Video MAD 09
20 Ottobre, 2009
A video about MAD 2009 from motoscootercity.com
MAD 09 edition
23 Settembre, 2009
MAD 07 - More Pictures
11 Maggio, 2009
MAD 2007 has been held at “Palazzo del Ghiaccio” in Milan from October 18th to November 18th, 2007. More than 15.000 visitors took the chance to peacefully look at the 75 motorcycles on display in the main hall, sorted out following the path of the most innovative (and sometimes disputed) Design from the 2nd Postwar Period to present time. Bikes never shown before to the public have been put on display together with models which have been so successfull either on the market or on the race-track.
All three of the collateral exhibitions dedicated to Harley Davidson Sportster 50th Anniversary, to Carlo Talamo and to photographer Michael Lichter seriously attracted visitors’s attention. At Libreria dell’Automobile corner it was possible to examine and buy newest motorcycle books.
BMW, CR&S, Numero Uno Milano, Metis,Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare and Mototouring were offered the opportunity to invite their guests for exclusive parties in an extraordinary setting. MAD has been supported by Regione Lombardia, Provincia di Milano, Comune di Milano and ADI Associazione Design Industriale.
BONNEVILLE 2008 MOTORCYCLE SPEED TRIALS
10 Aprile, 2009
Collezione Motociclistica Milanese is involved in motorcycle-related events’ promotion, sponsorship and organization.
The story we propose tells about an enchanting attempt (moreover successful) to set a land speed record with a normally-aspirated 1600cc Vincent engine powered streamliner.
John Renwick himself, designer, builder and driver of Altometheus tells :
“I have tried not to make too much noise about this record attempt to prevent tempting fate. All the “eperts” have said that my chances of doing anything at all, let alone setting a record, were small to nothing.This is not confidence inspiring but I have carried on, working on the basis that it would be a great experience and if I got a result of any sort, it would be a bonus.
Construction of the machine over the last two years is a story on its own which is worth to be known. I’ve been involved in motorcycle competition for many years. After campaigning a vincent outfit in the early 60s, I was behind the bOret brothers’ Konig powered wedge on which they won the British sidecar championship. My Vincent love affair has never diminished though and I built another Vincent outfit for sprinting, whose performance strong enough to match contemporary outfits let me add to the championship tally.
A new challenge came my way in February 2006 when visiting the Pukekohe Festival,, in New Zealand. Race co-ordinator David White explained how, in the previous July, Phil Garret and Glenn Hayward had upped he sidecar world record to 169,346 mph/272,537kmh on a stretch of road in New Zealand, and suggested that I could do better. What’s more he kicked of the project giving me a set of Vincent crankcase castings.
Back home i weighed up the challenge: the speed was not impossible, but the prospects for achieving it in this country were poor. In summer 2006 I spoke to my fellow Vincent fan, Giovanni Cabassi, whereupon Giovanni agreed to underwrite the major costs of an outright attempt at Bonneville.
The obvious answer was to use the sprint engine, but it measured 1665cc, the largest bore and stroke that could be contained in standard Vincent crankcases.
It was powerful and reliable, but it was over the 1650 capacity limit, so I decided to build a completely new engine.
I made the aluminium barrels with 100mm bores and had them Nikasil plated. I also machined the crankshaft, establishing the crankpin location to give 100mm stroke: total swept volume was 1571cc. The assembly was topped with new, suitably modified, vincent cylinder heads.
Initially, the engine was built in turbo-charged form, not so much for otright power, but to offset the power loss of running at the altitude of the Salt Flats.
the unit reached dyno testing but I found that to successfully fine tune the engine, electronic fuel injection was necessary. What’s more there were question marks over cooling too so I stayed with a normally aspirated unit and fitted Gardner flat slide carburettors, with which I had experience and good results. I sougt further assistance from john Surtees, who helped me by arranging a couple of five-speed gear clusters from RT Quaife Engineering.
For maximum effect, a streamliner needs the minimum possible frontal area.
The length is determined by the space demands of a rider lying prone, with an engine behind and supported with a wheelat either end. The chassis was fabricated from rectangular-section steel: nothing fancy, but sufficient for the job.
The roll bars, one in front and one behind my head, are T45, cold-drawn, seamless steel tube, and are joined with a 140-degree sheet steel cap.
High-grade material is also used for critical load bearing components such as the swinging arm and steering components.
The cockpit is lined with foam in various densities to insulate the rider from an engine on full chat; the effects can be so bad that the rider (me….), tightly secured in the cockpit with a six-point harness, can suffer a loss of vision. Not good!
Just in front of me, the control panel features a range of lights and digital read-outs covering engine revs, road speed, exhaust gas temperature and cylinder head temperature.
