Antique Motorcycle Club, Magazine Features: Fast Times With Old Iron

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Magazine Features

	Fast Times With Old Iron The 4th Annual International BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials By C.T. Riley Photos by Len Scap (View all images) (With permission from BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials and the AMA) The AMCA's Fort Sutter Chapter team, L to R, Craig Ditman, George Landreth, bike owner, Marty Smith, and Roland Badertsther. Mother nature deserves a big hug from all you speed freaks. For without her thoughtfulness we wouldn't have a location to run, "flat out." Thousands of years ago she was thinking of us motorheads when she decided to dry up that massive inland sea encompassing what was to become the western United States. A truly surreal landscape that bears more resemblance to the moon than planet earth. Once again we made the 22 hour, nonstop, drive from our lush green, Midwestern hideaway to the barren landscape near Wendover, Nevada. Over 150 gallons of precious fossil fuel were consumed during our 1,600 mile journey west, but we felt it was well spent fueling our need for speed. This being the fourth annual BUB International Speed Trials, we were looking for more and different vintage iron then we had seen at BUB's first event in 2004. At that inaugural event the total number of participants, vintage and modern, was less than 90. This year's numbers were pegged at 269, on Monday, according to club member Somer Hooker. That total was made up of 152 participants who were running for serious AMA and FIM records, and another 117 who took part in what BUB calls, "Run What ‘ua Brung" (RWYB). No less serious though, the RWYB boys and girls were laying down some impressive numbers. All the buzz this year seemed centered on a box-stock MV Agusta that tore up the salt with a 187.9 mph pass. Plenty impressive for a stock machine. While the big guns were preparing their Steamliners for an all-out frontal assault on the title, "World's Fastest," we sent out our scouts in an attempt to find some vintage folks, running, vintage machines. Their tracking ability paid off for they found nine old guys with equally old machines ready and eager to share their dreams of speed with us. Vincent Vikings The head Viking, Kurt Carlson. When asked if he'd be back his reply was, 'What, here? Absolutely!' Centuries after the Norsemen, Leif Erickson, set sail for North America a team of what could be his long lost descendants set their sights on the Great Salt Lake. No garden variety BSA, Harley or Indian would do for these intrepid Norsemen, they came to conquer and pulled out all the stops by fielding a gen-u-wine Vincent Lightning. For those unfamiliar with the Stevenage firm, only 32 Series C Lightnings were produced. This was Philip Vincent's factory special that had seen service in the hands of men like Rollie Free and Tommy Auger. Factory records indicate that #/1C/3642, a 1950 model, was dispatched to dealer Villy Eggen in Denmark. No one kept a diary of this machine's early days on the continent, but it was clear that at one point it was used for, sit down for this one, a Motocrosser! After being abandoned in a snow bank for two weeks, some Danish motorcycle enthusiast took pity on the snarly beast and lovingly disassembled it, only to store it in a plywood box, used as the base for a coffee table for 28 years. Some salvation! By the numbers, /1C/, a Vincent Black Lightning. Truly a rare bird. Years passed before present owner, Kurt Carlson, purchased "the box" with the intent of restoring the Lightning, and dyno testing it in on the salt. Once the wheels were set in motion, pun intended, it only required one year for Kurt and his team, which included Californian, Paul Jensen, to get #3642 roadworthy. Kurt mentioned the engine was rebuilt in Paul's kitchen! From this we assume Paul is a bachelor, or, soon to be. After a quick gear change and the Vincent Vikings were ready for their second run. Rushed to Bonneville with only four miles on the engine their plan was to put in a few fast break-in miles, while attempting to lock down a record in the MVG 1000 (Modified, Vintage, Gas, 1000cc) class. Although it looked absolutely spectacular in black and gold, the record was not theirs for the taking. Still, a 115.983 mph on pump gas at a 4,000 elevation that will zap up to 20 percent of your horsepower, isn't bad. There is little doubt these Vikings will return. Chief/Scout Hybrid Twelve-year-old Jeri Saxton was promised by her dad that in four short years she will have a shot on the Indian. Indian red. What other color would you dare paint it? Larry Saxton's Indian is typical of many Bonneville machines, a conglomeration of pieces, a "bits-a-bike." When asked, he wasn't even sure what year to hang on it. "A 1936 I guess? It has a Scout front end and tanks, an 80ci Chief motor, high perf cams with 430 degrees of lift and a bit of porting work. It's pretty stock inside, with 80 inch wheels and a Linkert carb. I put it together from parts in just 90 days. It ran 100 mph last year but I was only able to get 97 mph this time." Larry confided. Concerned with this 3 mph deficiency, Larry decided to drop back to the short track, RWUB, where he could get more runs in per day. After dialing it in, he vowed to jump back to the long course