We faced the grim reality of eight days before we rolled toward the historic Bonneville Salt Flats. Berry Wardlaw flew in from Accurate Engineering to assist with the Nitrous wiring, tuning then flew back out to Dotham, Alabama to take care of biz for a week, before returning to the salt. We hoped for a running Assalt Weapan and some Dyno time while he was here.
At this point our crew was pointed in a lot of directions. Nyla was working on our team shirts and ballcaps for the salt, the motorhome/toy hauler rental, supplies, tools, ramps, tents and chairs. The salt is a desolate, unforgiving surface, and there ain’t no trees to huddle under. The wind kicks up every afternoon and there’s a code, “Leave the salt as you found it.” We needed to have tarps under our work surfaces and a lift this year so we wouldn’t crawl around working on the bike and we’d work on the bike constantly. That was guaranteed.
That wasn’t all. We grappled with printing banners to support our sponsors, hats embroidered, stickers made, paint delivered, pinstripers called and the seat delivered.
Fortunately we were able to eliminate some of the wiring and by Friday evening the bike had fired to life. All systems were up and running. The oil tank worked (I was nervous) and we had oil pressure. The Spyke Charging system worked and we had power. The Big Boar battery struggled but started the Accurate Engineering 120-inch Panhead while Berry Wardlaw spoke of Nitrous gods and the Anola Gay, which was built during WWII a mile from the Salt Flats. He’s a master of history, wars, racing and revels in the masterminds who came before him.
As the Assalt Weapan fired we shifted into the checkin’ and adjustment mode. Every aspect of the bike was inspected and reexamined. The clutch, oil line routing, wires, and shifting. We decided to eliminate the Pingel electric shifter and install a manual shifting system, I had previously prepared for. We made a shifter system and I started to cut the panels for the shift rod, then decided to run the rod on the outside to prevent more damage to aero benefits of the panels.
We dropped the Pingel because of our own insecurities and inexperience with the system. Plus the load on the electrical system was a consideration and the vast quagmire of wiring involved. As it turned out, it was a wise decision. I also didn’t like the position of the solenoid acting as a wind block. Over and over during this entire process I was focused on anything we could accomplish to enhance traveling through the wind.
Earlier in the week Junior of Lifestyle Cycles in Anaheim approved our use of his dyno, then he fell in love, got married and ran off. We couldn’t reach him on Saturday. We tried Bartels’ H-D and the Bartels’ family was out of town. I forgot to try Benett’s Performance, Bonneville contenders, on Signal Hill, but we procured positive word from Junior’s love nest and were able to jam to LifeStyle Cycles and make six passes on their dyno with Sparky’s assistance.
We experienced moving the Assalt Weapan for the first time and it wasn’t easy. With less that 2 inches of ground clearance, the oil tank under the frame touched down way too often and ramp loading was difficult without four crew members, but we did it.
Berry has a dyno at his Alabama headquarters and more experience than I at dyno operations. We sported a 40-tooth rear sprocked and should have made our runs in 3rd gear rather than 4th, but it was damn good to hear her run up through the gears, feel the BDL clutch in action and see her fly through the Baker gears.
The graph on the exhaust stained Dyno Jet Computer read a consistent 115-117 horsepower and between 170 and 215 pounds of torque. Berry specifically built this to be a nitrous/torque engine with .700 thick Ross piston tops and ring lands .300 down the piston to handle the nitrous load.
He added two pounds to the flywheels to enhance torque and backed off on the ring pressure to reduce the largest friction element in this engine. Tiny holes in the top of the piston above the rings allowed compression to pressurize the rings during the compression stroke.
Berry studied every aspect of his engine configuration to give us durability and reliability under a Nitrous load. “I could still give this engine another 100 hours of improvements,” Berry said over and over, as if a future threat loomed ahead.
We wrapped up the goods and our dyno runs and headed back to the Bikernet headquarters with our run printouts and list for the next week, the last week before we headed to the great white dyno in Bonneville, Utah. Berry was unhappy with the runs and the skipping tire on the dyno. “We would deflate the tire and pull it down hard against the drum,” Berry said as he explained how he operated his dyno. “Our rear tire was skipping, that’s where the RPM spikes showed up. I would have liked to run this on the dyno all day.”
We did our best within out delicate time frame and pushed onward. I sent Berry a report as progress was accomplished:
Here's my report Colonel Wardlaw, sir,
I contacted George Fleming, the artist. We'll work on some sticker art for Accurate. Rodan, SCTA official, came over and was impressed with the bike. He told me a real Panhead ran 143 at Bonneville in a stock frame. The bike was run in a wind tunnel. We'll have to do that. He inspected the bike. I need to come up with a lever that shuts off the petcock (fuel bikes). He gave me a notion for the horn button and ground. Easy livin'. I'll take care of it.
I'll hit the check list hard tomorrow. Hope you had a comfortable flight. Sure was good to have you here. We'll do it again. You'll have to bring your kid out and take him to Disneyland, Knotts and 6-Flags.
