Triumph Nostalgia-Bonneville Salt Flats

Mar 15, 2003
1,527
16
38
www.daveearly.com
Gyronaut%20X1.jpg


I wasn't quite sure how to introduce this post, but it may be something you Triumph fans are interested in. I added some old scrap book stuff I brought from the U.S.A. to my website. The only drawback is that it is mostly about me (pretty humble, heh?)

http://www.daearly.com/early_racing.htm

Check it out when you are bored and want to do a little reading and maybe reminiscing. Please be kind......I know I'm getting old.
 
Mar 15, 2003
1,527
16
38
www.daveearly.com
I changed the topic name to see if anyone reading had any info on this idea. [?]

I just watched a show on TV where a guy was preparing a bike for the Bonneville Salt Flats. He drilled a couple holes in the swingarm and filled it with lead bird-shot (like in shotguns) in order to get extra weight directly to the rear wheel. Actually the salt is a fairly slippery surface. I once had a problem there of constant wheel spin.

It worked for him as he did achieve his record. Has anyone heard of anything like this before? I know we are usually trying to reduce unsprung weight. Theories?
 

Rhodie

0
Mar 5, 2006
842
5
18
Dave
Really fascinating stuff.
A real pleasure glancing through some of your material & memorabilia when last up North.
The lad was impressed meeting someone who rode on the salt with Burt Munro!
I look forward to looking through your portfolio again with more time.
Tho - you should post up your riding records for all to read.
Thank you for sharing some real motorcycling history with those of us who can still dream!
Rhodie
 
Sep 19, 2006
2,393
374
83
62
www.chiangmai-xcentre.com
Hi Dave,
What a Legend, makes very impressive and informative Reading. You had a real Full and Fun Youth and Still doing it. I never realised the Old Triumphs were that Fast so learnt something New. They had a reputation for being Unreliable Oil Leakers at Home in NZ. Of course they were Bike of Choice for all the Bike Gangs till the Harley became more accessible. Keep up the good work.
Cheers Ian.
 
Oct 12, 2005
648
2
0
We indeed have our very own Legend amongst the raggy bunch of GT-riders.

Great stuff David. Top speed competitors are an interesting breed relative to other racers, always interesting to talk to the salt minions about their vehicles. Thanks for breaking it out, dusting it off, and sharing it with us all. Always knew there was something about you that was being kept quiet.

Maybe we will have to have an elevated chair for David to sit in at the Kafe given his elavated status :) .
 
Mar 15, 2003
1,527
16
38
www.daveearly.com
Thanks for the comments guys. Anytime, Rhodie. Ian, you still run rings around me in the dirt. B&T, yes running top end at max RPM for more than a mile is a little different. You have time to listen to every sound and feel every little twitch, you know it just has to come apart.

I was fortunate in my opportunities. We all have our "15 minutes of fame" as they say. But that is a looooong time ago and a "land far away".

Speaking of which, what is this?

quote:

Always knew there was something about you that was being kept quiet.







justin.jpg


quote:

Driver : Justin J. Sallows
Car : Anything in the garage...currently an ASC stockcar
Results : HIV negative...oh racing ones !

Bio : 3 championships in off road Desert and Enduro racing before realizing women don't find off road motorcycles glamorous. Switched to motorcycle road-racing and won 3 novice races before being relegated to mid back by the fast blokes. Crashed in turn 8 @ 145 MPH and Turn 2 @ 100 MPH at Willow Springs and realized that crashing road-racing motorcycles is more costly both physically and fiscally than dirt bikes and women still did not find the sport attractive. Sooooo there were loads of scantily clad women in the pits during car races so onward through the fog. Been racing cars a few years now, spent a lot of money, won some trophies, have not got hurt, and got divorced. All told a rather successful foray into the world of car racing that keeps me coming back for more. Have garnered a few top 3 finishes in the ASC stockcar but as of yet Pamela Anderson has still not volunteered to change tires for me. Sooo I'm in search of some more good racing and sponsorship by the Budweiser girls.

"Justin Sallows, though relatively new to the automotive racing scene, has proven himself to be quite a natural. Before entering the evil world of car racing, Justin had been racing motorcycles (both motocross and road racing). He had recently bought a Chevy Lumina Stockcar to compete in the ASC Series (See our Story on this series) and has been known to blast down the local tracks at un-Godly speeds weaving in and out of already fast cars, despite failing brakes... now that takes gutts! He’d tell you that the weaving was because he just couldn’t stop... kind of like those early episodes of CHIPS where “Ponch” and John would jump from the back of a motorcycle and into the schoolbus filled with screaming children. Except in Justin’s case, he’d tell the kids to shut up before standing on the throttle even harder while yelling “YeeHaw!”".








[:D](Just been waiting for the right opportunity)[^]

Hey, I still am curious about this putting shot in the swing arm thing....
 