for a shot at the MPV 1300 class record. Triumph vs. Triumph JoMo cams, 626 Amal carbs, with 1 1/2' exhaust pipes, she's ready. "There is a steep learning curve so (if this is your first time) try Run What ‘ua Brung," were the BUB officials advise at the riders' meeting. Team Smith & Badertsther took this advice to heart. This was their second year on the salt but still felt they had lessons to learn. After three runs of 82, 92, and finally 97 mph on Monday they were moved to the advance study group. Marty Smith, a British expatriate, is the owner of this sanitary 1946 Triumph T100 and handles most of the mechanical chores but is happy to share the riding duties with his buddy Swiss expatriate, Roland Badertsther. Truly an international team. This team has a sense of humor. Note the 'Moon' eyes in the number. "Two years ago I stopped at the Salt Flats on my way back from the Davenport meet. It didn't take long and I had the bug to race so I built the bike. The look is important to me also. I'm just having a blast." Marty said with a smile. Marty and Roland got some unexpected competition from one of their own team mates. It seems Craig Ditman also came down with a case of "salt fever." Before Monday afternoon, Craig had reversed the handlebars on his late-model Bonneville, paid the modest entry fee for RWYB, and was hurtling down the salt. Alas, old Triumphs won't just roll over and play dead. Marty's '46 T100 had the fastest time of the day between these two British twins. Craig's comment, "The week is still young." It's clear he has crossed the line, salt fever claimed another victim. He made the move to Milwaukee 'Ancient Lady,' great name for Ted Hector's 1954 Harley 45. Avid readers might recall Canadian, Ted Hector, when he appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of The Antique Motorcycle. On the salt that year he was campaigning a 1938 Indian Junior Scout which had a best two-way average of 78 mph. Ted was back, this time with a Harley 45 Flathead smartly attired in a tight fitting fiberglass shell. The gas tank resides in the rear fender. It doesn't take much fuel to run the short course. "Dual" is the word that comes to mind with this machine since it features dual ports, dual Amal carbs and dual plug heads. Always experimenting, last year Ted and right hand man, Gary MacDonald, tried bigger valves and carbs but as Ted recalled, "she won't pull on the top end." Even so, the little 45ci Harley ran a 108 mph on gas and 112 with fuel. Since they are running in a modified class they haven't been afraid to push the envelope, and perhaps their luck. This little 7 to 1 mill, with a bit of porting work spins to 7,100 rpm in third gear! An air shifter was installed which Ted said made a big difference, as well as locating the gas tank in the rear of the bike allowing them to tuck in and cheat the wind. Who said old Flatheads can't run? When we approached Ted and Gary with the question, why they jumped ship in Milwaukee?, Gary was blunt, "The Indian was a bit fragile." Ted added, "They (Indian) had more weak points than strong points. We first ran the Junior Scout as a challenge. Really, it's a 30 mph bike." Indian fans can reach Ted and Gary at: JuniorScouts@AreFragile.com. Don't wait up for a reply. Some Quick Takes: Snort 'n Norton As you can see, future plans for the Snort 'n Norton include an AVG shark nose. This year was Ken Canaga's second round on the salt. His 1975 Norton 850 started life in the fast lane battling it out in the AMA's Pro Twin road racing scene. It sports a billet crank spinning in Mark III cases. Displacement has been taken up a notch to 920cc, when, with the help of his friend, Eric Sherrer, they installed a set of big bore JE pistons. Last year, without the body work, he made just two shake down runs. The first a modest 60 mph. On the return run he put the pedal to the carbon fiber and turned a 108. This year with partial streamlining, he was shooting for something north of 160 mph. "Next year, full streamlining, and we're going for the record," commented Ken. Pride of Nebraska Wendie Kryselmie's 1959 Cushman Highlander, with sidecar, shattered the record with a blazing 35.7 mph. "We wanted to be the first Cushmans to run at Bonneville," stated Ed Kryselmie. We can't back up Ed's claim but have to assume that over the last 60 odd years some crazy Cushman fanatic must have run one of the little scooters on the salt. Literally a "mom & pop" low budget operation Ed and Wendie took turns in the Run What ‘ua Brung class. Wendie piloted the 1959 Highlander with sidecar, to, what might not sound like much, (and it isn't) 35.7 mph. Hubby Ed, was flat out flying with his 1963 Super Silver Eagle at 50 mph when he lost spark while going through the timed mile. We hate to disappoint you Ed, but, maybe that's a good thing. Blown but hopefully not Blown Jason Kott is a 'salt rat,' having spent 18 of his 19 years on the flats. "We're going to run this thing WFO or nothing at all." Fritz Kott said sternly. On a trailer, waiting patiently for tech inspection, their vintage 1955 Triumph, fitted with a equally vintage Droun Supercharger, had the look of a salt flats veteran. Fritz is a salt "junkie." His first trip here was in the late '60s, just about the time Burt was retiring the Munro Special. Fritz with son, Jason, picked up the British twin at a swap meet 10 years ago. It