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Salt Torpedo Chapter 27

By General Posts

by Bandit with photos from Wrench and Dr. Hamster so far…

We’re Close to Heading Out

First, we discovered we needed a battery shut-off that could be accessed from the outside of the body. How the hell did we miss that? We also needed the same for the ignition. We decided to combine the two with a monster switch from a major auto-racing site.

–Bandit

Click here to see this adventure come to fruition at this year’s Bonneville Speed Trials.

A rally Torpedo meeting took place on Wednesday afternoon, after the HOF Breakfast, while Micah, our pilot was in town.

We attended the Ugly MC dinner for the best food during the rally on Tuesday, and then the brothers came to the Bikernet shop in Boulder Canyon for the meeting after the Sturgis Museum Hall of Fame breakfast Wednesday morning. Micah is a member of the Ugly’s

–Bandit

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE 5-BALL RACING SHOP

https://5-ballgarage.com/

XDA Heads to Virginia for the 2022 Bike Bash

By General Posts

On August 26-28, XDA takes Motorcycle Drag Racing back to Virginia Motorsports Park for the 4th annual Bike Bash.

XDA offers a quality show with over 700 professional, sportsman, and grudge motorcycle drag racers in competition. This season XDA will payout over $500,000 in purse money and a $130,000 contingency fund that spans all classes. This event alone will pay out over $80,000 in cash purse, making it a must-attend event for any east coast drag racing enthusiast.

The event features the Orient Express Pro Street class that run speeds over 230 mph in only 6-seconds! And on Saturday Night, the action will be electric as the fastest grudge racers on the east coast will fly down VMP’s perfectly prepped track. The HTP Performance Afterdark Underground Grudge Program will feature the “Running of the Bulls” Grudge Shootouts and all the Grudge Racing you can handle. Even with the scoreboards off, it’s clear who is fast and who is faux fast. Bring your dollars, because once the action starts, you will be picking lanes and betting on your favorites all night long.

Orient Express Racing Pro Street
The World’s fastest and quickest street tire motorcycles will mobilize once again for the Orient Express Pro Street class. With a track smooth as glass, these 650+ horsepower motorcycles running at speeds over 230mph in the quarter-mile in only 6-seconds will have you saying damn all weekend as their performance numbers will shock you on their DOT tires. You do not want to miss the thrilling racing action served up by these all-stars next weekend.

With only two races left in the season, the pressure will be applied as these pro racers are competing for a championship and a spot to be invited to the 26th annual Haltech World Cup Finals presented by Wiseco at Maryland International Raceway on November 2-6, 2022. Racers will be fighting for a top ten finish in points for the chance to compete in front of 50,000+ fans in November. But of the ten that qualify, only eight will compete in the $5,000 to win Pro Street Shootout sponsored by Platinum General Services. Rodney Williford, Justin Shakir, Greg Wallace, Jason Dunigan, Darion Payne, Gaige Herrera, James Waugh, Curtis Brown, Ryan Hable, and Rickey Wood are currently qualified for WCF. Several racers will be fighting hard to bump into these coveted spots this weekend, and no one will be working harder than Jordan Haase!

Williford is leading the class by one hundred and forty-five points, but after taking a semi-final round loss at the last event, he has opened the gate and let the wolves in. Shakir, Wallace, Dunigan, and Payne all have a chance at the championship title. Williford will have to be at the top of his game next weekend to keep the bloodthirsty at bay.

DME Racing Real Street
The DME Racing 7-second, 190mph Real Street class is designed for street‐legal sportbikes with limited modifications and a hand clutch. Next weekend’s XDA Championship points chase will heat up as Rickey Gadson and Mark Hylton battle to climb to that number one spot that class champion David Stewart is holding on to by only sixty-five points over his competition. Unlike Hylton, Gadson has never held a Real Street championship title, and he will be laser-focused on the win lights next weekend as he looks to put some distance between himself and Hylton and knock Stewart off the top spot. Brittany Bohne had a stellar showing at the last race, and she will be a formidable obstacle in the way of these guys earning points next weekend if they have to line up next to her.