Pikey

www.tbbtours.com
Bloody hell! I am surprised that two of my closest Chiang Mai buddies are so illustrious and still put up with a nobber like me! Just goes to show what excellent chaps they both are [;)]

Regarding the lead shot, that baffled me too but here's a theory - they were using carbon wheels right? Well, the only thing I can reckon is that they used a lightweight wheel to minimise drivetrain power loss but the downside of that is that it lost useful weight and therefore traction at the back end. So, maybe the thinking was keep the carbon wheel, bang in a few pounds of lead shot into the swinger as then you can add weight to the rear without adding to the load placed on the drivetrain. Does that make any logic or sense?

Cheers,

Pikey.
 
Mar 15, 2003
1,527
16
38
www.daveearly.com
Pikey I owe you a beer for the compliments. As for the wheel, I don't think it was carbon but your explanation, I am sure, is the reason they were doing it. Makes sense, just that in all these years I never seen it done before and they made it look "routine". Wanted to see if anyone else had heard of this before. Thanks.
 

daewoo

0
Dec 6, 2005
823
16
18
quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Pikey I owe you a beer for the compliments. As for the wheel, I don't think it was carbon but your explanation, I am sure, is the reason they were doing it. Makes sense, just that in all these years I never seen it done before and they made it look "routine". Wanted to see if anyone else had heard of this before. Thanks.








:( no one knows me enough to give me compliments...

I was 1997 Under 2000cc 2WD NSW Rally Champion... can't ride a bike for shit tho...

GoodCar.jpg


Was there a weight limit on the bikes? Rotating or unsprung weight (wheels, tyres, drivetrain) is said to have 4 times the performance reducing effect of sprung weight (everything else)... Maybe if there was a weight limit that was why they added weight... Typical motor racing tactic of get the car light as possumble, then add enough weight to reach to limit in the places you want it, down low, over the wheels, where required to give balance...

Cheers,
Daewoo
 
Jun 21, 2006
788
3
0
Gee guys all these famous people popping up on the board ......

Well my only claim to fame was on the OZ TV doing Perfect Match. I was episode 9, so was right when it all began...... I lost

Daewoo don't supposed you saw me, Channel 10, it was a Thusday, Nov 84.
 

daewoo

0
Dec 6, 2005
823
16
18
quote:

Originally posted by tropicaljohno
Daewoo don't supposed you saw me, Channel 10, it was a Thusday, Nov 84.








hahahaha... one of my mates was on that as well... he didn't win either, but I think it was 'cause he was a bit of a swear bear...

Dexter says compatability rating... very low...

Cheers,
Daewoo
 

cdrw

0
Oct 6, 2006
572
2
16
Wow, Silverhawk....impressive!! While I don't know any of the reclusive stars on GT-Rider, but maybe some day I'll soon have the opportunity to rub elbows with our triumphant star.

FWIW..
As far as Bonneville land speed records, I was sales manager of one of the companies involved with sponsoring the Guinness land speed _bicycle_ record of 152mph! The rider, John Howard, a friend from Encinitas, Calif. was one of the cyclists we used to promote the bicycles we produced. During one of the runs, the bike had a flat tire at 120mph. I asked John if he soiled his pants...he said 'no'...I never believed him!
http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/LSR%20Bike01.htm
 

mikerust

0
Subscribed
Nov 5, 2003
795
66
28
Dave,

I didn't get my racing in until Karts in the mid 70's and late 80's.

Early (sic) on I was more into engines:

Car #604 was an ultimate version of the old 1172 side-valve Ford. Mike Rust built the motor, and sent me these slides. The body is a cut-'n'-shut Fiat 500. The special exhaust was by Janspeed. The engine: A racing Weber carb on a Janspeed manifold -- nearly everyone had used SU's up to this point. 604 revved very fast thanks to a special crank : 8000rpm. It had rare and special Formula Junior (ie RAC circuit racing) con-rods of super-hard steel that drove machinists crazy. The head and flywheel were aluminum Aquaplane items, and it used a Mini-based dry-sump oil system. They canted the engine over at 15degrees to improve inflow. The motor parts were balanced, crank hardened and ports "flowed". The valves were huge Bill Cooper specials, and the whole thing was actually tuned on the dyno/rolling-road at Downton's in London! Bill Cooper was a top-flight Formula Junior racer who literally wrote a book on tuning 1172 motors. Thanks to Mike Rust for the technical data.

from http://giswww1.bcit.ca/dkipling/forty-juniors.htm
 
Oct 12, 2005
648
2
0
Jesus H Christ!!!! Mr. Early you are spending waaaaaay too much time on the internet. I have not seen those photos in a few years. That photo is me innocently posing with my driveshaft that was twisted in two going down the back straight, spit out and smashed into another driver at over 100 MPH. The joys of 600HP Stockcars. Thought that Website died years ago. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!!

Just shows you can cross a few borders and timezones only to find your past still coming up to nibble you in the ass. Especially with friends like Early at the keyboard. Certainly famous and my name are mutally exclusive in anything regarding motorsports but its provided me with more smiles and than a pocket full of cash and Nana Plaza gogo dancers. Sadly I'm only known in the "Star of Light" bar in Patpong :) .

Nice photo daewoo of the 510 doing what it did best. Nice to see you put it through its paces.