Starting Again

Once again, the engine for the Carbon Yeti is headed up to George Dean Racing Engines. It will need to be shimmed to account for the stretch in the GRP connecting rods. We're hoping it comes back ready to set records.

Meanwhile, Rod is considering advantages and disadvantages of fuel injection and carburetors for nitro methane. Both the Buell and the Aprilia will need reconfiguration before the next BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials.

Keep thinking, Butch. That's what you're good at.

Anti-Climax

And why haven't I posted results from the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials?

They were underwhelming.

The record-setting Aprilia was barely a quarter mile down the course before the engine seized. The Carbon Yeti roared through three miles before it suddenly lost compression and quit.

Only the strange little V-twin 500 cc Buell chugged all the way down the course, and came back to set an AMA record. Which is not quite as impressive as it sounds, because it was an open class, so any time would have been a record. I'm almost ashamed to tell people that the Buell did just over 75 mph, slower than the Aprilia.

Okay, now the good news.

We did come away with new records; not every one who attended can say that. We suffered no major damage to any of the bikes. The fear that the Yeti had holed a piston was unfounded. The new aluminum rods had merely stretched to the point that the pistons were tapping the valves, and it shut down before any significant damage occurred.

So now, it's time to regroup and rebuild. Only eleven months to go!

Julianna and the V-twin 500 cc Buell

Doldrums

The electronics of the Hayabusa are at Kinsler being mapped for nitro methane, the Aprilia is at HighGain Tuning having fuel injection installed and the Buell sits at Speedwrench waiting for the motor to be assembled. With thirty-three days until we pull out of the driveway, I'm getting itchy.

Rob keeps busy improving the trailer. Last year, it was loaded so lightly that it nearly bounced the Aprilia apart. Rob's solution: add shock absorbers. Apparently, there are no kits that fill his needs, so it's fabrication time again. It keeps him off the streets until the bikes are back in the garage.

Think salt rusts metal?

Mapping the Aprilia

The first step on any map is to find "You Are Here."

That's what we did at Richard Bruckner's HighGain Tuning. Richard ran the BBND Aprilia on race gasoline on his DynoJet SD12 to establish a performance baseline. Once we know where we are, we can determine where we are going.

Although the bike has run well on gasoline, fuel starvation issues on alcohol have been difficult to overcome. By fuel injecting the motor, Richard believes performance will be improved with gas, and an alcohol/nitro methane/air mixture will be predictable from zero to top speed.

Rob and Richard load the Aprilia on the DynoJet

I am really eager to see how this evolves.

See you on the Salt

I spent the morning filling out entry forms for the 2012 BUB Speed Trials. At this time, we have four bikes entered: the Hayabusa on nitro methane, the Buell on gasoline, Randy Miller's nitrous oxide Buell, and the 40cc Aprilia which will run on both gasoline and an alcohol/nitro methane fuel mix.

We have exactly four months before opening day at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Lots of work to do.

Aprilia Progress

Alcohol or gasoline: the Aprilia will be able to switch fuels with the switch of a carburetor. No changing jets and minimal adjustment. Rob and Steve at AF1 are currently looking at the feasibility of using forged 50 cc pistons from Wiseco Pistons, made in the USA.

Six months till the BUB Speed Trials

Certified

World's Fastest 50cc Motorcycle (nonstreamlined)

                                                             What else need I say?

Dyna-Mite!

The dyno comes together

The concept

Every well equipped garage should have a dynamometer, and now the Big Bad Nitro Daddy garage is no exception.

Rob thought it was too much work to load the Apilia up and take it to Speedwrench whenever we wanted to test it, and all he really needed is a comparison between pulls,nothing terribly sophisticated or precise. One wheel and tire, brake and gauges, weld together a frame and there we are.

Up and running (with the Buell in the bbackground)

It is perfect for the Aprilia, and will probable handle the Buell, but Randy will still be seeing us at Speedwrench when the Hayabusa goes back together.

... and the new world's record is ...

81.398 mph.
Pending ratification by the F,I,M,

Life at Bonneville was frustrating for the first day when I could barely keep the bike running at low revs. It sure made it hard to start as the bike struggled in first gear and took over half a mile to climb up into the exciting part of the power band. A new ring gave it back the compression we needed, and the Aprilia rewarded us with four runs over 80 mph.

On Tuesday, August 30th, we ran 82.574 down, with a return run of 80.255 mph. That gave us the average of 81.398 mph through the mile, breaking the previous record of just over 77 mph.

World's Record Fastest 50cc Aprilia RS-50

In addition, the organizers of the BUB Speed Trials awarded Big Bad Nitro Daddy the "Highest MPH/CC Ratio" for our fastest run of 82.673. Pretty amazing when you consider that speed is being generated by a piston and cylinder the size of a shot glass.

Thank you AF1 Racing for building the "mad little monkey" motor, and Optima Batteries for providing the electrical power. Already we're planning how to go faster next year.

And wait till you see what's been happening to the Buell!

We Are the Hollow Bikes



The last chance I'll have to ride
the Aprilia for quite a while.




Whoops, there went my little motorcycle.



I walked into the garage, and there was the Aprilia--It was hollow!
I swear, completely hollow. Like a Thanksgiving turkey carcass after its been stripped to the ribs for soup. Nothing but the frame and the wheels.

 

An empty Aprilia surrounded by its parts

Rob packed up the engine and sent it off to Steve at AF1 Racing in New Brunswick, Texas, for metamorphosis into a “mad little monkey.” I’ll take advantage of the Aprilia’s current uncluttered nature to clean it, even in some of those normally hard-to-reach places.

I can see right through the Aprilia
to the Buell.

With the Aprilia on the back burner, the Hayabusa will go back on the lift. Time to tear it apart and see how much damage was done in Bonneville. It’s good to have a project.



One of the pistons from Rob's funny car
dwarfs the motor of the Aprilia.