The airshift, up only gear change is activated by button, each change activates another light in the vertical row to the left of the control panel. The warning lights across the top of the control panel are triggered by lambda sensors monitoring fuel air ratio. Toggle switch isolate the ignition and nitrous oxide power systems, a pull cable operates the fire extinguisher system and the steering column has a butterfly-type steering wheel, with a link to the front wheel, giving a steering ratio akin to a racing car.
Revolution racing wheels are used front and rear with Goodyear Land Speed Racing tyres safe-rated to 350mph. The sidewalls are very stiff and the wheel-rims are have to be split to fit the tyres, which are inflated to 60psi. The sidecar wheel is 10in dia x 1.5in wide solid aluminium.
Back and front wheels have two inches of suspension movement and the frontal area measured up at just 2.36sq ft!
The sidecar was another problem: intended tp be aerodinamically neutral, under the regulations it has to be theoretically capable of carrying a passenger so has to incorporate a “prayer-mat” area of 12in x 36in. The sidecar also contains the second data-logger system, which monitors the exhaust lambda sensors and thermocouples, monitoring engine compartment conditions. A linear potentiometer records front suspension movement, a critical indicator of aerodynamic performance.
John Daniels, the brains behind DMD dustbin fairings and the distinctive wedge of the Konig, undertook the streamlining construction. Although far from it, John D came out of retirement to pitch in and create the plugs, moulds and lay up the finished item in a remarkably short time.
John’s son David, skilfully rolled the centre section of the fairing in 2mm aluminium, a tricky operation as the profile includes flat areas and subtle chances in radii.
Everything was completed by January 2008. Nick Boret now has a vehicle paintshop and he gave the streamliner its British Racing Green finish. The paint manufacturers were enthusiastic about the project and they supplied the materials.
Together with my fellow enthusiast Eddie Wallbank I went out to the 2007 BUB Speed Trials to learn as much as possible, with the intention we would be ready for the 2008 event. everyone was helpful and we were advised on all aspects of the unique experience. The surface is usually very smooth, but does not offer massive levels of grip, hence long courses are necessary for the record attempts as speed has to be built up gradually.
There were some initial shakedown runs in this country. The debut was in June, at RAF Honington, Suffolk. Although I found my vision restricted, the sides of the runway enabled me to get, and keep, my bearings. A couple of months later, there were further runs on the long runway at Woodbtidge, Suffolk, where the parachute braking system was deployed for the first time. hitting the button on the left side of the control column opens the two flaps that form the cisel end of the streamliner body. A drogue ‘chute is sprung out and this fills and drags out the main parachute. The operation happens in far less than it takes to read about it.
As soon as entries opened for the 2008BUB event, I signed up and booked the appropriate flights and hotels.
The streamliner was dismantled , crated and air-frighted to Atlanta, where Jeff Barkes provided a workshop to assemble the Vincent and an RV and trailer in which to take it to Bonneville, many miles away.
The Salt Flats are isolated and it is necessary to be totally self-sufficient when out there. I had already booked a hire van and among its intended uses was to push-start the streamliner. The hire business owner was quite forgiving even though it was necessary to drill holes in the front bumper to mount a steel plate for this purpose!
The snug accomodation was found to be a little too snug. The pilot’s mandatory three-layer fire suit is bulky and made the fit in the cockpit extremely tight.
The carefully cut foam lining was torn out except for a piece of memory foam behind the rider’s helmet. Before running, the rider has to demonstrate that he can leave cockpit unassisted in 30 seconds, the limit of protection given by the suit. The harness has a quick release, the canopy lifts up and the controls, also on a quick-release, can be swung up and away to allow exit. After an initial nervous strumble, at my next attempt I managed the operation in 18 seconds to applause from appreciative spectators.
According to the pundits, my chances of success were poor. The peculiar nature of riding the salt at high speed takes a period of acclimatisation. However, without forced induction, the Vincent lacked enough power to have any chance. So they said…..
It was at least partly true; there was much to learn, Ambient temperatures were in the low 80s, mild by Bonneville standards; but the white surface reflects the heat and creates blinding levels of glare. To keep cool while waiting to run, I stayed in the air conditioned van, albeit suited. My crew kept place in the queue, until at last possible moment, I climbed into the cockpit. While I was waiting for start, I had one of my assistants keeping me cool with a garden leaf blower!
The BUB organisers lay out two courses, the shorter Mountain Course and the full, 11-mile International Course. Before racing, I was obliged to attend a ‘rookies’ meeting’, where I learned that racers new to Bonneville had to do a couple of qualifying runs on the Mountain Course before they were allowed to run on the full lenght course.
Understanding this, the Vincent was ready to go right away. Arriving at the start area, I was surprised when I was directed straight to the International Course!
