LAND
SPEED RECORD
By Walter Barlow
Obtaining
these records was the result of a remarkable team effort that was conceived and
executed in three months; mostly using the Internet. This seems fair as it
started out with a teasing remark I made to the members on the Moto Guzzi
Internet list early in 1999 about the fact that two Harley Davidsons/Buells set
some records in 1998. I opined that Moto Guzzi should be able to top them. This
initial remark garnered some interest, but it quickly died down. A few months
later someone (I think it was Sheldon Aubut.) made mention of it again and for
some reason (probably because the weather was warmer), it started an active
discussion: mostly a lot of breast beating (i.e., "my Guzzi can beat
that"). After
a few days of this high testosterone chatter, Sheldon issued a challenge to the
membership on the list to stop talking, do something about it, and he asked for
volunteers to go after the record. It was mighty quiet for a few days. I sent
Sheldon an email that basically said I'd like to be involved somehow and it
didn't matter how. I also made mention that if no one stepped forward in the
next week to act as project manager, I'd give it a shot, even though I felt I
was totally unqualified to do it. The
next day Sheldon posts to the list that I volunteered to lead the team. Yikes!
Well, project management is project management and I've done that before. I
have a simple guideline for this stuff - let the subject matter experts do what
they do and don't get in their way. It works with computers and networking, so
it should work with motorcycling competition. The
first thing I did was formally call for volunteers in specific areas. Members
on the list responded enthusiastically and soon we had a core team of people
who were committed to do the job. Sheldon, our official computer geek, set up a
chat room on Yahoo to facilitate communications (Error!
Bookmark not defined.) and built us a nice web site (Error!
Bookmark not defined.). After some preliminary team discussions,
we laid out a course of action and developed a budget. For
a number of reasons we decided to go after the 1000cc record in 1999 and to
fund the effort through owner donations and limited outside sponsorship. After
that, all we had to do was raise some money. The easiest place to start was to
ask Moto Guzzi owners to donate. We also figured we could sell some special
T-shirts. So we did both, and the response was pretty good. Some people were
extraordinarily generous. Though
we appreciate every penny everybody contributed, I especially want to mention
Gary Overby, Will Fitzgerald, and Sidney Conn for their contributions. Money
was, and remains, a critical issue in attempting anything like this. We
provided some recognition incentives for donators. The talent and commitment of
good people is the most important factor, but you need money to realize
success. During
the three months from start to record breaking (doesn't that sound good?), we
communicated via email and the chat room. You might be surprised to know that
I'd never met any members of the team and I don't think many of them met each
other until they hit the salt! In fact, the only people I've met as I write
this are Mitch and Todd, both of whom I
met during the BarberButt 99 and Ducs Fly South events. And up to last week,
I'd only spoken to a couple members of the team via telephone. Really amazing
when you think of it.
Also
I need to call special attention to Russell Duke. Russell built us a monster!
He had advice and counsel from Todd and Mitch (our riders- one record each),
Manfred Hecht of Raceco, and others; but it was on his shoulders that all our
hopes lay. He did a great job while under a lot of time and "performance
anxiety" pressure. Thanks again Russell. To
top things off, it's always been in the plans to attempt an Ironbutt
Association ride with the bike, possibly to a destination that should surprise
and delight you. Stay tuned on this. As
far as the future is concerned, we want to go back to Bonneville in 2000.
There's this 1350cc Pushrod Production, and it's a little over 150 mph. We
think we have the makings of a plan, and we'll be talking it over in the next few
weeks. Plus, it appears that the Harley Davidson Internet mailing list found
out we took "their" record, and they may be mobilizing a response. So
the 1000cc title defense seems likely. You know, there are also classes for
500, 650, and 750 pushrod production. Do you think it would be cool if Moto
Guzzi owned all these records? Some of us do too. Stay tuned..... We
also have plans to sell shirts and maybe decals - celebrating this year's
accomplishments - just the thing to wear into your local HD dealership this
winter, J
and we are going to see if we have enough quality film footage to make a video.
We'll post to the Internet, of course, and let you non-connected folks know all
the details by way of the MGNOC News.
