIT RUNNING AT EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT!  Hartmut pulled off the course.

Whatever ailed Black Lightning wasn't going to be fixed here at the zero, so back to the pits.

What a Salt Crew I had, Their spirits were still high after all of this.  If they were down they weren't letting me see it.  They were husting like beavers trying to down a tree too large.

After the pants were off this time, I discovered that the clutch had severely overheated, and was locked up solid.  The three back to back runs, (all within 30 minutes of each other) had put a lot of heat in it.  We had to cool it down with water before we could take it apart.  The left hand nut that adjusts the inplay had somehow sheered it's key, broken several slots off the casalated portion of the nut, and destroyed the Torington bearing.  This was the first thing the troops attacked and fixed.  John MacDougall had brought some extra valve springs, and my friend Stainless came to the rescue with six Kawasaki clutch springs.  By washering and jury rigging, we managed to get adequate spring pressure on the clutch to prevent premature lock-up.

We fired the bike several times to ensure the clutch was working properly.  The final settings on the clutch spring was allowing the engines to go 2800 rpm before the lock up started.  Full lock up was around 3500 rpm.  This was the best the clutch had worked since the meet started.  Everything was rechecked--engine timing and so on.

                                          Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                     Bub Meet Day Four

I decided the probem wasn't ignition, it had to be in the fuel.  as this was the night of the banquet, I told the troops, "Let's call it a day, you guys go on without me, I won't be attending the banquet"  I told my son to represent me in collecting the Fastest Streamliner Side Car of the Meet money, as we had gone the fastest at 166 mph., and I knew the award was ours.  The Renwick's top speed was 157 mph and there were no other competitors in that class.

I headed back to the motel for some quiet time, and to think.

                                              Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                     Bub Meet Day Five

It seemed in the blink of an eye, day five was here--the last day of the meet.  They had announced the day before that the track would be open from 9:00 am until noon for record runs only.  I knew that this next run was going to be a crap shoot.  After going over and over the fuel system in my head for most of the night, I came to a conclusion which contradicted all of my previous racing experience.  The contradiction was that in my experience when an engine accelerates to a point of blubber, or nosing over, at higher rpms with no indication of seizing or holing a piston, the engine is running rich.  In this case I decided to take the high speed out of the circuit by turning it the opposite way, thereby closing the high speed return to the tank.  All of the fuel from the fuel pump would be going to the engines, except for the fuel return to the fuel tank through the main pill.  After a week of struggling, there had to be something wrong with my high dollar Kensler diaphram type high speed valve.

I decided to start it one more time  in the pits that morning (actually waiting for 9:00 am to roll around)  The engines sounded good, with good throttle response, so it was time to take it to the zero line again.  Don, Hartmut, and I talked it over who would get the ride.  Don graciously said, "Hartmut hasn't made a pass to the other end since I made one, so give it to him."

                                        Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                      Bub Meet Day Five

When we got to the line Ack was already there and was preparing the make a run.  I can't remember the reason, but I think he let us go first.  Hartmut was strapped in; the engines were fired; I gave Hartmut the go signal; and for the first time of the 2008 meet the liner responded like it was supposed to, hard acceleration off the line.  It accelerated briskly for a little less than a quarter mile, then the acceleration was really hard and it instantly disappeared into the horizon.

We loaded up the starter, and the crew got into the back of the pick up to chase the liner.  At the mile mark the spotter was jumping up and down with both thumbs in the air, grinning ear to ear.  When we reached  two mile marker, the spotter looked like a clone of the first, thumbs up, jumping up and down and grinning ear to ear.  When we appoached the three mile marker, the spotter indicated by a quick gesture across the throat area, that the engines had quit.  I told Steve D., "I bet the blower belt broke again."  We chased the liner down to the seven.  what we found was a very happy Hartmut grinning ear to ear.

I know the story, but I'd rather let Hartmut tell it in his own words.

I computed the gear ratios, rpms, tire size, etc.--the liner with side car, was running 275 mph before entering the three mile marker.  The reason for shut down of engines was the blower drive shaft broke.

                                       Max

[John Noonan]

Max,

Great story and I am sure you will get it going good soon.
 
What was the recorded time?

J

[Kansas Bad Man]

Hey John,

The blower shaft broke at the 2 and 3/4 mile mark.  It was going 275 mph by my calculations.  Coasted for 3 and 1/4 miles through the traps.  Timing slip of 106 mph.  Coasted to the 7 mile turn off, Hartmut had to put on the brakes several times to make the turn off.  As soon as Hartmut's finished with his story, I'll post it on landracing.
 
