First motorized vehicle to cross the U.S. wasn’t a car – it was a bike
by Jeff Peek from Hagerty.com
George A. Wyman made a name for himself as a bicycle racer, but he reached legendary status 119 years ago.
He rode a motorized two-wheeler from San Francisco to New York to become the first person to cross the North American continent aboard an engine-powered vehicle.
Celebrating 25 years of www.Bikernet.com
PRESS RELEASE December 13, 2021
Bonneville Salt Flats, UT (Dec. 13, 2021) – Ten-time land speed record holder Valerie Thompson announces, effective immediately, her separation from Denis Manning and the BUB 7 Streamliner Motorcycle team citing loss of confidence in the streamliner and designer Manning. Thompson has been piloting the former world-title holding motorcycle since 2016 and was Manning’s top funding source for the team.
Considered the “world’s fastest female motorcycle racer” after inking a 328 mph speed record, Thompson is an independent team owner/driver who competitively drag raced before focusing on land speed racing, eventually earning 10 Land Speed Records on two continents.
“We lost some essential crew members over the last few months,” said Thompson about her eroding confidence in the project. “The remaining crew contacted me late last week with the sad news they had quit and removed all their tools from the Team 7 Racing shop. Without this ‘super crew,’ I’m highly doubtful about the performance potential of the BUB 7 to re-capture the worlds fastest motorcycle title. More importantly, I’m concerned for my safety. These are not just my team mates, they’re my guardian angels.”
Each of the departing team members helped extract Thompson from the BUB 7 wreckage after a devastating 363 mph crash on Australia’s Lake Gairdner salt flats in 2018. “While I’m disappointed, I won’t be setting the fastest motorcycle record with Team 7 Racing, I’m heart broken the crew won’t see the results of their 36 months of painstaking re-building work. Each of them has volunteered countless hours in this quest. They deserve better,” added Thompson.
Thompson remains the principal driver of the dual-engine Target 550 streamliner owned by Oregonian and veteran land speed race team owner Marlo Treit. Treit’s 43-foot, 9,000-pound speed machine is vastly different than the BUB 7 motorcycle. The team’s goal is to break Tom Burkland’s 415 mph World Record set in 2008. Thompson exceeded the team’s testing goals on her first three test runs, clocking 218, 270 and 291 mph.
Thompson, often referred to as “America’s Queen of Speed,” is a lifetime member of multiple 200 and 300 MPH Clubs, a Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee, only female in the “World’s Top 10 Fastest Motorcycle Racers” rankings and aspiring pickleball pro.
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Valerie Thompson Background
Valerie Thompson is the World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer and 10X land speed record holder with membership in the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame. She is a member eight 200 MPH Clubs, one 300 MPH Club and the only female in the World’s Top 10 Fastest Motorcycle Racers rankings.
In addition to her relentless pursuit of new speed records, Valerie’s goals include earning a professional rating in her favorite sport of pickleball. She started playing less than a year ago and has already collected 6 medals in her first five tournaments playing women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
Additional Information
Valerie Thompson Racing (Website): http://www.valeriethompsonracing.com
Rockets and Titans Movie Teaser: https://youtu.be/obtG4f3-c8k
Valerie Thompson Racing (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/ValerieRacing/
Valerie Thompson Racing (Twitter): https://twitter.com/valeriethompson
Valerie Thompson Racing (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/valeriethompsonracing
300+mph Bonneville Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oT4fmXPol0&feature=youtu.be
363+ mph Australia World Speed Trials Crash Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl8NDTyeHqg&feature=youtu.be
Team Target 550 & Marlo Treit: https://www.target550.com/
Target 550 Video: https://youtu.be/_F8Mi6hWzmo
Product Review by Bandit
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Simple! Mushroom or no mushroom look? Go for the Low-profile Polo No Mushroom Head Helmet.
Check Out the Polo and Beanie Helmets at Biker Lid Website.
Fay Taylour, known as ‘Flying Fay’, was an Irish world champion Speedway rider who was often seen on a Douglas in the 1920s.
