Several NEDRA Members whose roots began in NEDRA have expanded into the exciting world of Land Speed Racing. Just as hot rodders did in the early days of land speed racing, EVs have also found a home on the Salt Flats. Visit the NEDRA Land Speed Records page here for results.

FRANK JOHN BREAKS 200 mph

Record Setting in Maine

After participating in the July "Maine Event" at the old Loring Air Force Base, I returned over Labor Day weekend for the final LTA land speed racing "Harvest Event" of the year. This was with my 2004 Suzuki Hayabusa conversion which uses a Remy HVH250 motor, Rinehart Motion Systems PM100DX controller and Lonestar "Sleeper" cells. I had collected enough data in July to know that 200 mph was possible and I formulated a plan to try to achieve that. Max power can't change much so I focused on improving aerodynamics.

I had raced in July with the bike in totally street trim (mirrors are removed per rules) including a double-bubble windscreen and cut-down seat. I replaced these with the stock items per recommendations from other 'Busa racers. I also moved the stock "clip-on" style handlebars inboard as much as possible and kept the replacement front fender (permissible in virtually all racing organizations' rules). I refabricated my top cover (where the gas tank would normally be) to make it a bit narrower which would keep my knees out of the windmore, and finished up by taping over seams in the bodywork. The only mechanical change I made was gearing down a couple of teeth (up numerically) to try to reach top speed quicker.

My wife Shari and I drove to the track on Thursday afternoon and we helped finish setup Friday morning. Racing started Friday afternoon and I made one 165 mph pass as a shakedown run. I experimented a bit with riding positions on this pass: everyone has opinions about what works best! I decided to focus on remaining as comfortable as possible without sliding back too far; this worked for me in July and I felt this was safest. Saturday had a noticeable headwind coming pretty much straight down the track. I worked Timing until noon then got relieved so I could make some runs. The LTA times at both the 1.0 mile and 1.5 mile and I ran a 191.3/196.4 mph on the first pass. I recharged and went out again an hour or so later and ran 195.3/199.8 mph into the same wind. The difference was that the warmer pack yielded higher power.

On Sunday morning I was preparing to start up Timing (my usual volunteer position) but we had extra help so I was encouraged to suit up. There wasn't much wind and it was warming up, turning into a real nice day. I made a pass then drove the 2.5 miles back to the pits where I hooked up the charger, then radioed Shari to ask my approximate speeds (she was helping out at Timing). When she came back with "199 and 205" I just about flipped. I knew it was a good pass but I wasn't expecting that! The mile speed was actually 199.856 which I'm told had everyone at the start line groaning after it was announced.

After recharging I made my final pass recording speeds of 201.645/206.847 mph. I knew it was a good pass: the bike performed flawlessly and I concentrated on staying "under the paint" as much as possible. I think that with another gearing change that I can improve the mile speed but there's not much left in it after that without changing to streamlined "land speed" bodywork. That's something that I'll have to think about over the winter. Going that fast is both exciting and scary at the same time. The track is smooth and well-marked, and proper speed-rated sport-bike tires provide confidence but there's always the element of uncertainty. Going fast is definitely a rush though.

The equipment I use is outstanding. The Remy/Rinehart combination seems to be bullet-proof and the Sleeper cells typically stayed within .015V of each other all weekend. They obviously give good power. As far as I can determine this is the first time a street-legal EV with stock bodywork has gone 200 mph in the standing start mile.

Loring Timing Association's 2014 Harvest Event

NEDRA Land Speed News (Aug 30, 2014) - Northeast Director Frank John brought his converted 2004 Hayabusa to the Loring Timing Association's 2014 Harvest Event. This is a street legal motorcycle that he rides on a regular basis and the first time he's ridden at faster speeds. He reports the bike is very stable and capable of higher speeds. The runs reported here were made back-to-back with "street" gearing and Frank estimates he would gain about 15 hp with LSR gearing and a fully-charged pack.

Photo: E-BUSA by Frank John

Assault and Battery achieves 165.5 mph at the Houston Mile

NEDRA Land Speed News (May 17, 2014) - Assault and Battery achieved 165.5 mph from a Standing Start at Ellington Field in Houston, TX during The US Mile's Houston Mile Spring Event.

Also impressive was the 1/4 mile speed of 145.6 mph. This was the first attempt at the long course by Assault and Battery.

Present were Adam Clark, Keith Howard, John Metric and Nathan Metric

KillaJoule achieves 188 mph at Loring

NEDRA Land Speed News (July 29, 2012) - KillaJoule achieved 188 mph at Loring Timing Association speed trials.

Eva Hakansson and Bill Dube from the KillaCycle Racing Team took their KillaJoule streamliner to the Loring Timing Association speed trials last week, setting a top speed of 188.063 mph (302.6 km/h) on 1.5 mile track and 164.130 mph (264.1 km/h) on the 1 mile track. The KillaJoule is a fully streamlined electric sidecar motorcycle, and currently the world's fastest electric sidecar.

DC Plasma achieves 188 mph at the Texas Mile Spring Event

NEDRA Land Speed News (March 24, 2012) - DC Plasma achieved 155.0 mph from a Standing Start at Chase Field AFB in Beeville, TX during The Texas Mile Spring Event.

Dave Cover Takes his Porsche to 112 mph at Loring

NEDRA Land Speed News (July 16, 2011) - Dave Cover drives his Porsche to 112 mph from a Standing Start at Loring Air Force Base in Maine, USA during The Maine 2011 Event.

Land Speed Racing History

Roger Hedlund took Battery Box to Bonneville and established a new land speed record for electric cars of 175.061 MPH. This record held for two decades.

lightning rod The Current Class 2 Electric Streamliner record is 213.084 MPH set in 1997 by the late Ed Rannberg in his "Lightning Rod."

Buckeye Bullet Current Class 3 Electric Streamliner record is 314.958 MPH set in 2004 by Roger Schroer in Ohio State's "Buckeye Bullet" 'liner

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