A Love Story - 200 on 2

AllBlack08

Registered
Being short on communication skills and having a subject matter that only members of this forum might appreciate, I would like to post a love story about a beautiful young thing and a tired old man.

I was riding the southern Arizona border in the spring of 2009 when I stopped into the Sierra Vista Suzuki dealer for some piece of gear that was so insignificant that I don’t remember what it was. I was on a 2003 Hayabusa which was to my mind the most wonderful machine conceived by man. It was very fast, reliable and tough as an anvil. Walking through the showroom a white Gen II Busa caught my eye. It was perhaps the first one I had seen in person. While I was looking at it, the store owner came by and chatted about the bike. When he asked me what I thought, I told him it was interesting but I don’t prefer white bikes. Then I said something like “too bad you don’t have one of these in blackâ€, because the white one was the only Busa on the floor. To which he responded, “Follow me.†We rode a few miles to a storage facility where he kept his excess inventory. There were no lights in the building, but way in the back, behind a large number of dirt bikes, crusiers, V-Stroms and Bandits was my lady. Why he had her hide away, I have no clue. Perhaps, if she didn’t sale he would keep her for himself.
When he finally rolled her out into the Arizona sun, it was instantaneous love. I had never seen anything so beautiful. The price negotiation took 15 seconds. I handed him the keys to my 03 and my check book, promising to return someday to do the paper work. The lovely lady and I rode west into the setting sun. Here is a photo of her Highness when new:
New.jpg

Never mind that she was born in Japan; I found her in a dark room on the Mexican border. She had to be Latina. I named her LaReina Negra, (the black queen). She is truly morena (dark skinned), exotic, and lusty. She is always ready to play; always ready for any adventure. More importantly, she is protective of her partner. When I would do something clumsy or heavy handed, other bikes would throw me down and laugh as I tried to gather us up. LaReina simple goes where intended with grace and speed.
We all have the urge to modify what is already perfect; to make it our own. So it was with LaReina. To my eye she had too much make-up. It took away from her natural beauty. Decals fell off. Things that were grey became black. I bought her a 4 into 1 single sided exhaust that made her 30 pounds lighter. Here is a photo of the lady after a few cosmetic changes:
Less Decals.jpg

As I am old and beat-up, LaReina’s riding position became tiresome after about three hours. Obviously, I wanted to extend the fun. To the rescue came the guys at Spiegler. Adding their Busa handlebar kit meant that she and I could play for a three day weekend, instead of just an afternoon. Here is a photo with bar kit installed:
With Bars.jpg

Fast forward to 2014. When you are 20 something, you know you will live forever. You play hard. When you turn 50, everything still works as it should, but there is a nagging thought that the best may be in the past. You play even harder, just in case there really is an end. By 65, the idea of mortality has become fully real. Things don’t work like they once did, or at least, not as fast. Burying riding buddies makes it very personal. Nothing left to do but make a list.
One of the items on my list was to go 200 miles per hour, without being in the belly of a 747. I needed a more personal experience. Fortunately, the internet, particularly this forum, had documented how lots of guys and gals were exceeding 200 on their scooters. LaReina was happy to volunteer. I found Got-Busa?‘s build thread and read it six times. Shamelessly plagiarizing what Josh had done seemed much easier than having to think on my own. He had provided sufficient explanation and photos that even I should be able to duplicate the results. I learned how to drill tiny holes in all sorts of places and then to twist wire. Having a goal makes any task seem important.
Texas Mile was coming up in October. That seemed like as good place as any to go 200. The plan was simple. LaReina and I would roll over to Beeville on Thursday in time for registration and tech. Friday we would get the licensing runs out of the way. On Saturday we would knock out a couple of 200 mph passes. Sunday would be a leisurely drive home. Here is a photo of LaReina at the mile with 279 new found friends.
First Texas.jpg

What a humiliating and humbling experience was this Texas Mile thing. The only part that went according to plan was registration and tech. This is not an indictment of the Texas Mile organization. Shannon, Jessica and the complete staff are well organized, professional and absolutely friendly. All of my Texas Mile problems were just that; my problems. To summarize, by the time they told me to go home on Sunday evening, I had reached the blazing speed of 179 mph. That’s not even an “A†license. On some runs there was a three year kid on a tricycle pacing me in the paddock. The only things I messed up were the launch, the tuck, the shifts, the throttle, and course position. Usually there was more than one error per run. Does LaReina look sad in this photo? I let her down.
Seecond Texas.jpg

