Landracing Forum
Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials => Bville Motorcycle Speed Trials Rules Questions => Topic started by: drc42 on May 13, 2019, 08:55:22 PM
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I have been talking about it for years and finally decided to make the trip out to the salt this August! Being a newbie my plan is to keep it simple, most likely in the P-P 250cc class, or might possibly do some fiberglass work and do a simple MPS bike but still keep the engine/drivetrain mostly stock to keep it simple and reliable. My goal for the first time out is to learn and have fun hanging out with like minded gear heads :-D
I thought about the "run whatcha brung" but really want to get more of the full experience.
The one big question I have is about showing up alone with no crew. Are there any rules regarding riding the bike to/from the race course from the pits? Looking through the rules I don't see anything, but I thought I remember seeing something about that in the past (perhaps it is a rule for cars I am thinking of?).
I am certainly willing to help out with others in exchange for a hand when I need one (I figure that is half the fun) but wouldn't want to have to rely on that.
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My children and wife have come with me and help me to work on the bike. As for the runs, I do those alone. The bike is ridden from the pits to the start line, run down the mile, and ridden back to the pits. No crew should not be a problem. Make sure you have an attached sidestand so you can park the thing.
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It is doable DRC42
Hard work maybe, but doable. I am aware of at least one other rider that works as rider, crew chief, mechanic, cook, and pit crew. Always with a smiley face too.
As WW says, make sure you have a sidestand with you, and make sure you always have enough gas to do a loop ride of several miles. Enough to get from the pits down to Pre stage, up to your mile marker, up the course and back to the pits. I am sure someone there will be happy for you to pit beside them and offer advice and support as and when needed.
Good luck and see you in August. Don't forget to get a room booked asap though, They sell out early.
Cheers
John
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Thanks guys, looking forward to it! Will be a new experience for me. I did a couple events in Baja in the past (Mexican 1000 and Baja Rally, both "dakar style" rally races) as well as the Vegas to Reno race (didn't finish but was still quite the experience) so this will be a good new adventure.
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Good luck with your prep. Hopefully it'll be a much smoother course than the Baja :-D
See you at Mountain Mile 1.
Cheers
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Yup, the community is very supportive and you will find people pitching in to help you on a regular basis.
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There are people that ride in, race their bikes and generally get to ride them home... asking your bike to run at maximum performance can occasionally lead to seeing what the inside of a motor looks like without disassembly :-o
:cheers:
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There are people that ride in, race their bikes and generally get to ride them home... asking your bike to run at maximum performance can occasionally lead to seeing what the inside of a motor looks like without disassembly :-o
:cheers:
Now, how would you know that, Stainless?
John
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The past 3 times at BMST I had 6 or more crew-spectators with me. One or more have often helped other riders. No promises from me for this year but you should not be afraid to ask.
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Drc, Comet & Doc are 100% right, U can so do it on your own, In fact you will be surprised how easy help is,
Usually If im unloading and getting the ramp ready, And My Crew Man is up front, Almost always the first couple of
guys that walk by ask,You need a hand unloading, And if that doesnt happen, No matter what, Any pit you go to,
If you ask for a hand expect five people helping you!
And then when your run comes, If you have no pit man to fasten your kickstand up with a zip tie, Comet , Who is one of the
Main Starters not only will help you, But I think he carries small cutters or dykes to cut the end off your zip tie, DRC,
U better get ready to run with one Big Ol Family of Nice People, Cuz all of them will blow you away as far as making you feel welcome.
Plz, Make the effort, Youll be happy you did , I Promise, DW
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You guys are getting me even more excited for the trip out to the salt! Looking forward to meeting you all!
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One thing I'll suggest is taking some time to plan out your pit setup. Spending days on the salt is one of the most awesome experiences one can have, but it's also quite hard on you. My list of absolute must haves includes an ez up canopy that you can strip the cover off of at night so it doesn't blow away (pitched over a suitably sized plastic tarp), stakes and a one pound hammer to hold it all down, lots of 100spf sunscreen, gobs of water and electrolytes (I got brutal leg cramps at night before it was explained to me that I was short on electrolytes from sweating out so much water), a floppy brimmed hat, WRAPAROUND DARK sunglasses (two on our crew were miserable after a few days with open sided dark glasses). I'm big on light colored clothes too - white t shirts, khaki shorts. Light colored leathers are perhaps not stylish but they do help keep you tiny bit cooler than black leathers. An old leather belt is a neat way to allow you to strip off the top half of one piece leathers and still keep the bottom half held up. Waiting for your turn at the start line can get really, really hot in the afternoon.