One
of the things that I regret about the way this year's effort took place was
that things were so fast paced, we only
had a short amount of time to get you all engaged. There're something like 3200
MGNOC members, and only about 600 of you are on the Internet list. That's an
awful lot of brain power, talent, and support that we left on the table. We'll
do a better job for next year. By the way, it's a great excuse to get a
computer and get connected! Okay,
enough about the boring background stuff. Here's the story from the guys who
made it happen. But first, I want to recognize some businesses that provided
much needed and appreciated support. Show them your thanks when considering
future purchases, if appropriate, or just thank them if you can:
By Sidney Conn (bike and
balloon owner)
How I Spent My Summer
Vacation or Love Those LSR's When
we started noodling this project on the Internet, I decided to donate the use
of my beloved 56,000 mile LeMans V for the attempt. I understood the risk of
having it rolled up into a ball but felt that it was the model of Moto Guzzi
which would give us the best chance of success. Even though I'm emotionally
attached to the bike, I wanted it to go to the team with no strings attached.
The biggest string (admittedly very tough for me because I'm a participant and
not an observer) was not insisting that I be a rider if there were those more
qualified by virtue of size, weight, frontal area, experience, etc. In
any case, by that time Walter Barlow had been appointed as Project Manager so I
sent him an email, and after some consultations with other members of the
proposed team, he accepted. You
will hear a lot from the team about how great was the experience, the bike, the
people, the Salt, the competition. etc., etc. It's all true. My
most pleasant surprise was to find that everyone on the team was even nicer
than I expected considering their email postings. From my perspective, however,
some heavy duty credit goes to Sheldon and Walter for their organizational
abilities, without which Harley Davidson would still own our two records and
we'd still be clacking on our keyboards. Organizing
something as complex as this is no mean feat, believe me. In 1980, I organized
an expedition to fly a balloon over the North Pole. In the high Arctic your
very life depends on your team and when things start going wrong, every
personality glitch becomes hugely exaggerated. I assembled a team of ten people
that I knew were compatible. Why I'm so impressed with Walter is that he
assembled a group of compatible people that he had never met and who didn't
know each other! When things started going wrong on the Salt, we didn't all
agree on remedies, but not one harsh word was spoken. Instead, every one became
more resolute, and we all pulled together. Sheldon
is an absolute peach and provided a calming influence. Russell, Todd and Mitch
did the majority of the very competent wrenching, and the rest of us helped
with moral support, balloon crewing, running for parts, doing PR and handling
the little important details. Steve Midgely from Salt Lake Motorsports went way
out of his way to be helpful, driving the enormously boring 120 miles to and from
Salt Lake City several times. Will
we be there next year defending what we achieved? When we were all out for
dinner one night, we met one of the grizzled old tech inspectors. He asked if
we had been to the Bonneville Salt Flat races before, and when we told him we
hadn't, he just smiled and said, "You'll be back."
By Russell Duke (crew chief) Putting
this bike together was a lot of work, but I knew it was worth it after Todd
made the first run at Bonneville. On the break in run, at partial throttle, we
had gone faster than the existing record by 2 mph! After
four days of running and tweaking, we had set two new records: the first,
ridden by Todd Ross, was the 1000cc Production- Production Pushrod (P-PP)
record at 134.441 mph. The second, ridden by Mitch Freshour, was the 1000cc
Special Construction Partial Streamliner-Pushrod Gas (APS-PG) at 142.271 mph.
