Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Funny you never see this kind of thing anymore

 


13 comments:

  1. Only if a queer half black half Hispanic ‘it’ was behind the throttle…

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  2. You’re right, it’s too bad. Nothing fake about trying to go 300mph on a motorcycle.

    MF
    Photo looks weird though, cut and pasted. What’s he holding on to?

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    Replies
    1. A piece of paper blowing in the wind, it looks like to me.

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    2. holding onto time results most likely. has anyone here ever been to the salt lake flats to see the races. i have years ago but only as a spectator. i grew up not far from there and it was a pilgrimage every year for my dad and I to go and watch and hang out. it was a very laid back event back in the 60s and 70s. dad would fly his plane in and land there. he would just land it anywhere that suited him, it would piss off some folks. it was fun.

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    3. Yeah, hear you, been there a few times too, like you said its low drag, mire ways than one. Did you notice the birds and insects trapped under the surface of the salt?
      I live going, no place like it. Wonder how deep that salt goes down, because the mountains along the northwest side it looks like the shore is half way up them. Buddy had a caddy limo we drove out in one year, we got there few days early, went out and he opened that 500 cubic inch engine up, found out theres some deep swales, salt slush pooled in the low spots, that surprise is, hard to see cause its all white and bright from the sun shining down, and we bottomed pretty hard crossing one with the speedo pinned, it was smooth though, those crates had to wiegh a few or four tons, beer was cold, and we where free men. Thats was what mattered. Just beautiful place in its own way.

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    4. Run it through the car wash or you may find the thin spots in the body work.

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  3. They still run in the salt, see George Poteet The Speed Demon, it just isn't "news" worthy any longer.

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  4. Hard to find surplus drop tanks what with arial refueling, to use for the streamliner classes, yeah you can english wheel out halves are sections, its a lot of work to do so. Plus the class rules for Salt Lake are really interesting, one has to truly re-interperat the class rules to find the tiny missed nitch to build a vehicle for beating the set record, lot of which are hard to beat, you got to be real crafty, which really takes building the right engine, cause the rule makers are extremely savvy, they know all the loopholes like the back of their hand and hold utterly to those rules, which is what makes racing at the Salt Flats so exciting and endearing to anyone with has racing in their heart. Smokey Unique explained it best by creating creative interpretation of the rules his strong and winning suit. Of course you can just go build some totally radical engine to fit the rules and win thru brute hp, but thats got its own set of hurdles and they are a real bitch to get over. But thats what makes racing so cool. Think Porsche 911 and what they did creatively using the rules to create such a beast. Thats the Salt Flats to a Tee, what you see when you go there. Remains some loop holes in those rules to be discovered, I know, I built a bike, because Buell built the 988cc engine, pushrod class, was able to fit in a class long dominated by old English pushrod engines, max 750cc, destroked my engine, which improved combustion efficiency because it created a better bore to stroke ratio, took Smokey's key engine mod to heart, stuffed the longest possible rod in it, used cylinder base spacers, longer pushrods, ceramic coatings on the valve faces piston dome and combustion chamber, down drafted the intake ports, true developed and tuned exhaust system, completely custom chassis, shaved a couple hundred pounds off the bike verses using an OEM frame and swing arm, it was all enough to beat a long standing record. Wonderful running engine, just purred like a kitten too. Did not even use aftermarket cams, changed their timing though, the increase in combustion efficiency is what actually made it work so well.
    Everyone should go the Bonneville, even if your only a spectator, it's one if the last racer/builder races left, I think Isle of Man is the other, and some race venues in the non pro class racing like at Loudon NH was in the twins classes, and unlimited grand prix where the only rule is no rules. But Bonneville and Isle of Man is where you see the kind of racing and vehicles that are hand built one offs employing all sorts of really crafty unique elements, kind of places and racing like that is dwindling, for now, nothing stops innovation and creative critical thinking.

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  5. Nobody has extra cash to spend on hobbies. In Cal you have to make $100k a year minimum to buy a house. Nobody I know has that kind of money.

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  6. And Harley-Davidson is now just a clothing line with a motorcycle side-hustle.

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  7. That's George Roeder. He set a record of 177.225 mph with that 250cc HD Sprint powered streamliner. That's why he's holding the paper and smiling.

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  8. Do they still run at Muroc or did California outlaw the fun?

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