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You might consider an electric screwdriver and screws instead of the one pound hammer... sometimes the salt is hard and most hammers take multiple pounds.
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Or multiple hammers
https://youtu.be/n-2YN_Ak9eE
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Looks like maybe 50 or so more stakes will do the job
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Ive NEVER Used Stakes , An touch the salt, Haha,Not me, We use 10lb bar bell weights, Zip Tied to
The bottom of our EZ-Up , One second to set up half a second to cut off ...
And On the Spf, Dont forget The salt is white, U get burnt from the ground up .
And Also I always bring a tarp, Bought a Canvas one Maybe 12 x 12 lay that down first to cover the salt,
And the Dehydration thing,Whew, Maybe its also because all day you can taste salt , ,
One last thing, Ask ?? Dont just get in a line, Ask to be sure where you are , My first run ever ,Thought I was getting in line for RWB, Nope, The Gas Line for fuel.
Have Fun
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We use 1/4" lag bolts hammer-drilled into the salt. Gravity has proven itself to be less than enough to hold things down in the wind too dang many times to trust it. We also not only take the "tarp" off the EZ UP frame, we take the frame down. Want our reason?
Look in the big garbage rolloffs the day after a big blow on the salt and see if you can count the number of bent/farkled aluminum EZ UP frames. . . I run out of fingers and toes. . . :roll:
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Heh, I know what you mean about EZUP's blowing away. I once rolled back in to camp after a long dirt bike ride and noticing how some poor sucker lost his ezup. Got to my van to find I was the poor sucker. I can only imagine out on the salt flats the wind can get pretty serious.
My plan is to install a camper awning on the side of my enclosed trailer. Still has a chance of getting mangled if the wind is too strong but at least it will be solidly anchored to the trailer. Probably will bring an extra tarp that I can hang from the side to block sun when it gets low also. I am one of those northerners who doesn't get that much sun so yeah, been paying extra attention to the stories of sun exposure from above and below.
Really appreciating all the useful feedback from you guys!
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Oh,SSS, So Correct, We Never ever leave the Tarp top of the EZ up on ,,And always, Push it down low..
When Bad weather comes to Bonneville, Its BAD Weather
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Oh,SSS, So Correct, We Never ever leave the Tarp top of the EZ up on ,,And always, Push it down low..
When Bad weather comes to Bonneville, Its BAD Weather
Yea, the mistake most make is leave the top on the EZ up and go get in line.... they are a couple of miles away when the wind hits... they get back in time to go looking for their stuff
:cheers:
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Nice safety tips gents. All very important to know about when its your first time, or second or third too.
I learned all about salt depletion back in 2008. All day I was drinking water. Constantly. I drank bottles of the stuff. On the Thursday night at the banquet I started to feel not so great. I ended up leaving early and went back to my room. For the following 4 days I was so ill. Dawn had to drive the car as I couldn't. Ever since that year we stop at a Walmart and buy a shed load of gatorades or similar and we drink plenty of that and plenty of water. You have to keep the fluids up, but you have to replace the eloctrolytes too.
DRC when you get ready in the morning, slap on the SPF, then get dressed. It is the best way of making sure you don't miss a spot. Dammit, your ears can get really sore if you burn them and so can under your nose.
Most of the starting points will have easy ups ( and water for riders) that you can get under. But if you can bring along an umbrella you might find it gives you some much needed shade when you are waiting in line at tech inspection, pre staging, or if the starting points are really busy.
DRW is right, we have zip ties and clippers. so we'll make sure you are all zipped up and safe to run. We will try and make sure you are having fun too though. :-D
See you out there in August.
( there is a Smiths grocery store in town, you can buy provisions there but it is not big so choice is limited. Make sure you bring suitable SPF cream with you.)