Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Bonneville

Browsing
Racing

Video: Speed Week at Bonneville 2012

By No Comments

Not that California has any real seasons to speak of, but spring has definitely arrived this week in San Francisco, with sun-filled days and warm nights again on the region’s menu. That means our brief winter hibernation from motorcycling  is about to end, as the revving motors of World Superbike at Phillip Island, AMA Pro Road Racing at Daytona, and MotoGP at Doha wake us from our slumber.

For Asphalt & Rubber, our events calendar for 2013 is marked full of great two-wheel escapades that we plan to attend, but at the top of the list, Speed Week at Bonneville ranks highest. Helping us get in the mood for man’s toil against the salt is this great video put together with scenes from last year’s running. Happy Friday people. Get out and ride.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Italy Gets an FIM-Sanctioned Land Speed Record Facility

By 2 Comments

While the Bonneville Salt Flats remains the gold standard venue for land speed record attempts, the journey across the pond for European competitors is a daunting task. First there is the cost involved in shipping a bike, crew, and supplies from Europe to America, but there is also the hassle at the border for shipping and customs that can throw more than a wrench in even the most carefully made plans.

At 4,219 feet above sea level, the elevation at Bonneville sucks the much needed horsepower out of the engines of internal combustion machines, and the salt flat terrain is a less-than-ideal surface for traction, and can vary wildly from weekend to weekend. All of this adds up to be a daunting level of adversity for would-be record-breakers, but for Europeans, there might be a better option soon.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Confederate X132 Hellcat Hits 172.211 MPH at Bonneville

By 9 Comments

It is fall, which means it is also land speed record season up at Bonneville. While our own plans for salt flat were thwarted by some empty promises from an OEM, it seems plenty of teams and manufacturers made it up to Bonneville to test their mettle against the stopwatch.

One such company was Confederate Motorcycles, which took its recently debuted Confederate X132 Hellcat Combat up to the BUB Speed Trials in August, and subsequently set a 171.211 mph land speed record in the A-PF 3000 class (special construction chassis (unfaired), push-rod motor, fuel, & up to 3,000cc in cylinder displacement).

Racing his own bike on the salt flats, we are having a hard time imagining how Confederate customer James Hoegh managed to hold onto his unfaired machine at 171+ mph — it must be all about the tuck. Check the video out after the jump, and if you are anything like us, keep on dreaming about your day racing at the Bonneville.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Triumph Steve McQueen Edition

By 11 Comments

While this might look like a modified Triumph Bonneville T100, in reality it is the new Triumph Steve McQueen Edition. That’s right, Triumph has seemingly teamed up with Steve McQueen’s estate, and is making 1,100 Steve McQueen Edition motorcycles. Inspired by McQueen’s Triumph Trophy TR6, which was featured in the movie The Great Escape, the Triumph Steve McQueen Edition features what the British brand calls “a military-style matte khaki green livery” and sports a stencil-styled Triumph decal on the tank with a Steve McQueen signature on the bike’s side covers.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Chip Yates Retires After Setting Four FIM/AMA Land Speed Records at Bonneville

By 3 Comments

We got a quick message from Chip Yates this afternoon, saying that the SWIGZ Racing team just completed setting four FIM/AMA land speed records at the BUB Speed Trials currently being held at the Bonneville salt flats. Getting off to a rocky start after crashing through a mile-marker pylon, Yates went on to salvage the outing, setting his first FIM/AMA record on Tuesday with a 196.421 mph LSR in the “over 300kg class” (the team also hit a 200.7 mph speed trap velocity at BUB).

Yates followed-up that LSR over the next two days, with a second record: 181.439 mph in the “over 300kg naked” fairing-less class, a third record: 173.574 mph in the “150-300kg” class, and lastly a fourth FIM/AMA record: 187.143 mph in the “150-300kg naked” class. Rumors of a fifth record for being the certified fastest pizza delivery bike have not been confirmed, and like these other four FIM/AMA records, will have to be certified by the respective regulatory bodies before becoming truly official.

Keep Reading
By
News

Video: 200+ MPH with Paul Thede & Lightning Motorcycles

By 5 Comments

Lightning Motorcycles had a busy week last week, as the San Francisco Bay Area company was hard at work at Bonneville setting the fastest speed ever on an electric vehicle, and then later shattering that record. Though the team wasn’t able to break past 220 mph as they had hoped, rider and multiple LSR holder Paul Thede is probably still happy with the fact that he spent the better part of the week going faster than he has ever gone on two-wheels before, let alone on an electric.

