Follow Our Leader

by R. Bruce Thomas

In August 2023 I had a trip planned that included four days riding a number of the great roads in the Wasatch Mountain Range, a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains, to the east of Salt Lake City, Utah. The riding in the area is amazing with a variety of road types from tight and twisty to some of my favorite sections of entertaining interstate. And, no, that isn't an oxymoron. Both I-80 and I-84 have some curvy canyon sections that dispel any notion that riding the slabs is only good for squaring off your tires.

My trip plan also included a daytrip to meet up with AMSS President Liane Langlois at the Bonneville Salt Flats to see what all the fuss is about. I've seen the movie The World's Fastest Indian with Sir Anthony Hopkins. I've seen a replica of Burt Munro's racer in a New Zealand Museum. I've read Ultimate Speed - the Fast Life and Extreme Cars of Racing Legend Craig Breedlove (who has gone over 600 mph on the Salt Flats). I thought I had a clue what Bonneville was all about, but getting a firsthand look at it with the expert guidance of Liane seemed like an experience too good to pass up.

Liane has been going to Bonneville since 2014 when she first rode a 2002 Triumph Bonneville, owned by her best friend and fellow Fez Monkey’s Salt Racing teammate from Missoula, Montana. She clocked in at 122.984 mph (197.924 kph) and then went 155.210 mph (249.786 kph) on her own Triumph Daytona 955i in 2016. In addition to being a participant, Liane has been a volunteer in various capacities including as the radio announcer letting everyone know what is happening on the course (have you ever wondered why she sounds so good on the AMSS Podcasts?).

Anyhow, a little named wind called Hurricane Hilary popped up in mid-August in the Pacific and brought unwanted breezes and excessive moisture up the Baja Peninsula and into the Southwestern USA. The effects of this storm stretched as far as Northern Utah, drenching the Salt Flats and forcing cancellation of the 2023 Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials.

The timing meant I knew I wasn't going to Bonneville before my trip even began, so I added an extra day in the Wasatch. In five riding days I covered 1,948 km and maxed out at 3,261 m elevation (10,700 ft) while gaining (21,839 m/ 71,660 ft) and losing (20,783 m / 68,185 ft). Tons of fun.

If at first.....

I let Liane know I would try again in 2024, and she informed me she would likely be riding again.

Fast forward to August 2024 and I've arranged my big trip to be at the Flats on Saturday and Sunday. Liane is indeed going to be riding and, in a change from previous outings, she will be going for a land speed record on a Triumph Rocket III, with a sidecar!!  There are many classes in land speed racing and while the motorcycle without a sidecar has 4 AMA records by the owner, it was time for someone to chase the ones with a sidecar and Liane was asked to do it.

Saturday afternoon was mostly windy, and people were getting their machines tech inspected and prepped. Liane was busy (no surprise!) solving a couple of crisis. I wandered and talked to people and thought the place was pretty cool and some of the customizations were totally amazing.

Sunday was brighter and still a bit breezy in the morning. Liane had a chance to go for a couple low-speed test runs on the Rocket III to get the feel for the bike. Then, while everyone waited to get the green-light to run, Liane took me around and introduced me to a pile of her friends.

I feel bad that I wasn't taking notes, but one name stood out. Simon Edwards from Edwards Racing was setup not far from the JKR Powersports and Fez Monkey’s base and Simon said he was part of a movie about riding from the Beaufort Sea in Alaska to Ushuaia at the tip of South America. We have friends who flew their bikes up from New Zealand and did that trip but, like almost everyone else, they took a boat to get past the Darien Gap. Simon said he had gone through it! You can learn more about it on this week’s Think Bike episode dropping October 2 and find Where The Road Ends on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxm-A-2oyQ

Here's a video of Simon at Bonneville in 2016 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcL27WF4Sg0

When it finally came time for Liane to do her first run (if you are going for a certified record you have to do two runs - one in each direction on the five-mile course if starting on the intermediate course. Two miles to get up to speed, one mile that is timed, two miles to slow down). Liane was dressed in her leathers, and I was her Umbrella Boy to shade her from the sun. Once she took off, I and the rest of the JKR team jumped in the truck to meet her at the other end of the Mountain Course. As we drove, the course announcer kept us appraised of her progress past the timing tower along with the rider on the International Course - coincidentally, one Simon Edwards.

Liane's first run was 95.436 mph followed by 107.432 mph for a record average speed of 101.434 mph in her fuel class.

Simon Edwards did a 195.026 mph on his first run.

Liane then improved to 121 and 131 mph on her two runs on Monday for a second record of 126.393 mph but this time in the gas class.  She did go back out on Wednesday to run fuel again with a 136 and 137 and upping the fuel record from 101.434 mph to 137.083 mph.

What we all need to remember, is that Liane never had a chance to ride the Rocket III prior to arriving at the Salt.  It is evident that an increase in speed each time she went out meant she was gaining confidence in handling the bike and the rigid side car and now holds 2 American Motorcycle Association National Records pending verification.  Next year she aims for more if the “salt gods” will allow.

I've been to Canadian Superbike races, World Superbike races, and MotoGP races. Seeing the action on the Bonneville Salt Flats was completely different from all of those.

I had a fantastic time thanks to Liane, JKR Powersports, plus Fez Monkey's Salt Racing.

Three big takeaways:

1. go ride in Utah! The roads and scenery are spectacular.
2. go see the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
3. remember that AMSS President Liane Langlois is a badass when it comes to riding a motorcycle, holds 2 AMA National speed records pending verification, and she has a lot of badass friends and, if you feel the need for speed, follow her lead and take it to the salt (or a racetrack!).