Performance Times: What's New On The Street & Strip

UL/WLA Hybrid WWII Reproduction by Flathead Power

In 1942, Harley-Davidson® made 462 U model motorcycles, 41 of which were slated for the U.S. Army. Harley-Davidson also produced 426 Sidecar versions for the U.S. Army, and these U Models w/ sidecar ironically were USA models. Since only the U.S. Military can make the great American icon more American, S&S® decided to do a military motorcycle for the 2012 Flathead Power® road tour. Long time S&S employee, Bonneville record holder and military vehicle enthusiast, Dan Kinsey jumped at the chance to work on this project. Since the majority of our flathead parts are for the big twin flatties, the bike would have to be a replica of one of these rare 1942 models.


Built and painted by Bonneville Record Holder, Dan Kinsey, of S&S® Cycle.Diving into the historical archives and internet pages filled with nose cone art and pin-up babes, very little on the U.S. Army U models could be found. Not wanting to give up on the project, we did the next best thing, duplicate what we knew of the 45" WLA models to create our own WLA/U model hybrid. Some initial parts and a wealth of knowledge from our friends at WayBack Wheels got us well on our way. Dan went to work stripping down the “F-bobb” (an S&S built U model flathead bobber style motorcycle) bike and repainting it in olive drab green. Starting with cut down fenders, Dan created some parts from scratch and retro fitted other WLA model parts. Given that the WLA 45" engines used a three-bolt inlet flange on their smaller carb, we had to generate a 3D model and a rapid prototype of the air inlet casting for the oil bath intake system. Our version has the U model four-bolt carb flange and with S&S being S&S, we just couldn’t resist adding the patented stinger to the intake.

Jumping in on the replica rage, Marketing Director Gary Wenzel went so far as ordering a replica Tommy gun to fill the empty scabbard. The designation lettering is even unique to Flathead Power and S&S. On the rear fender, the division designation uses the S&S founding year, 1958, in the call out AGF-58C (Army Ground Forces, 58th Calvary) and the vehicle designation; FHP 1 of course! After three months of hard work and research, the 2012 Flathead Power display and pit bike is complete. This bike features Flathead Power heads, 80" cylinders, pistons, solid lifters and kicker cover. But this bike isn’t just for display – we’ve set it up with a foot shift and a hand clutch so our show staff can easily tool around the show grounds.

You'll can see this bike at these shows:

Perkiomen AMCA Swapmeet
Oley, PA - April 27-29

National Motorcycle Museum Show & Swapmeet
Anamosa, IA - June 1-3

J&P Open House
Anamosa, IA - June 23-24

Oshkosh Air show
Oshkosh, WI - July 23-29

Blackhawk Vintage Races & Swapmeet
Davenport, IA - Aug 31-Sept 2

From the ashes of disaster, a customer's bike & our engine, RISE!

2004 Iron Horse - Original condition

Black Betty... Or Why You Should Never Say “Can’t”

Most of the time, the Performance Times Blog is about racing and other high performance topics. This story illustrates another kind of high performance. It’s more about high personal performance where someone takes on a challenge that others have walked away from. In the end, they show what you really can do if you try. It also illustrates why you should never tell Paula Taylor that she can’t do something. On April 12, 2012 we received this email from Paula:

After the fire

“Hello,
I want to let everyone know how awesome your motors are and I have proof thought u might want to use in advertisement. I got a 04 Iron Horse Texas chopper that was burned in a garage fire pix of it in the garage. We replaced the rocker box covers & compression releases as they were burnt off. After hours of cleaning and polishing, the cases polished back out using the same burnt plugs it started and ran on second start up. It won radical class at bike week. I can send pix if you are interested. Thank you for your time.

Paula Taylor”

Talk about your burnout! Well, the photos were so amazing, and the story even more so, that we asked Paula to give a full account, and here it is in her own words.