MaxxECU Pro Xtreme
MaxxECU Pro Xtreme features the World’s quickest turbocharged, nitrous injected, or injected nitro drag bikes. This is the quickest and fastest 1/8 mile category in the XDA, and there is nothing better than first to the finish line, heads up racing. John Collins leads the points chase, but the class championship is wide open and still up for grabs for the team working between races to show up and put down the performance numbers for green lights. Procopio was the only rider to lay down a three-second pass at the last event, but next weekend we expect to see these numbers from most of the field as they all have the horsepower under them to produce big numbers. MaxxECU Pro Xtreme is presented by Billy Vose Racing, Fast by Gast, Dunigan Racing, DME Racing, Grothus Dragbikes, Harley Haul, Rob Bush Motorsports, Robinson Industries, Schnitz Racing, Timblin Chassis, and Worldwide Bearings.

HTP Performance Super Stock
The stock wheelbase HTP Performance Super Stock class features strict modification rules, stock wheelbase, stock motor, MR12 spec fuel, no air shifters, no dataloggers, etc. Darion Payne has been the class leader all season but only holds a minuscule six points over the field of 4‐stroke naturally aspirated production machines. Mike Davis is due for a win at this event; he has been runner-up at the last four events, missing wins by mere inches! A rule change between races has been implemented, allowing all liter bikes to go back down to 2″ of ground clearance for all size riders. With this change, class representative Cecil Towner is hoping to see more diversity in the class next weekend.

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Click & Check out 5-Ball Racing Salt Torpedo effort for Land Speed Record. The first streamlined Trike to race for such a record. Built by Keith Ball and the 5-Ball Racing Crew.

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Vance & Hines 4.60
The popular 1/8th-mile sportsman index category of Vance & Hines 4.60 class is the World’s quickest index class and next weekend that class will be massive with fifty-three riders already on the pre-race roll call list! XDA increases this purse as the entries go up; based on the current pre-entry, a $1,000 bonus will be paid out to the winner. The first 660 feet of the Virginia Motorsports Park will be on fire next weekend as the championship chase comes down to the wire. The top ten riders in points all have a legitimate shot at the championship, but as the field grows, so does the level of competition. Every round won will matter as the points chase typically comes down to the last few rounds of the season.

1 Stop Speed 5.60
Nick Noble will be working hard at the 4th annual Bike Bash to snag the 1 Stop Speed 5.60 championship points lead away from current leader Dustin Lee next weekend. Only four points separate the two from the top spot. The top ten contenders in the class still have a shot at the championship, but it’s not going to be an easy path for many of them. Only one hundred and eighty points separate number ten from number one. Next weekend’s event could shake up the order, giving many racers hope for a championship title at the season’s last event.

Mickey Thompson Tires Top Sportsman
The quickest ET bikes at the track will be showcased in the Mickey Thompson Top Sportsman class next weekend. Jimmie Miller has not taken a win this season in the class, but his steady stream of win lights has earned him a nine-point lead over the class. The chase for the championship is wide-open at this point; with a different winner every event, there is no guessing where the order will shake out by Sunday night. The winner of this thirty-two bike field not only takes home a $2,000 payout but also advances into round five of Pro ET competition for a chance at a second win and a potential $7,000 payout for the weekend.

MPS Racing Pro ET
The MPS Racing Pro ET points leader, Jimmie Miller, is coming off a win and looking to build on that momentum as he leads the point chase by a mere twenty points. There are still a lot of racers that can grab the championship in this class, but they will need to turn on a lot of green lights next weekend to firm up their chances before the season comes to a close next month back at Maryland International Raceway.

Brock’s Performance Street ET
The Brock’s Performance Street ET class is a tight race at the top of the leader board, with only twenty points separating Mark Blake and Derrick Milbourne. But even though they sit at the top, the top twenty racers still have a chance at a 2022 championship. Anyone can win on Sunday! New racers are welcome at all XDA events; come out and learn how to drag race with us next weekend!

The XDA will also hold competition in the Saturday VooDoo Bracket Bash and Friday night Hard Times Parts & Service Gambler’s race giving sportsman racers another $9,300 in payouts to be earned over the weekend.

Load up and head out to Virginia Motorsports Park in one week for an exciting weekend of motorcycle drag racing action. This will be our last time at VMP this season; you don’t want to miss the best motorcycle drag racing show on the east coast. Gates open on Friday at 8am, and the action doesn’t stop until Sunday night!

Visit www.xdaracing.com for event information, class rules, schedule, and more.

