World's Fastest CBR600RR

One of the most-popular classes at Bonneville is the 650cc division because of recent advances in technology and the huge sales numbers. This is what drew Falkner/Livingston Racing from their normal small-bore 50cc and 125cc two-stroke classes to the much more difficult 650cc world dominated by four-strokes. They sought the services of Jason McVicar, a Canadian who has 22 land speed records to his credit. The 34-year-old is the current record holder in the 1000cc Altered Partial-Streamliner (i.e. fairing) Fuel class with a two-mile average speed of 215.592 mph set on his customized Yamaha R1. He's quickly becoming one of the most-recognized names in this fast-paced sport, and for good reason. In addition to his riding ability, he's one of the best tuners and understands the special demands for salt racing.

"Jason is a really valuable asset to our team," said Paul Livingston, the founder of Spider Grips. "He's very realistic about his expectations and he's not afraid to fail. He understands that you have to learn something about engine performance on every single run. Land speed racing is as much about time management and strategy than anything else. You can only get so many runs in during the week, and you have to use your time wisely."

This October McVicar added to his list of accomplishments when he set a record in the 650cc Altered Partial-Streamliner Fuel class at 178.438mph. This qualified his Falkner/Livingston Honda CBR600RR to become the first 600cc non-streamliner to qualify for the prestigious long course reserved for vehicles that go over 175 mph.

"We took a very smart approach to this project and didn't go overboard with a lot of exotic parts," said McVicar. "We made the speed through tuning and exploring the best hop-up parts offered by the aftermarket. We used a Micron full exhaust, Hyper Pro steering damper, Race Tech-modified suspension, Nitrous Express nitrous system and a Dynojet Power Commander fuel-management system.

"Due to the space limitations on the CBR, Paul Livingston and Rod Falkner had to devise a spraybar-style mounting setup for the individual nitrous nozzles. This spray bar was mounted inside the airbox just above the factory velocity stacks. We fabricated a custom aluminum fuel tank and mounted the stock fuel pump to it. The Nitrous Express kit includes a low pressure, approximately 4 psi, inline pump to feed the nitrous system's supplemental fuel needs. When the nitrous system is activated, the supplemental nitrous fuel pump kicks in and the fuel from that pump is mixed with the nitrous in the nozzles mounted in the airbox. The amount of fuel and nitrous is controlled by different sized jets mounted in the nozzles themselves. We used approx one pound of nitrous per run. We used the twin two-pound bottle arrangement to lessen the pressure drop of the system as the nitrous was used. The Power Commander was used to tweak the engine with the pipe and other small mods. The Power Commander is used to tune the engine off the nitrous, and the nitrous system takes care of the tuning when the bike is on the bottle. Basically they are two separate systems working together. We also went to a one step colder plug to try and prevent detonation from the increased combustion temps and pressure.

"The conditions on the salt are like no other on earth. You can't tune a bike at home and expect it to run fast on the flats. It takes time to learn what the bike likes in regards to tune up and chassis setup. Every bike is different and every day is unique as well. There is a fine line between hitting a home run at Bonneville and going home with a bunch of broken parts. There are many riders that think they can come to Bonneville and set records, but very few actually make it to the race, and even fewer get the job done.

"Wheel alignment is also a big factor in going fast, and I usually measure from the swingarm pivot to the rear axle center. This is far more accurate than the hash marks on the swingarm. We run 40 pounds of air pressure in the front and 35 in the rear. Gearing was one up one on the front and down four on the rear. This gave us a 17/39 combo, and the bike was just about out of gearing.

"Another thing we do is back the brake pads away from the rotors to prevent drag. Wheel bearings also need a special synthetic grease to reduce drag and some guys are running ceramic bearings. We also change to a lightweight Dumonde Tech motor oil for less drag.

"Bonneville is difficult to master due to the changing conditions," continued McVicar. "The air density and altitude ranges from 4500 feet to 7000 plus feet. You lose about 15% of your power from the high altitude, and the salt surface itself is very tricky. There are soft spots on the course, and learning how to read the salt can gain you some much needed mph. Later in the week there tends to get ruts and loose salt caused by the cars which tend to spin their tires through the timed mile. This creates wheel-spin for a lot of the bikes."

The finished bike was fast though, going record-breaking speeds from the first run to the last. "It was really cool," said McVicar. "I actually had a really good run going on the long course at 184.610 mph when we started to add more nitrous, but we hurt the number-two piston. We want to come back next year and make one of these things go in the mid 190s. It will be tough, but I'm sure we can do it."

Jason McVicar's F/L Racing Honda CBR600RR became the first non-streamliner to qualify for the long course at the famed Bonneville Speedway. He recorded a 184.610 run before the motor let go. Still, he brought home a record on this bike in another class.

McVicar is one of five people to set six records on one bike at Speed Week in the 56-year history.

FAST FACTS

Total number of motorcycle land speed records: 401

World's fastest motorcycle: John Noonan's Suzuki Hayabusa went 246.818mph in 2004 in the 1650cc APS-BF class.

World's fastest motorcycle streamliner: Sam Wheeler's 332.410 in the 1350CC/S-BF class set in '04

World's slowest land speed record: 47.353 by Team Costella-Nebulous 4 in the 50cc S-G class.

Oldest record: 4 set in 1956 in the 50, 125 and 350cc classes by H. Muller and W. Hertz.

Most records currently held by one person: Scott Guthrie 29


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