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By Andra Norris In September of 2008, my twin sister, Tracy “Racy” Snyder, went to Bonneville for the ride of her life, and broke a 20-year-old national land speed record. Achieving that goal on her mostly stock 2004 Suzuki Hayabusa wasn’t an easy feat. In fact, it was one of the most difficult challenges of her life.  But Tracy persevered, tapping into a part of herself that she didn’t even know existed prior to her week on the salt. This year Team Tracy—family, lifelong friends from her beloved Oakland Motorcycle Club and loyal supporters—gathered together again for the Sixth Annual BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials. The goals were both to defend her national record and to beat the world record in the same class—M-AG 1350 naked bike—with the same Suzuki Hayabusa. American Motorcycle Association (AMA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) records are gender neutral, so women and men compete in the same classes. Over 250 racers and teams registered for the event this year, and with 19 women, BUB boasted the largest female turnout ever. In order to preserve Tracy’s energy for racing, and afford her maximum salt-time, team member Smitty offered to transport her motorcycle to Utah, a civilized proposition that ironically left her to face her very real fear of flying. With trepidation, Tracy agreed, but only after our mother, honorary pit-crew member, Linda Leiby, promised to hold her hand on takeoff. To create an oasis in the salt, our father, Mark Norris, arrived at Bonneville a day before Tracy to set up the welcoming canopy of bright orange EZ-Ups that would be her pit. Cooling misters were added to keep everyone comfortable, and as always, the welcome mat was laid out for all. Chris and Sandy Vetter prepared the crew’s meals in the pit, so no one needed to worry about food. Details such as hydration and nutrition can’t be overlooked at Bonneville; a place both serene, with its surreal expanse of infinite nothingness, and terrifying: nothing can live there unaided for long. Tracy believed she could not have achieved her national record in 2008 without the use of a low-profile fuel tank that she borrowed from Don Mills for her winning run. For this year’s world record attempt, Gary White of The Body Shoppe in Alameda, California, designed and fabricated a custom tank for Tracy from aluminum. Gary also spent many hours during the year re-engineering Tracy’s motorcycle for heightened performance and fabricating its custom swingarm weights, while Tracy prepared mentally and physically for the upcoming ride. Safety, lightness, and speed were foremost on everyone’s mind. To prepare Tracy’s bike for the naked motorcycle class, all plastics were removed from the motorcycle, creating the appearance of skeletal remains, or a world-class engine on wheels. And due to a rule change in 2009, her front fender and rear cowling were also removed. This revision not only erased any remaining semblance of aerodynamics, it left the filter-less airbox vulnerable to salt. Using a hacksaw, Team member Paul Gregersen fashioned a piece of plastic into a backrest to keep Tracy from flying off the tail end of her bike, now that she didn’t have the cowling for support. Head mechanic Mike Vetter used gauze from a first aid kit to make a screen for the airbox. Last year, Tracy’s motorcycle was mostly stock except for a Yoshimura exhaust and a Power Commander. This year, Fastline Racing installed a piston kit, increasing the compression ratio to 13:1, changed the exhaust cam and treated the cylinder head to a precision port-and-polish. Finally, the entire engine was blueprinted and balanced. The BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials took place over five days, from August 30 through September 3. Team Tracy was on the salt every morning before sunrise, and it was often among the last to leave at the end of the day. It could take up to five hours for a single record attempt, including follow-up mechanical adjustments for speed improvements or troubleshooting, which left Tracy with only one or two possible attempts each day. The weather was good, but due to a flash flood that took place several days before the event, the salt was in a miserable state, grinding itself into everything in sight. Later in the week, the wind and the intense sun finally dried the salt to optimal riding conditions. At Bonneville you are at nature’s mercy, which adds to the thrill. When things go wrong, there is no worse place on earth–when things go right, no better. Even when you are right there at the Flats, update information can be difficult to obtain, because of the immense distances and the limits imposed by the strength-sapping heat. Thankfully, however, cell service is available. Since I stayed home this year, I relied on iPhones and blogs to stay connected, and I was pleased to learn that speed news travels fast on the Internet. Tracy was miserable, and her initial speeds were slow. Before speaking with her in person, I read about it on Twitter. During Tracy’s initial morning run, salt blasted violently, and she experienced a severe front-wheel wobble, unlike anything she had previously experienced. Tires spun