Bonneville Flyer, chassis number four

The record I was chasing was 72.285 MPH, my rookie run was a surprisingly quick run at 78.769 mph, more than 6 mph over the previous record. I was really surprised that I ran so well. The record was in the bag, or so I thought. I took the bike to impound, but my back up run the next morning was terrible. I missed the record by 0.085 MPH -Less than a tenth of one MPH! I never matched that initial run, so no record for me.

The other two bikes did better, both set records in their respective classes. By weeks end, one of those was beat, but Pat still managed to end up with a record in the 250cc class at >80 mph. The other bike was just a hair under 80 mph which was damn fast for a 175cc bike.
 
Last years record was 73.526 mph, but was in the APF-175 class. The 'A' is special construction, the PF stands for Pushrod Fuel. I was chasing the A-PG, or push rod GAS record.

For this year we ran three bikes:

1. Bonneville #4 (my bike): was in the A-PG 175cc class.
2. Bonneville #1 was chasing the APS-PF 175cc (partially streamlined, pushrod, fuel). That bike set a record in class -twice actually, but by weeks end had been bumped by another team. the 2012 record is here: http://www.scta-bni.org/Bonneville/Records/Bikes.html
3. Bonneville #5 (Pat's bike), was after the A-PF 250cc record. He set that record. Check this link (6th on the list): http://www.scta-bni.org/Bonneville/SpeedWeek 2013/Aug_15/RecsAug15.html

Of the five Bonneville models that were built, all 5 have now been at Bonneville, we had four of the bikes there this year (#'s 1, 3, 4, 5) and last year #2 was there as a back up bike, so it's cool that they've all made an appearance on the salt. #3 and #1 are off to new owners now, only time will tell if they ever meet again.
 
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Haven't posted any fresh pics in a couple of months, but we had a nice ride this weekend. It was the fall Whizzin, and Pat and I always clear our calendar for the ride. Here are our bikes at the lunch stop.
 

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My bike is in between at this point, I have my cruiser bars on and my full front fender, but it's still wearing the bobber rear fender from Bonneville. I was a bit biked-out after Bonneville and the bike had just been sitting as I tended to other family stuff. But before I knew it, I was in a rush to get the bike ready and I did a motor swap the day before the ride. My street motor is back in the bike, which at the present moment is a mildly hot-rodded little GX140.

The weather was super nice, and the bikes ran great with no trouble. The Whizzin is our favorite ride, it's always well attended and it's just a super group of guys. Unlike some of the previous rides, I let the big dogs run away for much of the ride and I just set a medium-fast pace that ensured I had some fun while at the same time let the bike relax a little. I still had some spirited runs to let everyone know this is still a potent machine, and to stretch it's legs a bit. This was the first big ride for my little motor and it just ran like a champ. Even with just 140cc, this bike still makes super power and just ate up the full 90 miles without ever breaking a sweat.
 
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Rich,
Aside from the mechanics, aside from the finish and flow... the great beauty of your and Pat's bikes... aside from that one of the things I find most satisfying about what you're doing is that two grown brothers are working together to make all this happen. I think that's pretty cool.
SB
 
silverbear said:
...two grown brothers are working together to make all this happen. I think that's pretty cool.
SB
Click to expand...

Yeah, SB, it's pretty cool. Truth is, we've been building cool stuff together our whole lives and since we're in our 50's you can just image how much stuff we've built. In a half century, you can cover a lot of ground.
 
Did you use the charging coil from the electric start kit? If so, did you add magnets to the inside of the billet flywheel or are the existing magnets enough?
 
Only way to make the charging system work is to use the stock flywheel, none of the flywheel manufacturers have clued into the fact that there is a market for electric start. So, as long as I run the billet flywheel, there is no charging system. Once I get around to installing the lights, I will make the swap. For now, a good charge is all I need for lots of easy starting, I have yet to pull start this thing and I plan to keep it that way.
 
I bought the grips at a little British shop in San Jose, but if you search for Donkey Grips on ebay, you'll find a couple sellers with the same ones.
 
How do you like the braking performance of the front MR175 brake hub? Do you feel like it is just right, slightly overkill, or could even be bigger?

Do you know offhand what size the drum is? Maybe like a 115-120mm drum?
 
Good question....

I just pulled a spare hub out of the box and my trusty calipers say the braking surface is 4.32", so its a 110mm brake. Braking performance is very good, but remember that braking performance also depends on the cables and levers. For the cable, I bought an OEM Honda cable and I have repro Honda levers, so everything works right out of the bag.

It really is amazing how little cash it takes to freshen up an old hub, bearings, cables, brake pads, seals, etc. are cheap and plentiful.
 
itchybird said:
Good question....

I just pulled a spare hub out of the box and my trusty calipers say the braking surface is 4.32", so its a 110mm brake. Braking performance is very good, but remember that braking performance also depends on the cables and levers. For the cable, I bought an OEM Honda cable and I have repro Honda levers, so everything works right out of the bag.

It really is amazing how little cash it takes to freshen up an old hub, bearings, cables, brake pads, seals, etc. are cheap and plentiful.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.

What source did you use for brake shoes and seals?
 
I shopped on ebay, not saying its the best/cheapest, but probably pretty competitive. There are so many Honda hubs from this era, just search on the type you have and you'll find many sellers to choose from.
 
I dropped by Rich's house a couple weeks back and he had his cruiser sitting out front. I climbed on, fired it up with the electric starter and went for a spin! After riding so many boardies a cruiser is a whole different experience. Same basic bike, WAY different feel. I was laughing the whole time I rode it! Pretty cool machine you have Rich!


Bonneville Flyer #4 by Sportsman Flyer, on Flickr


Bonneville Flyer #4 by Sportsman Flyer, on Flickr
 
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