El Mirage LSR's First Event of the Year

[isiahstites]

Today, after a busy day of running around with my head cut off I will load the busa and head to El Mirage for a much needed weekend with my racing friends. This will happen only after, I finish a few small things to the bike, take Cami and Sienna to the airport, dyno the bike, pack, and of course saving the best for last..........finish my homework!!

I think it will be late before I get there, so I will have to be the first in line to tech in the morning. My starting position is 22nd and I need to use the cooler air to my advantage. Everything seems to run so much stronger out there in the A.M. and a lot of records are usually set in the morning before 10:00 A.M. My goal for this weekend is to eclipse my personal best of 172.2 mph up to 175 mph and get my 200 mph license! I hope the bike goes 180 mph or more, however with my big ass riding it you never know.

So, I will be sending update from the track as I got one of those new technically advanced phones, I just need to figure out how to attach photos to emails with it............worse case I will send text updates! Should be a fun weekend, my friend is running a destroked busa motor from 1300 cc's to 1000 cc's and he thinks it will run well over 220 mph, another friend has a busa powered roadster that is making quite a bit of power and it should go over 200 mph, and the electric bike will be there on Sunday with no fairings and we hope it will run a big number.

You guys take care and wish me luck!

Scott aka disgruntled employee

[DarthRider]

Go fast Scotty, and don't bust your "big ass"!
Sounds like an interesting meet...

[JCsman]

If you can just turn your "ride report" into a term paper, you'll have more "spare" time.

Go fast, go safe... Go, Scott, Go!:eusa_clap::eusa_clap:

[isiahstites]

If you can just turn your "ride report" into a term paper, you'll have more "spare" time.

Go fast, go safe... Go, Scott, Go!:eusa_clap::eusa_clap:

Call me crazy but right now I am thinking more time means working less..........I may start a thread when I get home...........I think I have got to that point.:icon_redface:

Scott

[Elsie Smith]

Hmmm, with the home work and all, it's amazing that you would
HAVE time to have a "big ass." :-)) However, hope you meet all
your goals for the weekend and get the big numbers in before 10!

[isiahstites]

Well it is almost 10 PM and I am finally out the door..........got to stop by a friends shop and pick up a few parts he broke today and then off to El Mirage.......should get there around 1 AM and up at 5:30 AM for tech and racing!

Got the bike dynoed today and without tunning ( no time - checked A/F) I got a 160 hp to the wheel..........this is without seeing the affects of the ram air tubes and new airbox.........tomorrow should be fun.

Scott

[Donson]

Scott,dont forget to wrap the leg with asbestos cloth,and the Bash-hat,Mate,Go Like The Wind! Godspeed!:eusa_clap:

[isiahstites]

160.8 mph this morning, experienced wheel spin going throught the traps in 6th gear at 160.....the speedometer was buried at 180.....strange to feel the wheel breaking loosw at that speed.


Scott

[Donson]

I would think it would feel "strange",LOL:)

[isiahstites]

No more runa for today as the winds quicked up earlier and we have been on hld most of the day. It looks like I will only get one pass tomorrow. The course is terrible!

I do not knw how but I am in the middle of knw where and I have a wifi connecion???

It is amazing how people think you can just hop on a busa and go 200 mph.........it is not easy, as I am learning.

Scott

[DarthRider]

It is amazing how people think you can just hop on a busa and go 200 mph.........it is not easy, as I am learning.

Scott

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it...go Scotty!

[NakedRider]

It is amazing how people think you can just hop on a busa and go 200 mph.........it is not easy, as I am learning.

Scott

Maybe easier without the wheel spin on tarmac. I've heard from many people that it's scary out there even to hit 120.

Good (great) luck out there.

[DarthRider]

Maybe easier without the wheel spin on tarmac. I've heard from many people that it's scary out there even to hit 120.

Good (great) luck out there.

You may know the story of the 650 Triumph powered streamliner, the Texas Cee-gar, that set the world record in 1956 at 214+ MPH. 214 was a real big deal then!
The pilot was Johnny Allen, a dirt-track ace from Fort Worth, Texas. Somebody asked Johnny a while later if it was "scary" to go 214 MPH on a motorcycle.
Johnny thought a moment and replied, "Well maybe a little, but not near as scary as one time when I was sliding along on my ass at 100 MPH after I fell off my flat track racer!"
It's all relative.
120 at Bonneville is not at all scary unless your engine has just seized...happened to me. :linzi:
Or if you were going 120 on a 119 MPH motorcycle!

