Mojave Mile
03-09-2010, 06:36 AM
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Mojave Mile
I'm back from my first mile event and all I can say is how humbled I am, and further convinced how special it was to go 200 mph at Bonneville last year. My best run was 167 mph. Strong winds, tall gearing and inexperienced rider, at least at the asphalt mile thing. Fastest bike was 194 on a ZX-12. Next fastest was 190 on a Gen 2 Busa I think. Went through hell to get there. Long story short I broke the damn right handle bar when I dropped it off the ramp loading onto the truck! A local mechanic loaned me his off his personal ride. Then we had to rig a kill switch tether from a turn signal connector when we failed tech inspection in Mojave. Little scratched up, little ghetto repair but we still raced it. Working a simple two button camera also proved nearly as difficult as going 200 mph but I did manage to get some footage. It's on facebook, not sure if it will link correctly or not. http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/vid...0442063&ref=mf The fun starts at the 3:26 mark. You can really see the wind pushing me to the right as I push left just to stay in a straight line. Despite my "slow" speed, it's still a rush to run a Busa up to 10 grand through all 6 gears and not die. Things I learned: launch hard, use the whole 40 ft start gate and pound that throttle as close to redline as you can before shifting. And of course don't go too tall with the gearing. Had my Bonneville setup of 18 front and 39 rear. Only brought one other 40 tooth. It was not much help. Only managed 5 runs but still had a BLAST. I'll do better at the next one, and the Big Red Camaro was awesome. Only vehicle of the day to do 200. http://www.bigredcamaro.com/newsite/
03-14-2010, 07:21 AM
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The weather sucked. Cold and windy. First run was 159. Was in the 160s the rest of the way. 166 and 167 were my two fastest runs. Disappointing for a bike that has done 202.8 on salt, but with proper setup and technique I'll do better at the next mile event. Thinking about Texas in Oct, but budget is limited. MKM Racing plans several Mojave Mile events each year, so with it's proximity to Vegas I may just stick with that one. It'll take me two days to drive to Texas, race, and then 2 days to drive back. I can get to Mojave in a little over 3 hours.
03-16-2010, 06:16 AM
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The wind is only part of the story and only really has a big impact over 180 mph. The biggest problem was gearing too tall. I had 18 in front and 39 rear. Most guys we're running 18 and 42 or 43. If you watch the vid you'll see I just can't build rpms fast enough. The tack needle should really zip up to redline, not gradually rev like that. The only other sprocket I had was a 40 tooth. Swapped it for my last run but did not seem to make much diff. Lastly was my technique. Didn't launch hard enough, or pound the throttle hard enough between shifts. At Bonneville you get 5 miles to get up to speed. In a mile you need to be topped out at around the half way mark so you can be at max speed by the time you reach the trap. Kinda like a long drag race. Mods: Yosh stage I cams, PC III, Brock's 4 into 1 full sst exhaust, Carrozzeria forged Al wheels, Venhill SST brake/clutch lines, Pazzo shorty levers, GiPro ATRE, Brock's dog bone lowering links, PAIR valve block off plates, and that's all I can think of at the moment. Coming soon: 1397 big bore kit, steering and suspension upgrades. Will post pics of the tear down/build up as it happens.
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