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

Ready to Roll

Made the lists, ran the errands, shopped last minute while Rob loaded the trailer. Hayabusa, Aprilia, parts, wheels, tools, gears, bicycles, fuel. What did we forget? Thirty-seven feet of trailer starts looking awfully small.

Typical of me before a trip, I can't sleep. Still up doing little chores. We'll hit the road early with Rob doing the lion's share of driving.

BUB and Bonneville or Bust!

Building the Buell

Randy Miller and Rob Williams assemble
the BBND Buell

Randy works best under pressure, and preparing so many Harleys for Sturgis has buried him under plenty, but now the benches at Speedwrench are cleared for Bonneville action.

Few bikes represent the spirit of the Salt Flats better than the BBND Buell. It began life as a 1200cc Lightning, but L.A. Sleeve reduced the cylinders to make it a 500cc twin. Custom pistons from JE Piston and redesigned heads from Ken Weber at 10-Litre Performance are being fitted with an XB1 crank.

Randy places the sleeved cylinder

It is, at least, a highly unusual motor. We don't expect to see Eric Buell rushing them into production, nor even many copycats on the Salt next year.

But if it does what we expect this year, we'll have it back in a different form in 2013, also.

Twelve days.

Triumph over Software

It would be so much easier if I knew what I'm doing.

The fuel injectors in the Hayabusa are more than three times the volume of those that delivered its nitro methane mixture in 2010, so it takes a whole new fuel map just to be able to run it well enough to start and run on a dyno.

"Boost by Smith" gives us a starting point, but Rob's strong suite is all mechanical. That left him looking at me to make the computer talk to the Busa.

What do I know about assigning com ports and finding .bin files?

Obviously not much, because it took me twelve hours to feel confident editing data and flashing them to the ECU. I didn't know what TPS and IAP stood for, much less how one fuel map differs from another.

But tonight the BBND Busa crackled to life on alcohol. Tomorrow we'll start it up on nitro methane, and with luck, it will be on the dyno this week.

It just seems wrong to have it depending on computers.

Nineteen days and counting.

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?

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.

... 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!