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Valerie on 5-Ball Racing Panhead built by Keith Ball
Valerie Thompson is the World’s Fastest Female Motorcycle Racer and a 10x land speed record holder with membership in the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame as well as eight 200 MPH Clubs and one 300 MPH Club.
She is consistently ranked as one of the World’s Top 10 Fastest Motorcycle Racers.
“The first time I raced at Bonneville, there were only 3 other female competitors, so we really stood out. A lot of people didn’t take me seriously until I established myself as a serious competitor capable of breaking records.” – Valerie Thompson
“I collected my first two records with team owner Keith Ball, who had a lot of faith in me and provided my first two record rides at Bonneville. Now I have Denis Manning, designer of the BUB 7 streamliner and AMA Hall of Fame member, as a mentor and team director.” – Valerie Thompson
Racing the BUB 7 during the 2018 Dry Lake Racers Australia (DLRA) Speed Week competition at Lake Gairdner, she set a new speed record of 328.467 mph (528.616 km/h) to become Australia’s fastest female streamliner motorcycle racer.
2022 Will Be a Busy Year on the Salt for Valerie.
by Phil West from https://www.motorcyclenews.com
Who said Royal Enfields weren’t fast? Not Mid-Life Cycles, the dealer behind this special Interceptor 650 which recently posted a record 132mph at the Australian equivalent of Bonneville Speed Week.
Called the Sabre, the machine is based on a 2019 Interceptor 650 but puts out around 70bhp (up from 47bhp) and has been built to show the bike’s potential and as a test bed for parts and accessories to be offered to the public.
Created to conform to the ‘M-F 650’ class, an unfaired, production-based formula, the intention was to compete at 2020’s Speed Week at Lake Gairdner in South Australia, a salt lake similar to Bonneville in Utah, USA.
The pandemic scuppered those plans – until now, as rider Charlie Hallam posted a class record of 121.78mph first time out before gradually setting a new standard of 132.05mph. Not bad for an air-cooled, OHC parallel twin displacing just 648cc.
The engine has, of course, been heavily reworked, by specialists HRA Geelong. Although capacity is unchanged, as per the rules, the crank has been balanced, rods shot-peened and new pistons added to help raise compression to a heady 11:1 requiring 98 RON fuel.
Head and ports have been modified to flow as much fuel as possible and there are special custom valves while the single camshaft is now HRA’s ‘Competition Profile 1286 Racing Camshaft’. Open race pipes exit each side, the transmission’s gears were recut to reduce friction and special sprockets were made.
Although the frame is stock, the swingarm has been lengthened to the maximum permissible, suspension replaced by Öhlins front and rear, wheels are lighter, wider alloys, and ultra low clip-on bars and a more aerodynamically efficient front mudguard were fitted. Now the plan is for Mid-Life to offer performance and big-bore kits for the road.
“The 650 really lends itself to performance mods,” said Mid-Life Cycles CEO Michael Catchpole. “So we set out to build a Salt Racer using the standard Interceptor frame, as dictated by M-F-650 rules, but with a modified engine.
“We’ve kept the 648cc capacity but used various turning parts including a special cam developed by Hallam Racing. We’re also developing performance kits for the Interceptor and GT 650 road bikes based on using this cam, in Stage One, Stage Two, and Stage Three versions.”
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 breaks 4-year-old speed record at over 212 km/h
by https://www.financialexpress.com
The Mid Life Cycles’ Interceptor was entered in Class M-F 650, for 650cc un-streamlined motorcycles running commercial unleaded fuel. The old record of 191.93 km/h was set at Lake Gairdner in 2016.
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has broken a long-standing speed record in Australia. Mid Life Cycles’ Interceptor 650 Salt Racer has set the class record at the annual Speed Week run at Lake Gairdner, South Australia. The Interceptor 650 Twin broke the four-year-old class record on each of its runs, leaving the new mark at 212.514 km/h. The Mid Life Cycles’ Interceptor was entered in Class M-F 650, for 650cc un-streamlined motorcycles running commercial unleaded fuel. The old record of 191.93 km/h was set at Lake Gairdner in 2016.
The remarkable record was broken by Charlie Hallam on day one of Speed Week (Monday 8 March 2021), with his first run at 194.85 km/h. He backed that up with a 197.76 km/h pass, for a provisional record of 196.3 km/h.
