Hi Bill,
It was 1000cc. There was no Vintage Class, so I had to run against Yoshimura's Kawasaki 155mph record. I didn't have my engine done in time for '77, so ran my D Shadow in it's place and did 124.82..... Next year, the engine was ready and the Gearbox locked up at speed and highsided me. I went through the lights without the bike at 121.04! Mike Parti paced off 150 yards from where I hit to where I stopped.... Yes, it hurt!! I got a 135.50 once, but most of the time I was fighting foaming float bowls or, Brampton's that wobbled at 125ish. When Rollie Free and Max Kelly got in that argument, we finally got three entries for 1000cc and formed a Vintage 1000cc Class. Since Marty had run 147mph in "53 that was the record to beat and I'm not that good. One year Phil and Edith came to watch and help, I figured "this can be the year I can get it together" and... We got rained out! I fixed the float bowl problem with a set of 38mm DellOrto's. the nylon banjo the fuel line fits to broke and there were none in Salt Lake City... we were done for that year! Finally, I got fed up with the SCTA and the way they treated Bikes and quit going. At sea level, it would do 150, but I had everything I needed here and not just a few toolboxes and spares like at Bonneville. My legacy is: I made one piece Leathers mandatory because of my salt burns from when I crashed; I got the 1000cc Vintage Class established and I've beaten my bike through the lights!
Cheers, John
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