“In June 2011 a friend of ours decided to sell his 2004 Iron Horse Texas Chopper, he took it to a guy to have it detailed before selling it the next day, when he went over to pick it up, the bike was not ready yet and was asked to leave it with him that night so it could be completed for the next morning. At some point during the night the window air conditioner unit shorted out and caught on fire burning the garage down with the bike inside. To make matters worse he owner did not have the bike insured and garage was not covered by the home owner insurance.

When we went over to look at the bike " it was bad", first thing the hubby did was tap on the fins with a screwdriver to see if they were brittle from the heat. We decided to take the challenge. We never built a burnt bike and figured I could part it out if nothing else, so I traded a paint  job on his other Harley the owner had for the burnt bike. None of the other shops in town would touch it and was repeatedly told I was wasting my time, to the point they kind of made me mad, so I guess now I should thank them as it made us more determined to build it. Sounds crazy but I just had a good feeling about it. The bike was delivered to my shop Paints by Paula Bend Over Customs, Mims, Florida.

 

Had to cut what was left of the rear tire off with a saws-all to be able to roll it inside with the melted rim. Once inside the shop, it not only looked bad but smelled worse. If you touched it or got near it you were black. It took us two days to disassemble. We were very concerned with the motor condition and there is still a stain on the floor from tearing it down and believe it or not, there was still spark in the battery. We rolled the motor outside once it was removed from  the frame and then with hubby’s help, we started cleaning with a water hose, degrease made for aluminum, Scotch Brillo, Brillo pads and a wire brush. The motor was covered with soot and fire retardant foam that had hardened, 9 hours later the motor was looking pretty good.

Next we began to tear down the motor to inspect for damage, we removed the rotor and found the stator was intact, we removed the carb, the float bowl was full of gas, the rocker boxes were damaged beyond repair, but when we removed all of the rubber gaskets that were intact, there was oil in the lower box. No discoloration or any signs of damage. The  rubber boot for compression releases and insulation were burned off, leaving about 6" of wire. The husband then tested each compression release with a 9 volt battery. Amazingly enough, they both worked. That really inspired us to go for it.

We then removed the oil pressure sensor that were burned off, nose cone removed, chiseled out what once was the points cover that had melted. No damage to the cam cover. The melted metal did not stick to it amazingly. No discoloration, infact the cam seal was good and was NOT replaced. After approximately 120 hours of buffing and polishing (we did not split the cases) it was coming back to life with full luster of polished aluminum. We used a small wire brush to clean between the fins but we could not get them polished enough so they still had some discoloration. So we sprayed the cylinders with hi heat texture paint and re polished the edges of the fins.  Replaced the rocker box covers, took pushrods out, no damage.

 

Took the pushrod covers and nose cone to Space Coast plating for re-chroming. We replaced all of the gaskets and seals. New compression boots and added wire to the 6" pigtail that was left. Installed Dyna S single fire ignition, plugged the crank position sensor hole. Installed motor back into refurbished original frame. We just built up from there. The day of truth or  dare was fast approaching. Wednesday of bike week, Charlie Hadayia, Sr from S&S in sales and customer support, happened into my shop and needed some tranny lube for his 94" knuckle. He was curious after seeing the photos of the bike before we started and the condition after the work we did and how the motor was going to run. We were booked to be at a show that Friday morning of bike week with this build, and this was Thursday late afternoon.

The finished product!Cocky Hubby, Steve was cleaning the old burnt spark plugs and actually put them back in the motor. Turned the motor over a few times with no power to coils to verify oil pump was coming up to pressure etc. Applied power to the coil second stroke of the motor it FIRED, being fed fuel from dual Delerto carbs (the S&S carburetor also polished out and is working). The 111 motor ran so well you would have never known it was in a fire with such extreme heat.

So we can attest to the true integrity of the S&S motors. Oh and we did make the Friday show. We won the Radical class with the old burnt bike, Black Betty.

