Vetter Challenge

Last Friday, July 20, we took the VK to the Mid-Ohio racetrack for the Vetter Challenge, which was during the AMA Vintage Days. It was a great event held during a great AMA gathering at a great venue.

 I am always excited to go to Mid-Ohio and get on the track, even if it is only one lap. We met Friday morning and prepared to take an 80 mile run. It was unique for u.s, as most of the vehicles were streamlined motorcycles. Last years event had our friend Jack McCormack with his Diesel sportscar,Max, as the lone 4 wheeled entrant. This year we were privileged to be invited. The criteria for the challenge is that the vehicle must be capable of going 70 miles per hour, into a 30 MPH headwind while efficiently and safely carrying 4 bags of groceries. Carol Vetter insured that the groceries fit within the competitors vehicles. We were nervous, but passed with room to spare. We had a lot of stuff in the trunk, such as extra toolboxes, chairs, fuel containers, wax and other items needed for a cross country trip. We made room in the back seat for the bags. After topping off the fuel tank and rigging the video cameras, we were ready to hit the track

We took the lap around Mid-Ohio and proceeded out to the open roads. About a third of the way into the run, one of the electric bikes was layed over in a curve.  Looked like he hit a wet spot and the rear tire broke loose. The rider was OK, bruised with a bit of road rash, it shows the value of using proper protective gear. When all was clear, we continued on the route, but had lost the main group.  We missed a turn and ended up 5 miles over after the end of the run. Keeping up with motorcycles burns fuel. They accelerate quicker and take hills better.

In the end, the top bike was the Hayes Diesel Airtech, at over 143.6 MPG @1.93 cents per mile. We got 57.6 MPG in this run. Looks like we have some work to do to get the numbers up again. Noticed a few mechanical problems that were repaired when we got home. Later found a leaky fuel return line.  That doesn't help with mileage either. For full results, see link below.

http://www.craigvetter.com/pages/2012-Fuel-contests/2012-Vintage-Days-Challenge.html

We talked to some of the competitors. There were a lot of interesting people in the group. One common bond was a desire to get the most fuel efficiency possible from the vehicle.

We were very impressed with the bikes that shared our combustion cycle, the HDT motorcycles. Fred Hayes has been developing a Diesel motorcycle engine that is a purpose built motorcycle engine. It is not a modified automotive or industrial engine like the ones you may find in Europe or even in some bikes here. It is a very special engine that could revolutionize the motorcycle world. He designed them to be used in military motorcycles, per U.S. Navy specs. One fuel improves logistics and is a tactical advantage.

Fred Hayes is a very interesting man with a lot of great ideas.

Makes me want to get a motorcycle and start streamlining it!