About XDA Racing
The Xtreme Dragbike Association (XDA) is an east coast motorcycle drag racing series with 700+ motorcycle racers competing at each event. Every XDA event hosts professional classes, sportsman classes, grudge racing and a vendor midway. Lifestyle activities such as bike shows, bikini contests, DJ and live bands are also held at select events. For more information on the XDA, please visit www.xdaracing.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @xdaracing

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Jak Shirt 5/8th Sleeve is made from strong but soft cowhide, a top-grain quality leather (the most common type used in high-end leather products). It’s constructed with 0.9mm, a middle weight leather.

Gear up to ride to your favorite Motorcycling Events – Click Here to view the all-new 5-Ball Racing Shop

Motorcycle Mondays Presents “Sturgis Preview”

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Open Road Radio –America’s Standard in Motorcycle Talk RADIO Show

Join our host Gina Woods & Scrapper Dan!
Penny FXR & be-Dazzlin in the house with Justin in the Full Throttle Law studios from Viva Las Vegas!

LIVE Mon Nite 9:00 pm-10:00 pm est: Coast to coast & worldwide!
1400 AM 107.1 FM KSHP- Las Vegas

New to the show Dave Ratner makes a special appearance in the Meet on the Street – and Peter Cage our new effin awesome engineer is in the house!

Tonight we discuss Sturgis 2022!

  • Featuring highlights & low lights (jk), of Sturgis 2022.
  • Woody & Marilyn join us and have a full 14 days’ worth of happenings! Sturgis 22 is on!!
  • Keith Ball swoops in to give us his take on what Sturgis is going to look like and gives us a little preview of Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials coming up!
  • We’ll put a wrap on it by discussing motorcycle events coming up and NEXT week a surprise guest from Sturgis!

https://facebook.com/Roadhost
https://facebook.com/gina.woods.961

Our show is fueled by Andrews Products, Sea Foam Products, Harley-Davidson, Full Throttle Law, Bike Show Mafia, Motorcycle Safety Foundation, Kirsh Helmets, Chixs On 66, MegWear, & Biker Belle’s Women’s Day Buffalo Chip

Hold on tight it’s going to be a thrilling ride!

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Tell ’em Bikernet.com sent ya!!! Riding Free since 2006. See you in Sturgis.

Bandit’s Salt Torpedo: Prepping for Bonneville 2022

By General Posts


Chapter 25 of latest Bonneville Effort by 5-Ball Racing
by Bandit

Getting Ready for the Salt
We’re beginning to prep the Salt Torpedo for the BMST event from August 27 until September 2 in Bonneville, Utah on 65-square miles of salt.

This event will take place just a couple of weeks after the historic Bonneville Speed Trials for everything on wheels. The BMST was developed by Dennis Manning solely for us grubby bikers.

I had to dig up and test various chain hoists and trolly apparatus to work with our new gantry in Sturgis, South Dakota.
–Bandit

CLICK HERE To Read this Photo Feature. Latest Action from 5-Ball Racing.

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Check Out 5-Ball Racing success & build your own Land Speed record (click here)

How to Build a Bonneville Salt Flats Motorcycle documents the construction of “The Worlds Fastest Panhead”

AFT FTR750: Indian Motorcycle crushes competition at Port Royal

By General Posts

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE RACING CRUSHES THE COMPETITION AT THE PORT ROYAL HALF-MILE
WITH BAUMAN, VANDERKOOI AND MEES SWEEPING THE PODIUM FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE WEEKEND

Win Marks Briar Bauman’s Third of the Season and Closes Championship Chase to 8-points

Jarod Vanderkooi Continues to Impress with Back-to-Back Second-Place Finishes

Minneapolis, MN. (July 18, 2022) – Indian Motorcycle Racing, presented by Progressive Motorcycle Insurance, had another outstanding night of racing at the Port Royal Half-Mile in Port Royal, Pennsylvania, with Briar Bauman riding unchallenged throughout the 26-lap Mission SuperTwins Main Event to claim his second consecutive victory. In another FTR750 podium sweep, Bauman was joined by privateer Jarod Vanderkooi in second and current points leader, Jared Mees, taking third.

In the main event, Bauman was swift off the starting line, getting the hole shot and an immediate lead over Mees, running close behind in second. Despite early attempts by Mees to overtake him, Bauman remained unphased, opening up a gap on Mees and the rest of the field. Bauman led wire-to-wire, ultimately taking the checkered flag for his third win of the season. Meanwhile, Mees was entangled in a heated battle with Vanderkooi for second. With less than a minute and two-laps remaining, Vanderkooi made a bold move, taking the higher outside line to pass Mees and secure his second-place spot on the podium.

