Diesel Motorcycles Set 8 World Records at Bonneville Speedway
11.11 18:04 - Diesel Motorcycles Set 8 World Records at Bonneville SpeedwayHayes Diversified Technologies the world's first purpose-built production diesel motorcycle engine manufacturer, established 8 World (FIM) and 3 American Motorcycle Association (AMA) records at Henry Ford's racecourse at Bonneville Speedway this past week. All records are "unofficial" until the AMA and FIM have certified them. HDTUSA owner and rider Fred Hayes currently holds the two AMA diesel records for the M-D 650 and M-DB 650 classes.
The "unofficial" FIM speeds were: Division A, Type III, Class 1, Kilometer, 154.392 km/h, mile, 95.875 mph Division A, Type IV, Class 1, Kilometer, 167.893 km/h, mile, 104.512 mph Division B, Type III, Class 1, Kilometer, 163.709 km/h, mile, 101.618 mph Division B, Type IV, Class 1, Kilometer, 169.261 km/h, mile, 104.997 mph
This year the Hayes diesel motorcycles used production engines and frames, but incorporated sleek and streamlined components to increase speed, and reduce wind resistance. Full fairings were utilized for two of the classes. Pre-Bonneville tests showed that engine power increased 8 to 10 percent for both the normally aspirated engine and the turbo-charged engine. "We had a chance to test our new generation engines this year," exclaims Fred Hayes, owner/rider of the Hayes diesel bikes. "These new benchmarks proved again that our diesel bikes provide great performance and are commercially viable."
Even with the gain in engine power, Hayes states that the engines were still easy to start and didn't loose any of the smooth power delivery of the original military motorcycle diesel engine. There is just more power everywhere in the rpm range. HDTUSA was selected earlier this year by the United States Marine Corps to supply up to 500 combat diesel bikes.
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