Yamaha RZ350 - SCTA Bonneville World Land Speed Record Holder 350cc Production class

[RZtuner]

Here is my 1990 Yamaha RZ350 that set the SCTA World Land Speed Record in 350cc Production class in 1995. This record still stands and is unbeaten in over 25 years.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT5xapq

[OldTZracer]

Hey Shane,
Not bad for an old guy...
Any pictures of the modified streamliner?

Trust you are keeping safe - my brother Don says hi.

[RZtuner]

Here ya go Brian.
The RG500 streamliner project
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmT5xapq

Life is good, more new projects coming......life in the old dog yet!

[RZtuner]

Opps! here's the link.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmTaU9oK

You can also click on my albums to see some of my other projects I've built over the years.

[kpke]

Thanks for sharing all that. I enjoyed the albums.

Congratulations on the accomplishments

So you are still at it?

[RZtuner]

Yeh, still racing, still got the passion. Old TZ and I go a long way back to the early 80's when we raced Yamaha's at Westwood and Seattle. Yikes that's nearly 50 years ago. Unfortunately, the Speed trials at Bonneville got cancelled this year due to Covid and the race bike is sitting on the trailer, maybe 2021?

[OldTZracer]

The Aprilia/RZ is still my favorite...
There is a lot of nice engineering in the RG500. What is your target speed?

[RZtuner]

Yeh, the Aprilia was a beauty. That bike started the whole RZ - Aprilia conversion craze around the globe. Everyone wanted one! The RG500 is too nice to take on the salt so I've built a new modified bike and hopefully put it in the record books.... if we can ever go racing again.

[RZtuner]

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

This was the very first Bonneville event I entered back in 1992. I bought a 1990 RZ specifically to race at Bonneville in the 350 production motorcycle class. The old record was set in the late 80’s when RZ mania was thriving in California. 5 guys tried to beat the old 118 record all week, then on the Thursday one of the guys from California fitted a set of Canadian pipes (illegal BTW in production class rules to fit anything from another model or year) and upped the record to 120mph.
The production class rules were very simplistic back then and basically said the bike must be totally box stock externally so that’s how I ran it, stock everything as it came off the showroom floor. I ran 118 on a 120 record on the first run, then I found out you were legally allowed to change the gearing. Hey, I was a complete rookie and this wasn’t in the rule book! ….It is now!
Changed the sprockets and broke the record on my 2nd run but sure enough the timing trap, which SCTA had been having trouble with, broke again on MY run! No time recorded. Then the rain hit! The wind tried to blow my pit tent away so I grabbed on to it and sure enough the bike blew over breaking the clutch lever. Sat it out in Wendover for 2 days and the meet re-opened but the track was covered in an inch of slush so we all went home. Welcome to Bonneville!
The event was rained off again in 93 and 94 so our next opportunity was 95 which was perfect weather. I seized the motor on the first run. Bonneville plays hardball with two strokes! Fitted a new piston and borrowed some bigger jets off Mike Burns one of the tech guys. Cool guy, gave me his whole box and said give them back at the end of the meet. Went up on the jets and we ran just under the record, dropped down 2 sizes and we were 8 mph over the record, we were in impound!
Now comes the exciting part…. Next day at 7.00am on the return run I was the 3rd bike to run, the air was cool and still. I was well tucked in and going full chat at the 1 ½ mile, then out of the corner of my eye I saw a red 32 Chevy roadster driving right across the long course and heading straight across the short course and straight for me! It was the editor of Hot Rod magazine, this guy: http://www.semahof.com/Gray_Baskerville_2011_Inductee, who was completely lost!
So here I am going 128 + mph, if I sit up and stand on the brakes….. I’ll probably slam in to him and die…… If I swerve….. I’ll definitely fall off and he’ll probably run over me….… so I kept the throttle pinned, hey, it’s the return run on my first record. He missed me by 50 feet which I figure at that speed was about 0.26 of a second!
The bike pulled redline all the way down and we bagged the record at 128mph a full 8 mph faster than the old one. This record still stands unbeaten 25 years later and many have tried. Scott Guthrie was at the other end working track patrol and asked how I did, I said 128 and I remember he looked down and glanced in his rulebook and said “Impressive”. He told me the guy in the hot rod had been duly escorted off the track by another marshal and banned from the meet and I had my first World Record!
The pick-up crew for the previous rider were waiting down on the return road and asked me how I was after “the incident”. They had seen the 32 Ford coming across the track heading straight at me and said he just missed me. They asked me what I did and I said “I just kept in to it”, they had a good laugh about that.
It’s important to note this bike was absolutely box stock. I ran stock 26mm carbs, stock pipes, stock ignition, stock reeds. 100% box stock externally. Amazing performance from a little 350.

[silverstrom]

It is the "little engine that could."

I think many people might be surprised what their stock 350 engine will do with proper stock tuning and less listening to what the internet says. Common sense is good for a few HP.

[Forzfed]

Great story and great run! That must be a good feeling to still hold the record this many years later?