[isiahstites]

Just finished unloading the truck after returning from El Mirage. I got two passes in today on an even crappier course!! First pass was 168.5 mph (a new personal best for me at El Mirage) and the second pass was a 159.xxx.

The second pass suprised me a little bit due to the amount of wheel slip I experienced. I basically was slipping the tire off and on for 1.3 miles. I have always wondered with the busa at what speed I would experience the ass end fish tailing from left to right. This is very common for high horse power bikes as the tire breaks loose it want to walk to the left of right, your speed and forward momentum pull it back and it goes back pass center line and eventually you get the rear of the bike wagging like the of a dog. Well today was the day! At a little over 155 mph I got the famous tail wag from the bike due to how soft the course was and the high amount of wheel slippage.

As I leave the line in first gear I am at 100 % throttle with in seconds of leaving the line. The bike was screaming, and so was the rear tire. It felt like I was on ice with the back going from left to right. I shifted into second gear and got more of the same, altought I was really moving at this point. As I shifted into third gear I was getting into some of the bad soft spots of the track, I picked my line and kept the throttle wide open. In the soft spots the bike was moving around a little bit due to a small cross wind, in these soft spots there was extreme wheel spin. I watched the tach go up and down as the bike would gain and then loose traction. Seconds after shifting into fourth gear the wagging began after screams from the motor as I continued to hit soft patches and loose traction. As the tail started moving left-to-right-to-left-to-right the first thought in my head was "HIGH SIDE"! Without thought I ever so lightly backed out of the throttle and regained traction and the wagging stopped, at this point I thought to myself "I have this beast under control". It was seconds later with my speed still climbing and my speedometer buried at 185 mphs that I shifted into fifth and felt the begging of the wagging once again and the thought of "I will never ever have control of this bike". I eased up on the throttle regained traction and looked for the best part of the course to maintain my new found traction. It didn't last long as the motor screamed and the rpms climbed closer to readline, I shifted into sixth and saw the traps, with my arms, knees and head tucked as tight as I could get them I made one last attempt to pick up some more mph only to feel the engine rev up and the wagging begin once again, I went throught the traps at 159.xxx with the speedometer still buried at 185 mph and the ass of the bike all over the place...............what a ride!!

While I did not go as fast as I wanted this weekend I was able to learn quite a bit about the bike and how to properly keep her on both feet. A great weekend, as I am home typing this and I learned a whole lot!!

The trip home left me to brain storm ideas of how to get more horsepower out of the motor with out spending a lot of money. After talking to my friend Shannon on the way home and asking him about a few of my ideas we figure we can get 15 + horse out of the bike by putting in a small head gasket to raise the compression, clean up the ports, and get rid of the stock exhaust cam and add a stock intake cam in it's place. If I do these mods it could get me really close to 175 hp and will definatley add some mph to my runs. This coupled with the dry nitrous system that will give me 40-50 hp will get me over 215 horse and should take me over 200 mph on a nice day with good track conditions, and also a record. This should hold me over until I get the wet nitrous system on the bike. The wet system should make 75-85 extra horse without hurting the motor.

Learn a little each time and go a little faster every race.

Scott

[DarthRider]

Scotty, it may not be applicable at all with your bike, but Jon was saving the same problem with Mabry's bike, only it started at about 210 or 220.
After a lot of thought, Ed added about 200 lbs. of lead just ahead of the rear wheel (he also corrected a bit of side-to-side imbalance.
That's when the bike started hooking up straight and knocking on the door of 250, eventually running 261 & change.
But...Ed's bike is longer, lower, heavier, a lot more power, a hard-tail, forks are raked more, and it's a flat-bottom. Talk about a very different motorcycle!
Ed had never actually ridden a landspeed bike, but years of designing, building & driving top fuel drag cars taught him how to build fast straight-line stuff.
Good luck & Go Scotty!

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/57645692_XNkjt-O.gif

[Sir Limpsalot]

200lbs of lead? Just eat more hamburgers!

Well done Scott, that was a damn good read. Rather you than me..

Cheers,
Si.

[Donson]

Scott,well done! May I inquire,before You worry about more H.P.,just get Her to hook up,You may be suprised. Please dont take this as critisism,just guessing...Perhaps a better racing surface ...Then add H.P. Again,just a guess...Well done,Sir,Don

[isiahstites]

Thanks for the comments Dave.


200lbs of lead? Just eat more hamburgers!



