The Speed Excites Me: Part 1

“Slow Down!” That’s usually what I hear from my wife when I am bouncing off walls like a high school wallflower that’s just been asked to the senior prom. Usually it’s because I am anticipating something exciting that is going to happen in my life. Granted, I don’t hear it very often. I doubt that Rocky Robinson hears it much either. Rocky is the fastest motorcyclist in the world and you don’t get that title by slowing down. I was anticipating talking to him one Friday morning a few weeks ago.

Beep. Beep. Beep, etc. Talk button. Ring (once). “Hello.” I had him on the line. Thus started one of the most pleasant thirty-five minutes I have had in awhile. Rocky is the real thing: nice, accommodating and a good sense of humor. He comes across so low key it is hard to believe that he pilots streamliners across the salt at over 360mph. One would imagine a tougher more aggressive stance. Nope! Just nice and easy. Kind of like his last two speed passes on the salt. Record breaking passes.

Not wanting to be too aggressive myself, I started by asking him if he rode much on the street, or was it too dangerous. Tact is my middle name. Come to find out, he doesn’t. “I don’t do a lot of riding on the street, and I do feel more comfortable on the race track or a closed course. I have access to a bunch of Harley Davidsons that I take out before I go to Bonneville. Something I can manhandle.” So much for tact.

Salt Strategy

I was curious as to the two approaches to Bonneville I picked up from his book, Flat Out. One was Denis Manning’s methodical easy steps approach. Rocky started out riding for Manning. Manning’s team would approach the land speed record in small measured steps. “Take it slow and get lots of data,” Rocky said. When Rocky moved on to the Mike Akatiff team the approach changed. On piloting the Ack Attack streamliner, “If it feels right go for it. If it doesn’t feel right (at 300+mph!) shut it down and pull off.” Kind of makes it sound like turning into a fast food place.

This is where it got interesting. There was another speed approach I didn’t pick up. Sam Wheeler’s E-Z Hook team – always a competitive threat on the salt – goes with being lightweight and aerodynamic with only 300hp. Rocky enlightened me, “The year they (Manning’s Bub team) got the record Sam was faster. Fastest guy on two wheels several times. He’s just never got the record outright.” No back to back record setting runs. “We (the Bub team and the Ack Attack team) do it with horsepower. We are putting out almost four times the horsepower than what Sam is. His bike only weighs about 1100 pounds, where ours weighs about 2000 pounds. The whole approach is different.”

Now, I can’t imagine piloting anything with 300hp, much less one with nearly 1200hp. To get an idea of what we are talking about visit http://www.rocky-robinson.com/. There are two video clips – and lots links – that are must watch. The first is Rocky’s record breaking run. The second is where the Ack Attack goes down the previous year. It frightened me and I was just watching a two year old video. That fallen streamliner just keeps sliding down the salt. For perspective, watch how long it takes the ambulance to reach the bike. A thrilling part of his book is the description of that ride.