 

Warmest regards
Paula Taylor
Paints by Paula Bend Over Customs
Mims, Florida
321-302-2759”

Win The Award Winning RLX X-Wedge Bike To Support Our Vets!

Santa not visiting your house this year due to your questionable behavior? Here is your chance to WIN BIG for the holidays!

If you were at the AMD Championship at the last incarnation of the one-and-only Sturgis Rally, you may remember this bike.  If you do not, let us get you up to speed. 

Darwin Motorcycles has developed a sporty machine with a lot of (X-Wedge) muscle. This bike, dubbed the "RLX", won 1st in the "Production Class" at the 2011 AMD World Championship of Bike Building.  That class is no easy ticket to come out on top of!

This bike was built for 2 reasons:

1) "To build an American Muscle Bike that pays tribute to Bobby Rahal and his storied racing career."

2) "To raise money to support our troops through military charities, Steel Anchor and Pros 4 Vets" (to be raffled off January, 2012)

Seriously... how awesome is that?!

Heard enough?  GET YOUR TICKETS TO WIN HERE!

Darwin Motorcycles could have slapped some shiny parts together for your average chopper, put a price tag on it and given a portion of the proceeds away and called it a day. Not the case! This is an exceptional motorcycle with the highest quality components, some by yours truly, and award winning design that its sole purpose was to be raffled off to raise money for our troops.  (I'll give you a second for an appropriate hardy slow-clap.)

The RLX was featured in the January edition of IronWorks Magazine and they had plenty of good things to say about it.

"I’ve mentioned it before; the most exciting part of working with creative people who make stuff is watching things come together. I’ve seen this machine in various forms and described in various conversations, captions, FB posts, emails, and texts so that I had a clear image of it in my mind’s eye before I had ever seen it in the “tin.” But when I first saw the bones of the machine last year in Daytona, I was knocked out. It was so much cooler and tougher in person, I couldn’t wait to see it done and flying down the road.

I got that chance this past Sturgis. Dar, Bryan, Tim, and the Brass Balls/Darwin Motorcycles team had kicked some major booty with this machine at the AMD show with a win in the very competitive Production Class and were feeling good about the results of all of their effort. The bike was a killer and knowledgeable folks had recognized that, we all know how good it feels when hard work is recognized." -Stephen Berner

 Designer, Dar Holdsworth had a few things to say about the build / charity: "At Darwin Motorcycles, we build a no compromise custom/production bike using only the highest quality components. We machine everything to fit perfectly. There is a performance edge to our bikes...

I wanted to go farther: more power, more sport/cafe inspired styling. I could not stop thinking about this next bike. How could I bring it to life: out of my head, onto paper, and onto our bike lift? I decided the best way to develop this bike was to pay it forward. To build it then give it away at the end—and that is what we did.

See, I do a bike every year that supports the military. I knew with such a tight economy, I’d have to do something big to get contributions from the top suppliers I was seeking to partner with... All proceeds go to Steel Anchor and
Pros For Vets charities. The components listed in the sidebar were generously donated by these exceptional suppliers; Darwin Motorcycles built the bike for free."

Tickets are only $20.
The bike is valued at over $50,000!
Only 3,500 tickets are being sold!!

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS

Darwin Motorcycles is raffling this bike through midnight pacific standard time, December 24th and need your help to raise as much money as possible to support our troops.   Winner will be selected January, 2012. Good luck!

2011 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Wrap-up: S&S Race Performance Muscle

Photos and commentary by Matt Polito

S&S was once again a force in the chase for the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship in 2011.  Led by the Lucas Oil Team and rookie sensation Hector Arana Jr., S&S-Powered Buells amassed some enviable accomplishment in the premier motorcycle drag racing series.

Arana Jr. joined his father, 2009 NHRA PSM champion Hector Arana Sr., on a two-bike team this season and put himself in position to challenge for the championship.  In the end he could not overcome a strong finish by Harley-Davidson® rider Eddie Krawiec, who claimed his second #1 plate.

