XC Trip, day 10...morning

Bonneville Salt Flats. The AMA BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials. This was something I'd been looking forward to for a long time. I think the AMA got their own week of speed trials about 7 years ago, so that there would be more time for motorcycles, rather than trying to work their own event into the world renowned Bonneville Speed Week, where just about anything with wheels can run. BUB is a motorcycle aftermarket accessory company specializing in exhaust systems, and I guess the owner is a speed freak and runs bikes on the salt flats, so he decided to invite the AMA to join in the fun. (That's what I remember reading when the whole thing got started 7 years ago, but don't quote me on it.)

As we were riding from the hard road that brings you into the salt flats to the pit area a few miles in on the salt, I had a very strong feeling of having done something like this before. It felt very much the same as when we go ice racing, white and flat for miles all around, not much surface grip, and the general excitement of performance engines and fuel in the air.

I'll let the pictures do the talking, there was so much to see and absorb. I'll just say that it was great talking with the racers and hearing stories about their efforts. As usual, you take the simplest premise..go as fast as you can in a straight line..and then you find out just how hard it can be, poor traction, high density altitude, high temperature, vicious salt attacking everything everywhere, wind. We'll be back with our own bike, to give this a try. I swear.

Go to this website, they've posted preliminary results. You'll have to cut and paste;
http://www.speedtrialsbybub.com/2011_event/index-2011.html














































More to come on this topic...