Let me go back a bit and tell you all about some of the bike prepping. After
my friend Rock delivered the bike to me, I took the motor out of the frame and
stripped it for inspection. Most of the components were in decent shape, but
after all, it’s a Guzzi, and at 60,000 miles, was just barely broken in! As I
looked at the parts laid out before me, a plan started to hatch. If we could
raise enough money, we would install 90mm Wiseco pistons, Norris 382 race cam
(a Manfred Hecht grind), chrome moly pushrods, RAM aluminum flywheel/clutch
assembly, and have Manfred flow the heads and provide a race valve job. As the
new parts started to come in, the motor started coming back together. When
building a hot motor, nothing is ever a “drop-in.” At each stage of assembly, I
would measure, modify, verify, and continue. For instance, after I installed
the cam, I discovered that the rod bolts were knocking into the cam lobes due
to the largely increased cam lift. So I whipped out the die grinder and
clearanced the rod bolts to .050". Then when I put the cylinders on, the
cylinder head studs protruded too far up and interfered with installing the
rocker arms. This was because I had trimmed .040" off the cylinders to set
the squish at .038". Out with the die grinder again. I thought I had
finally clearanced everything, so I bolted it all together and torqued the heads,
only to find that, due to the cylinder trimming, the sleeves now extended
further down into the crankcase, contacting the crank counterweights, and
causing the motor to bind. Needless to say, my die grinder has gone through
several stones while hand fitting this motor. The
goal of performing all of these modifications was to provide a reliable,
powerful, well thought out motor that we could depend upon to carry us to a
land speed record. It exceeded my goal by gaining two records. Forza Guzzi! I
would like to express a big thank you to Manfred Hecht at Raceco for the cam,
headwork, and engine building advice. He is a great asset to the team. All
in all, I am very satisfied with our first time results at Bonneville. The bike
will go faster with a bit more development work. I look forward to going back
over the next few years and raising the bar even more. With the team that we
have, anything is possible.
By Sheldon Aubut (webmaster) It
isn't often in one's life that he gets to participate in an effort that is
truly unique. This was one of those times. A time when a group of people from
around the country who had never met each other, arrived at the Bonneville Salt
Flats in Utah and proceeded to shatter two Bonneville Land Speed Records. The
fact that this team was put together over the Internet, and with the support of
an Internet mailing list consisting of 650 Moto Guzzi riders from all over the
world, makes it one of the most unique "teams" in racing history.
This may even be the first time this feat was ever accomplished. When
the week was over we held the record we had gone after for and another record
that started as just a way to pass time while waiting for a part to arrive, and
ended with a second class record. All of the money was raised from the 650 list
participants, MGNOC members, and a last minute donation from Moto Guzzi North
America. Once
the team got together we turned out to be completely compatible and as good of
a team on the Salt Flats as we were in cyberspace. This truly was a
"TEAM". And this "TEAM" will be back for another whack at the
records next year.
By Todd Ross (rider,
mechanic) The
first thing that strikes you is the sheer size and nothingness that surrounds
you as you fly down the cone-marked "roadway" that leads to the pit
area. In the distance you can see a small collection of vehicles, tents, and
people. When you pull into the pit and start looking around, you quickly
realize this is a group of people who have been doing this a LONG time. So
this is where the old hot-rodders have gone? You can go down to your local mall
about one night a week and see the highly polished, tricked-out show cars with
all the performance bits bolted on. Those cars may get the chance to cruise to
and from the mall, but that is the extent of their travels. Wouldn't want to
get them dirty, would we? Contrast that to the Bonneville Salt Flats where high
performance drivers get their fire-breathing creations out on the most
corrosive environment available and really push them to see what they'll do.
This year was the 51st anniversary of running on the salt, and I have no doubt
some of the people at the flats this year were involved in some way back in the
beginning. The
vehicles entered in competition range from the most serious of modern
automotive achievement to someone's backyard dream made out of whatever rolling
stock he could scrape together and stuff with a real motor. Motorcycle people
and car people intermingle and share knowledge, parts, tools, and camaraderie.
There are no barriers between the salt veterans and salt rookies. These folks
are involved simply for the love of speed and pushing the limits. They're all
more than willing to help the next potential record-holder to become addicted.
By Mitch Freshour (rider,
mechanic) After
two days and over 2000 miles, I first caught sight of the great salt desert
that is home to the Bonneville Salt Flat speedway. From Interstate 80 west I
strained to get a glimpse of the race course and pits as I slowly got closer.
One of the first things you notice while traveling out here is time and
distance are altered from normal perspective. No matter how fast you try to
move down the road, time seems to ignore your efforts and everything continues
to move in slow motion. I exited from I-80, and after driving for a few miles
on the Bonneville access road, on which the posted 45 mph speed limit is
universally ignored, I was motioned onto the salt flats by Bonneville volunteers.