Arana Jr. would finish second to Krawiec in the championship points and was awarded the prestigious Auto Club Road to the Future Award – NHRA’s Rookie of the year honor - beating out eight other eligible professional rookie racers.

Arana Jr. had a disappointing start, failing to qualify at the season-opening Gator Nationals at Gainesville, but he took the pole four races later at Norwalk – the place where his father won his first-ever NHRA event in 2008.

In all, Arana Jr. qualified on the pole in seven events and had 3 wins in five final round appearances.  He took his first-ever event title at the prestigious NHRA Mac Tools US Nationals at Indianapolis.

"Overall, it was a good season, being that it was my rookie year, first time out," said Arana Jr. "I can't wait to get back to the shop, find some power, come back and show these guys who's boss. I've got a full season underneath my belt. Those last several runs, I felt like I was making perfect runs. I'm ready to go to Gainesville and start from the beginning."

 

 

His father, Hector Sr., did not win an event this season but qualified on the pole at two events and set the elapsed time national record at 6.777 seconds in Gainesville. The record remained unchallenged for the rest of the season.

Combining the Arana’s #1 qualifying performances, S&S-powered Buells took nine poles in the 16-race NHRA schedule.

Matt Smith, who brought a Buell to its first championship in 2007, went to three finals in 2011, winning at Englishtown.  Smith finished the season in the fourth position.

Rejoining the S&S-powered riders this year was Chip Ellis, riding the new Kuryakyn Buell of veteran owner Harry Lartigue.

Ellis has a rich history on the Buell’s, taking the prototype G2 machine to its first-ever pole at the US Nationals in 2004.  He then ran the Drag Specialties Buell of George Smith and George Bryce for three seasons, finishing in the top five every year.

This year Ellis went to the final at the Chicago event but failed to make the top ten cutoff for NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Lartigue stated that the team would compete again in Kuryakyn colors in 2012

2011 marked the sixth straight year that S&S-powered Buells accounted for two of the top five points earners in the NHRA series. In that time two championships were won on S&S-powered Buells, Smith in 2007 and Arana Sr. in 2009.

George B. Smith commented on the season, stating, “I am really proud of the talent, hard work and dedication of the riders, the tuners and their teams.  Our technology is available to everyone and we have to race against technology that is only available to the Harley-Davidson® factory team. We built this engine as an alternative that would change the face of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racing.   With the efforts of the racers, we were able to do that.”

Arana Jr. Holds Top Spot at Vegas but Loses Ground for Championship

Hector Arana Jr. grabbed the number one qualifying spot at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 6.879 elapsed time at 194.46 mph on his S&S-powered Lucas Oil Buell.

He was well on his way to erasing a 10-point advantage Harley-Davidson rider Eddie Krawiec took into the event but a starting line miscue took Arana Jr. out of competition in the second round of eliminations against a slower opponent.

The loss was devastating to Arana Jr.’s quest for an NHRA Full Throttle championship in his rookie season as points leader Krawiec won the event and left with a 69 point lead – over three rounds of competition – going in to the final race of the season in Pomona.

Arana Jr. came into the Vegas event on a hot streak, appearing in three straight finals, while winning the last two events.  He also had three-straight number one qualifying performances on his S&S-powered Buell.

Arana Jr. had the low elapsed time of the last two qualifying sessions at Vegas and extended his number one qualifying streak to four.  His 6.879 elapsed time held up as low e.t. of the event and set a new Las Vegas Motor Speedway track record for the bikes.  The previous record of 6.909 seconds was held by Arana, Sr., set at the NHRA event last year.

Arana Sr. qualified number 3 at 6.896 seconds.  Other S&S-powered riders to qualify in the top half of the field were Matt Smith, #5 at 6.944 and Mike Berry, #8 at 6.991.  S&S-powered Buells accounted for 10 of the 16 qualified bikes at the event.

