Tom,
I do understand your point about the 30 MPH records as you are an entrant of a motorcycle that tries to be the slowest record each year. What upsets me is the idea that maybe to achieve the "slowest record" goal the idea was passed around to leave the bike in first gear for the whole two miles.
DW
Dan,
Sorry this reply took so long as I have not been around a computer.
You have fallen for the BS (keep it in first gear) that is put out there to mess with people's minds. Propaganda is what I call it and it has obviously worked.
Yes I am 25% owner of the White Goose Bar 50cc Vintage motorcycle that competed at Bonneville this year and set a record. We also set 3 records with the same bike (different names) last year at Bonneville. We have always run the bike as fast as it will go. We understand the long lines and the wait everyone endures and always run just the minimum amount of runs to set a record. This year at Speedweek we waited until Thursday before we even ran the bike. This year we had to run the stock carb for the class in which it was entered and has a venturi so tiny I am surprised it went as fast as it did.
Background: At a Sidewinders meeting two years ago there was a big discussion on why the Sidewinders being one of the biggest car clubs in the SCTA were consistently finishing in the bottom half of the club standings at El Mirage. We were told by the Club President the reason most people don't run cars or bikes in the club is because of the cost of racing. Four of us were sitting at a table and had just got the new rule book. One of us looked up the slowest open minimum for a motorcycle at El Mirage and it was 37mph for a 50cc P-PV at El Mirage. We all decided to go in as partners and find a bike that would be able to compete in this class. It took a while but we found a bike. Long story short the guy gave us the bike if we would enter it in his company name and would run it at Bonneville 2006. We did and got the bike for free. Total cost of setting 3 records at Bonneville in 2006 was about $1000 mostly entry money and converting the bike to meet the current rules.
We proved our point that it does not take a huge bank account to set records and that if someone really wants to do it they can. Everyone thought we were crazy so to mess with peoples minds we would tell them we were going after the World's Fastest-Slowest record. The word spread along with who knows how many rumors. Do I take these records seriously? No way. Do we have fun? Yes.
Bottom line, We looked in the rule book at the time and found a class we wanted to run. We set our goal. We accomplished our goal and are having fun. Sorry it takes so long to complete a run, but everything was done according to the rule book and the current classes listed in it. I feel we do not slow down the meet and are very considerate of the other participants. This year I though there would be a shorter coarse to run on but it did not materialize.
If there are people out there who do not like what we are doing I suggest you change the rules and retire our records. We are only guilty of reading the rule book and building a vehicle for a class that aready existed.
Tom G.