I have been following Bonneville for years and had talked with my father for a couple years about building a car to race there. When the opportunity came and Tyler and I decided to go to Bonneville Speed Week in 2010 I jumped at the chance and got to building a 1967 Triumph T120 to race in the Modified Pushrod Gas class. I did all the work on the bike in our old shop except the engine work which was done by fellow Redliner Wes White of Four Aces Cycle. My brother really enjoyed me doing the final assembly in the office behind his desk because we were so pressed for space in the old shop! My first year was plagued by some electrical gremlins and the first four days I couldn't get the bike firing right and was able to only go about 60mph. After some overnight parts (overnight to the salt flats is NOT overnight by the way!) I got my trump running right and had a best run of 105.7mph, which completely redeemed the week for me. I was nowhere near the record but it was still enough to cause a total addiction to the salt.
I spent the next year working on and refining my bike, learning from year one and trying to drastically improve the streamlining and riding position. I also changed classes to run in 650 APS-PG, (special construction partially streamlined pushrod gas) allowing me to run a small fairing and build a race specific motorcycle. I basically rebuilt the entire rear half of the bike, made some small engine modifications, and fabricated a quarter fairing from aluminum. The results were astounding, my first run was 4mph faster than the previous season. By the third day with tuning and gearing changes I made a run fast enough to qualify for a record, on my birthday no less! I backed it up the next morning and raised the standing record by 1mph. Over the next several days I raised the record further. My best pass was 117.75mph and the record I left standing was 116.41mph.
Needless to say I plan on going back every year and improving as much as I possibly can. I designed a new full frame for this year, 8" longer and 8" lower than a stock Triumph and began the new build as soon as we returned home from last Speed Week. This new chassis should rid me of the compromises of the old frame and with additional streamlining will hopefully allow me to put a much smaller hole in the air and achieve higher speeds. I am also planning further engine modifications and have rebuilt the entire top end of the motor in house.
Sometimes it seems crazy to put a years worth of work and all the money that goes into a race bike, but that one week on the salt makes it all worth it. Hopefully this year I can raise the record in my class further and run for a couple additional records as well. The number I am aiming for this season is 125mph!
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