After a first round win over the Rumbum Buell of Matt Guidera with a 6.97 elapsed time, Arana Jr. had an uncharacteristically late .117 reaction time in round two against the Buell of Angie Smith.  Although he ran quicker than Smith, 6.97 to 7.04, her starting line advantage was too much to overcome and he was eliminated from competition.

"It was just one of those days,” said Arana Jr. “We did well overall this weekend. I just made a little mistake. Nothing we can do about it but learn from our mistake and be better prepared for Pomona.”

Hector Arana Sr. had to opportunity to limit the damage as he faced Kraweic in the next round.  But he didn’t get off the starting line cleanly and lost to Krawiec with an off-pace 7.15 elapsed time.

"I lost my concentration," said Arana Sr. "I double-clutched it. Once you do that, you spin the tire, and you're now chasing the 8-ball.”

“The weekend was great until then,” Arana Sr. continued.  “Then you do something like this, it doesn't matter what you've done before. This is what you remember. I just have to let it go."

After the event Arana Jr. stated, "It was just one of those weekends. Sometimes you have those times where you're just off. You're not in the right zone, you're off. That's just what happened to us this weekend."

The NHRA Full Throttle championship has come down to a two horse race between Krawiec and Arana Jr.  Former champ Matt Smith, also on an S&S Buell is 186 points back and mathematically eliminated from the championship.

Arana Jr. has a tall task in front of him if he hopes to erase Krawiec’s 69-point advantage at the Pomona Finals.  Still stranger things have happened.  That is why they run the race.

 

 

 

Hector Arana Jr. Wins Again! Dad's Not Far Behind!

Another exciting weekend of NHRA racing concluded at the Arizona Nationals in Chandler, AZ near Phoenix.  Here at S&S we are particularly excited about the performance of Hector Arana and his son Hector Arana Jr. on their S&S Powered Buell® drag bikes.

The big news is that Hector Jr. won the event in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.  This is the second win in a row for Hector Jr. and the third this season.  Jr. has been on a hot streak, reaching the finals in four of the last five races.  Son and father qualified one and two for this event.  Hector Jr.’s number 1 qualifier was his third in a row and sixth of the season, giving him the track record for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

In the final Hector Jr. cut a perfect light with a 0.000 reaction time and ran a 6.884 ET at 194.30 mph, beating national points leader Eddie Krewiek and his Vance and Hines V-Rod®.  As a result of his performance at this event Hector Jr. now trails Krewiek by only 10 points.  Hector Sr. is 9th in the points standings.  Because this is Hector Jr.’s first year of competition, his performance at the Arizona Nationals is a positive step towards winning the Auto Club Road to the Future Award given to NHRA's top rookie.

The remaining two NHRA events, Las Vegas and the finals in Pomona, will determine the national championship.  Hector Jr. is in the thick of the race and could walk away with the title this year.  Stay tuned for some very exciting drag racing!

Students from PSI's Dealer Training Build Bike for AMD Championship

Our friends over at the PowerSport Institute, who carry out our S&S Dealer technical training program, along with tech training for all aspects of the powersports industry, have a new project to show off.  Last August during the 2011 Sturgis rally, the students and instructors at PSI unveiled a custom bike build that was entered into the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.  

This build is the pride and vision of PowerSport Institute Students. Hence the bike's name, "Students Pride".  This 2004 Big Dog has an S&S 107" engine and was hand built by the students from fabrication of fuel tank, forming of handmade side covers, fitting the seat pan to Corbin one-off seat and mounting Corbin bags to a Softail Frame. The one-off pipes were designed and manufactured by SuperTrapp. All molding, paint prep, selection and application completed by PSI students with assistance of PSI Instructors.

PSI's Campus Director, Bernie Thompson reflected: "I enjoyed the enthusiasm and the passion the students demonstrated during the build, they  knew it was for a special event and took a lot of pride in the workmanship. I enjoyed the entire event to see the industries creative minds with their unique craftsmanship skill was incredible. PSI was the only technical school entered into the event with some of the best bike builders in the world.  A special thanks to S&S for your support."

