B

Bob Axsom

Well Known Member
One thing that kind of bugs me about my newly adopted state is in order to see what has been described to me as an outstanding "true story" movie staring Anthony Hopkins about a New Zealander that spent 4 decades building an Indian motorcycle that set world two wheel speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967 that still stand today is not being shown here. I have to go to Tulsa - short flight in an RV-6A but the cost of tiedown rental car, etc. etc. has my wife rejecting the idea. Any one in Tulsa know what airport is near the AMC Crossroads 20 theater?

Bob Axsom
 
motorcycle speed records

Bob, since you started this thread I'll take advantage of it to share this with everybody.

My father in law along with the rest of the crew left Sunday night for Austrailia to try to crush the motorcycle land speed record. The streamliner was designed completely by the man behind the blind encoders and ELT's that some of us use in our airplanes, Mike Ackitiff. This machine is truly amazing and would have to be seen to be believed. It sports two Suzuki Hyabusa engines, turbo charged, and intercooled. It has sensors to control the rear wheel speed in relation to the front wheel to prevent wheel spin at high speeds, and this only scratches the surface.

Currently they own the speed record for their class at Bonneville, but the track is simply to short there to allow the record to be crushed! Currently they have the record at 328mph for the US, but the proper sanctioning body was not in attendance to award them the worlds fastest motorcycle which is at 322mph. Anyway, their goal is to put up a record that will stand for a long time to come and then to never run the thing again. Once they claim the world record officially if nothing breaks on the motorcycle, then they will turn up the boost and see what the thing will really do. I've heard speculation that it will be significantly increased if the streamliner holds up.

In the past the drive chains have gotten white hot and broken taking out components when they fail. They tried taking a sample of the ice water from the turbos and spraying the chain. This helped enough to run record speeds, but not long enough to back them up. Now they have built a totally enclosed chamber that the chains ride in and they will ride in an oil bath. All of the dyno testing looks promising for this setup and they have high hopes.

Anyway, these are aviation guys trying to do something that few succeed at. If there's interest I'll update this post over the next few weeks as we get feedback from down under.

Here's a link to a site that has some information on the effort.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/ack-attack/ack-index.html

Regards,
 
Business opportunity?

Bob Axsom said:
One thing that kind of bugs me about my newly adopted state is in order to see ... movie ... I have to go to Tulsa ...
Click to expand...
Sounds like a business opportunity - open a movie theatre! Wow, and I thought I lived in the sticks. :)
 
Quite a picture

Well I'm interested - great looking one of a kind vehicle and I wish them well. The background in the photo brings back some painful memories of the Genesis Sample Return Capsule crashing into the desert at nearby UTTR.

Bob Axsom
 
Hey Bob, I wonder if the Worlds fastest Indian will be shown in Branson, Mo. I would go see it in a minute if it does. You might talk your wife into a day or weekend at Branson and get to see a good movie in the process.
 
Bob,fly into Gundys airport (O38) N.E. of Tulsa you can park in my yard and I will loan you a car. Just give me a call.

Jim G
918-284-6071
 
What a great offer

Thank you so much for that offer. I Guess we will just drive over though. It will be like driving to the Music Center in LA but with scenery.

Thanks again,

Bob Axsom
 
Last edited:
Block Busters in about 2-3 months

This is a small indie film and no doubt will be CD released sooner than later. Patience. :D

There are about 10-15 theaters in my area, many big googolplexes. There is only one independent theater showing this film. I love this theater, because with out it many films would not make it here. I am kind of tired of big Hollywood films and discovered the small independent / foreign films.

This is not the first time I have seen LIMITED release like this. I don't know how the movie industry works, but I don't think the The Pink Panther needs to be on 10 screens in the area.

G
 
Last edited:
My hubby and I saw this flick two weekends ago in Gurney, IL. It was very good and truly worth seeing by any motorcycle or Anthony Hopkins fan. It seems to be very limited in it's exposure for some reason. It was in Gurney and just one other theater in MKE. Two other flying couples joined us for dinner and the show. Great night out.

Roberta
 
Ack Attack

For anybody interested here is a link that will provide updates on the record attempt by the ACK ATTACK motorcycle streamliner in Austrailia this week. So far the conditions are poor on the salt with water on the course and winds delaying the speed trials, but things seem to be improving. If everything goes well and they are able to officially beat the current record of 322mph Mike is now openly stating that they intend to open it up and try for 400mph. :eek:

http://www.landracing.com/

Regards,
 
The Worlds Fastest Indian is not in Arkansas - its in Australia !

