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

Hector Arana Jr. wins again!

Pictures and text by Matt Polito

Hector Arana Jr. kept his win streak alive on his S&S-powered Lucas Oil Buell with a win at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

Arana Jr., the 2011 NHRA Rookie of the Year, scored his third straight win with a final round victory over Scotty Pollacheck in an all-S&S-powered final, 6.91 to 6.98.

Having won the opening event in Gainesville, Arana Jr. is now undefeated this season.  Houston was his sixth career victory.

ESPN “Stat Guy” Lewis Bloom notes that 3 race wins in a row has been accomplished many times in the motorcycle class (Dave Shultz holds the mark of most PSM wins in a row at 8) but, adds Bloom, “Starting the season with three wins is pretty rare. Dave Shultz started the 1991 season with 4 wins in a row and Matt Hines won the first three in 1998.  Hector Jr. is now only the third person to open an NHRA season with three wins in a row in Pro Stock Motorcycle.”

More interestingly, Bloom noted, is that it took Arana Jr. only 36 NHRA event starts to earn his sixth win.  It took his father 228 races to garner his sixth event title.

Rain in Houston cut qualifying short to three sessions.  Arana Jr. took the #1 position for the second race in a row with a run of 6.876 second at 195.39 mph.  Second in qualifying was Pollacheck on the Sovereign/Star Racing S&S-powered Buell at 6.89/191 followed by Andrew Hines on the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod at 6.90/193.

In all, S&S-powered bikes accounted for six of the top eight qualifiers and a total of nine entries in the 16-bike field.

There were nothing but S&S-powered bikes left in the field by the semifinals on Sunday with Arana Jr. taking out the Viper Motorcycle Buell of John Hall 6.92 to 6.95, and Pollacheck getting past his teammate Michael Ray when Ray hit a red light foul.

The Houston event marked the debut of the new S&S cam chest for the Pro Stock motors.  Four were delivered prior to the event but only Matt Smith confirmed that he had installed it on his competition bike.

The cam chest is an upgrade, which allows larger cams, bigger cam bearings, more robust gears and shorter pushrods.

Smith, noting that he went out of competition with a transmission problem for the third race in a row, feels the piece will be a valuable upgrade.

“With the rain and the bike not shifting I have not been able to give the cam chest a proper test,” said Smith. “But I think they will improve reliability and the will allow us to experiment with higher lift cams and different rocker arm geometry.”

Arana Jr. widened his points lead and now leads second-place Pollacheck by 118 points.  S&S-powered entries account for the top four places with Pollacheck followed by Hall at 188 points back and Hector Arana Sr. at 201 points back.

 

 

NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Charlotte NC

Text and photos by Matt Polito

S&S power continued to dominate the NHRA Mello Yellow Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racing series with Hector Arana, Jr. taking his second-straight win of the season on his S&S-Powered Lucas Oil Buell at the Dollar General Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

The Four-Wide Nationals is unique on the series as zMAX Dragway has four racing lanes.  At all other NHRA National events two riders face off in a round of competition with the winner advancing to the next round.  At the Four-Wide, four racers face off simultaneously with the two riders crossing the finish line first advancing to the next round.  Each set of four riders is known as a “quad”.

Along with the race win, Arana, Jr. earned top qualifier honors with a run of 6.826 seconds at 195.19 mph.  Following him on the qualifying sheets were Scotty Pollacheck on the Sovereign/Star Racing Buell with a run of 6.834 seconds at 193 mph and Matt Smith on the Viper Motorcycle Buell at 6.837/194.

S&S-Powered Buells have never been more dominant in a qualifying performance than at Charlotte, accounting for the top six qualifiers and a total of 11 bikes in the field of 16.

Pollacheck made the quickest pass of the event in the first round of eliminations at 6.818 seconds, 194 mph.  Pollacheck survived his second round quad and advance to the final when Matt Smith, who was leading all four bikes in that quad, broke a transmission for second straight race.