“Tonight was another incredible night of racing and a testament to the talent and grit of our riders. Considering the restrictions that have recently been imposed on the FTR750, it’s all the more gratifying to sweep the podium for the second consecutive weekend,” said Gary Gray, Vice President Racing, Service & Technology for Indian Motorcycle. “Briar’s [Bauman] incredible will has been on display at these past two events, and as a result, he’s back in the hunt as the battle for the championship tightens. It’s looking to be an absolute dogfight over the remainder of the season.”

Mees continues to lead the championship with 173 points, while Bauman now sits solidly in second place trailing by a mere eight points.

In addition to the incredible racing action, the night was filled with emotion for Bauman and the entire paddock, following the tragic loss of a fellow racer, Ryan Varnes, at the recent New York Short Track. Bauman paid tribute to Varnes throughout his winning night, memorializing Varnes’ by donning his number 68 and including Varnes’ girlfriend, Jennifer Hoshauer, with him on his victory lap.

The 2022 AFT season will continue on Saturday, July 30 at the Peoria TT in Peoria, IL.

Sponsors for Indian Motorcycle Racing’s American Flat Track efforts include Progressive Insurance, S&S®, Indian Motorcycle Oil, Mission Foods, Bell Helmets, Drag Specialties and Parts Unlimited.

For more information on Indian Motorcycle Racing, visit IndianMotorcycle.com and follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT INDIAN MOTORCYCLE® : Indian Motorcycle is America’s First Motorcycle Company®. Founded in 1901, Indian Motorcycle has won the hearts of motorcyclists around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivaled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. Today that heritage and passion is reignited under new brand stewardship. To learn more, please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com

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Did you know Bikernet.com Facebook Page has over 10,000 Followers. Check us out by Clicking HERE. Your Feed in Your Control – on our Bikernet.com Official Facebook Page. Stay updated on our Bonneville Racing Project as well !!!

The Salt Torpedo Bikernet Weekly News for October 29th, 2020

By General Posts

It Couldn’t Be Better with News every Spectrum

Hey,

The weather is rapidly changing. The election is almost over and I hope everyone voted. Next week will be damn exciting. I have confidence in America and as you know, in freedom.

The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. Most recently Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.

Ride fast and free forever!

–Bandit

Click Here to read the Weekly News at Bikernet

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5-BALL RACING SALT TORPEDO TEST AND CRASH

By General Posts

 

We had a tough day today. The weather was clear and the roads around the Port of Los Angeles empty as we rolled the Salt Torpedo out of the shop.

 

I was supposed to be a final test run to determine whether the ignition stumble we discovered in the desert was remedied. We had also experienced a slight shimmy in the handling, so I added more rake for more stability.

Today before taking it off the lift we needed to adjust the toe-in and we did. With everything tightened we were ready for a final test run before installing the painted body work and preparations to haul ass to Bonneville. All seemed to be good to go as the Torpedo fired to life and Micah dropped the clutch.

 

He recently discovered that he had another son, Eddie, who runs E2 Metal Works in Bakersfield, with his wife, Emilia. His business is all about CNC Plasma Metal Design and fabrication. Today, Micah arrived with his new son Eddie and his pal, Mike. We immediately set to work prepping for a pass down the street, which has its pitfalls.

 

 

It’s a city street complete with cops, and we aren’t prepped for papers, plates or registration. The torpedo has no lights, no turn-signals, you name it. But since the virus has attacked our lives, the streets were void of traffic, especially on a Sunday as I asked Micah to take it easy and test the handling first.

There’s something about the Salt Torpedo that brings out the speed in a man. As soon as he caught a gear he nailed it and felt the rear tire break loose as it acted like a rocket ship that wants to fly into the next atmosphere. Unfortunately that didn’t happen today. He reached the second block at about 80 and attempted to turn.

This puppy was designed to go straight, and I had added more rake to the dragster front end, almost 15 degrees. It wanted to go straight in the worst way. We’re not sure what happened, but he hit a curb and it flipped the torpedo. He was unhurt, but we lost the front axle and perhaps both front wheels. We’ll bring you a full report in the very near future.–Bandit