The positive aspect of Texas, other than the experience gained, was that I met a bunch of really nice people. This Land/Speed community seem to be the most genuinely friendly group I have run into in a long time. There were continuous offers of food, drink or assistance. These are the kind of people you would be glad to have as neighbors. A good example is Got-Busa?. Yes, Josh was there checking out the action.. What a great guy is this Josh. He watch me run and tried to offer suggestions. Unfortunately, I was too far gone to appreciate what he was sharing, but I did store it and reflect on it later.
Another person of Legend status was Brenda Sue in the Tutu. LaReina was in line and I was watching others run when I first saw Brenda Sue come to the start with a multi-colored tutu over her black leathers. There were some snickers among those of us new to Land/Speed. Then Brenda Sue casually ran a 220. No more snickers; where do you buy a tutu. The next day, I got to see her run again. This time I was more interested in her technique than the tutu. There was no smoky burnout, no wheelie, no spin off the line. She was the perfect example of “smooth is fastâ€. That time she ran a 227.7 which was the fastest bike of the weekend. That was faster than the turbos and big spray boys. Brenda Sue runs naturally aspirated. Later, I stopped by her pit to congratulate her on the run and look at her bike. Lots of good ideas there.
The ride from Beeville to home is 16 hours. That’s a lot of time for thought and reflection alone in the cab of a truck. After the first couple of hours of self-recrimination, you have to decide whether to continue or just give it up as a bad idea. Deciding not to give up, I made a list of all the things that I did wrong. On Monday night, I called Johnny Cheese and confessed my sins. I figured he would laugh at me and hang up. Just the opposite happened. We went through the list, he offered suggestions on fixes and added other items to the list I hadn’t thought of. Speaking of The Cheese, here is a photo of Johnny and LaReina doing the dance on Johnny’s dyno:
Cheese Dyno.jpg

One of the things Josh explained in a very nice way was that I didn’t know how to shift my bike. That revelation coming from a kid who was not yet born when I bought my first bike was tough on the ego. Obviously, he was right. A person with proper eye, hand and foot coordination can accomplish near full throttle shifts without using the clutch. Since I am not that person, I took the easy way out and mounted an air shifter. Following is a photo of the 3.5 oz CO2 bottle with valve, gage and regulator that stands up inside the hump. Laying a CO2 bottle down is not a good idea, I found out. The cylinder attached to the shift lever is in a later photo.
Shifter Harness.jpg
Also in the above photo is Greg Smith’s (Boost-by-Smith) harness that connects the Denso ECU to Greg’s computer interface box. This allows using ECU Editor to develop the tune as opposed to adding an ancillary box. The switch in the photo selects between two different sets of maps inside the ECU. Johnny Cheese made a tune for 91 octane pump gas that I could run on the street and MR-12 to use at L/S events. Simply change the fuel and flip the switch to pick up a few more hp.

One of the errors that I repeated regularly in Texas was being late with shifts. I could not pick up the Busa’s shift light in my peripheral vision. Cheese suggested mounting a shift light above the cluster so it would be harder to miss. I bought the brightest green LED I could find and wired it in parallel with the factory LED. When tucked, it is pointed directly at the right retina and is so bright it cannot be ignored. One will shift just to stop the pain. Here is a photo of the LED in full sunlight.
Shift Light.jpg

My tuck at Texas was less than aero efficient. Brenda Sue has the world’s best tuck. She is completely out of the air stream. Part of the reason for that is the flat tank on her bike. I decided to copy the idea. This photo is a profile view of a cut down tank I had built. Compare this to a stock tank and you will see there is much more room for a fat belly. Somewhere along the line all the foam fell out of the seat. This lowers the butt about two inches. Another Cheese idea.
Gas Tank.jpg

The next photo is of the office. You will notice in no particular order the following:
1. The wonderful Spiegler bars have been replaced by the factor clip-ons; much more tuck efficient.
2. Required tethered shut off switch mounted.
3. No bar ends sticking out in the air.
4. Shorty levers.
5. The tiny toggle switch mounted behind the ignition turns the horn button into the shift switch.
6. LED shift light mounted below wind screen.
These are all little things that make a difference.
Office.jpg

The Mojave Mile folks were running a Magnum event (1.5 mile) on April 11, 2015. Having an extra half mile seem like just the ticket for someone who is launch challenged. LaReina and I made the trip to the longest, smoothest piece of pavement I have ever seen. The event was a sell-out so there were lots of vehicles and it takes longer to run the long course than for one mile events. We only got to make three runs. The first speed listed on the following slips is the one mile speed. The second is at the end of 1.5 miles. LaReina did well.
Speed Slips.jpg

When you exceed 200 mph at Mojave, they give you a free T-shirt. Here is LaReina and the yellow shirt she earned for me.
Free Shirt.jpg

200 on 2 is complete. This item is crossed off the list. It’s time to thank some of the people who made it happen:

Got-Busa? for publishing the road map and trying to aid the mentally deficient.

Greg Smith for the harnesses, interface and assistance with ECU Editor.

Brenda Sue for being a courage role model.

All the nice people at Texas Mile and Mojave Mile who make Land/Speed possible.