The race format can have interesting outcomes as Arana Jr. faced defending series champ Eddie Krawiec in all three rounds including the final.  Krawiec, running the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod, qualified in the 16^th and last position at 6.97 seconds. 

Krawiec used a holeshot to cross the line ahead of Arana Jr. in their first round quad but Arana Jr. used superior performances to beat Krawiec in the next two rounds. In the final Krawiec got a slight holeshot but Arana Jr. powered past the Harley for his fifth career victory, 6.89 to Krawiec’s 6.92.  Pollacheck came in third in the final quad with a 6.94 and Jim Underdahl, riding the Bad Boy Buggies Suzuki was fourth, also with a 6.94. 

With two races in the books in the 2013 NHRA PSM season Arana Jr. is undefeated, winning both events. 

“I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those years,” Arana Jr. said. “Everything so far has fallen into place for me.”

My 2012 Bonneville Adventure - by Jeff Bailey

Written by: Jeff Bailey - Engineering Manager, S&S Cycle

The goal was simple, set a Bonneville land speed record over 200 mph. We had two meets to do it at, the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials (Aug. 26-30) and World of Speed (Sept 8-11), giving me eight days of racing to work with. The bike had the power to do it and it had proven reliable in the past. The biggest unknown was the new bodywork. Would it go straight? Would it try to fly? Only one way to find out...

This was my first trip to BUB, so the first thing we had to do was understand how they run the event. I started in the MPS-PG 3000 class. This means I had a modified (M), partially streamlined (PS) chassis with a pushrod (P), gas (G) 3000 cc engine. Because this was the first time running the full fairing, I had planned on taking it easy the first run. Even that didn’t go exactly to plan. With a 10-13 mph cross wind, I wasn’t able to even make it through the timing lights after being blown off the course. Not the start I had planned on.

We made sure the alignment was correct, which it was, did a quick 95 mph test run down the return road and headed back out to see if it would go straight. The next run was 201 mph in little to no wind. The bike felt light and not as planted as I would have liked. The 201 did qualify for a record. On the return run the other direction, the wind had picked up, and again I struggled with handling. I wasn’t able to go full throttle and only mustered a 189. This resulted in a 195.732 record. Not 200, but close.

We spent the next two days struggling with handling and traction. I ran a 195.6 and 192 before giving up on the bodywork and switching to a naked (no fairing) class. I hadn’t planned on running the bike naked, so there were plenty of things on the bike that stuck out and made it aerodynamically dirty. We also fabbed up a seat with 2 x 4’s, cardboard and duct tape. Dan Kinsey also went into town looking for any steel or lead weights. The best he could come up with were two 12 lb sledge hammers. We cut the handles off and attached them to the bike with hose clamps and scraps of welded metal.

Now in the M-PG 3000 class, I set off in hopes to set another record. The first run netted a 192.914 mph. The bike felt more planted and hooked up although still not great. The return run started from the other end of the course where the salt was worse and bumpier. I was only able to go 185.235, but that was good for a 189.075 record.

That was the end of the BUB meet, but not an end for this year’s racing. I was happy with the records, but not happy to leave without a 200 mph record.

For the World of Speed (WOS) meet we built a steel skeleton to replace the flat aluminum belly pan used at BUB. Dan also built some brackets that would allow about 60 lbs to be added to the bike. We also went over everything else including pulling the heads and cylinders for inspection. Everything looked great, so with a fresh set of rings, it went back together.

After completing the third 1500 mile trip in a few days, we were back on the salt to take another crack at a 200 mph record. This time it was at the USFRA World of Speed. The salt was good and the wind was calm, so I set off on a test run on Saturday morning. Now in the APS-PF class, I ran 197.7 to qualify on a 184.6 record. The bike really hooked up and felt stable. I knew it had more in it, but I took it as a qualifying pass which meant that I was off to impound for the rest of the day. The next morning we made a return run of 203.4 and it was on the rev limiter the whole mile. We finally had something we could tune on and I could ride. With the PF record in the books at 200.577 mph, I changed to the PG class to go after Chris Rivas’ 201.5 record.

