Extra!! Cycle World Sets New Records
EXTRA!! CYCLE WORLD SETS NEW RECORDS
EL MIRAGE HERALD. APRIL 1. 1987
BY R. LAWSON, HERALD STAFF REPORTER
El Mirage Dry Lake, California
In a startling move, the ever-adventurous staff of CYCLE WORLD magazine lifted the standards of motorcycle journalism to new heights last Monday. Using an absolutely stock 1967 Honda S90, that pioneering crew set yet another world speed record, this time for the fastest speed ever posted by a production motorcycle of any displacement: 180 mph.
This achievement follows the 24-hour world speed record the magazine set late in 1985, a record that is currently being rented by, Honda. "We hoped that Honda's new Hurricane 1000 would be able to break 160," explained Steve Anderson. the magazine's Tech nical Editor, "which would have made it the fastest pro duction bike ever, but it could only manage a rather bor ing 156. So we set out to find another motorcycle with just the right qualities, figuring that, with the proper test ing technique, we could set a very impressive_record."
Fhat tes'ting procedure involved simply dropping the motorcycle from 2000 feet. "It was a logical approach,~' said Anderson. "I'm surprised no one tried it before."
As with any large-scale undertaking, certain compro mises had to be made. One was the fact that the actual speed of the bike couldn't be recorded because both the radar gun and its operator were flat (excuse the pun) damaged in the record attempt. But eyewitnesses re ported that the S90 was going "real damn fast."
fl Another compromise was'hat the motorcycle was ac tually dropped from only 600 feet, and probably didn't
even come close to 180 mph. "That's standard scientifi~ proceedure," explained Anderson. "It's become an in.~ dustry-wide practice to correct for altitude. The bik~ would have gone 180 mph if we would have gone all the way up to 2000 feet. We haven't been doing this kind o~ correction in the past, but for this special test we're will ing to go with the flow, It sure beats having to get the right numbers the first time. Besides, it would have made an awful mess from way up there."
The actual records h~v~ yet to be recognized by the Sanctioning Party Of Outrageously Fast Functions (SPOOFF), which will meet to review the case on April first, but CYCLE WORLD will be up for the following records:
1. World's Fastest Motorcycle. 2. World's Fastest Honda S90. 3. World's Fastest Motorcycle Without a Rider. 4. World's Fastest Motorcycle That Doesn't Run (pending the rather difficult certification that the bike didn't run before the drop: a work crew is still digging to retrieve all the parts). 5. World's shortest braking distance (180 to zero in 3.3 inches.) 6. World's most questionable use of CBS money..
There is some question whether the records will actu ally be recognized at all, though. Informed sources report that Honda is mounting a massive, cost-is-no-object ef fort to exceed the records by renting the space shuttle. According to the rumor, Honda intends to drop a GSX R750 so that Suzuki will hold the record. Stay tuned and we'll let you know as events take place.
