1979 Warner Riley / S&S Cycle to Bonneville - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1979 Warner Riley / S&S Cycle to Bonneville - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Thunder
on the SA
Warner Riley Goes to
Bonneville With S & S Cycle
BY WARNER RIL
The 1978 Bonneville Speed Trials
were held during the last full week of
September. This annual event (30
years old) lakes place on the great salt
desert which is near the town of Wen-
dover. Utah. I last competed at Bon-
neville in 1976 and had missed the
1977 event. I was also planning to miss
the 1978 event when 1 received a
phone call from George Smith, the
owner of S & S Cycle. George was
interested in running two Harley-
Davidson motorcycles (a 93-cubic-
inch FXE and a 98-cubic-inch Low
Rider) as a part of bis on-going test
programs. He was not really interested
in setting a record; he was instead after
test lime that would subject his en-
gines and their component parts to the
stresses of flat-out running. I had al-
ready done two days of ‘/4-mile testing
on these bikes and was familiar with
how they ran and handled at speeds of
up to 117 mph. Based on that, George
and I concluded our plans for the
upcoming Bonneville event. Phone
calls were made and letters were writ-
ten to Champion Plugs, Duckworth
Chain and Torco Oil asking for much-
needed products to help run the bikes.
Each supplier responded with enough
plugs, chain and oil to enable us to run
both bikes all week long. Thanks to all
These are the people and the bikes that ran under the S & S Cycle banner during the 1978
Bonneville Speed Trials. Left to right: George Smith, Marge Smith, Floyd Baker and the
author. Also present from S & S Cycle, but not shown in the photo, was Fred Johnson. The
bikes are a 93-cubic-inch FXE (2A) and a 98-cubic-inch Low Rider (12A).
Floyd Baker (left) and John Andrews
(owner of Andrews Products) join forces to
change the Low Rider’s cam as part of the
'/4-mile test program. A total of four dif-
ferent grinds were tested before selecting
the S & S #3.
those who helped! Further details
were worked out with Frank at Lake
Shore Harley-Davidson to obtain four
new tires (Bonneville rules) and some
extra ignition parts. John Andrews al
Andrews Products also pitched in and
provided a new cam for test purposes,
which turned out to be an excellent
performer. Both engines were fresh-
ened up (cylinders honed, new rings,
lapped valves) after the last ‘/4-mile
test session and we were on our way.
As it turned out. the weather during
the 1978 Bonneville Speed Trials was
the absolute best I have ever seen in
the 15 times I have been to the Salt
Flats. It was absolutely perfect every
single day of the event with not one
minute lost due to excessive wind and/
or rain. Both bikes were run as often as
we wanted and we soon got the jetting
and gearing worked out. The 93-cubic-
inch FXE ran a best of 135.74 mph
while the 98-cubic-inch Low Rider
went a best of 144.46 mph. Based on
each bike's ‘/4-mile performance, these
were the kinds of times we had ex-
pected. The course was a little rough,
but the traction was very good and
very little tire slippage was noticed. In
fact, I hardly even noticed it was
rough, due to the full suspension on
both bikes. Other racers with rigid rear
suspensions were having a rougher
time of it.
It should be noted that both of the
engines in these bikes were assembled
using only standard S & S Cycle com-
ponents that are in stock and readily
available. Nothing special was done to
these engines over and above being
CUSTOM BIKE/FEBRUARY 1979 47
The 1978 Bonneville Speed Trials
were held during the last full week of
September. This annual event (30
years old) takes place on the great salt
desert which is near the town of Wen-
dover. Utah. I last competed at Bon-
neville in 1976 and had missed the
1977 event. I was also planning to miss
the 1978 event when I received a
phone call from George Smith, the
owner of S & S Cycle. George was
interested in running two Harley-
Davidson motorcycles (a 93-cubic-
inch FXE and a 98-cubic-inch Low
Rider) as a part of his on-going test
programs. He was not really interested
in setting a record; he was instead after
test time that would subject his en-
gines and their component parts to the
stresses of flat-out running. I had al-
ready done two days of %-mile testing
on these bikes and was familiar with
how they ran and handled at speeds of
up to 117 mph. Based on that. George
and I concluded our plans for the
upcoming Bonneville event. Phone
calls were made and letters were writ-
ten to Champion Plugs, Duckworth
Chain and Torco Oil asking for much-
needed products to help run the bikes.
Each supplier responded with enough
plugs, chain and oil to enable us to run
both bikes all week long. Thanks to all
those who helped! Further details
were worked out with Frank at Lake
Shore Harley-Davidson to obtain four
new tires (Bonneville rules) and some
extra ignition parts. John Andrews at
Andrews Products also pitched in and
provided a new cam for test purposes,
which turned out to be an excellent
performer. Both engines were fresh-
ened up (cylinders honed, new rings,
lapped valves) after the last ‘/4-mile
test session and we were on our way.
As it turned out, the weather during
the 1978 Bonneville Speed Trials was
the absolute best I have ever seen in
the 15 times I have been to the Salt
Flats. It was absolutely perfect every
single day of the event with not one
minute lost due to excessive wind and/
or rain. Both bikes were run as often as
we wanted and we soon got the jetting
and gearing worked out. The 93-cubic-
inch FXE ran a best of 135.74 mph
while the 98-cubic-inch Low Rider
went a best of 144.46 mph. Based on
each bike’s %-mile performance, these
were the kinds of times we had ex-
pected. The course was a little rough,
but the traction was very good and
very little tire slippage was noticed. In
fact. I hardly even noticed it was
rough, due to the full suspension on
both bikes. Other racers with rigid rear
suspensions were having a rougher
time of it.
It should be noted that both of the
engines in these bikes were assembled
using only standard S & S Cycle com-
ponents that are in stock and readily
available. Nothing special was done to
these engines over and above being
These are the people and the bikes that ran under the S & S Cycle banner during the 1978
Bonneville Speed Trials. Left to right: George Smith, Marge Smith, Floyd Baker and the
author. Also present from S & S Cycle, but not shown in the photo, was Fred Johnson. The
bikes are a 93-cubic-inch FXE (2A) and a 98-cubic-inch Low Rider (12A).
Floyd Baker (left) and John Andrews
(owner of Andrews Products) join forces to
change the Low Rider's cam as part of the
’A-mile test program. A total of four dif-
ferent grinds were tested before selecting
the S & S #3...
11930-7902-40
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