In the afternoon on Monday, the bike made a nearly perfect run of 207.74 mph. It was slightly hitting the rev limiter, but more importantly, it continued to handle well and felt very solid. We decided that raising the rev limiter would be better than pulling another tooth off the rear. I thought for sure the next morning (final day of racing) would yield a solid record over 200.

But the following morning, the weather had changed. It had rained over night and it was cool and windy. We held back in the line of qualifiers hoping the weather would change by the time it was our turn. Luckily it seemed to. The wind died and the sun came out just as the guy ahead of me took off. I was feeling good and took off down the course. At about the 1.75 mile mark, a side wind came up and nearly blew me in to the “Q” that marks the 2.25 mile. I tried correcting the bike and getting back into it and actually ran a 196 through the second mile. I thought that would be enough for the record, but didn’t know about a rule that requires the return speed to be averaged with the speed in the same measured mile. By running it in the second mile, it didn’t count towards my average for a record.

To make things a little more exciting, right before the 4 mile marker, the exhaust weakened the fiberglass on the tail section, causing it to break and flap in the wind at 196 mph. With the wind blowing 10 mph straight across the track, I decided to pull the bodywork and switch to the open A-PG 3000 class and tried to break my own record from 2010 of 180.350 mph. We made two quick runs of 191.84 and 192.151 for an average of 191.995 mph. All I can say about those runs is the wind pressure at that speed is amazing. It was really trying to pull me off the bike.

With two records in the books, it was time to head home. One more day of racing would have probably resulted in the APS-PG record that I really wanted, but it wasn’t meant to be.

We will see what next year brings, but for now I want to thank the many people who helped out. I couldn’t have done this without sponsors like S&S Cycle, AirTech, Jimmy John’s and Spectro Oil. Although many people helped out on the project a few guys were very involved. Dan Kinsey contributed his years of knowledge of Bonneville racing as well as machining and fabrication. Gene Dlask kept the bike in race ready condition and made sure I didn’t do anything dumb. Paul Olesen spent hours reworking the fairing and preparing the bike. Rob, Nevin and Jan took care of EFI, data acq and electronics.

The Gray Ghost Project: Victory on the salt.

One of the many racers who ran S&S parts at the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials last August was Jimbo Fischer. This is a pretty cool story so we’ll let Jimbo tell it in his own words.

Well we sure proved the quality, strength, and endurance of the S&S Super Stock SB-100 engine this year at the BUB/AMA Speed trials at Bonneville.

The “Great White Dyno” threw us a couple glitches as usual, that were analyzed and remedied quickly. We had to beat the existing record of 156.096 - An early lesson from Warner is - Don’t waste a minute of time - get there and beat the record first day out. That’s exactly what we did, three times.

After we set a new record of 162.299 mph on the first runs, Dyno Mike downloaded data - the decision was made to change the rear wheel sprocket and drop one tooth. Next time out the following day - we broke the record again, with a two way average of 167.418 mph. He’s still pulling hard so the decision was made to change the rear wheel sprocket again and drop one more tooth. That resulted in a third qualifying record run of 168.702 - In the impound the decision was made to check data - The ignition being on for the process a bit too long made for some high drama at the 5mi. start for the return record run. After trailering the bike to the 5 mi. start the signal was given - we’re next up - get ready. I hit the start button - and - it’s a very low battery - engine won’t turn over. OH S**t ! !

Trying to push start it - he won’t go - Suddenly, like the Cavalry coming to the rescue - Jeff Bailey and some of the S&S crew pull up with a starter pack and we get him fired up.

So with a little last minute high drama we were off to our best speed for the meet, and brought in a 170.552 mph and a two way average of 169.627 for a third time AMA Record in four days of racing.

I must say a huge THANK YOU to my team mates Warner & Mike, as well as to George Smith and all the great talent at S&S that put this engine together, and to our sponsors who also helped with much needed parts - like Wayne & Donna Pingel, and Jim Wallin at AutoMeter and the folks at Magnetrol flow & control.

