My friend Randy(rchop) and I made it back from Speedweek, both with records as rookies. It would be great if that could happen every year. We had a great time at Bonneville and I know I will always remember my first trip with a great deal of significance.
Here is Randy getting ready to run.......he chased the record all week and finally got it on the second to last day. I think we both agree that this picture is probably one of the best that either of us took during the meet. It really captures "Bonneville". Randy set the record for the APS-PG 750cc class to 120 mph and some change with his home built BMW.
Here I am getting ready to ride my way into the history books on Kents very healthy 750 Suzuki sidecar.
Receiving my instructions from the starter.
Heading down the course.......
I had a few firsts while at Bonneville, first time to ride that bike, first time ever riding anything with a sidecar and first time down the salt. All were great experiences and I am grateful that Kent was nice enough to let me ride one of his bikes.
I made three passes while at Bonneville all were on the sidecar. My first pass was a rookie run in which I did 137 mph. The record at the time was 135 and some change, I was kind of shocked I went faster than the record on my rookie run. This first pass was quite an experience as I had all of those firsts going on at the same time, almost overwhelming but what a rush, it left me only wanting more and to make another pass.
My second pass consisted of me doing 146 mph and qualifying for the record, had I not short shifted the last gear I may have been able to pull a 150 mph pass. Things were much easier to concentrate on this time like actually riding the bike and watching the tach.
My third run was a back up run for the record. I didn't quite hit the shift points exactly where I was suppose to, but I did have a top speed a 150 mph and backed up the run and got a record. This pass was much clearer than the previous two and I feel that if I had the opportunity to make a few more passes on the bike I could defiantly get into the mid 150's, but for now the record for SC-G 750 cc is 147 and some more change.
So all in all we had a great trip and met a lot of great people that I look forward to speaking with again next year. Thanks to all that helped it is really appreciated!
Got back to building the bike today with intentions of wrapping up the motor this weekend. I started off by finishing the end gap on the rings and weighing the pistons to make sure they were the same after the milling work.
Turns out Randy N is a very precise machinist as both pistons were exactly the same and did not require any more work. Here are both pistons on the scale with wristpins, clips and rings.
Got everything together and was ready to move on but..........
I decided I better check piston to piston clearance before I move forward. Good thing I did as the picture shows the pistons do come in contact with on another. Not much but anything in this case is a lot. So I may just clearance them myself and re-weigh everything, if not I will have them machined.
Stay tuned more to come..............
