Hello all,
Made it out to the BMST 2017, my second year, we went in 2016 and had so much fun we had to return.
Conditions: Attendance was reported to be down a fair bit and they ran just one track, 10 miles long, less staff, etc. It did make the return to pits much quicker. They thought the single track might actually speed the runs along but I'm not so sure. The salt was reported to be in much better shape than a couple weeks earlier for speed week, the salt certainly seemed to be thicker than last year. But some also reported it being a bit choppy in places. The weather was really hot, near 100 on Saturday and Sunday, though on Monday morning we had the most glorious cloud cover for a few hours, even a sprinkle of rain for a few minutes that caused no worries. Was a little breezy quite often, not sure if the streamliners ever got out there.
750s: Pretty sure I did not see another CB750 out there. Last year of course, there was Dennis, the Canadian couple, the fellow from Minnesota with the supercharger, my stock 75, and at least one Japanese rider.
Runs: Last year my stock 1975 bike was jumping out of fourth gear in the timed mile (I had never revved it that high before) and our fastest run was 102.9mph by shifting into fifth early and we set a record of 100.7 for Production-Production Classic 750cc. I tore it down (10k original miles and it looked beautiful inside) and had CycleX massage the gears over the winter. Last year I had also switched gearing from the stock 18/48 gears to 18/43. Old Scrambler Dennis told me I needed to make sure I got it into the higher revs to get into the power band and also suggested I might even go the other direction on the gearing. So this year after putting the bike back together, I went with 17/48 gearing to start and plans to go through the various combinations I could make with a 17, 18, 43, and 48. I also changed jets from my stock 105s to 110s. First run- couldn't remember when to shift, how to shift, searching around for smoother salt, ran 101. That was above my record and allowed a return run, though my wife was surprised at my disappointment. On the return, I decided I would only worry about watching the tach and shifting when it quit climbing. Went straight to impound and my wife brought me a scrap of paper with 113.something scribbled on it. I was stoked. Sealed the motor and the next day we made a down run of 111 and a return of 113. The new record should be 112.2 up from 100.7. I was exhausted, still had to pull the engine out, drive back to Texas, and it was taking hours to make a down run so I didn't play with the gearing any further.
Thought I would skip next year since I don't have unlimited leave at work, but after seeing old friends, making new friends and experiencing the camaraderie out there, I think I have to go back in 2018. Thanks again to Dennis Weinhold for the advice last year, and to Jerry RxMan for the interest and encouragement. And this year, I also have to thank Tom Mellor who helped with a sticky throttle that didn't pass inspection initially, and his friend Bob Duncan who helped get past that one head bolt during teardown that made me think I was going to have to saw the thing in half. And our friend Lynn Pfeiler once again. Bonneville is iconic, beautiful, surreal, going fast on the salt is exhilarating, but the people involved may be the best part of the entire experience.
Thanks to everyone on this forum also, I have only posted a few times, but have consulted it possibly hundreds of times, there is so much information. Hope I didn't ramble too much. Pics to come.