Four days of racing, breaking the AMA record three consecutive times puts me on cloud nine.

World's Fastest Bagger: Chris Rivas sets record of over 200 mph!

Exciting news in the world of Land Speed Racing: Chris Rivas is the first person to push a "bagger" over 200mph! That's right, a bagger. (No rocket propulsion necessary. Just good ol' American made S&S horsepower.) With the offices at S&S HQ all a-buzz with the news, we called up Chris and wanted to ask him a few questions about his achievement to share with everybody.  Here's what "The Rocket" had to say:

S&S: First of all, Congratulations on the world record! Can you tell us a little about it?

Rivas: Nothing about this accomplishment has come easy.  For three years I have fought every part of this bike from chassis geometry to catastrophic engine and transmission failures.  With all of the runs we have made at Bonneville we have not been able to get a good baseline for the tuning because of every other issue that pops up.  Finally with the help of George Smith we were able to "tone down the tuning efforts" and find a baseline to run with.

S&S: The class you rode in is called APS-AG. What does that really mean?

Rivas: The official class designation is 3000 APS-PG.  The motor has to measure between 2001cc and 3000cc to be legal.  The "A" implies an Aftermarket Chassis.  The PS signifies that there is partial streamlining body work in place.  The PG means that the motor uses pushrods and runs on Gasoline.

S&S: It is the world's fastest bagger and the first bagger ever to break 200mph.  Why was this accomplishment important to you?

Rivas: In the racing world there aren't too many barriers left to be broken and I know that S&S has been instrumental in breaking many barriers such as the first Top Fuel Bike to break 200.  I think there is a possibility that someone else someday might also go over 200 on a bagger but there will only be one first and that is what I wanted for me and my business.  Chris Rivas V-Twin has had a strong relationship with S&S Cycle for about eight years, and now we are building a great working relationship with Crane Cams.  I truly believe that accomplishing these milestone goals together that can never be taken away is huge in our industry and allows us to service customers with a higher quality in mind.

S&S: How long have you been working toward breaking this record?  Can you give us a little history?

Rivas: For three years now, we have been seriously trying for the 200 mph goal.  I had a conversation with Carl Brouhard about building an aerodynamic Road Glide for Bonneville and he was excited to help.  With his body and paint expertise Carl was able to take an idea and make it into a reality, what we know now is the design was not the hardest part.  S&S Cycle provided the motor parts and the 167 inch motor is button start and has amazing power.  The seemingly impossible task is to make all of the components work together in harmony at peak performance in the harshest conditions in North America.

S&S: It must take a lot of power to push a full dress, button start motorcycle on gasoline over 200 mph. How did you accomplish that?

Rivas: Our motor is a 167Cubic Inch S&S Cast Aluminum Pro Stock Twin Cam design that puts out about 250 HP.  I ordered all of the parts from S&S Cycle including a special set of Easy Start Cams, and completed the machine work and assembly at my shop, Chris Rivas V-Twin in Fresno CA.  The great thing about this combination is that we can use this same technology and the same high quality S&S Cycle and Crane Cams components for our everyday customers when we install big bore and stroker kits into their street driven bikes.

S&S: I hear the chassis and the fairing played an important part. Can you explain how?

Rivas: When we first received the chassis and put this bike together with the fairing in place, I took it out to the 2010 SCTA Speed Week and found out the hard way that the front end geometry was all wrong.  On the first pass I experienced the worst front end wobble of my life and head shake that ended up throwing me off at about 130 mph.

S&S: Well that is a lesson that I'm glad you only had to learn once! Now that the bike is in a safer condition, what is your ultimate goal with this bike?

Rivas: With the data that we have received from this bike, and with the help of George Smith we know that in the right conditions it will go about 220 Mph.

S&S:  I understand that George B. Smith from S&S was out there. I know George has a love for the salt and he was out at Bonneville with you before. Did he have any good advice for you this time around?