 

 

 

 

This bike was built with industry partners support.

• S&S supplied engine components
• Baker Driveline supplied a complete transmission
• Gardner Westcott supplied all the fastners
• Super Trap built a one off exhaust for our students
• Jim’s supplied all tools that the students used for this build
• Tricky Air supplied the rear and front Springer air suspension
• Avon supplied the tires for this build
• Corbin supplied the rear bag and fender assembly
• Diamond Heads supplied PSI with a great job on cutting the heads and cylinders
• Daytona Sensors supplied the Ignition
• Accel supplied other ign parts
• Cosmetics supplied all the gaskets and seals
• Frame Lock supplied a frame loc system for the bike to be transported with... and worked GREAT
• Sherwin Auto Paint supplied the paint and supplies for this build

This is PSI's first entry into the AMD World Championship and their efforts were well recieved.  The PSI bike placed 8th in the Production Manufacturer class and walked away with a very nice 9th place, out of 87 bikes, for the people's choice internet contest.  Well done!  We look forward to seeing what the students at the PowerSport Institute comes up with next year for the AMD build.

But, that's not all... PSI is gearing up for SEMA in November. At this show, a couple of lucky students have been invited to attend and build a bike during the show. This bike started out as a 2002 Stock CVO bike and will be air brushed by the Ohio Technical College during the show and as the students from PSI are building.

Related: S&S takes a road trip to the PowerSport Institute facility for S&S Dealer training classes.

 

IronWorks spends time with the X-Glide - lab rat motorcycle from S&S®

In the November issue of IronWorks magazine, Stephen Berner published a great article titled "Scott Sjovall's X-Glide: More than the sum of its parts" covering his experience with Scott's motorcycle.  The X-Glide is a lab rat of S&S Cycle's research and development and is a true workhorse in the name of better motorcycle performance research. Scott lent Stephen his X-Wedge powered custom homebuilt for a week and had a few things to say about it.

"The X-Wedge was debuted to the VTwin press during 2007, heady times in the V-Twin industry indeed. It was a new engine designed for the blossoming OEMs who were looking for an EPA-compliant workhorse; a worry free high performance engine made in America from a name they could trust. That in and of itself had value and leverageable brand equity. 'It is powered by an S&S XWedge engine, you know.'"

"Well things being what they are and history being what it is, looking back we obviously are much wiser, smarter, and a hell of a lot more conservative in how we spend our hard earned cash now. But if it weren’t for the boom the X-Wedge might not have been developed. And friends, I can report that it is indeed a well-developed engine."

But let me tell you, this is a great engine; a responsive power plant that can go to a whole ‘nother level of V-Twin riding. A 56-degree cylinder configuration, a wider configuration than a 45-degree engine layout. It is this characteristic that prevents us from simply sticking this beastly strong S&S engine in our stock framed machines. The front cylinder and exhaust pipe wont fit a stock configuration and the back cylinder would be crowded."

"And so every once in a while a knowledgeable enthusiast would typically ask three questions: the first was “What am I looking at?” The second, “What’s it like to ride?” And the third, after hearing my answers, was “Where can I get one?” So, this is how I answered those queries.

What is this? This is a 132-inch, S&S XWedge-powered, Rolling Thunder frame’d Road Glide derivative owned by Scott Sjovall, VP of Product Development at S&S Cycle. The front end is off a Hayabusa. All the running gear/bodywork is a blend of S&S and H-D for the most part.

