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NEWS
Triumph salt racer nearing completion
The Bonneville-powered machine is just about ready to be let loose on Lake Gairdner in late March 2015In 2014, we first told you about a salt racer project which Triumph Australia’s technical and warranty manager Cliff Stovall has sunk his teeth into, with the goal of competing at the 2015 Dry Lakes Racers Australia speedweek at Lake Gairdner in South Australia from March 23-27.
The project, which involves fitting a heavily modified Thruxton engine into a custom-made chassis, is just about complete, with the highlight undoubtedly the 45 per cent improvement in power for the 360-degree crank powerplant.
During a recent dyno run, at 75 per cent throttle on 98 octane pump fuel the engine pumped out 88hp at the back wheel. To put this into context, a standard Bonneville on the same dyno recorded a figure of 42hp at full throttle (it's a conservative dyno).
"To say that we were happy with double the horsepower of the standard bike at only 75 per cent throttle is an understatement," said Stovall, who worked on the engine alongside famed tuner Andrew Hallam. "At 100 per cent throttle it should be developing 100hp-plus but we are not expecting to stop there.
"We still have to run the motor in properly, build a new exhaust and swap the standard 98 octane pump gas for something a bit more potent. There is still a lot of development to be done but so far we are off to a promising start.
"But as it stands it's hard to find the words to explain just how much this engine has been transformed. There is effortless power everywhere, which makes riding on a winding road pretty exhilarating."
Here are some of the engine makeover highlights:
- Larger inlet and exhaust valves
- Heavily modified head
- Increased bore and stroke resulting in a capacity of almost 1000cc
- High performance pistons and rods
- Enlarged throttle bodies
- Hydraulic clutch conversion
- Power Commander
- Modified stator
With the engine just a about a done deal, a major focus has been on the chassis in recent weeks, which is being fabricated by bike-loving aerospace engineer Ross Osborne. The footpegs are in, and the team has decided to campaign at Lake Gairdner without front brakes – but the rear brakes will be activated by a front brake lever! That means a rear brake lever won't be required, simplifying the right-hand footpeg.
The five-litre aluminium fuel tank has been located under the seat, where there's plenty of room with the removal of the airbox. That leaves the standard tank position a great place to hide a lot of the electrical system. The carbon fuel 'tank' and seat have also been added over the last week.
The chassis has reached mock-up stage, and will now be disassembled for powder coating before the project is completed.
Dry Lakes Racers Australia is the organisation responsible for racing on Lake Gairdner. It’s the fourth largest Salt Lake in Australia and measures 160km long by 48km wide and is intermittently filled with water. In the summer months the lake dries out and becomes the perfect surface for land speed racing.
The Triumph Australia entry will compete in the '1000 M-F class at Lake Gairdner, of which no record currently exists.
And we've just noticed the production 50cc record is also open, which has got us thinking that Bikesales' 50cc Aprilia scooter may have to come out of hibernation for speedweek…
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Written byBikesales Staff
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Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
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