How fast can you go in a standing mile? Well if your name is Bill Warner, you can reach 278.6 MPH from a standing stop in a mile’s distance, and then slowdown in another half-mile of run-off. Helping Warner achieve that impressive feat is a turbocharged 1299cc Suzuki Hayabusa that makes 650hp, which Warner methodically turned the screws on until he beat the previous record at the Texas Mile of 261.5 MPH.
A tropical fish farmer and marine biologist by day, Warner is no fish out of water when it comes to going fast (we apologize for that horrible pun), setting the track records this year at the Maxton, North Carolina (272 mph), Loring, Maine (273 mph) and now Goliad, Texas (278.6 mph). If you think firing a bike off down a straight track is just a matter of twisting the throttle and holding on, we suggest you read Warner’s account of his time at Texas Mile after the jump.
“I gradually made changes to the bike’s existing setup to maximize the acceleration in each gear, trying to utilize all of the available horsepower,” explained Warner. “The entire weekend, all three days, I only was able to make five runs. I usually run four or five per day, so five passes in three days is not much time to get everything dialed in. The Texas Mile track is very smooth and wide, but there is not much room to shut down. More than once, I took a wild ride off the end of the track trying to get the bike stopped.”
“The wind picked up significantly after 9:30 every morning. It took two runs (one on Friday and one on Saturday) to learn to stay the hell off the track when those side winds picked up. There was one gust that laid the bike over so bad I could have put a knee down, but that’s not a good idea at 240 mph, while trying to go straight.
“The early-morning pass on Sunday that set the record started with my best launch ever. The bike got squirrely, skidded side to side and then she finally hooked up. It felt like I was shot out of a canon! The bike stayed perfectly vertical for the entire run. It was so smooth it felt slow, if that makes any sense. Shutdown was tough, but fun, the bike screeching, sliding and hopping off the track.”
Source: Wild Brother Racing
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