It's
about a ten-minute drive at 60 mph across the salt before you reach the nomadic
village that makes up the pit area, and it was here I first met Russell Duke in
person for the first time. Russell was accompanied by Woode, his good friend
and van co-driver. Woode had brought a video camera, and over the course of our
stay, he must have shot enough tape to produce a feature length documentary. I
want to see that video when he finishes editing it. I shook hands with Russell
and we began what was soon to become the making of a great team. For
the next few days time seemed to be accelerated for the LSR team, as Russell,
myself, and Todd Ross alternated between wrenching on the bike and providing
support for Todd as he made his record setting runs. Meanwhile
Sheldon was making daily posts to the Internet site and Ed "I won't take
no for an answer" Holmes was successfully negotiating roadblocks and
locating and acquiring several critical items we needed. Sidney and his balloon
pilot friend Erwin were busy giving people rides in the Moto Guzzi hot air
balloon, while others were busy snapping pictures and filming video. In
addition, we had plenty of help from the many pairs of eager hands belonging to
all the Moto Guzzi folks who showed up to help. We always had help whenever the
bike needed lifting, or footpeg brackets needed to fabricated, and there was a
constant food buffet provided so the team could grab a quick bite. This brings
up a point that I have found to be true of every Moto Guzzi related function,
be it a rally, group ride or racing event. By definition, Moto Guzzi people are
among the finest group of motorcycling individuals that I have ever been
associated with. For me, this team and the accomplishments we achieved make up
some of the most satisfying motorcycle related moments that I have been
privileged to experience. It took only a few moments for total strangers to
integrate into a strong, successful team that completed its goals with
confidence, not only in setting records, but also in sharing and utilizing each
others’ capabilities as well. In addition, every one of us was having a blast
doing it! Focusing
on my own primary team responsibility, which was to help Russell work on the
bike and to provide support for Todd as he made his record attempts, I was
having the time of my life. It was just great to work alongside such a fun and
knowledgeable group of racers and supporters. But it would only get better. A
few days into the event when Russell and Todd approached me about riding, I tried
to keep a level head and conduct a logical discussion about the opportunities
available to us. Nevertheless, inside I was bursting with excitement! In the
evenings at the dinner table, I would joke about the chances of my getting to
ride, just in case the team might have forgotten that I was a back-up rider.
Nevertheless, I was totally content with performing my pit crew duties. I had
already made up my mind, after Todd had set the production class record, that
even if I was given a chance to ride, and if I was able to go faster, that I would not back up my run and take the
record away from him. The
team had chosen Todd Ross as our primary rider, and he had done what the team
had set out to accomplish. I saw no need to change that just so I could have a
chance to ride. I suppose my decision may have had something to do with the
team deciding to enter a separate class, but when I heard the news about
registering for the modified class and I would be the rider, I was thrilled.
Now I would be able to try for a record too! The ride down the salt flat on a motorcycle is unique. The surface is rough, and traction is questionable, but the speed is relative, and with the only visible landmarks being bright orange mile markers, it is difficult to judge how fast you are actually traveling. I tried to focus my attention on the only functioning instrument, the tach, and encouraged it to continue climbing as I made my attempts. Since the seat had been replaced with thin padding and tape, and my feet were on angle iron foot pegs located close to the rear axle, it was actually easier to lay on the tank and watch the tachometer than anything else. I quickly got in the habit of lifting my head only occasionally to glance through the windshield to check my position on the course. Then I would drop down behind the instruments and return to encouraging the tach to continue climbing past 8000 rpm. I managed to take four trips down the course, and with the help from a pair of plastic cup velocity stacks, I was able to reach an average speed of 142 mph. I will not soon forget that rush. There was also no doubt in my mind that I was now hooked on flying down the salt flat stretched out on a motorcycle. I want to take more trips down the course, and make no mistake, I want to go faster! They have a saying in Bonneville, and it's that the salt gets into your blood, and once it does, you can't stay away. I must have salt water running through my body now, and I can't wait to get back. The Moto Guzzi Land Speed Record racing team is a strong, fun-loving bunch of people who have managed to do something truly unique and positive for the Moto Guzzi name, as well as for ourselves, and I look forward to going even faster next year!
