Worlds Fastest Motorcycle 354 mph

WOW that is just insane, Guys must be crazy to go that fast on 2 wheels. Are there any vids of the passes

 

That dude has huge balls.

 

Hi Choptop! Is this a new record superseeding the Ack Attack previous one?
I read your other thread with the 242 FIM record for Rocky Robinson.

Now Chris Carr at 350mph. Is that official?

I went to Bonneville in 98 (?), and Rocky Robinson was riding Manning's BUB streamliner then (it was Tenacious II at the time, now it's Tenacious VI), but couldn't go more than 215mph, 'cos of gearbox problems. One of my mates is engineer at Hewland and helped them trying to fix it (jumping out of gear).

Ack Attack is the 'new kid on the block', but Manning really deserves one of his bike to hold the record again. That man has been in record spheres for years: he designed a Norton streamliner, then a Triumph, then several Harleys (one held the title with Cal Rayborn), to finish with his own project, now in its 6th generation, with his own ALL-AMERICAN engine. He has been trying for more than 10 years now.

I can't see Wheeler beating that. He misses his chance a few year back, when there was less competition, because of tyre troubles. The Vincent is nice, but no hope IMO.

Whatever bring the trphy home has all my admiration.

And what about John Noonan, who I read, just broke a record on a CONVENTIONAL turbo Hayabusa at 252mph? Truly fantastic.

 

Choptop is you avatar a pic of the bike?

 

Wow he has big balls. I cant imagine what would happen if something went wrong.

 

If something went wrong, he would be dead before he realised his mistake.

Peter Hatch

 

What I don't get is how the tires can withstand high temperatures & still maintain traction at such high speeds. You would have to replace them after each run, is that correct?

 

Tires are a MAJOR factor in land speed racing.
The problem is not really technical to start with, but availability.
Racers can't just easily get tires rated 300mph+.
Major manufacturers don't want to get involved because of 'product liability' lawsuits in case of crash.
Goodyear used to make tires in certain sizes, but withdrew a few years ago; I don't know if they are back. Mickey Thompson Tires Company was another supplier.
Racing tires like GP tires are often not suitable or come only in some sizes: 16". Some racers have used 'shaved' high rated road tires.

It's not really the overheating that's a problem at Bonneville, but the rotational speed that delaminates the tires. Another problem area is keeping the pressure. The centrifugal force tends to pull the tires away from the rim (they are inflated at 60psi) and let the air escape. Also, centrifugal force play havoc with the tire valve, that let pressure escape too.

Overheating is a secondary problem on the salt, but still, with a friction coefficient half of tarmac, the tire on the rear wheel, will spin all the way in any gear and the rider will struggle to keep the bike on line over 5 or 6 miles. That demands lots, lots of concentration.

Believe me, as a long time follower of land speed racing, the motorcycle world record at 342 or now 350, is a big, big achievement.