What’s it like to ride? It’s a lot like a Harley but it spools up faster, goes longer, is stronger, has more torque and doesn’t run out of breath. The engine seems unflappable and doesn’t mind redline/rev limiter shifts through all the gears, all the time. It never complains. At slow parking lot speeds, you can feel the longer frame but in every other situation the bike is like a locomotive; strong, straight in terms of handling, and has seemingly boundless enthusiasm for the task at hand. Sixth speed is ridiculous—a total “you’re gonna collect autographs” gear. Put it this way: you are doing 75 MPH at 2900 RPM in 5th and the engine is barely breathing. What are you planning on doing in 6th gear? Getting tickets, uh huh.

Where can I get one?: Unfortunately you can’t get one. Well, let me rephrase that: you can’t buy one “baked.” You will need to connect with a builder who can put the bike together or you can do it yourself if you are a crafty hands-on type that has done work like this before. Working with a frame manufacturer like Rolling Thunder insures you’ll have what you’ll need in terms of tabs and mounts, and S&S has some real patient tech support folks that can work with you to answer fitment questions and make recommendations. The bodywork and accessories are available most anywhere. Put it this way: S&S wants you to succeed."

To read the entire article, click here to download the pdf.

Coming soon: The X-Glide hits the drag strip!

Photos taken by Chris Callen of Cycle Source

*UPDATE* Jay Allen & Wink Eller Pursue 200 MPH With S&S Performance

What's With The Red Hat?

We've gotten a number of emails asking what the red hat is all about.  Odd that nobody has commented about it on the blog.  Be that as it may, here's the deal.

The red hat that Jay and Wink were striving for is not the one your mother in law wears with her purple pants suit to her Red Hat Society meetings.  The only people who get to wear this hat belong to the prestigious 200 MPH Club.  The 200 MPH Club is a very exclusive organization open only to people who have set a record of over 200 MPH in any of a number of land speed racing sanctions. Check out their website for more details.

S&S has a resident 200 MPH Club member here in Viola.  Dan Kinsey has been with S&S since 1970 and has set a couple of 200 mph+ records at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Dan piloted the S&S/BUB streamliner Tenacious to a 276.510 mph SAF2000 record in 1985, and drove the S&S partially streamlined bike Tramp III to a 226.148 mph APS-APF2000 record in 1991. (video) He's been there, done that, and he has the hat to prove it.

Dan Kinsey and TRAMP III

Not So Fast!

So all Wink and Jay need to do is to beat their current records and go over 200 mph to get in the club, right? 

No, it's not that simple.  They intend to run in two classes APS-PG 3000 and APS-PF 3000.  Jay currently holds SCTA records in those classes.  Both records are less than 200 mph.  However, the 200 MPH club has set a minimum speed of 215 MPH in the APS-PG 3000 class and recognizes a record of 231.597 set by Dave Campos in 1974 for the APS-PF 3000 class.  That means that Jay and/or Wink have to set a record of over 215 mph in the APS-PG 3000 class or break Dave Campos record in the APS-PF 3000 class.  That's a tall order, but they think with the additional horsepower and slippery bodywork that it can be done!

How can Jay Allen hold an SCTA record in APS-PF 3000 if Dave Campos holds a higher one?  The answer is that it's complicated; involving several different racing sanctions and 200 MPH Club rules.  When the smoke clears, it's tough to fight city hall, and if you want to join the club, you have to play by their rules!

What do all the numbers and letters in the class names mean?

The number is the maximum displacement in cubic centimeters.  The first A stands for Altered or special construction.  The PS stands for Partially Streamlined.  The PG stands for Pushrod Gasoline, and the PF stands of Pushrod Fuel.  So APS-PF3000 means that the bike is altered, partially streamlined, with a pushrod engine of less than 3000cc displacement, and running on fuel (nitromethane). So why are these guys going after a fuel record on a bike that's powered by gasoline?  Well, there's no rule that says that you have to run nitro, it just says that you can.  So if you can beat a fuel record on gas, more power to you.  It's been done before.

