http://www.triumph-motorcycles.ca/triumph-land-speed-record-2016?from=HPR
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING WHILE WE HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM THE SALT?
07/09/2016
The last few weeks have seen the team begin final preparations for the Land Speed Record attempt, following its successful practice runs at Bonneville at the beginning of August. The practice week saw TT Legend Guy Martin get acquainted with the Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner on the salt for the first time. Throughout the week, Guy and the Streamliner performed excellently and the test week came to an end with Guy setting a new Triumph record of 274.1 MPH, to become the fastest ever Triumph Motorcycle.
Pleased with the week’s work, Matt Markstaller, lead designer and crew chief of the Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner, and his team, undertook the sixteen hour trip home from Bonneville to the team’s base in Portland, Oregon to begin final preparations.
Even though the Streamliner had only covered approximately 20 miles on the salt during the week, the first job that faced the team was the mammoth task of cleaning the entire vehicle. This is a very time consuming task, that takes the team an entire week to complete. During this time the Streamliner is cleaned up to four times, to remove the salt collected during each high speed run where it forces its way into each and every component.
Following the mammoth job of cleaning the Streamliner, the next task that faced the team was to begin removing and inspecting the major components. This process saw the team remove the engines to conduct a series of visual and mechanical checks.
During the engine inspection, the oil and filters are changed and a visual check is conducted for any wear or visible signs of stress points on both engines. With this complete, the engines were sent to the dyno to carry out a series of power simulations to re-check each unit’s performance and make sure everything is OK with the motors.
While the engines have been on the dyno, the rest of the team inspected the monocoque, suspension and drive train components. Each part has to be meticulously checked for any signs of wear or stress and then serviced and lubricated, before being refitted to the Streamliner.
The time back at their base in Portland was also used to change the specialist Goodyear Land Speed tyres. While normally a simple process on a road motorcycle, the process on the streamline involves 200 screws being removed and the wheel stripped, down before the tyre can be changed. The whole process is then reversed and, before both wheels are refitted to the bike, they are sent away to be checked to ensure they are balanced correctly and are structurally sound.
Due to the high speed the tyres need specialist preparation and testing. To do this, the team has to send the wheels and tyres to a specialist testing facility. This facility, is the only place in the USA that can undertake testing over 400 MPH and underload to ensure can cope with the stresses placed on them during the record runs.
With just a week remaining before heading back to salt final components are being refitted, the trailer is being packed and the Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner is being loaded for the 16 hour return journey to the salt.
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