There aren’t many places on Earth where a rider can “safely” push his bike to the limit at wide-open throttle for a full mile. Drag strips are a dime a dozen, but that’s only a quarter of the distance and the fun’s usually over just as things are getting interesting. And as far as lonely back roads or quiet freeways go, well, would you want to hit a deer at 200 MPH? How about a speeding ticket that’s 120 MPH over the posted limit?
Four locations in the US allow racers a relatively safe venue to explore the limits of performance in the measured mile, and yet there are still accidents despite all of the safety precautions in place. But when pursuing absolute speed mishaps are bound to happen.
With only one mile to get up to speed there aren’t a lot of riders who break through the pearly gates of 200 MPH, but for those who do it’s a major achievement. Even the purpose-built cars at these events rarely crack 220 MPH. So how is it that Bill Warner could show up and blast off a 278 MPH pass on a recognizable Suzuki Hayabusa? It takes more than just balls of steel and a lot of horsepower, as Bill explained: “
If I handed somebody my bike they would back out of the throttle in the 230s or 240s, regardless how brave they are. That’s just the way it is because your mind can’t process what’s happening. Your brain just shuts down unless you build up to those speeds, step- by-step.But on another note, yeah, some of it is the bike itself. You can’t just go buy a bike like this at Walmart or have a local shop build it though. There’s a massive amount of data collection and setup to make the bike capable of achieving these speeds, and it’s not just adding a lot of power.”
Wind tunnel testing is a critical...
Wind tunnel testing is a critical part of developing a fairing that is stable, safe and efficient.
The data collection Bill refers to is no joke, and he’s recognized as one of the most meticulous dataloggers in the game. He logs everything from front and rear tire speeds to combustion chamber temperatures and chassis stability, but it’s no surprise considering his background. Bill’s “day job” as a tropical fish farmer stems from a degree in Marine Biology. He’s a scholarly fellow, so naturally his approach to going fast is methodical and systematic: “
One of the things that cracks me up about a lot of racers is that they have no idea what their bike is doing underneath them. If I ask them how much wheel spin they’re getting, for instance, they have absolutely no clue. You can’t put up a big number without understanding how to get there.”
The stepping stone approach is one that Bill has abided by, having cut his teeth in land speed racing aboard a Yamaha V-Max, of all things. But it was simply because drag racing wasn’t his thing: “
I went to the strip once or twice with my V-Max, and I found out that I suck at waiting at the lights. It just wasn’t me. I had always liked to go fast on the open roads because it’s the top end that excites me, not the initial acceleration like in drag racing.While Walter (Kudron, team manager) and I were trying to get my V-Max to 200 he pulled out some snacks from his ‘Busa’s trunk space, and it was then that I just knew I had to have a turbo Hayabusa.”
After successfully taking his V-Max over 200 MPH it was time for some real high speed high jinx, and after 217 and 227 MPH runs on his fresh turbo Hayabusa things took another interesting turn in the battle for land speed supremacy. “
I simply wanted 200 MPH on the V-Max, mostly because everybody said it couldn’t be done. After accomplishing that the buzz was that running 250 MPH on a naked bike was impossible. So I did it on a naked turbo Hayabusa.But these numbers quickly can become carrots that you keep chasing. Not too long ago my retirement speed was 272. I actually wrote that on the pistons in the motor, but the we went a little faster. I guess I'm hoping to get a big enough number that I'll be satisfied, and the I'll go back to doing something else."
It's hard to believe that someone who rides a bike so incredibly fast would be able to simply lay down a big number and then walk aaway from the sport, but Warner isn't in it for fame and fortune - there isn't really any. What started as a simple quest to crack 200 MPH on an unlikely bike has become a project to explore the outer limits of a motorcycle's capability. If the science and data crunching determine that the limit has been reached that's where the journey will end. Until then, we can expect to see Bill Warner's insane speed experiment continue.