Meanwhile back at Wink's shop in Orange, CA . . . Wink is modifying the new bodywork to fit Jay's FXR.  The problem is that this fairing was built for a different type of motorcycle.  When you stick it on a Harley-Davidson® big twin the cutout for the riders left foot is right over the big hump in the Harley® primary case.  The solution is to move the cutout back about eight inches so the rider's foot can slide in behind the primary and out of the air stream.  That's a time consuming bit of fiberglass work, but it has to be done.

The aerodynamics of the bodywork is critical to the success of this project.  In fact it's just as important as the additional horsepower.  Keep in mind that the salt at Bonneville does not offer exceptional traction, so it's not that hard to make the tire slip and spin.  Also, at speeds of over 200 mph wind resistance becomes a major factor.  At some point wind resistance will overcome the traction available, and the tire will start to slip.  The easier the bike can slide through the air the higher the speed at which that will occur.  That's what it's going to take to get that red hat!

Haste Makes Waste... And Who Wanted To Get Wasted?

A couple of days ago Wink contacted us here at S&S to tell us that they weren't going to make it to the World Finals at Bonneville, and now it looks like the meet may not happen due to rain.  The reason Wink and Jay decided to give it a miss was that there was just too much to get done and not enough time to do it right.  In addition to the fiberglass bodywork, one of the key problems was that the engine hadn't been given the Wink Eller treatment, and he needed to go through it to make sure everything was perfect.  According to Wink "You have to be prepared, and everything has to be done right when you go to Bonneville."  He went on to explain that just going 200 mph is dangerous enough, and that rushing to get ready and possibly making mistakes or cutting corners increases the danger unnecessarily.  "Besides, if you work 24/7 to get ready the week before the race, you show up at the salt all worn out.  That's no good!  And I hate workin' on my bike out on the salt!"

These guys are no quitters, so what's the plan?  The plan is that they will skip the World Finals at Bonneville, but will instead focus on a November race at El Mirage in southern California.  That will give them more time to prepare the bike and get everything dialed in before the race.  We intend to update this blog to follow Wink and Jay's progress, so check back to the S&S Performance Times Blog often to see what happens.

Hector Arana Jr. Rides S&S Pro Stock Engine To NHRA Victory!

(October 3 Reading, PA) Hector Arana Jr. rode his S&S powered Lucas Oil Buell to the winner's circle in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class at the Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, PA.  The finals for that event took place on Monday October 3 because the race was rained out on Sunday.

Out of nineteen entries in the class, eight were powered by the S&S 160 cid Pro Stock engine.  Seven of those eight S&S powered bikes qualified with Matt Smith and Hector Arana Jr. making it to the final eliminations.  Both riders were super hot and overcame all contenders until the final round when Hector Jr. took the race.   In that round Arana's 6.781 second - 195.82 mph run narrowly beat Smith's 6.795 second - 194.24 mph effort.  Both riders were very close to the class national record of 6.777 seconds  held by Hector Arana Sr. on his S&S powered Lucas Oil Buell, making it the quickest side by side drag race in the history of the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class!

Winning this race puts Hector Jr. in second place in the points standings, 35 points behind the #1 rider Eddie Krawiec.  As the runner up, Matt Smith moves up to third place

35 points behind Arana.  Advancing this far in the highly competitive NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class is a great achievement for a rookie rider like Hector Jr. so it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season.  Matt Smith is a veteran Pro Stock racer, being the first rider to win an NHRA championship on an S&S powered Buell in 2007.  There are still three races left so it is possible that either of these guys could take the championship.  Or not.  That's racing!

V-twins have dominated the NHRA Pro Stock class since 2004, winning national championships until last year (2010) when Louis Tonglet won on a Suzuki.  In the US Nationals this year at Indianapolis 27 bikes entered the field, and of the 16 who qualified, 8 were S&S powered Buells, demonstrating the S&S “Proven Performance” the company has been known for.  There is a good chance that a v-twin will win again in 2011, since 4 of the top 5 bikes in the points race are v-twins.  Here at S&S we're rooting for Hector and Matt, but it's not over until you know who sings!