bonneville motorcycle speed trials 2017
- Thread starter Mark
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lcrken
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That's a shame. On all my trips to the salt there have always been at least a couple of Nortons. I was hoping to be able to run mine again this year, but couldn't get it together in time.
One of the reasons for the reduced attendance is probably the cost. Our minimum team budget for going to the salt with just a rider and one other team member is $2,500. That covers entry fee, pit passes, fuel cost for a van pulling a trailer (from SoCal), lodging (one room), and food (including beer, of course!). In actual practice, it's usually more, particularly if it includes a frantic run to Salt Lake City for parts. When we were running the streamliner, with a larger crew and more vehicles, the cost was much higher.
If you are young and healthy enough to camp out in the heat and passing thunderstorms, and willing to prepare your own meals instead of eating out, you can cut the cost significantly. But the entry fee is still $550 per class for pre-entry and $800 for post-entry, plus another $100/week each for pit passes for rider and team members. Add food and transportation costs to that, and it's still a good bit of change.
For some of the entrants, the cost isn't so significant, but for many it is. You'll always see the mega-budget teams there, but if you look around you'll also find the guys living out of the back of an old van and cooking over a camp stove. The rest of us are somewhere in between. But we're all there for the same thing, the exhilaration of running down the salt at full throttle for several miles. Back in 2001, my first ride at Bonneville, the cost was a lot less, and it was worth it to me just for the experience. Now, it's expensive enough that I want to be sure I have a good shot at a record before committing to the trip.
In any case, I do plan to be there on a Norton for 2018. I just talked to Paul (Son of Siredward), and he's also planning to run next year, so we should have at least two Nortons there.
Ken
One of the reasons for the reduced attendance is probably the cost. Our minimum team budget for going to the salt with just a rider and one other team member is $2,500. That covers entry fee, pit passes, fuel cost for a van pulling a trailer (from SoCal), lodging (one room), and food (including beer, of course!). In actual practice, it's usually more, particularly if it includes a frantic run to Salt Lake City for parts. When we were running the streamliner, with a larger crew and more vehicles, the cost was much higher.
If you are young and healthy enough to camp out in the heat and passing thunderstorms, and willing to prepare your own meals instead of eating out, you can cut the cost significantly. But the entry fee is still $550 per class for pre-entry and $800 for post-entry, plus another $100/week each for pit passes for rider and team members. Add food and transportation costs to that, and it's still a good bit of change.
For some of the entrants, the cost isn't so significant, but for many it is. You'll always see the mega-budget teams there, but if you look around you'll also find the guys living out of the back of an old van and cooking over a camp stove. The rest of us are somewhere in between. But we're all there for the same thing, the exhilaration of running down the salt at full throttle for several miles. Back in 2001, my first ride at Bonneville, the cost was a lot less, and it was worth it to me just for the experience. Now, it's expensive enough that I want to be sure I have a good shot at a record before committing to the trip.
In any case, I do plan to be there on a Norton for 2018. I just talked to Paul (Son of Siredward), and he's also planning to run next year, so we should have at least two Nortons there.
Ken
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Depending on who you talk to, the reasons for the low bike count are many.
A few folks said they believed that people from speed week were talking bad about the conditions of the salt and that may have scared off some of the racers.
After seeing it for myself, the condition of the salt was good.
One HUGE bummer was that they only put in 1 track instead of two. Even with only 160 bikes registered, it took an eternity to make a run.
Many complained about waiting 6 1/2 HOURS in pre staging and staging just to make 1 pass.
Track conditions also. I guess they had someone different do the dragging and although it wasn't the worst it has ever been, it could have been smoother.
There were a lot of unhappy racers.
Maybe by next year they will figure out their mistakes and be able to make things will run more efficiently.
A few folks said they believed that people from speed week were talking bad about the conditions of the salt and that may have scared off some of the racers.
After seeing it for myself, the condition of the salt was good.
One HUGE bummer was that they only put in 1 track instead of two. Even with only 160 bikes registered, it took an eternity to make a run.
Many complained about waiting 6 1/2 HOURS in pre staging and staging just to make 1 pass.
Track conditions also. I guess they had someone different do the dragging and although it wasn't the worst it has ever been, it could have been smoother.
There were a lot of unhappy racers.
Maybe by next year they will figure out their mistakes and be able to make things will run more efficiently.
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2006
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- 943
The BUB event was owned by land speed guru Denis Manning:
in 2014 he sold out to his daughter in law Delvene and the name was changed.
The races were pretty much the same because she has been running the bub event for a long time.
Except for this year, because they only had set up one 11 mile long track instead of the normal two.
Which were the longer (international) and the shorter (mountain) courses.
I don't know why they opted for doing it like that this year, but it Really slowed things down.
in 2014 he sold out to his daughter in law Delvene and the name was changed.
The races were pretty much the same because she has been running the bub event for a long time.
Except for this year, because they only had set up one 11 mile long track instead of the normal two.
Which were the longer (international) and the shorter (mountain) courses.
I don't know why they opted for doing it like that this year, but it Really slowed things down.
grandpaul
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Yes, I know; I ran there in 2008 and set my AHRMA class record.Mark said:
I was just wondering if it had gotten any better, or worse since the salt was so dreadful in the recent past. My guess is that the salt was not favorable to the mountain course (where I ran).
Anyway, I hope they continue to be successful and improve the event.