Dave O closing in on 220 mph

By: Jack Korpela

Brock’s Performance Products-backed land speed racer Dave Owen broke yet another record on his naturally aspirated Suzuki Hayabusa at the famed Maxton Mile in North Carolina, April 1st-2nd.

Owen broke two of his own records in two different classes with passes of 219.94 and 219.03. The speed surpassed his previous records of 215 mph and 213 mph. The 219.94 run was the fastest all motor pass in Maxton history and just six-hundredths away from Owen’s goal of 220 mph.

“It was rewarding, but in the same sense it was frustrating to be so close to 220,” Owen said. “It has me wondering what I could do different to go faster next time.”

Over the winter Owen improved his set-up by losing ten pounds of body weight, stripping some weight off the bike and making performance upgrades.

“The biggest change he made to the bike was the installation of our street megaphone,” tuner Brock Davidson said. “He was so close to the record before; he was reluctant to change anything. But I knew it would help him out.”

The pipe is prohibited in some of the AMA/Prostar classes because it is too loud but there are no such restrictions at Maxton.

“We did some dyno testing over the winter and it showed a big advantage in performance and it had a smaller profile which is good for aero dynamics,” Owen said. “After I thought about it, it was an easy decision.”

Owen now has his sights set on the world record for fastest naturally aspirated pass, 220.55 set at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

“Dave O came so close to 220 it’s just wrong,” laughed Davidson. “He was very close to breaking the record for the fastest speed of any naturally aspirated motorcycle He’s really doing well.”

Owen will head back to Maxton for the next event May 20th and May 21, where he will try to capture the elusive world record.

“I’m going for it (220.55),” Owen said. “The biggest factor will be the weather. We need a low density altitude with no side wind or head wind.”

Check out a video clip here:
http://www.suzukihayabusa.org/forum/index.php?topic=70094.0
Onboard Video by NickSlick.com Watch Dave O run 214 MPH while looking around the Camera!

Brock’s Performance Products extended thanks to:
Hindle Manufacturing of Canada and World Wide Bearings.

Owen thanked Brock’s Performance Parts, Harry’s Machine Parts, Tiger Racing, Larry McBride, Pingel, EK Chains, Innovate Motor Sports, World Wide Bearings, Dymag Racing, Catalyst, Dighton Rehoboth High School Machine Shop, and his family for all the support this season.

Davidson owns and operates Brock’s Performance Products, which specializes in a vast array of performance products for sport bikes, for racing, and for street applications. Brock’s Performance Products can be reached at (937) 912-0054. For more information log onto www.brocksperformance.com