On the morning of day two of the Speed Week, the Interceptor 650 clocked 206.29 km/h and 208.32 km/h for a new provisional record of 207.31 km/h. Charlie believed there was a little more to come.
That afternoon, the Interceptor ran 208.59 km/h and was then impounded overnight until it could do a back-up run the next morning. This run, under increasingly stormy skies, saw a stunning 214.04 km/h top speed, for a new record of 211.28 km/h.
The traditional twin-loop steel frame was carried over from the road bike to the racer, with minimal modifications allowed under the class rules.
This is the second time that we have established a remarkable feat with the Twins, in 2018, the Bonneville Racer recorded an impressive top speed of over 159 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats and this speed record is yet another remarkable feat for us. This recognition validates the tremendous progress we continue to make in our journey and we hope this will inspire many more motorcyclists to push their boundaries and achieve the pursuit of excellence, Vinod Dasari, CEO, Royal Enfield, said.
Passion, Desire and Action
Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA
Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) opens the world exclusive exhibition ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ tomorrow, featuring 100 exceptional motorcycles from the 1870s to the present.
Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Director Chris Saines said ‘The Motorcycle’, showing until 26 April, 2021 celebrates 150 years of motorcycle history and included multiple interactive experiences for all ages.
‘Curated by US-based design curator and physicist Professor Charles M Falco and writer and filmmaker Ultan Guilfoyle in collaboration with QAGOMA, the exhibition features pioneering motorcycles and classic commuters, off-road bikes and speed machines, as well as custom creations and numerous electric bikes heralding the future,’ Mr Saines said.
by Ian Royall from https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/
The 2020 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, scheduled for October 25 at Phillip Island, has been cancelled because of coronavirus restrictions.
The four-day MotoGP weekend at the island is regional Victoria’s biggest sporting event, attracting more than 85,000 spectators and generating about $50 million for the state economy.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation and the sport’s commercial rights holder Dorna made the call to cancel the GP, the latest event to get the axe.
The British GP, due to be held on August 30 at Silverstone, has also been cancelled.
No races have been held yet this year with tentative plans to start in Spain in late July.
Aussie Ducati rider Jack Miller said he was disappointed he would not be able to race in front of home fans at the island.
“It’s my favourite weekend of the whole year and it’s the best circuit in the world so it’ll be a shame not to be there,’’ Miller told the Herald Sun.
Miller finished third in the 2019 race at the island last October.
Mick Doohan, five-time 500cc world champion and AGPC board member said it would be the first year since 1997 that Phillip Island had not hosted the Australian GP.
“The race will return in 2021 and provide an opportunity to make it one of the biggest and best-attended MotoGP events we’ve seen, plus watch Miller take the win,” Doohan said.
Full refunds would be given to all ticket holders.
AGPC chairman Paul Little said the race would be back better than ever in 2021.
Dorna chief executive Carmelo Ezpeleta said: “We’re saddened to have to announce the cancellation of this iconic event after finding no way through the logistical and operational issues resulting from the pandemic and rearranged calendar.’’
The race cancellation will also be a major blow to the island’s tourism and hospitality industries which rely heavily on income from the GP weekend.
Jack Miller was just a skinny Townsville kid of 16 with a questionable haircut when he started racing in the 125cc world championship in 2011.
He finished just four races, including a 23rd place at his home circuit of Phillip Island.
But Miller worked hard, learnt his racecraft, graduated to premier class four years later and was this week elevated into the Ducati factory team for 2021.
His race performances last year were improved and consistent, earning him the coveted red leathers.
“It’s something (a factory ride) I’ve always dreamt of,’’ Miller said.
Now 25, Miller has spent the past two months on his parents’ property near Townsville, giving him time to reflect on his career so far.
“I’ve been pulling all my old leathers out of storage and hanging them up on the walls around the shed, so it’s been pretty cool to go through that and think back where it began and what’s to come in the future,” he said.
He’s spent his enforced break keeping fit and ripping around the farm on 450cc and 250cc two-stroke dirt bikes, about 45 hours in total.