Most of all, Johnny Cheese. Not just for the extra horsepower but for the knowledge and mentoring. Without Johnny, I would still be running 180 and have no clue.

I would like to conclude with a family photo. On the left is LaReina, the sleekest, most beautiful motorcycle ever made. On the right is her brother, the King; perhaps the ugliest beast to ever escape Hamamatsu.
Family.jpg

Hasta Luego, Amigos!

New.jpg


Less Decals.jpg


With Bars.jpg


First Texas.jpg


Seecond Texas.jpg


Cheese Dyno.jpg


Shifter Harness.jpg


Shift Light.jpg


Gas Tank.jpg


Office.jpg


Speed Slips.jpg


Free Shirt.jpg


Family.jpg
 
Glad you were finally able to achieve the goal! Great story-telling.
 
Excellent posting with the text and pictures. :thumbsup:

So do you ride LaReina on the streets now or is it now a LSR bike only? How much gas does the flat tank hold?

Do you have any idea how much money it took you to break 200 mph?

Can you tell us the top 3 things you did to LaReina that you feel got her over the hump or contributed the
most to you reaching your goal?
 
Excellent posting with the text and pictures. :thumbsup:

So do you ride LaReina on the streets now or is it now a LSR bike only? How much gas does the flat tank hold?

Do you have any idea how much money it took you to break 200 mph?

Can you tell us the top 3 things you did to LaReina that you feel got her over the hump or contributed the
most to you reaching your goal?

Thank You for the kind words. To answer your questions in order:

LaReina is definitely still a street bike. I have the original tank and seat, so it's easy to convert. Having a Cheese pump gas tune in the Denso makes the switch easy. The cut down tank surprisingly holds 2.5 gallons.

Regarding money, I did not keep any records. My gut feel is that I spent much less than the guys with big spray or turbos. Probably less than $3K, not counting the bike.

The most important thing for me was the trip to Flat Rock, TX. The second was the cut down tank. The third was the air shifter.

Thank you for your interest.
 
Man, love that right up. Well done sir. Great story. Call me weird but I love the context of your bike being a beautiful woman.
 
Man, love that right up. Well done sir. Great story. Call me weird but I love the context of your bike being a beautiful woman.

Thanks to all the responders for the words of encouragement. I wasn't sure that my story would make sense to normal people.

To Adam G: My kids excepted, nothing in life has caused me more pleasure and more pain than motorcycles and women; therefore the connection in my mind. I have had great rides and ugly wrecks with both.
 
Thanks to all the responders for the words of encouragement. I wasn't sure that my story would make sense to normal people.

To Adam G: My kids excepted, nothing in life has caused me more pleasure and more pain than motorcycles and women; therefore the connection in my mind. I have had great rides and ugly wrecks with both.

Not sure that most of us could be considered "normal people ".
 
Thank You for the kind words. To answer your questions in order:

LaReina is definitely still a street bike. I have the original tank and seat, so it's easy to convert. Having a Cheese pump gas tune in the Denso makes the switch easy. The cut down tank surprisingly holds 2.5 gallons.

Regarding money, I did not keep any records. My gut feel is that I spent much less than the guys with big spray or turbos. Probably less than $3K, not counting the bike.

The most important thing for me was the trip to Flat Rock, TX. The second was the cut down tank. The third was the air shifter.

Thank you for your interest.

Just to clarify for anyone new here; Flat Rock, Texas is home to Johnny Cheese, his dyno and augmented velocity.
 
Correction it is Round Rock. But the rock is flat soooooooo......
You did something very special. Something that most think they do everyday. Hold your head high fellow 200 brother.



Ps Thank you for those killer Round Rock doughnuts.
 
Congratulations! It good to see write ups like this. I'm going to the Wilmington mile next weekend to observe and take notes before my first attempt at 200 in June. I hope to be able to share some good news as well.
 
Correction it is Round Rock. But the rock is flat soooooooo......
You did something very special. Something that most think they do everyday. Hold your head high fellow 200 brother.

Ps Thank you for those killer Round Rock doughnuts.

Sorry about the Rock, Johnny. Agreed, the doughnuts are killer. Thanks for all your help. Couldn't have done it without your knowledge.
 
Congratulations! It good to see write ups like this. I'm going to the Wilmington mile next weekend to observe and take notes before my first attempt at 200 in June. I hope to be able to share some good news as well.

Lycan6: You may want to check with Got-Busa? to see if he is going to this one. Josh knows a lot more than I shared in this little write-up. Good luck, you will enjoy the ride.
 
I do believe he is. I am definitely going to catch up with him while I'm there. I'm running my gen I with 18/40 gearing on my 1397 built engine. I got my tune for race fuel already. My main objective between now and June is to do the safety wiring and lose some more weight. I'm at 232 now and hope to be 220 by the event. I'm at 203 hp on a modest dyno. So my hopes are high. I just hope they don't get crushed.
 
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