The first shakedown run was no more than that. The hump that covered the front wheel obsured my vision, which was already distorted by the cockpit canopy. The course is marked by flags every half-mile. At speed, these are only just discernible. Starting at mile three of the 11-mile International Course the first run was done all too quickly with a top speed of 90mph, which meant the engine was only just off idle! At least there were no worries about the outfit’s performance. Although the control panel offered all sorts of information, there was simply no time to look.
The data-logger told the story later, although a little lean in the midrange, the carburation was rich at the top end, which was fine, because that would even up with the injection of nitrous oxide. The front suspension readout indicated that the suspension was being lightly loaded as a function of speed increase, which was good news.
However, the lack of vision called for drastic action. The ride height was raised and this created clearance problems. The hump over the front wheel was removed and an aluminium cover was made to fill the hole. The sidecar wheel was chnged to a five-inch wheel, carrying a tyre from a Harrier jump jet.
These modifications ate severely into the time available on the salt. This had been reduced beforehand as the organisers had to move the date of the meeting forward two days and me and my crew could not alter all our bookings and flights. It was Thursday afternoon before the Vincent was ready to roll again.
The next run was made on the Mountain Course. Ironically, this was clearly marked by black lines. Remembering advice, I picked the peak of a distant mountain as a point of reference and ran without the canopy. I drove it gently through the gears, not wanting to spin the rear wheel, until we were in fifth gear and accelerating. the first look doen at the speedo showed 128mph. I was amazed it had got there so easily and with no drama, so gave it a little more throttle and the next number was 148mph. then a little more and the final figure seen before the end of the flying mile was 156mph.
The run had registered an AMA class record at 151,773mph through the speed trap. To clinch the record officially, a return run had to be made within two hours, with no more than refuelling and a change of battery permitted. Within half an hour our the team had the call for the return. Waiting for the signal, on of the crew held an umbrella over the cockpit, but when it was removed I was almost blinded by the intensity of the light. i made the run unable to see the instruments and determined the gear changes by feel. As the wind incrased, I realised my visor was still up! I took a chance on this and flipped it down. The data-logger confirmed the speed at this point as 170mph. One-handed control caused me to go off line slightly, but I eased the plot back on course and all was well.
The speed for the mile was 156,876mph with 160,813mph over the kilometre (a concurrent distance). The AMA record is determined by the mean, which was 154,324mph. The outfit had to be impounded for official measurement and the official waved us into the parc ferme, declaing “that’s the most beautiful streamliner I’ve seen!”. An increasing breeze cancelled any further running of streamliners.
The engine had been turning at 4640rpm for a peak speed of 165,8mph, that equates to 211mph at 6000 revs!
The runs had used six pounds of methanol indicating the low power requirements of the aerodynamic shape. Because of the amended dates, I could not attend the awards meeting where, as well as AMA record, i received a further more award for the ‘Fastest Three-wheeler’.
I am confident the Vincent is capable of going faster: I never achieved full throttle and think i’ve mastered the vibration problem, as I didn’t notice it on the last run.
For sure, the engine is capable of giving far more. By calculation, the speed was achieved with just 50 of the 120bhp available. The motor required no work between the runs, although the strip-down revealed surface marks on the bores, but only discolouration. Aerodynamically, the outfit achieved all that was asked of it. I spoke to an expert who confirmed that the decision not to have a tail fin was correct. although everything was cleaned before crating up for the return journey, the salt had already attacked the rear wheel and the chain was severely rusted.
So where to now? The FIM World record remains with the New Zealand team. however, at the 2008 Speedweek, a month before the BUB event, the McLeish brothers recorded 218,24mph on a Honda. Be sure we’re going back next year”
It seems that ‘Book of Legends’ is far from being finished…………….
MAD 2007
2 Dicembre, 2008MAD 2007 has been held at “Palazzo del Ghiaccio” in Milan from October 18th to November 18th, 2007. More than 15.000 visitors took the chance to peacefully look at the 75 motorcycles on display in the main hall, sorted out following the path of the most innovative (and sometimes disputed) Design from the 2nd Postwar Period to present time. Bikes never shown before to the public have been put on display together with models which have been so successfull either on the market or on the race-track.
All three of the collateral exhibitions dedicated to Harley Davidson Sportster 50th Anniversary, to Carlo Talamo and to photographer Michael Lichter seriously attracted visitors’s attention. At Libreria dell’Automobile corner it was possible to examine and buy newest motorcycle books.
BMW, CR&S, Numero Uno Milano, Metis,Brioschi Sviluppo Immobiliare and Mototouring were offered the opportunity to invite their guests for exclusive parties in an extraordinary setting. MAD has been supported by Regione Lombardia, Provincia di Milano, Comune di Milano and ADI Associazione Design Industriale.
