Bonneville 2008

[Napalm]

So, I've had a desire to take a shot at a land speed record for a while now. This past September I made my first visit up to the Bonneville Salt Flats to check out the situation.

Check out these pictures:

[OkieinAz]

How do they keep the salt so smooth?  I always thought salt was soft and would be destroyed with people driving on it.
When do the classic bikes run at Bonneville?  Only once per year? 

[Napalm]

How do they keep the salt so smooth?

It's naturally a very flat stretch of land. The BLM has been working with the industrial area south of the flats to pump brine water back onto the flats each year. That leaves a new deposit of salt. Here's a site with more info:
http://www.saltflats.com/save%20the%20salt.html

I always thought salt was soft and would be destroyed with people driving on it.

It's hard on top but soft under the crust. Out where you run the bike it feels almost like concrete. You will see along the access road where people have driven out and left deep marks where it's not so firm.

When do the classic bikes run at Bonneville?

BUB Speed Trials is dedicated to motorcycles and runs once per year, usually after speed week. In 2009 it will be from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3rd. here: http://www.speedtrialsbybub.com

They are kind of a "run what ya brung" event. But if you set a record with them it's official with AMA and FIM.

I believe you can run motorcycles with the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) events, but I've heard that they can be so packed with cars that you can only get a few passes in during the whole week.

[Marley]

Here is one of the pictures I took while we were out there. See if you can find the motorcycle.

[1bobwark]

A couple of comments the first regarding a statement of "how do they make the salt so smooth". My understanding is that often it really is not very smooth at all and takes mass skill and courage to go fast and keep the sucker aimed.
An unrelated point is that i have experience with using nitos oxide in a drag racing setting and would highly recommend it as power adder. Properly done making no mistakes it works awesome and does not have to cause catastrophic failures. As an aside the rush one gets from kicking in the nitos (if your leaning on it hard enough) is phenominal; the faster you go and the more load the engine is under the better it works. And it is affordable and easily tunable.

[Napalm]

Now you're talking !! Though, I think I'd be pretty nervous hitting it for the first time on the salt. Now, I haven't driven anything except a truck out there yet but traction could be a huge issue.

I struck up a conversation with Roy at Trask Performance (who runs a ZX12R each year) and he commented on traction being his biggest issue. His first year he went out with high boost and low weight and simply couldn't keep it in line. He pointed out that some of the methods for good results on the salt are counter intuitive compared to the likes of road racing, such as turn the power down a bit and add some weight to the swing arm for better traction.

The way to attack a record, I think, is in the small displacement N/A categories. Oh yeah, and I'm on a tight budget so it has to be a cheap record too!! Haha!!