Rivas: George was instrumental in my success at Bonneville.  Just as he was instrumental in my success in the NHRA racing Pro Stock Motorcycles.  So I knew that when I started my Land Speed attempts I wanted George involved in the project. George has been a mentor to me for a number of years, not only in my racing career, but also in my business.  With George's guidance and some assistance from the new CEO of S&S Cycle, Steve Iggens, Chris Rivas V-Twin has recently had the opportunity to partner with Crane Cams and develop a couple of new cam grinds.  The Chris Rivas Signature Series Rocket Cams are now available to the public and have been some of the best cams ever tested at our dyno facility.

Watch Chris Rivas NHRA victory in Pomona 2008

S&S: Are you coming back for the BUB meet in 2 weeks?

Rivas: Yes, we plan on freshening up the motor at our shop in Fresno and heading back out to the salt at the BUB's Speed Trials where I hold the record for the class at 193 mph from last year.  I hope to up the record to something that starts with a "2".

And so do we, Chris.  We tip our hat to you in respect and wish you the best of luck. We are rooting for you. 

Salt & Speed! Bonneville Racer Profile #2: Tom "Santa Claus" Anderson

Next up for our Salt & Speed racer profile, we have a letter to share from a veteran racer, Tom Anderson, who will be at BUB Speed Trials this August.  Here's what "Santa" had to say.

"Hi, I’m Tom “Santa Claus” Anderson.  I will get to the bikes, but a little history first.  We started racing on the salt in 1995.  When Erik Buell and Harley got together and built the S-2 Thunderbolt we came up with the name of Buell Brothers Race Team.  We set a record the first year in the Production Push Rod 1350 Class at Speed Week.  Our Race Team started with guys that I was in the service with, we were Vietnam Vets and a lot of friends.  We loved Harleys and going fast.  Our race team now has people from all over the world. 

A few years later, my sisters gave me so much crap about having so much fun and not building a bike for women to race at Bonneville.  So the Buell Sisters were born.

In 2003, Denis “Bub” Manning met us at Speed Week and helped us go faster. He told us that he was going to put a land speed racing event at Bonneville for motorcycles only.  He asked us to come; he was going to call it “Bub Speed Trials”.  We said “Yes”, so did other people and teams.  As they say, the rest is history.

The Brothers’ bike is now is a 1350 modified partial stream line Buell.  With S&S cases, flywheels, and two G series S&S carbs with a set of Schumacher Heads.  The bike has evolved over the years, it has set numerous records and gone over 176 mph.  We tear the bike down every year, we go through everything:  front end, bearings, frame and engine; then paint everything and put it back together and Dyno the bike.  Then it is off to Bonneville to see if we can go faster!  Joe Taylor has been the pilot for many years.  This year Joe is building a 1939 Knucklehead, so he is also busy.

The Sisters’ bike is the same 1995 S-2 Thunderbolt we started racing with in 1995.  It is in the 1350 Production Push Rod Class.  The engine we use is a stock 1203 Buell engine from Harley.  We have had a few different women ride the bike through the years but Erin Hunter is the pilot now.  The thing I enjoy about women riding the bike is that they listen to what you tell them to do, then do it and go faster.  The Production Class has to be like you bought the bike new.  She has set many records through the years on the bike.  She holds the record now at 147 mph and we want to go faster at the Bub Speed Trials.  

The third bike is new this year; we are going to call it Big Brother.  It is a Buell frame with a Buell RR Body work.  Things didn’t work out on our new engine so we are going to run a 1203 Buell engine to make sure it goes straight down the track.  Plus, we will see if the fairing I built will work and handle.  I am putting all that I have learned over the past 18 years to hopefully get to 200 mph on gas and naturally aspirated.  All of our bikes are yellow, our first bike was yellow and we still are the same.

If going to Bonneville is on your bucket list, you better do it.  You will never forget it.  Plus you can always stop by the Buell Brothers and Sisters pits and get an Old Style beer and some Cheese!  After racing, we get together at our pits, play guitar, sing some Rock & Roll songs and have a few Old Styles.

Buell Brothers and Buell Sisters Race Team

Santa Claus"

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.”

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!

*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!