Si - I am already heavier than most of the busa riders out there so I come with built in ballast. Problem is that some of them weight 90-100 lbs less than me, which means I will get better traction, however what I make up for in traction I give back in aerodynamics! I would rather be aerodynamic as I can always add weight to the bike.



Scott,well done! May I inquire,before You worry about more H.P.,just get Her to hook up,You may be suprised. Please dont take this as critisism,just guessing...Perhaps a better racing surface ...Then add H.P. Again,just a guess...Well done,Sir,Don

Don - You are correct it is about getting her to hook-up. Problem is people have been racing on dry lakes for years and have not been able to transfer all of the power to the track/lakebed. I guess that is what makes it more fun, more of a challenge. Getting the bike to hook-up is not as easy as it sounds.

As far as a better racing surface is concerned, I am racing on the surface the SCTA provides. Unless I travel to the east coast and race I am going to have to continue racing on the dirt.

Scott

[Donson]

Scott,I didnt mean to sound like an ass-hat-nor was I questioning Your riding ability-I came across as sounding like a self proclaimed expert,didnt mean to. I think what I was trying to say,was perhaps at Bonneville,with the right salt conditions,the bike will hook up better.When I lived in Nevada,I crossed the salt flats several times a week,going to and from Our home office.I always carried My 250 Elsinore in the back of My pickup,and whenever I had time,I would stop and play on the salt.It was awesome,being alone on the salt,full throttle,feet on the pegs,full lock turns,5 th gear......sorry,I got carried away,just was always amazed at the traction/lack of traction,and how quickly it will put You on Your arse.I am sure it is a balancing act,between traction,speed,and disaster.

[isiahstites]

Donson - I did not take your post in a negative tone. Racing on lakebeds is definately a balancing act between power, speed, traction, and disaster.

Scott

[Dirty Doug]

[QUOTE]Si - I am already heavier than most of the busa riders out there so I come with built in ballast. Problem is that some of them weight 90-100 lbs less than me, which means I will get better traction, however what I make up for in traction I give back in aerodynamics! I would rather be aerodynamic as I can always add weight to the bike.

Scott,
Your motorcycle weight problem sounds a lot like my race car problem. What I lack in horsepower I more than make up for in weight!!!!!


Dirty Doug

[Sir Limpsalot]

Racing on lakebeds is definately a balancing act between power, speed, traction, and disaster.
Scott

The same is true of racing anywhere!

"It's alright ma, I'm only bleeding.."

Si.

[isiahstites]

Never thought about other racing in that manner Si, you are absolutley correct!

On a side note the electric bike was the one in our club to get a record. The bike went 126 and some change with one hurt battery pack. The bike should be at full voltage next race with hopes of bumping the record some more.

Scott

[isiahstites]

A thumbnails from divez.net........all pictures were from the starting line.

Scott

[DarthRider]

Thanks for the pics Scotty.

[beekstersocal]

wow scott great write up and very impressive ,you sure have taken things too a whole nether level ,bike looks great ,,crazy!!!!wheel spin at 160 ,,man that sounds as freaky as it prolly is ,,,i can read your bumper sticker now
' happiness is wheels spins at 160 ,,lol ,good luck too you in your records and be safe
on a side note ,,how come they dont race in the cooler months there instead of this time of year ,,is it cause of the wids ?

[isiahstites]

Thanks Mikey, we race during this time of year because it is dry. Most of the year the lakebed is under water, healing. Unfortunatley, it did not heal very well this year.

You are welcome to come out to any race, I can always use the help loading, unloading and driving the chase truck.

take care,
Scott


wow scott great write up and very impressive ,you sure have taken things too a whole nether level ,bike looks great ,,crazy!!!!wheel spin at 160 ,,man that sounds as freaky as it prolly is ,,,i can read your bumper sticker now
' happiness is wheels spins at 160 ,,lol ,good luck too you in your records and be safe
on a side note ,,how come they dont race in the cooler months there instead of this time of year ,,is it cause of the wids ?

[beekstersocal]

i would like that ,and appreciate the invite ,,i just may take you up on yhat this time

[SV Andy]

Fish tailing at 160mph with spin thats some motor, you must be one hell of a skilled rider great read good luck Scott.

Andy.

[isiahstites]

Fish tailing at 160mph with spin thats some motor, you must be one hell of a skilled rider great read good luck Scott.

Andy.

Andy - I think I am good, however I am fooling myself as I know I have a lot to learn.

Scott