Bonneville 2013

Discussion in 'Racing & Track Days' started by carlgustav, Nov 4, 2012.

  1. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    Ok, as I posted on the 'other' VFR forum, I hope to run my 6th gen at Bonneville in 2013. Just going for the experience and to join the 150mph club. Apparently I will need a steering damper so I'm now in the market for a used one (hint). As I asked 'over there', if anyone has advice about gearing/tires, that would be great :^). She's kinda set up for my track day on her, with a 15/43 520 conversion right now. That's not likely to let me hit 150 ...

    I'll keep an eye on the various classified forums for a damper ...

    ACE
     
  2. diVeFR

    diVeFR New Member

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    man if that happens PLEASE post pics!!! Ive taken mine to 142ish so I would love to see how fast it goes in the Bonn.... Good luck!!!
     
  3. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    Ok. A lot can happen before then but I've taken the first baby steps to get ready (joined the USFRA and set up my savings account for the trip). However, to make the 150mph class I have to run 150 twice at a minimum, and no more than 160. If I go faster than 160, I get disqualified :^).

    ACE
     
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Isn't it an average mph of two runs, running both ways? Maybe a lakes trial first before the salt. The salt is another world.

    Aha! didn't check out the new rules.. Good luck. Cool vid on a guy making the 150 club in a Nissan Sentra.

    Keep in mind that according my count there are 347 dudes here on VFRs who have gone faster than 150 and they can prove it..LOL
     
  5. 34468 Randy

    34468 Randy Secret Insider

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    Go for it my man. Good luck with it too. I have done 250 kmh according to my speedo which equates to 155 mph but I have no confidence that this is correct. It is fuggen fast but I doubt I was doing 150 MPH. Maybe I will look into doing that on my next trip to R3. Will have to loose some of the gear I pack though.

    I have done 245 KMH on a car many times (Camaro Interceptor). Radar unit on the dash so I know it is accurate to +- 2 km/100KMH. And there was lots of throttle left. Never did find top end in that before they traded the thing off for an Impalla. But that was nothing. The same feat on a bike would be exillerating for sure.
     
  6. silverbullet132

    silverbullet132 New Member

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    Sounds fun. Something I might be interested in for my 5th gen :)

    Is a steering damper really needed? Have not heard anything good about the scotts units, and those seem to be the only ones made for the VFR.
     
  7. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Back in the day on my Knucklehead...

    Say what you will about our thought to be antiquated system of measurment in some areas, but being a member of "The 150 MPH Club" sounds much cooler than being a member of the 241.402 kph club..

    ... and if that ain't good enough there is " Mile High Club." too.

    mph to km/h and km/h to mph Online Calculator -Converter (and km/hour to mph Conversion Chart / Table )
     
  8. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    Yes, for the USFRA event in Sept. it is 2 passes, both must be between 150 and 160, and not exceed 160 ... and I've been informed that the rules for this event, which I only skimmed as the event is a ways off, call for a steering damper. I would think the VFR at 540lbs would be stable enough w/o but as has been pointed out, the salt is a different world :).

    I've also been looking at the BUB Racing/AMA speed trials at Bonneville, in the 'run what ya brung' class. If that runs this year it would be the end of Aug. (based on 2012) and may fit my schedule better. Also, I think the BUB event would allow for a max speed run w/o concerns about passing 160, and as we all know, many VFRs with stock engines can easily approach 200. In either case, I would get 2 passes for time and the prize of saying, I did it ...

    ACE
     
  9. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    What ya might do to finance all this is make up some Tshirts and sell them to everyone. I would think that someone has already cornered the Tshirt market for the 150MPH Club for both cars and bikes but there may be an opening for the guys who have those 200mph VFR's and who are not happy with the MPH thing.

    Something like: I am a proud member (small pun here) of the 321.869 KPH Club. Sheeit man you could have everything from squad up to regiment size in at least red and yellow.

    :)
     
  10. jethro911

    jethro911 Member

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    ?????? who is running close to 200 on a VFR? Am I missing something?

    On asphalt, the best I've run is 157 indicated which may be near 150,,,,maybe. You will loose quite a bit to wheel spin on the salt so manage your expectations and you will have a good result.
     
  11. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    So far I have counted 73 dudes on VFR's that have exceeded the 190mark. Some even text at the ton, this is on dirt, asphalt, concrete, sand, salt, ice ,snow sleet, hail and all that other stuff the mailmen love, I myself have a 91 that is a mach 1 ride. Nocalboy has 7 or 8 of these bikes..Then again there still may be some confusion over MPH and KPH..or on rare ocassion, somebody makes shit up just to see if they can get away with it.

    Thank God this is not a subject on a harleydood BB, the use of bandwidth alone could shut down the entire www..
     
  12. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    There's a thread around here somewhere that records folks "Top Speed"
    150's are the average. YMMV. All other claims subject to verification.
     
  13. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    Ah, maybe I should've put the appropriate sarcasm emoticon after my 200mph remark :potstir: ... if there's nothing in the RWB rules for the BUB/AMA event against gearing changes, I'm thinking of going to 17t front & 42t rear. For my '07, 16/43 is stock, so maybe I can find 17/42 out there. I'll stay with 520 vs 530 chain for this. Tires have me stumped at the moment. If the traction on salt is similar to hard packed sand, as I've read in some places, I'm not sure about using typical street tires. Guess I'll do some lurking on the land speed racing forum :boobies3: (I used this emoticon here just b/c I like boobs ...) ...

    ACE
     
  14. Keager

    Keager Member

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    Ohlins makes one as well. It's what I've got.
     
  15. silverbullet132

    silverbullet132 New Member

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    I have a 5th gen, but even with that said I checked their website and there is no damper listed for any vfr 800.
     
  16. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    So how is yours mounted, may I ask ... thx.

    ACE
     
  17. Keager

    Keager Member

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    I will have to take pictures. There is a support for it that comes off of the two front bolts for the gas tank. It is visible, not hidden like on some of the ones that I have seen.
     
  18. drewl

    drewl Insider

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    I recently read a bit on another forum about the Salt Flats.
    The salt gets friggin everywhere.
    It causes mega rust and FAST.

    If you have not looked in to this practical issue, you should. Save your stuff!
     
  19. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    @drewl,
    Thx, I looked some as well after I saw your reply. It appears that 'anti salt' preparation is key along with serious tear-down and cleaning after. I am taking all this in consideration ...

    On a related (sort of) note, I had my VFR dyno'd today to get baseline figures. 100 RWHp almost on the dot, 56lb-ft peak torque @ 95hp. Projected top speed on the dyno of 154mph in 6th as she sits today. I plan to drop a few more pounds by using a LiFePo battery ...

    ACE
     
  20. carlgustav

    carlgustav New Member

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    Disappointment looms ...

    WRT my decision to try running my VFR at Bonneville this year. Having had time to look at, and discuss this idea, I've decided to put it off for now. A friend/co-worker gave me some advice that I've finally taken seriously. To paraphrase, he basically said that 'many folks see something done from a distance and decide that it doesn't look too difficult, so what the hell - I can do that'. He asked me if I'd ever been to a BUB or Speed Trials event and taken a close-up look at what's involved, to which I had to say no. He suggested I spend the $$ to do this first, then decide whether or not I think I can pull this off. Could save myself many $ and heart-ache ... so for now, this idea moves to the back burner.

    Oh well,

    ACE
     
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