Racing Bonneville on a $300 Craigslist Motorcycle - /rideapart

JAMIE ROBINSON: Well, my obsession to ride at Bonneville really first started when I watched Burt Monro blast down the salt in The World's Fastest Indian. But my love for the VFR750 goes quite a way back, as being a British kid who watched American Wayne Rainey come over in the Trans-Atlantic match races and just ride the wheels off it. Somehow, these beautifully came together after I bought a crashed VFR off Craigslist for $300, and then thanks to my dad, Metric Method, and many others, it was restored to its former glory. And then I entered in the Run Wat-Cha Brung class at the prestigious BUB speed trials. Bonneville Salt Flats on a $300 Craigslist find. It's a dream come true. -In '07 I bought a brand new S4RS, this same model, and it was the most wonderful Ducati I'd ever ridden. It was just magnificent, and so a year after I bought it in '08, we found a wrecked one on eBay. And my friend bought it, because I didn't have any money, and I traded a bunch of concrete work at his house. And he gave me the bike. Well, I broke my leg in 2002 right here, and they had to put this rod in from here to here with two screws and two screws. So I had it pulled out. And I told the doctor, I have to get that rod because it'll be perfect shift linkage someday on a bike. I just knew it. And so it sat on my mantle for years, for like five years, and when I was building this bike, I was like, oh, my leg rod. And so it happens to be my left leg, it's on the left side, and it has this little bend in it. Those are the original holes where it was screwed in. Oh wow. And it just works so perfect. And it looks attractive. And it's just a funny feature. JAMIE ROBINSON: Oh my goodness. Girl power right here. How much power's under thought? -That is a hundred cubic inch R&R motor with Jim's bottom end, and a Baker five speed transmission, and a pro charger. JAMIE ROBINSON: I'm not too sure what you just said to me, to be honest, but it sounds like fun. -It's a lot. It's 233 horsepower.. JAMIE ROBINSON: Good grief, and what kind of speed that? -Um, last year we made a pass going 203 miles per hour. I was the first female on an American motorcycle to go over 200. JAMIE ROBINSON: Oh yes. Good job. Jamie from [INAUDIBLE] Park. I've just found out before I go through technical control, I need a metal chain guard. He'll be all right. He says. -I work as the AMA FIM technical steward. And my position here, along with Curtis Smith, and a few others that work along with us, at the beginning of the week, before any rider can go on track, they have to go through scrutineering or technical inspection. In order to have their record certified, we have to be very specific that they complied to whatever the displacement class is that they're in. JAMIE ROBINSON: A lot of trustworthy people here. A lot of people out to have fun. -This is the only event, again, I've worked at different-- I've worked in Moto GP, World Super Bike, flat tracks, and done technical things like this-- this is the most sharing and generous bunch of people you'll find anywhere. -Let me see your hand on it? JAMIE ROBINSON: You mean I failed technical control? -You did. JAMIE ROBINSON: Ahh! Fail. But it's easily rectified. Just one little ball, job's a dream, right? -Yep. JAMIE ROBINSON: [LAUGH] -Yeah, otherwise you're good, yeah. JAMIE ROBINSON: Good, so leathers, helmet, gloves, gloves, good, bike, just adjust that handlebar, everything's fine? -Looks good. All right, so, [INAUDIBLE] stickers, they need to go on the left side here. JAMIE ROBINSON: Good girl. She made it through tech. That was victory in itself right there. Wow Allen, this does look like a serious machine. You're at the cutting edge of technology here. What have we got? -This is a CBR 1,000 Honda-- JAMIE ROBINSON: It is? -Turbo charged. You can tell, it looks a little differently. To start out, we've got a air to liquid [INAUDIBLE], traction control, different body. We'll run Ohlin suspension front and rear, Marchesini wheels. Weighs about 50 pounds more than a stock bike and makes about three times the horsepower of a stock bike. JAMIE ROBINSON: [WHISTLE] -So as we're run it today, we're making about 390 at the wheel. JAMIE ROBINSON: 390 horsepower? -Right. We can turn it up and make in the mid fours if we want to. JAMIE ROBINSON: I can't even comprehend numbers like that. I mean, how does that feel, to ride a bike with such power? -Well, the whole thing you spend the whole time doing is trying to work the throttle trying to get traction on the ground. You never just turn it wide open. The whole time it's just nursing, nursing, and we have traction control, and even still, you're trying to just not blow the tire off. You can turn it wide open, all it's going to do is fall down. JAMIE ROBINSON: So with this much horsepower, what can this bike do? What's your top speed that you've achieved on this? -At speed week last week, we went 249.7 on it. Our goal for it, eventually, is 265. JAMIE ROBINSON: My first question, how old are you? -15. JAMIE ROBINSON: What? What are you doing here? I mean, shouldn't you be at school or something? So what is this, man? -It's a Suzuki 125. JAMIE ROBINSON: Oh wow. And how's she running today? -I got a world record on it. JAMIE ROBINSON: You got a world record? Yes. See, that's why you shouldn't go to school. Exactly. -[INAUDIBLE] You'll be heading down the course. You go another mile, because-- JAMIE ROBINSON: So what we have here, $300 Interceptor, and so far, I haven't gone over 35 miles an hour, because I've only taken it around the block at home. Anyway, I'm going to find out what she can do-- Run what ya brung, flat out. No turning back now, guys. Woo! Here we go, ahh! It is salty, slippy stuff. Top speed 151, but we're over 4000 feet and it's freaking hot. It's about 15% [INAUDIBLE] Come on, come on, anything over [INAUDIBLE] come on! Ohh! That was close! That was close! Oh yeah, that was great fun. Let's go see what we did. It didn't feel all that fast but, any any speed on a $300 motorcycle over 100 mile an hour, I'd say is a plus. Oh, 128.491. Well, that's it. Another fantastic event is over. And I've just raced at Bonneville Salt Flats on a $300 motorcycle. It's been one of my all-time dreams to ride here. And now I've ticked that box, and I encourage every one of you who've ever through about riding Bonneville Salt Flats to get yourself out here to the BUB speed trials, and take part in Run What Ya brung, because that's it. And it could be you blasting out in the salt. -So sir, you have been PIAP-tapped And you owe me a mango snow cone. JAMIE ROBINSON: Oh, is that all? Well, I can handle that. But what's this PIAP-tapped What's that supposed to stand for? -Pain in the *** penalty. JAMIE ROBINSON: [LAUGH] My snowcone fine. -Thank you so much, please come down again. JAMIE ROBINSON: Well, cheers. Cheers. And they said never eat yellow snow. -Oh, but this kind is the best kind.