was a AHRMA road racing veteran and oddly was fitted with the supercharger when they purchased it. They are quite confident it wasn't raced in that configuration. With a few more demons to be exorcized father and son had yet to break 100 mph. Persistence is the name of the game out here and they have it in spades. "I've been coming here for 18 years and I'm 19 now," claimed, Jason, with a smile. It's hard to keep a good man down A young Marty Dickerson with his very fast Rapide on Rosemond Dry Lakes in the early '50s. He still looks like a gun fighter. Marty Dickerson is no stranger to the salt flats. "My first trip to Bonneville was in 1950 when Rollie Free was running his fairing Vincent. He had crashed it and asked me to stay over and help him take the fairing off, so, I did. And, getting involved with it, gave me the bug so I rode my bike home, took it all apart and made a Bonneville bike out of it. I returned in 1951 and established a Class C record of 129 mph which was beaten two weeks later when Sam Harriet (riding for Johnson Motors) ran an Ariel Square Four to 131.959 both ways. I came back in 1952 and raised the record to 141 mph and asked Sam if he was going to bring his Ariel back out? He said no, no, I retired it. He knew it wasn't going to go any faster," chuckled Marty. Marty Dickerson back on the salt, his first run (Photo by Wendy Hamel) By this time Marty was hooked on speed and returned again the following year where he ran his personal best time of 147 mph on his Vincent Rapide, the famous blue bike. His personal best that was, until this year. Last year when Marty stopped by Steve Hamel's pit area on the salt, Steve made Marty an offer he couldn't refuse. "If I bring my bike back in '07, will you ride it?" Asked Steve, the owner of the hottest Vincent on the salt these days. Marty didn't hesitate for a minute and took Steve up on his offer. Steve Hamel and Marty Dickerson. The AMA officials were a bit hesitant though, especially after they saw Marty's 60 year old leathers. "We had to shoehorn him into his leathers. He's got a bit of a gut on him now." laughed Steve. Once "tech" was out of the way on the bike and rider, Marty got down to business. His first pass was a 149 mph. On the return run he missed a flag and shut off early resulting in a disappointing two-way average. Thursday morning's run was considerably better. AMA and BUB officials realizing what they had here, agreed to let Marty complete both passes without any waiting period. On his outward run he hit 148 mph. Then, Steve, sensing Marty was a bit timid with the throttle told him, "Go ahead and run it. You're not going to break it." Marty gave it the stick on the return pass and caulked up a 154 and change. His two-way average was a Modified Vintage Gas (MVG 1000) record of 151.685 mph. Pretty good for a guy who will be 81 next year. Vincents, Vincents and more Vincents! If anyone was keeping track, it soon become clear that in the vintage class, Vincents ruled this year on the salt. There were a total of four machines, sporting a total of five engines. We have already covered two, here are the remaining two. Terry Prince Terry Prince and Marty Dickerson have a cool one after their runs (Photo by Wendy Hamel) Map Quest this one; St. Albans, NSW, Australia, to Wendover, Nevada. Yeah, that's a haul. Now imagine bringing a sidecar outfit, spare parts, leathers and helmet with you. It takes determination, lots of disposable income and perhaps a touch of insanity to lay out this kind of effort just for bragging rights. But Australian Vincent guru, Terry Prince, had a plan-durability testing. With a stash of his custom-built Vincent bits in tow he made his way to Wendover, record breaking, not parts breaking was on his agenda. Good news bad news on this front. No bits left without saying goodbye, but no new sidecar records were set. Max Lambky, Vincent Liner It takes time to be a winner. Max Lambky's Vincent streamline could tell you that. "Nothing good comes easy," could be the mission statement of the Vincent/Lambky Streamliner team. These hard-working guys have been at it for over a dozen years with mixed results to show for their effort. Two Vincent V-twin engines, with a huffer, power this machine. It appears they aren't lacking horsepower, just getting all the ponies to the ground though, that's the issue. Over the past few years they have more than their share of mechanical issues. A few years ago they couldn't manage to break 100. Very disappointing. They more than doubled it this year with a 217.92, but when the record stands somewhere north of 350 mph... well, it might take a few more outings. Even though the total number of participants was almost double of last year's event it was obvious the number of vintage machines was down. There was some grumbling as to the organization (or lack there of) this year. Some participants waited in line a whole day to clear tech inspection. Yet, the BUB staff members we met were generally interested in the spectators, and racers, opinions. Several times we heard them ask, "Is everyone having fun?" and, "How can we make it better?" If you have the "need for speed" visit Mother Nature's gift to us. Run flat out at Bonneville. For all the rules, regulations and results take a look at the official BUB web site: www.speedtrialsbybub.com. See you next year. © 2007 AMCA

MEETS/ROAD RUNS