First Test Runs On OurTriumph Race Bikes

Here is my version of the story, Kyle will likely tell his own as well. We just got back from testing our bikes at a local county airport just miles from our shop. Kyle went over there and talked to the manager, and he said they weren't allowed to let us do anything like that there. But come back Wednesday at 8am and he would shut down a runway and let us go at it for a couple hours, he wanted to see us run! The runway is about .7 miles, smooth blacktop, slightly uphill. Foggy morning, perfect as there wasn't any air traffic to speak of. I was breathing hard by the time we we ready to fire them up, adrenaline pumping and nervous energy.


My leathers aren't in yet (this Friday!) so I just wore some pants, Kyle's street jacket and my Bates drag racing boots and a pair of Vanson gloves. Bike fired up easily, checked for oil return, made sure my fuel shutoff and kill switch worked, and ready for a run.



Shifted great, I wanted to rev it up but was shifting probably around 4 or 5000 RPMs (my tach isn't on the bike yet, not enough time before this test), I could just feel it wanting to pull like mad when I would let off and shift due to the fresh motor. The power band with these cams is at high revs, I am hoping to be shifting at 7000 RPMs minimum when racing. The brakes suck, that is for sure, I stopped about 20 feet shy of the end of the runway. At Bonneville this won't be an issue though. It is amazing that just sitting on my bike in the shop made my nuts hurt like crazy but with the adrenaline I didn't feel anything til we got back to the shop, and I don't know if my stomachache is from hunger, excitement or mashed testicles.

On my second run up it started faltering just as I was starting to slow down, and upon stopping I realized my petcock was off. I have a bar mounted, spring loaded fuel shut off, and it was mounted to close to the grip and I think I shut the fuel off when starting it or while riding, that has to be moved and the cable adjusted. The trip back down I did the same thing and drained the float bowls half way down the runway. I was kicking it and the right clip-on handlebar was a bit loose and was moving, and I was too tired to know if I was starved or flooding it, so I walked it back down to get my breath and calm down.



I have a couple small oil leaks to fix, and for sure adjust and move my fuel shut off lever. The beauty of this whole thing was two hours of local testing saved us frustration and probably a full day at the Salt Flats waiting for runs just to work this stuff out. The manager and staff at the air field couldn't have been nicer and more accommodating. Kyle has some more good photos and his experience to tell, stay tuned.

Tyler