5-Ball Bonneville Racing

We faced another challenge in the shop: Too many projects. It’s almost as if I didn’t know which way to turn, so we kicked off a new work ethic. One project a day, to keep it sane. So far, it has worked well, and kept the pressure to a minimum. If I stroll into the […]

Hey, We couldn’t even attempt to return to Bonneville without Sponsors. We can’t thank our sponsors enough. Fortunately, we have Bikernet and the ability to write and publish weekly and monthly reports during the arduous process of building and preparing to set records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in August of 2012. We will cover

Editor’s Note: Ray left this chapter out, but it’s a helluva story about the final run on his Dyna Glide. He rode this hot rod for 175,000 and into two records at Bonneville: We’re seriously backing up for this installment. Ya see, before we tore into my Dyna hot rod, the men at Hardtailz, San

What is it about this motorcycle, or maybe it was 2010, a year from hell? No, it had to be the motorcycle. There was nothing wrong with the calendar year. We actually started building the Bonne Belle 45-inch flathead in 2006, after I made a snowbound run to Salt lake to buy this basket case.

Ray and I are planning to attend the Bub Motorcycle Speed Trials in Bonneville this coming September with two motorcycles. Ray rode his touring 2004 Dyna Glide for 50,000 miles and rode from San Jose to Bonneville in 2009 and set two records with saddlebags on his bike. Then he got serious and added a

Welcome Aboard Planet Earth, Enjoy The Ride! Shortly after joining society the 31st of May 1944 in El Dorado, Kansas. the adrenaline addiction might have kicked in when the good Dr. Dillenbeck pried me out of the dark into the bright lights of the hospital delivery room at 4:29 a.m. After the complimentary slap on

Hang on! We’re taking two bikes, maybe three to Bonneville for the Bub’s 2012 International Speed Trials. We got our asses handed to us in 2010, but we learned a few new ropes and rules, and we’re headed back with a vengeance. The 124-Inch 5-Ball Raycer Our Bonneville dedicated 5-Ball Raycer is powered by a

      What a year this turned into. Days before departure, a plane arrived from Australia with our Peashooter Pilot, Nicole Brosing. She immediately pitched in, since she’s not only an Australian landlord, a tattoo artist and Owner of Studio 64 Tattoo, and a single mom; she’s also brilliant. She immediately lets you know

  It  took all day to get registered and inspected, but they now know what to do. In fact here’s the to-do lists for both the Peashooter and the Munro Special:   Ray C’s Munro Special: 1. Kill Switch & Cable 2.Fuel line fire-retardant cover 3. Safety wire on axles bolts 4. Place racing identification numbers

Holy shitaroo, what a year! Westarted out with the notion for a Streamlined 45 like Burt Monroe. Thestreamliner rules prohibited the dream, but we kept moving with Departure BikeWorks, until the economy sucked the life out of Lee’s business, and state taxesalmost shut him down. The Bonne Belle slowed like two flat tires in the

Okay, it’s the first of a drizzling July, and we’re flying at Bonneville like mad dogs. Plans for the Sturgis run were scrapped. We pondered our first Too Broke for Sturgis Run to Salome, Arizona, but our ’53 Lincoln road test to the desert was delayed one too many times. We mailed out the press

SUPREME COMMANDERS NOTE:We're kicking this off with some 2006 techs. They will give you the history of the Bonne Belle and bring you up to date on this climb to the top of the salt mountain. Hang on. We’re working like mad dogs to create a roller while Lee and the crew from Departure Bike

Here’s a strange one. I received an e-mail inviting the Bikernet.com Staff to a private screening of The World’s Fastest Indian movie. I missed the first one, with the cast, including Anthony Hopkins and all the motorcycle press. I grew up in Los Angeles. I have a burr in my boot for watching folks, press,

This industry is quirky, full of scoundrels and outlaws. A couple of guys from Bassani Exhaust took me to lunch recently to discuss advertising on Bikernet. Did they advertise, no. But they talked me out of the Salt Shaker, tempting me with a tall tale about some buxom blonde who could be my girl for

  This is a wacky year. I’ve blown through half it, and now I need to scramble. At times, I feel like I’m wading through mud, and it brings me down, then something minute happened and I was reenergized. So here’s the deal for June: Valerie Thompson is flying out next weekend for a final

In the last segment the crew of U.S. Choppers straightened the Bonne Belle, 1940 45 frame, but I asked Rick Krost, da boss, if he felt any gusseting was necessary. He pointed out all the strong factory gusseting in the front and even on the single down tube, but suggested that we gusset the rear

Here’s a classic flathead from the racing days on Daytona Beach, courtesy of the Bob T. collection. Chassis Adjustment This year seems to be kicking off slowly. Lee Clemens’ Departure Bike Work’s team is buried in snow, bad cameras, and struggling with a slow economy. We finally rolled the Bonne Belle onto Andrew’s lift. Andrew

Bonne Belle UpdateAnother 5-Ball effort made progress. The 1940 WLD flathead, at Departure Bike Works in Richmond, Virginia witnessed true progress. Hidden in an Ozark Cave, until recently, were etched stones containing flathead speed secrets. Lee Clemens, the Boss of Departure, knows all who know anything about engines and performance. He had a distant drawn-and-

Ten years ago we installed this Morris mag on the Milwaukee Iron Dicey Knuckle. It still starts on the third kick. This is one of those features Bandit complains about then hands to me. He gets all the complete features and I get ones with shots and not text, or text and no shots. Or

I’m running back and forth between bikes fabricating shit, waiting for parts, dodging bullets and counting the days. Yesterday I received a note from David Zelma at Performance Machine. “We found the front caliper bracket,” he said and I sighed. I was beginning to wonder whether I dove into an odyssey to find the un-findable

This is nuts. But let me try to explain. We’re making progress fast. Even our Bonne Belle art improved from a Chris Kallas black-and-white line drawing to a colored rendition by the master. Rick Krost straightened and strengthened the frame last chapter and we ordered Paughco cups designed for this frame (with Timken bearings) with

WednesdayThe key word was, “Today's the day.” We only had a day-and-a-half left! We changed the plugs to 4163 Autolites. We hadn't employed the Nitrous system, and I could see the need in Berry's eyes. He spent an entire year building this engine specifically for nitrous, to counteract the nature of the salt and lack

Grab the whole rewritten story in this fantastic book. Just click on the image. We faced the grim reality of eight days before we rolled toward the historic Bonneville Salt Flats. Berry Wardlaw flew in from Accurate Engineering to assist with the Nitrous wiring, tuning then flew back out to Dotham, Alabama to take care

Grab the whole rewritten story in this fantastic book. Just click on the image. Another update… Yesterday was a complete bust. Valerie made a pass on the International track, she did 151, however a major storm blew threw and she was not able to make her back up pass. We hustled to get the tents