Hell week begins,
–Bandit
August 27th 2007- Monday Bonneville Weather Report–The weather front that came through yesterday really helped the course- though we were worried otherwise! There was very little moisture and a lot of wind. The course has dried considerably, especially the problem spot between the 6 and 7 mile. The 0-2 has also dried- though both areas still need to dry a bit more to be usable. Once again the forecast looks hot for the immediate future. We are still exploring alternative options to get the best course possible.
ACCESS ROAD: the wind was of great benefit to the access road. There is still some standing water however it is shallow enough to see where to go (and where not to).
Time Until BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials 200805 Days, 11 Hours, 17 Minutes, 54 Seconds.
Tuesday passed and we progressed:
Hey Colonel,
I made the nitrous button and ground, changed oil, wrapped the vent (from the fins), started to grind the panel for shift rod, then realized that with a 1-inch extension I could run the shift rod on the outside (whatta fool), and what else? I ordered the sprockets. Bastards still can't drill the holes without an example… Need a few fasteners tomorrow and the lever from the bike shop for the petcock. I'm beginning to pack the tool boxes with tools and supplies.
Over and out,
–Bandit
We chased down and ordered backup nitrous and fuel ferrules. They came in the nick of time. Right up till the last minute I learned about the AIM Sports data acquisitation system. It still needed calibration. The next report contained the following:
I ordered 38, 36, and 34 tooth sprockets today and called about our alarm system. I pay monthly for it. It never works when I need it. The service guy, who told me about the back-ordered battery, said, “Murphy's Law.”
–Bandit
We finally had our gas tank, which added to the project list. We needed to clean all the threads, mount the vent, the gas cap, the petcock, the data acquisation system and mount the goddamn tank. We hit it hard.
Tuesday another report flashed to the east coast:
Hey,
Your ground switch is wired and finished. Duane Ballard is shipping the seat next day tomorrow morning. He spaced. We have ordered some Accurate Stickers with old logo art. They should be ready tomorrow. I've started to load tools. The battery mounts have been drilled and safety wired. I'll try to fix the lift with an extension. Gears are ordered.
The petcock safety, handlebar switch was complete. Pinstriper came today and painted panels and nitrous bottle guard. Would you like me to install a full bottle? I need a roll of duck tape. Two extra primary belts arrived today from BDL. I mounted the outter primary with some spacers under the derby cover to hopefully afford some ventilation.
Rock n roll.
–Bandit
Two Days left before departure and a report came from the other coast:
The dyno information we received was all wrong numbers. That is exactly why I asked the dyno guy about third gear because that is what we use also. Next time.
You've done a very good job. Yes, install the FULL nitrous bottle. We are receiving spare piston set today and then need to machine them. The puke tank is finished and I will bring it with me.
–Berry Wardlaw
THE EVENT IS ON!
August 28th 2007- Tuesday
The salt noticeably dried further today- though we still have that problem spot between 6 and 7. We are working to devise a drain method in the hopes that it will also dry, however we are now grooming the SCTA courses for use of those as our other possibility.
ACCESS ROAD: There is still some standing water at the access road. It is a bit drier than previously.
PLEASE NOTE: We will be in transit tomorrow (Wed 8.29.07) heading out to the salt. There will be no internet weather update for a couple of days while we get set up. We will however be able to call in an update on our voicemail at 530-272-4310. Please call for udates and listen to the daily message. This will be updated once a day before noon (Pacific time). Once we are able to resume internet connection on the salt we will post the information.
–Delvine Manning
Bubs
Some 24 hours before we left a call came in from Bob Parsons, the owner of GoDaddy.com. “I heard you were disappointed that we didn't sponsor your bike,” Bob said.
I wasn't disappointed. We just reach out, and if we get picked up, terrific. It's just a roll of the dice. GoDaddy sponsored Valerie all year long for her Destroyer drag racing efforts and that was very cool. They've taken good care of her. “I'll fedex a check,” Bob said. “Can we get a couple of stickers on the bike?”
“No problem,” I said and hung up. We waited at the gate, before pulling out. It was set to arrive by 10:00, but the truck didn't pulled up until 3:00. Five minutes later we hauled ass to State Line. Many thanks to Bob and Godaddy.com.
Time Until BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials 2008
04 Days, 12 Hours, 11 Minutes, 11 Seconds.
The day we left Jim Waggaman called from Air Stream Studios in Carlsbad, CA, with fairing news. It was done and he was on his way.
We mounted it and discovered that the fairing touched the tank. Fortunately I made adjustable fork stops, and we adjusted. The fairing was fabbed out of an old Hamster fairing from the ‘80s, split and punched forward with a beanie helmet, then fiberglassed by Chris, Jim's assistant, and reshaped. Jim took it to a windshield joint for plexiglass and it turned the Assalt Weapan into a rocket ship. Mighty fine!
Since Jim and his crew were on hand they helped us load our baby for flight. Time was up. The Great White Dyno awaited our arrival and the Chop N Grind team was already in route. Don't miss the next Chapter, from the salt 650 miles away.
