Fast day for twins at Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials with four FIM Land Speed World Records set!
The first day of 2021 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials is in the books and on a day when many racers intended to start their week slowly with shake-down runs, FIM Land Speed World Records began to fall one by one. Four racers notched their names into the history books on Sunday, August 29, and several others touched one-way speeds of over 200 mph (321 km/h), setting the tone for a promising week.
The first to set an FIM Land Speed World Record was Jay Allen, a seasoned racer at Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Week (BMST). Allen was strong on his first outting with a 197 mph (317 km/h) run, besting the existing record in the turbo 2000cc twin-cylinder naked (non-faired) division by nearly five mph. His return run at 198 mph (318 km/h) aboard his Harley-Davidson Dyna confirmed his new FIM Land Speed World Record. Allen also has his eye set on another record this week, the turbo 2000cc twin-cylinder partially streamlined record. Based on his success rate already on day one, we expect to see even higher speeds from Allen in the coming days!
Dale Zlock is another veteran racer at BMST, and this year he opted to race for FIM Land Speed World Records. In his first attempt of the week, Zlock rode his modified Suzuki SV650 (sleeved down to a 600cc) twin-cylinder in the partially streamlined naturally aspirated division. Zlock reached a speed of 127 mph (204 km/h) for a world record, and then attempted to bump up his own record later that afternoon, only to blow up his engine.
“We changed some gearing and tried to bump that record up a little bit this afternoon, and it looks like I have an engine problem,” Zlock said with a laugh. “But not to worry! I have another engine in the truck. It’s a 750 engine so that will put me into different class. So, I’m not done for the week. We’ll put the other engine in it and go back out and see what we can do.”
Hiro Koiso of Las Vegas, Nevada took to the course this week for a shakedown run, and by lunchtime the Harley-Davidson rider found himself well over 200 mph (321 km/h) at speeds that qualified him for a new record. Even though he only used five of the Harley-Davidson’s six speeds, Koiso reached 225 mph (362 km/h) for a qualifying run. He promptly made a return run of 231 mph (371 km/h) aboard his supercharged V-twin FXD for an FIM Land Speed World Record in the partially streamlined category of 228 mph (366 km/h).
“In our first attempt, we did a fifth-gear run. It’s a six-speed,” Koiso explained. “That was a fast pass on the International course. It had a little bit of headshake but it corrected itself. We were already two miles an hour over the existing record in FIM so we went back for the return run, put it in sixth gear and rolled on the throttle. My exit speed was 232 mph and it was still accelerating [when I exited the timed mile]. We secured the new record and now we’re going to get ready for tomorrow. Probably go 240 mph (386 km/h) tomorrow and go from there.”
Another prize Koiso has his eye on is the Bonneville red hat—the badge of honor for racers who have joined the 200-mph Club. When Koiso can reach 235 mph (378 km/h), he will receive the highly desired hat!
Tyrell Marlow is the fourth racer to set a new FIM Land Speed World Record on Day 1 at BMST, his record coming aboard a Suzuki TL1000—also a twin-cylinder. Marlow, who made the trip from Wyoming to attempt his first land-speed event, just barely qualified for a new record by 0.3 mph (0.48 km/h) on his first run. Marlow took the opportunity to complete a back-up run, and this time bested the record by 10 mph (16 km/h) for a new FIM Land Speed World Record of 157 mph (252 km/h).
Plenty of other teams completed successful shake-down passes on BMST Day 1, including Valerie Thompson aboard her “Turbo Tiger” Kawasaki ZX14R, Jim Cole aboard his turbo-charged Hayabusa and the duo from Alaska, Erin Okonek and Mike Garcia, both returning FIM racers. The teams all report good progress and more speed to come in the four remaining days of the FIM Land Speed World Record event in Bonneville.
Text and picture by Jean Turner