at every speed. After a suspension adjustment, the front wobble disappeared, but now the rear wheel was wobbling. Racing days passed quickly, and despite multiple changes to the suspension, Tracy’s rear wheel wobble kept returning every time she approached 110 mph, leaving her unable to get into the zone. In the meantime, the team kept making slight mechanical adjustments to improve performance, gearing up from a 17-tooth to an 18-tooth countershaft sprocket and adding weights to the swingarm. While Tracy continued negotiating the dangerous wobble during each record attempt, competitor Hans Versfeld of the Swiss Performance team, surpassed the official record, further upping the ante. After a year of preparation and training, Tracy’s speed wasn’t nearly where she hoped it would be. Four days out of the five had passed, and Tracy had not had a single fast run. Fellow Hayabusa racer and multiple-record holder Don Mills had become a mentor to Tracy by sharing his time and knowledge, and he encouraged her when Bonneville was only a remote dream. For her final day of racing, he now offered to loan her his partially streamlined motorcycle so she could have the fast ride she craved. His generosity is a testament to the loyalty these racers have to each other and to their unconventional sport. Tracy began the registration process to ride his motorcycle in the faired class, but her husband Brent wanted one more shot at working out the suspension. Brent continued working on the problem via cell phone with Phil Douglas of Aftershocks Suspension in Livermore. And so on the final day of the trials, Tracy decided no matter the outcome, she and her Suzuki Hayabusa would remain together, working for the world record until time ran out. One of the famed Buell Brothers, Tom “Santa Claus” Anderson, another multiple-record holder and bike builder, kept telling Tracy to go back to what worked when she successfully beat the national record. “Go back to the basics,” he repeated, and of course, Santa Claus was right. You start with what is familiar and works. When you get lost, you’ve gone too far. It’s a delicate dance, getting yourself and your motorcycle into the zone. One change at a time may not solve a problem, yet it will earn you valuable knowledge. Making more than one change at once may get you speed but create chaos. Getting it just right is nine parts science and one part art, and it is best approached conservatively. With only a few hours left on the final day of racing, Team Tracy broke its own rule, making two changes to the motorcycle for the final attempt: the suspension was adjusted, and 32 pound of weight were removed from the swingarm (16 pounds from each side). Riding high on her Suzuki Hayabusa, Tracy went for it, and for the first time that week, she experienced a clean, smooth, lightning-fast ride. As the sun was melting into the horizon, Tracy blazed across the Bonneville Salt Flats, shattering the world record of 159.750 mph, with a new average speed of 171.735 mph. At the end of the day, it was unclear which change brought on victory. When I received the thrilling news by phone, I pulled my car off the road to give my young children hugs, telling them their Auntie Tracy went faster than anyone in the whole world! Their eyes widened at mine, filling with tears, and they asked, hopefully, if she would come home soon. “Yes,” I answered, “she will.” That night there was a special awards banquet for the riders and their teams. Erin Hunter, fellow racer and the first woman to win a world land speed record in a streamliner, awarded Tracy the sheEmoto Award. Erin created the award in 2005 and presents it every year to an inspiring woman and to a person in the recipient’s life who encouraged her to pursue her life’s adventures. Erin chose Tracy because she races for all the right reasons; her sheer love of motorcycling and the self-discovery she finds through it. Erin called Tracy the “real deal,” noting her tenacity, persistence, and unyielding drive. Just as inspiring to me is Tracy’s selfless team, each person, with heart and soul, friendship, laughter, and love. To share her award, Tracy designated Don Mills, the racer who offered her the use of his motorcycle when the odds seemed stacked against her Early the next morning, after a few short hours of sleep, our mother and Tracy drove their rental car by moonlight to the Salt Lake City airport, two hours east. Before the sun had even appeared above the surrounding Utah Mountains, they caught their flight home. As the plane was taking off, Mom reached out to take Tracy’s hand, and found her fast asleep, a perfect picture of exhaustion and contentment, dreaming of great adventures, friendships, salt, and speed. Somewhere far below on a lonely stretch of desert road, Smitty was transporting her motorcycle back to California. And, after another thrilling week in Bonneville, the Team Tracy pit crew was dispersing in every direction; back to their homes, their families, and their private lives. Tracy Snyder’s world land speed record is pending ratification by the FIM. She plans to go much faster next year in a different class that permits partial streamlining. Andra Norris is a fine artist who lives and works in the Bay Area. |