1948 Vincent fuelie does 182 mph, naked! You can see in the second shot, the lower left-hand box which shows the GPS speed indicator.

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Fire-medic

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No, not the famous Rollie Free bathing suit and tennis shoes shot, this is a recent run by Alp Racing at Bonneville. He has a GPS screen showing his speed as he hurtles-down the course. That's 30+ mph on what a stock VMax is capable-of, on a bike first built in stock form 37 years before the first VMax. The Vincent V-twin deserves the title of Superbike.

Pics of his stuff: Alp Racing & Design - Posts | Facebook



182 mph Vincent-Bonneville.png
182 mph Vincent   Bonneville.02.png

And a shot of a 1950's Triumph bored to sit in the 750cc gasoline class, running at El Mirage CA which went 143 mph its first time out!

Triumph 750c gas  class 143 mph El Mirage CA.png
 
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No, not the famous Rollie Free bathing suit and tennis shoes shot, this is a recent run by Alp Racing at Bonneville. He has a GPS screen showing his speed as he hurtles-down the course. That's 30+ mph on what a stock VMax is capable-of, on a bike first built in stock form 37 years before the first VMax. The Vincent V-twin deserves the title of Superbike.

Pics of his stuff: Alp Racing & Design - Posts | Facebook



View attachment 76824
View attachment 76826

And a shot of a 1950's Triumph bored to sit in the 750cc gasoline class, running at El Mirage CA which went 143 mph its first time out!

View attachment 76828

Makes me wonder what a stripped down version of the vmax as this one is, would do. With small Light alloy wheels, small tires, tuned to straight pipes and such, what would the max mph be?
 
Even in standard trim, I wouldn't say the vmax is particularly streamlined. Removing the headlamp, scoops, indicators, front brake master/hoses and as above should improve it, wouldn't like to guess how many mph would be gained, 5-10?
 
Makes me wonder what a stripped down version of the vmax as this one is, would do. With small Light alloy wheels, small tires, tuned to straight pipes and such, what would the max mph be?
Here's someone with an interesting idea.

VMax tilting_motor_works_bob_mighell.jpg

Our Story - Tilting Motor Works

Washington Trike Inventor Smashes Land Speed Record for 3-Wheelers - Tilting Motor Works


Marysville, Washington (Free Press Release) September 6, 2012 – Tilting Motor Works, Inc. announced today that its founder and CEO, Bob Mighell, broke the land speed record for 3-wheeled motorcycles by more than 10 mph at the annual Motorcycle Speed Trials held at Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah on August 26-30. Mighell rode a modified Yamaha V-Max 1197cc motorcycle equipped with a V-4 engine and a proprietary Tilting Motor Works (TMW) two-wheeled tilting front end to a new record of 132.342 mph over one mile with a flying start.

Conditions were difficult with temperatures brushing 100 degrees, variable crosswinds up to 17 mph, and a sudden thunderstorm that drowned the course under 4 inches of water and cancelled the second day of racing. The racing surface, natural bright white salt that bakes in the sun, remained damp and loose on following days.

“Anything can happen at those speeds,” said Mighell, “and every motorcyclist knows how dangerous crosswinds and rough surfaces can be. The salt was all damp and loose and pitted, so it was ideal for putting our trike solution to the test. And it couldn’t have been a more stable ride. In the end we were constrained only by the performance of the motorcycle itself.”

Mighell, a lifelong powersports enthusiast who first rode a motorcycle across the country at the age of 19 to attend the mechanical engineering program at Dartmouth, is the inventor of an aftermarket “reverse trike” conversion that replaces a motorcycle’s front forks and front wheel with two wheels in the front. The wheels are connected in a patented leaning linkage that preserves the full leaning capabilities of the original motorcycle while improving stability, traction and braking. While many motorcyclists are attracted to trikes as their aging joints and backs make it harder to manage a heavy bike, the rigid designs of existing solutions are known to compromise handling and performance. TMW begins accepting pre-orders for the trike conversion this fall.

The previous record in the “cyclecar” classification was 121.649 mph, set in 2011. “We’re already planning to bring a faster motorcycle next year,” said Mighell.

Mighell’s collaborators and sponsors in staging the record attempt include UFO Performance Products of North Royalton, Ohio; Smokey Point Cycle Barn of Marysville, Washington; and Aurora Bearing Company of Aurora, Illinois.

[end]

You can also research the late Bill Warner, who probably went faster on a VMax than anyone.

Schnitz Motorsports, Inc. - Person of the Week (schnitzracing.com)

It wasn't until 2004 that the idea of going really fast came to Bill. While watching the national news, Bill saw a story about a guy named Sam Tilley in Minnesota getting clocked on a state highway going over 200mph. As it turned out it was a mathematical mistake by the officer but it planted an idea in Bill's head. "I want to go 200mph on my Yamaha VMAX," he thought. After everyone told him that would be impossible and that it could never be done, he really wanted to do it.