“I’ve been keeping myself busy — I have a lot of little projects on the go while we’ve been in lockdown,” he said.
Miller has signed a one-year deal with Ducati with an option for a second.
It’s still not clear who he will replace, but it’s more likely he will partner Andrea Dovizioso with talk linking Danilo Petrucci to the manufacturer’s World Superbike team.
Petrucci won his home GP at Mugello last year but his form fell away in the second half of the year.
It is clear that all manufacturers are trying to find someone to break Marc Marquez’s hold on the championship.
But for now, Miller just wants the 2020 championship to start after COVID-19.
“I can’t wait, especially the bike we had in testing in Qatar and Sepang, we believe we can do some special things,” he said.
“We’ve (Pramac) still got a lot of unfinished business — the way things ended last year and how pre-season testing went, we’re in good shape to repay Pramac.
Miller finished a career-best eighth in last year’s championship, with five podium finishes.
He hopes to head back to Europe by mid-June to start preparations.
Dorna, the sport’s commercial rights holder, has said it hopes to start racing at Jerez in Spain by late July, followed by more races in Europe.
by Rachel Riga from https://www.abc.net.au/
Queensland police say they have targeted several outlaw motorcycle gangs linked to “substantial trafficking of drugs” and organised crime during a series of raids across the Gold Coast.
Officers executed 15 search warrants at properties from Coolangatta to Yatala for offences involving drugs, weapons, fraud and money laundering.
The operation involved more than 110 police from the State Crime Command-Organised Crime Gangs Group, the Gold Coast District, Australian Federal Police and other external agencies as part of Operation Romeo Ionic.
Detective Superintendent Roger Lowe said eight people had been charged with 22 offences.
“Our investigations are centred on this criminal syndicate which operates across South East Queensland into northern New South Wales and their alleged involvement in trafficking dangerous drugs, rebirthing of vehicles, substantial fraud and other serious crimes,” he said.
Weapons, including a handgun and a rifle, various quantities of drugs, and phones were seized during the searches.
“They’re really governed by greed and their involvement in normally illicit drugs and weapons, unlawful trafficking, so it’s not uncommon to see these gangs cross over and do business with each other and particularly even on an international scope.”
A 33-year-old Southport man, alleged to be a member of the Lone Wolf motorcycle gang, is among those in custody.
He is due to appear in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday on weapons and drug trafficking charges, and a 28-year-old man from Redland Bay, allegedly a member of the Mongols, is due to appear in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court.
The police operation was launched last year and investigations are still underway.
by Daniel Patrascu from https://www.autoevolution.com
Because there are so many startups now in the business of making – or at least planning to make – electric motorcycles, it’s impossible to know them all. Yet, from time to time, one stands out, like it’s the case with Melbourne-based Savic Motorcycles.
Led by a man who at some point in his career worked for Ford Australia, Dennis Savic, the company set out to create an electric bike even Mad Max would be proud of riding on Fury Road.
Designed as a c-series cafe racer, the bike is officially Australia’s first locally-made electric two-wheeler that should offer decent performance levels for an incredibly affordable price.
Sometime in the near future, there will be three variants of the Savic bike available, namely Omega, Delta and Alpha, each with a differently-sized battery and increasing range: 120, 150 and 200 km, respectively (74, 93, 124 miles). Zero to 80 percent charging time ranges from 2 to four hours.
The electric motor fitted on it, of unspecified power, allows for 0 to 62 mph acceleration of between 3.5 and 5.5 seconds, depending on the version.
Built as all motorcycles in its class for speed and handling, the Savic does not look particularly comfortable, but it does look.. familiar.
The seat for the rider and the part that in conventional bikes is the fuel tank come together to become what looks like half of Thor’s hammer mounted on two wheels.
Just by looking at it, one could say this cafe racer will be prohibitively priced, but it truly isn’t. The Australians plan to sell the entry-level Omega for $12,990, while the top of the range Alpha would retail for $23,990.
There is no word yet on when production is expected to start, but Savic is already accepting submissions from those interested and promises test rides in early 2020. All you have to do is head over to the official website and fill in a few boxes.
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