Bonneville - Speed Week 2014

[fj1289]

First mock up with the body panels roughed in.  Found a few things to tweak.  First moved the clip ons from below the triple clamp to above to get the control levers behind the hand cuffs.  Also "scalloped" the tank for more hand room so we can rotate the clip ons more inward to get behind the fairing a bit better. 



Tools used - socket worked very well to make a nice smooth dent



Also worked on suspension settings and exhaust fitting.  May need a firmer rear spring - maxed out the adjustable link at full hard end of the adjustment range.   Surprisingly the dragbike spider pipe worked the best with the most ground clearance and clearance to the front tire. 

[charleygofast]

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU! Thats quite the undertaking my friend, very nice job on your FJ. Onboard filming I hope, dont forget your nitro pills Burt :lol                                                                                                            Godspeed! Charley.

[fj1289]

Thanks Charley

Picked up the pills from a local speed shop during the last business trip        Got to keep making progress somehow when I have to be gone!

Swapped in the XJR rods late Thurs night before having to travel on business Friday.   Thank goodness they're letting us go home today -- the head and rest of the parts showed up yesterday afternoon.  With a little luck (that I make it home this afternoon) and a few hours work, she may be making noise again this weekend!  If not, I've got a CRAZY schedule for work for the next 10 days or so.

Bodywork has been painted - need to finish up the fairing mounting brackets.  The bodywork is about 90% of where I'd like it to be -- so close enough for now!

Biggest issues now are finishing the engine and hoping the new wiring is correct! 

[fj1289]

This hasn't been much of a build thread - not like intended anyway.  This "little" project has taken much more time and effort than expected...but we are now loaded up and on the road to Bonneville! 


The salt flats experienced a flash flood a couple days ago.  Speedweek has been postponed two days.  No one is allowed on the salt until Sunday and racing is set to begin on Monday now.

Have a few things to finish tomorrow - mainly tech items like safety wiring and installing fire sleeve. Plus a hundred little detail items that get pushed to the side while getting the big items done

[Harvy]

Enjoy yourself there Chris, fly  the FJ flag for  all of us.

Cheers
Harvy

[fj1289]

Enjoy yourself there Chris, fly  the FJ flag for  all of us.

Cheers
Harvy

Rolled into Wendover at 3:00 this morning - very cool stuff in the parking lot!

But, it'll have to wait....
"The SCTA Board is currently on the salt flats and the BSF is under water and will not dry in time for Speed Week to be held. Therefore, the event is canceled. The Board is discussing the possibility of extending World Finals and making it a delayed Speed Week. The entire SCTA thanks you for your patience and understanding. We look forward to seeing you at our next event."

REST OF THIS POST IS SENSORED 

[movenon]

Sorry about the canceling.  Bummer.    I have been on the phone with Kurt and was planning on heading down On Sunday or Monday.  I figured it would be Monday or Tuesday before anyone got to run much.  Kurt said there was 6 inch's of water at one time on the flats.  No place for the water to go except evaporate or drain.
George

[JMR]

Would you be interested in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials? That starts 8/23 and ends 8/28. Should be dry by then.

[charleygofast]

Would you be interested in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials? That starts 8/23 and ends 8/28. Should be dry by then.

Aw shit!!!!! sorry bout your cancellation...but this is at least a run on the salt,right?                                                                                                        Charley.

[yamaha fj rider]

Would you be interested in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials? That starts 8/23 and ends 8/28. Should be dry by then.

In Northern Utah, we have been getting rain, almost every day for the last two weeks. Monsoon moisture coming up from the south. Storms are predicted for the next week on and off. These storms are sever. We have mud and water wash through the town of Helper. A hillside let go and demolished one persons home and damaged other structures, threatening still more houses in North Salt Lake City. Sorry to hear that Speed Week was canceled. Where is it held is the driest place in the state, less than four inches of perception annually.

Kurt     

[JMR]

Would you be interested in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials? That starts 8/23 and ends 8/28. Should be dry by then.