Bill's first race was at Maxton Airport in North Carolina in September of 2006. He raced in the MG-1650cc class and went 180mph. A month later he went 187mph and used the winter to make some changes preparing for the next race in April of 2007 where he achieved his goal and ran 200.06mph on his old naked VMAX.

[end]

More reading about this record-setting brave soul:
(55) Bill Warner article | Yamaha Star V-Max VMAX Motorcycle Discussion Forum (vmaxforum.net)

Bill Warner, King of Land Speed Racing, Was the Fastest Motorcycle Rider on Earth | Miami New Times
 
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Here's someone with an interesting idea.

View attachment 76882

Our Story - Tilting Motor Works

Washington Trike Inventor Smashes Land Speed Record for 3-Wheelers - Tilting Motor Works


Marysville, Washington (Free Press Release) September 6, 2012 – Tilting Motor Works, Inc. announced today that its founder and CEO, Bob Mighell, broke the land speed record for 3-wheeled motorcycles by more than 10 mph at the annual Motorcycle Speed Trials held at Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah on August 26-30. Mighell rode a modified Yamaha V-Max 1197cc motorcycle equipped with a V-4 engine and a proprietary Tilting Motor Works (TMW) two-wheeled tilting front end to a new record of 132.342 mph over one mile with a flying start.

Conditions were difficult with temperatures brushing 100 degrees, variable crosswinds up to 17 mph, and a sudden thunderstorm that drowned the course under 4 inches of water and cancelled the second day of racing. The racing surface, natural bright white salt that bakes in the sun, remained damp and loose on following days.

“Anything can happen at those speeds,” said Mighell, “and every motorcyclist knows how dangerous crosswinds and rough surfaces can be. The salt was all damp and loose and pitted, so it was ideal for putting our trike solution to the test. And it couldn’t have been a more stable ride. In the end we were constrained only by the performance of the motorcycle itself.”

Mighell, a lifelong powersports enthusiast who first rode a motorcycle across the country at the age of 19 to attend the mechanical engineering program at Dartmouth, is the inventor of an aftermarket “reverse trike” conversion that replaces a motorcycle’s front forks and front wheel with two wheels in the front. The wheels are connected in a patented leaning linkage that preserves the full leaning capabilities of the original motorcycle while improving stability, traction and braking. While many motorcyclists are attracted to trikes as their aging joints and backs make it harder to manage a heavy bike, the rigid designs of existing solutions are known to compromise handling and performance. TMW begins accepting pre-orders for the trike conversion this fall.

The previous record in the “cyclecar” classification was 121.649 mph, set in 2011. “We’re already planning to bring a faster motorcycle next year,” said Mighell.

Mighell’s collaborators and sponsors in staging the record attempt include UFO Performance Products of North Royalton, Ohio; Smokey Point Cycle Barn of Marysville, Washington; and Aurora Bearing Company of Aurora, Illinois.

[end]

You can also research the late Bill Warner, who probably went faster on a VMax than anyone.

Schnitz Motorsports, Inc. - Person of the Week (schnitzracing.com)

It wasn't until 2004 that the idea of going really fast came to Bill. While watching the national news, Bill saw a story about a guy named Sam Tilley in Minnesota getting clocked on a state highway going over 200mph. As it turned out it was a mathematical mistake by the officer but it planted an idea in Bill's head. "I want to go 200mph on my Yamaha VMAX," he thought. After everyone told him that would be impossible and that it could never be done, he really wanted to do it.

Bill's first race was at Maxton Airport in North Carolina in September of 2006. He raced in the MG-1650cc class and went 180mph. A month later he went 187mph and used the winter to make some changes preparing for the next race in April of 2007 where he achieved his goal and ran 200.06mph on his old naked VMAX.

[end]

More reading about this record-setting brave soul:
(55) Bill Warner article | Yamaha Star V-Max VMAX Motorcycle Discussion Forum (vmaxforum.net)

Bill Warner, King of Land Speed Racing, Was the Fastest Motorcycle Rider on Earth | Miami New Times
Koool
 
Google Bill Warner and Vmax. He broke 200mph certified on his years before he passed away attempting 300 mph on his turbo busa.
 
Google Bill Warner and Vmax. He broke 200mph certified on his years before he passed away attempting 300 mph on his turbo busa.
Yes, the articles I posted links to, are about his VMax.

About guys running high speeds, it's for the brave, that's for sure. In 1997 Sport Bike magazine had a horsepower shootout, streetbikes only, they had to be licensed and capable of being used on the road. They ran them on a 'durability run,' to see if the hand grenades would melt under street use. Then they ran them at the strip, and then for top-end. A guy I know from south Florida, Mark Moisan, modded a turbo kit for his GSXR1100, (this was before the Hyabusa) and was able to do some amazing things. Because the turbo GSXR1100 was a short-wheelbase, the dragstrip results were middle of the pack, but his top-speed blew the competition away, he turned 229 mph in 1997! He could have gone faster, but the carburetors blew-out of their mounts. His wife used to ride it to local bike nights, with the boost turned-down. I've posted about this bike before.
 
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