G'day Bob,

Sorry to hear that you are having trouble getting to see the film. It is about to be released here in Australia, and has been the most popular film in NZ for some time.

Just to correct you, the title of World's Fastest Indian is now held by a guy I know by the name of Peter Arundel, a local Indian enthusiast that has a fire-breathing 8-valve v-twin that is regularly raced in the pre-war Historic road-racing class. I must confess that it broke my heart when he broke Bert Munro's record here in at Lake Gairdner a few years ago.

The ACK bike sounds interesting and I wish them well. I hope to be over at the salt lake for next years event, and will be taking the RV - providing we have a bike ready.

Also, if any one is interested there is a book on Bert Munro available. I have only just ordered one directly from the auther in NZ, so let me know if anyone wants one as well - around US$35 delivered.

Cheers

Martin In Oz
 
Thanks for the update and correction

I just got up to drive to Newton, Kansas to get a new field connector for my B & C L-60 alternator and checked the site for the latest RV info before hitting the road. The test flight after the annual had the low voltage light come on after reaching around 2,000 ft. I was operating with only one wire and one pin in the connector. In this unit the two vertical pins are wired together internally and the other one is not used. The owner of the company told me Saturday via telephone that the current preferred method is to put pins in all three locations of the mating connector and wire the two vertical pins in parallel (and external jumper) to stabilize the connection. Well of course I damaged the connector extracting the old pin and I'm getting tired of this prolonged down time ... Anyway, I got the record info from a guys who is a stickler for details so I took it for fact - maybe it is still a national record or something like that. I am interested in the book but I will check amazon.com first to see if I can get it locally.

Bob Axsom
 
...and the movie is not in Alabama either!

Bob,
If it's any consolation, The World's Fastest Indian is not in Alabama either! Being an old motorcycle rider as well as an Anthony Hopkins fan, I am disappointed that I have to drive to the Nashville TN area (about 2 hours north) to see this film. I think it's all about money. ;) The movie theaters must have contracts with certain film studios for particular movies. My wife and I have noticed this several times over the years. Hmmm...I wonder if this means I'm getting old, and they are marketing to a younger crowd. :cool:
Sorta like those new Hardee's commmercials, which don't do a thing for me! :eek:
Don
 
H-m-m

It must be an "A" state thing - maybe its not in Arizona or Alaska either. Well next week if it is still at Tulsa we are going to do the deed - I will not be denied a good and true story in favor of some of the stuff they are showing in the local cinema. Enjoy your trip to Nashville, Smyrna is a good place to land there but lookout for the drain holes in the ramp area - they will goble up these little 5.00x5s and start on the fairings.

Bob Axsom
 
Last edited:
It's in Branson, MO

It just came up in the oft repeated Google search that it is now showing at Branson. As Jim Wright stated earlier that is a fun destination and easier drive from Fayetteville (voltage regulator is out of the RV right now) - going Wednesday.

Bob Axsom
 
Finally Saw It Today 3-22-06

We drove the 240 mile round trip to Branson today just to see the movie. I enjoyed it very much not as much because of the action as you might think. The human interactions, the basic goodness of people in hopeless situations, the tenacity, the acceptance of risk, bending of rules for the greater good, ... well these things just outweighed the ultimate record triumph in my little mind. A very enjoyable afternoon and it was unusual to see so many people in the theater for a Wednesday early show in the off season.

I would have liked to have flown the Blue Bird there and rented a car to go to the movie but it wasn't the time to be pushy.

Bob Axsom
 
At first I wasnt going to watch this movies, but I had nothing else to watch. I can now tell you it is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time !!
You can download this movie of the internet. PM me if you need details.
Gotta go, the rivet gun is getting cold.
;)
 
I saw "The Worlds fastest Indian" yesterday in Branson MO and it was one of the best movies I have seen in a while. My wife even commented on how good the movie was. I wasn't expecting her to like it because of the motorcycle theme. Her words were, hey, "a good movie is a good movie". Anthony Hoptkins was great. The movie is now showing up in Arkansas, Mountain Home and Bella Vista, AR.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.