In Northern Utah, we have been getting rain, almost every day for the last two weeks. Monsoon moisture coming up from the south. Storms are predicted for the next week on and off. These storms are sever. We have mud and water wash through the town of Helper. A hillside let go and demolished one persons home and damaged other structures, threatening still more houses in North Salt Lake City. Sorry to hear that Speed Week was canceled. Where is it held is the driest place in the state, less than four inches of perception annually.

Kurt     

Wow. I know a SOHC fella going to the later date but it appears that might not happen. 2 year long project that has a lot of work into it.

[rlucas]

...less than four inches of perception annually.

There's a lot of that goin' around. And not just in Utah.


rossi

[fj1289]

Yeah - hugely bummed.  Drove home last night.  Still need to unload the trailer and get the garage organized again after this extended thrash session. 

I pushed and bent things bad enough at home and work to make this happen that there's no way I can make the motorcycle meet in 10 days.   I'm hoping they extend  World Finals -- may be able to make a long weekend to hit it then (first weekend in Oct maybe). 

Got to see a lot of neat cars (most of the motorcycles stayed hidden in trailers or the back of mini vans).   Got some good pics - will start uploading and posting those. 

This whole experience getting this project ready has me rethinking how to do the streetbike/dragbike/land speed thing...may be time to retool the dragbike to be the dual purpose machine and just let the streetbike be the streetbike.  It'll require a bit of a rethink on the dragbike setup - mostly engine displacement and electronics...  For now I'll do minimal mods to this bike to get it back to some limited street duty and some dragstrip time before the season ends.   

[fj1289]

Someone said the parking lots of the hotels looked more like the pits.  I didn't get near as many pics as I thought - too busy gawking I guess!

The workmanship on this streamliner was perfect - can't imagine the time spent on it.  Their goal was to be the first naturally aspirated small block chevy to go 400 mph! 









The Nugget holds a car show at the beginning of the week and seems to be the hangout for many cars. 

This was my favorite of the show cars - definitely NOT for the purists!  Period correct T-Bird with a Hemi!








This was a cool setup. This rat rod is his tow truck!  And the bike is a vintage Triumph that runs in the Production class -- must "appear" totally stock  mechanically



And he's been here a few times

[fj1289]

Well, looks like it will 2015 to run at Bonneville.  May be a blessing in disguise - if you're going to be even a little serious about running there, a full year is probably a good timeframe to prep and get ready.  I love the quote from this trailer "it's five days of racing, but it's 360 days to get ready for those five days".   https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MMIiBYhuk08

The Bonneville build really didn't get started until late April when I "popped" the street motor.   Then as I started digging into the project I realized how much more there was to do than I'd imagined.  I'd say April - mid June work was at a fairly steady pace, but still allowed for life to continue (like building a large chicken coop and run, painting bedrooms, etc).   Mid June - mid July were mostly in "panic mode"  trying to get things done in time.   Mid July to mid August were frantic "work like a scared rat mode".  If panic mode can use up a lot of time and patience (of others)...imagine what the other mode does!   

So, the post speed Week rain out plan was to put the streetbike back on the road with a minimum of time and money.  Also wanted to be able to play at the track too if the opportunity presented itself.  It looks like I'm going full-loop back to a bike set up for street and strip.   The compromises involved with running a street bike on the strip last time are what lead up to the dragbike project.  This time I will be accepting a whole 'nother set of compromises.   The dragbike isn't going away, it just may be sidelined for a year while I focus on some other things.   

I really like the approach this guy has to these challenges.   
http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,6167.0.html

To be honest I thought the Wobbly Walrus was a bit constrained and too conservative with his approach at first...but the further through the thread I've read, the more I appreciate his approach (as well as the records he's notched up too).   

I'm lucky in that I've slowly accumulated most of what I'll need for this.   It's really just a matter of bringing all the pieces together as well as I can and slowly working the combination to the best it can be.