Becoming the newest inductee to the 200 MPH Club, Thede and his red hat made two more stabs at their 215.907 mph land speed record. Though they wouldn’t get past the mark, they did send us this video of their last run which showed 216 mph on the GPS at one point during the five mile pass. Be sure to note the perceivable lean angle capture by Lightning’s camera due to the Bonneville’s crosswinds. Would you be able to go 200+ mph cocked over 15º or more? Video after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Bonneville: Lightning Raises the Electric Motorcycle LSR Up Another Peg with a 215.907 mph Record

By 17 Comments

Lightning Motorcycles is still on the salt flats at Bonneville, looking for the ultimate in speed on an electric motorcycle.

After already on Sunday setting the fastest speed recorded for any electric motorcycle, the Lightning crew set back to work on crushing its own 206.079 mph land speed record.

Posting a 214.209 mph speed yesterday, Paul Thede had to once again back up the team’s accomplishment with another wicked fast run today, in order to get into the record books.

Battling gusty cross-breezes, Thede put in an astonishing palindromic 217.712 mph time to set another LSR for Lightning, which officially comes in at 215.907 mph in the APS-? class.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Bonneville: Lightning Motorcycles Sets a New Land Speed Record for Electric Motorcycles

By 7 Comments

News from the salt flats is that Lightning Motorcycles was successful in achieving a land speed record for electric motorcycles. Making a pass of 206.981 mph during Sunday’s sessions, the speed averaged from Saturday’s pass of 205.238 mph creates a land speed record of 206.079 mph for electric motorcycles (class APS-?). As a capper to the weekend, the Lightning team posted a top speed of 208.386 mph through the speed trap on its record run, showing that the “Flying Banana Mk. II” (as we like to call it) had a bit more pep left in it during its run.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Bonneville: Lightning Motorcycles Becomes the First Electric Motorcycle to Break 200 MPH

By 25 Comments

We just got a phone call from Richard Hatfield of Lightning Motorcycles saying that the “Flying Banana Mk. II” just put down a 205.238 mph pass at the Southern California Timing Associations’ Speed Week at Bonneville. This pass makes Lightning the first electric motorcycle manufacturer/competitor ever to break the 200 mph mark, whether it be on the tarmac or at the salt flats. If verified during tomorrow’s second pass, the speed would shatter the outright land speed record of 176.434mph, which was set by Riches Nelson and his fully-streamlined Airtech Lightning Bolt electric motorcycle.

Lightning currently holds the AMA and FIM land speed records for the APS-? LSR class (A=special chassis, PS=partially streamlined, ?=electric) for electric motorcycles weighing between 150kg and 300kg, after Paul Thede (of Race-Tech fame) took the Flying Banana Mk. I to 173.321 mph at Bonneville last year. This year according to SCTA protocols, Lightning’s bike has been impounded for the night, and the team will have another run tomorrow to solidify its record. The average of those two speeds will then stand as Lightning’s official speed, and if everything goes according to plan, Lightning will have raised the LSR mark for electric motorcycles into the 200 mph bracket.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

More Photos of MotoCzysz at Bonneville

By 4 Comments

Asphalt & Rubber has gotten some more photos from the 2010 BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials held at Bonneville last week. Taken by A&R reader Constantine Blias (color photos) and MotoCzysz friend Thomas Knudson (black & white photos), we get a glimpse of what the MotoCzysz E1pc looks like slammed to the salt and without its front brakes.

For Czysz, racing is becoming a family affair with his father Terry working the pits, and sons Max and Enzo helping push the E1pc to the starting line (MotoCzysz GM Ryan Taylor also pictured). Czysz concluded his email to us with this line, “…and yes — I rode and hope to keep riding until MotoCzysz is the Worlds fastest motorcycle.” Also photographed was Swiss motorcycling legend Fritz Egli with his 500hp Hayabusa-based sidecar.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Lightning Motors Sets Electric LSR at Bonneville

By 2 Comments

At the 2010 BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials week Lightning Motors took the FIM and AMA land speed record for special construction partial streamlining electric motorcycles (300-APS-W) with an official two-way average speed of 173.388 mph. Blasting down the course at 170.732 mph with a 10 mph headwind, Lightning Motors’ return run was clocked at 176.044 with no wind.

This was a marked improvement over the team’s unofficial 166mph pass last year, but still short of the company’s goal of hitting 200 mph on the salt flats. Coming straight from the track at VIR, the only modifications to the Lightning electric motorcycle was a larger sprocket, as you can see above, it’s still in its track fairings (note: other sites have been running photos of the the Lightning bike in an open streamliner fairing, which was used last year, not this year).

Keep Reading
By