                                           Max

[racin jason]

Max,

garmin makes a nice wristwatch sized gps unit that tracks speed vs distance. they have been a great tuning and rider tool. they cost around $125  garmin foretrex 201.

[Glen]

Jason, you would have to duct tape it to Noonan's arm or he would loose it.

[Kansas Bad Man]

One other thing I might point out on the coast down.  There is no way to disengage the clutch.  The clutch is engaged fully at about 3500 rpm.  The engine speed engages the clutch.  The clutch doesn't disengage until the engines slow to 3500 rpm.  The rear wheel drives the clutch basket and keeps it engaged until this rpm is reached.  So the speed reduction from the 275 mph was pretty significant for a good distance, as it was pulling 3000cc that were dead.  

                                              Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

Max,

garmin makes a nice wristwatch sized gps unit that tracks speed vs distance. they have been a great tuning and rider tool. they cost around $125  garmin foretrex 201.

Thanks Jason,
I'll have to get one of those, ain't gonna loan it to Noonan.

                                           Max

[Kansas Bad Man]

                    Bub Meet Day Five
                         
                           by pilot
 
                     Hartmut Weidelich

As Don Angel and were taking turns riding the liner, after my first try, where I had to abort the run on Saturday, I joked with him, "Rule #1, any run which ends in the first mile or so doesn't count for a run." He laughed and agreed.  We worked on the bike and put it in line again.  My second run had to be aborted as well, for the same reason as the first.  After working on the bike, checking everything that might be the reason for the engines to die in the 1/4 mile, I got in again and gave it nother try.  Same result, only this time the clutch locked up instantly and the bike came to a standstill within the first quarter.  After lifting the bonnet we saw that the clutch was locked up completly, as a cotter pin had sheared, and the central nut was tightened up solid by the brutal force of the spinning engine.
                             
                                        H.W.

[Kansas Bad Man]

                 Bub Meet Day Five
                        by pilot
                 Hartmut Weidelich

So I said to Don, "Rule number 2, three aborted runs don't count for a full run!"  He smiled again and agreed.  We took the bike back to the puts and started working on the clutch.  John MacDougall and Little Max were successful in removing the central nut.  That bastard was very tight, so they had to use the biggest tools and plenty of force.  I took the pressure plates out and took the slider weights and levers off to see if the now dished plate could be bent back--it couldn't, as that would need a couple of tons on a press.  so we decided to put it all together and add a few shims behind it to get the required play into the clutch plates.  Jesse and Lenny put the springs back on and adjusted them to the measurements I had taken before tearing it apart.  The clutch went on the shaft.  I adjusted it, and bolted everything up.

As there was nothing else for me to do on the liner, I asked Max why he thought the bike was stopping running all of a sudden.  I couldn't figure it out, as I was just beginning to think I understood how the fuel system works, and what is for what.

It was very discouraging.  I had no bloody clue what was going on.  I felt Max wasn't sure either as to what was happening.  It concerned me, as In all the years before, he instantly knew what went wrong.

                                      H.W.

[Kansas Bad Man]

                Bub Meet Day Five
                     by pilot
                Hartmut Weidelich

Max said he wasn't going to the banquet, so I agreed to go with Little Max.  When I went to their room in the Econo Lodge to meet up with him, there was an old and very disappointed looking Max sitting in a chair.  I could see that he was in deep thought, absorbed with the liner's problem, still looking clueless.  He didn't even notice when we left.

Little Max and I left the banquet after it became clear we were not going to get the award we thought Black Lightning had earned, and we had come for--The Fastest Side Car Streamliner of the Meet.  We had a meal and went back to our digs.

I promised to be on the salt by 7:00 am next day, but somehow my crappy alarm didn't ring, so I didn't show up till 8.  To my relief I found Max smiling in the pit, saying he had figured out the reason why the liner was refusing to run properly--the high speed circuit in the injection system wasn't holding up against the fuel pressure that's generated when the engine starts to rev up beyond 3500 rpms.  so he installed the metering valve upside down, which means it blocks completely, and the engine gets the full pressure.

Again I kidded my friend Don Angel about who is to get the next run.  As rule #2 came into play, he agreed that I should have another go.  Thanks Donny.

                                   H.W.