Howdy,
Its' a stock BSA from 1967, the seat and the tank are almost on
the same level, the handle bars/steering head stick up about 4 inches from
that and the fairing another 6 inches or so, when I scoot my butt towards
the rear of the seat, and drop my helmeted head down to try to lower my
frontal area, the combination of helmet, leather jacket, eye opening in the
helmet, basically cuts off forward view. If you were to lay down on your
back in front of the bike, feet on the front tire, you could not see my
eyes. lay down at a 45 degree angle to the front tire and you could, as the
eye opening of the helmet when rotated forward gives the impression of a
smile, the center is down, and the ends are raised. this is not just my
problem, a lot of bikers have the same problem to cope with, we loosen the
helmet to allow it to be rotated backwards, raising the eye opening, we
also look to the line on the edge of the track to try to maintain a even
distance to it. with someone with glasses, this gets harder, as the edge of
the glasses sometimes falls at the edge of vision blocking or distorting
vision. I could see the mile markers, as I went past them, one run I sat
up, basically braking by increasing wind resistance, and thought "was that
the 3 or the 2?" it was the 3, but I wasn't sure.....
(Damn, here I am riding a bike at 95 MPH and I am admitting that I can't
count? to say nothing of not being able to see! ohoh, I wonder how much
trouble I am in now?
At 04:21 PM 8/29/01, you wrote:
>Hi John,
>How do you drive/ride /steer the bike if you can't see the course? I would
>think that visibility wouldn't be any different for a bike than a car? If
>it is, maybe some changes are in order....other than a centerline.
>Help me understand the problem.
>Thanks, Skip (no experience with bikes on the salt)
>
>At 12:27 PM 8/29/01 -0500, john robinson wrote:
> >Howdy,
> > I have a couple of concerns about running at Speedweek this year.
> I ran
> >a motorcycle, did OK with it (actually set a record but it lasted only one
> >day), but did have a problem with running on the Salt that other motorcycle
> >riders also have.
> > There is no center line to run on.
> > My bike is a vintage racer, and when I drop behind the fairing, I
> am not
> >able to see forward. As this is the first time I ran a bike at the Salt, I
> >asked other bikers how they did it, including the guys in Tech. Mostly, the
> >answer was to have a slightly loose helmet that you shove up on your
> >forehead, and try to look at the line on the side of the track and follow
> >it. Some of the other riders remember when they had a center line to run
> >on, and commented that it felt safer running with it.
> > I don't know when the centerline was removed, but for the safety
> of the
> >riders, feel that it should be brought back.
> > One of the reasons I heard (that the center line was removed) was
> that the
> >environmental (I did have a comment here, but deleted it ) concern was of
> >putting used oil into the environment at the Salt. I do understand this,
> >but feel that the safety of the riders would be a higher concern than the
> >amount of used motor oil poured on the salt. ( I >think< you are still
> >using used motor oil, please correct me if I am wrong), and if the marker
> >is a benign coloring agent, what is the reason for not having a center line?
> > Another concern I had was the running of generators. I was in an
> area that
> >had a guy running his generator, ( an older B&S engined genset, one of
> >those with a louder muffler and the usual B&S rattle) about 70% of the day.
> >It was irritating, and even though several of the surrounding pits asked
> >for a reduction of run time, the gentleman in question said, in effect, I
> >can run this if I want to.
> > I did not bring my genset to the salt this year, but have in
> other years,
> >and attempt to run it only as little as I can, mostly for charging the
> >racecar battery, and so do understand his position. Maybe gensets could be
> >relegated to the perimeter of the pits, at least those that have longer
> >runtimes? I'll bet I am not the first with this concern, and would also bet
> >much wrangling has gone on about it.
> > Anyway, I thought this years' SpeedWeek went very well, and wish
> to thank
> >everyone involved in its creation. Thanks a lot, drive careful
> >
> > John Robinson, Mechanician
> > Mechanical Engineering University of Wisconsin
> > 1513 University Ave.
> > Madison, Wi. 53706
> > 608-262-3606
> > FAX 608-265-2316
> > Current World Land Speed Record Holder
> > Bonneville Salt Flats
> > H/GCC 92 cu.in. 1980 Dodge Colt
> > 131.333 MPH set 1995
> > 136.666 MPH set 1996
> > 140.292 MPH set 2000
> > 144.396 MPH set 2000
> > MPS-PG 441 c.c. 1967 BSA Victor 441 Motorcycle
> > 95.193 MPH set 2001
> >
John Robinson, Mechanician
Mechanical Engineering University of Wisconsin
1513 University Ave.
Madison, Wi. 53706
608-262-3606
FAX 608-265-2316
Current World Land Speed Record Holder
Bonneville Salt Flats
H/GCC 92 cu.in. 1980 Dodge Colt
131.333 MPH set 1995
136.666 MPH set 1996
140.292 MPH set 2000
144.396 MPH set 2000
MPS-PG 441 c.c. 1967 BSA Victor Motorcycle
95.193 MPH set 2001
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