By Doug Boston (shirt design)
I'm
still rubbing my eyes! When I signed on, I figured that trying to break the
record would be a dalliance of sorts. My best guess: the group's enthusiasm
would dissipate, the friction of conflict would overcome, and rubber might
never touch salt. For me, it's a lesson relearned. Some ideas, and the people bound to them soar when the conditions are right. I appreciate my ride on the coattails of those who made it really happen.
By Ed Holmes (team mechanic) Other
than just the historical sense of being there at Bonneville for Speed Trials,
which was in itself a great feeling, the sense that you were at a gathering of
old friends was overwhelming. So many of those guys have been going there for
20 or 30 or more years, and yet they welcomed us graciously, even though we
were definitely the rookies on the block. So many of them openly enjoyed our
success. A special guy out there was Mike Mendoza, the Harley rider whose
records we broke. He was constantly giving us little bits and pieces of helpful
info, never resentful that he was going home without a new or old record in the
books. I wish I could be more articulate about the way we were treated: they
are a special group of people. I'm looking forward to seeing them all again next
year.
By John Zabrocki (custom shirtware) When
I first heard the proposal to go after the LSR, it took all of two, maybe three
seconds to know I had to be involved in some way, shape, or form. I offered to
run a fund raising T-shirt sale. And also to make up caps, shirts, jackets,
etc. for the crew. During
the few days the Land Speed Records were being set, I can't count the times I
was overwhelmed by the good news coming back from the Flats. I would anxiously
sign on to the Internet to get the latest report. Then sit back to enjoy it.
What a feat! As
astounding as the results are, even more impressive to me, is the support that
came from all over the world. This truly was a grass roots effort. I received
orders for shirts from all over the USA, Sweden, Finland, Australia, The
Netherlands, South Africa, England, United Kingdom, and the Isle of Man. It
feels good to know that our T-shirts allowed so many to participate in this
heroic event, and also that they will promote Moto Guzzi and our proud
achievement to the world. Thanks
go out, not just to the team, but also to the Guzzi fans: every person who
bought a shirt, every person who donated time or money, every person who took
the time to post a wish of success or a congratulatory on the Internet. Each
shirt I sent out included laundering instructions. Today I want to add
“wearing” instructions. "WEAR WITH EXTREME PRIDE!" I can hardly wait
until Moto Guzzi Land Speed Record 2000! To
Glen Bewley: Don't worry Glen, we'll find a way to abuse you yet! The LSR idea
came out of some discussion I can't even remember the roots of now. But the
first thing I remember doing about it was going to the Southern California
Timing Association website and checking the record. One nineteen plus. Jeez,
air must be thin out there, I thought. So the discussion got fired up on the
list and to be honest, my first response was "Why doesn't someone grab a bag of jets, safety wire their LeMans,
ride out there and just take the thing?" I stand behind the idea
exactly that could have been done, but
the team took it to the next level. They didn't want the record at
"standard" speeds, but at well above that. So
the group effort was born. And what a birth it was! Walter Barlow absolutely
took the bull by the horns and soon there was a bike, then an attempt at
raising funds. LOTS of people are buying "Attempt" shirts now that
it's DONE. Of course, thanks to all, but let's show a little faith in advance
next time around! As
much as I would have liked to have been more involved, I was fairly well
grounded by the seasonal demands of my career, and could only offer up some
financial assistance. But knowing all was in good hands, I didn't fret too
much. There's
always next year, and if I can find a little enthusiasm and a pilot about half
my size, I may even offer up one of my V7 Sports for the effort. Time will
tell...just like at Bonneville...
|
By
now, I hope that most of you have learned that Moto Guzzi now owns land speed
records in two classes (1000cc Pushrod Production and 1000cc A Frame Partial
Streamlining Pushrod). Both were won at the Bonneville Salt Flats in October of
1999. 
How
could I forget the Moto Guzzi balloon! Sidney, who also supplied the bike,
built us a magnificent hot air balloon. No way could I do justice to the impact
the balloon had on the whole Bonneville scene. Truly, we soared above the rest.
