With no prior experience on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, Team J’Witz and rider Jody Perewitz stunned enthusiasts and teams from around the globe at this year’s prestigious BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials in Utah. On Tuesday August 31, 2011 Jody & Team J’Witz set a land speed record of 188.911mph. Previously, at the Loring Timing Association event in Maine, Jody made another world record pass at 164mph. Changes to the motorcycle were made before they set out to Bonneville which included mounting a partial streamline body.
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This was only one of two goals set out by Team J’Witz. They wanted to set a land speed record as well as go over 200mph. Land speed records are not separated by male and female. Motorcycles are built for certain classes regardless of the gender of the rider. Wednesday September 1, Jody took her bike to the next goal. She made a pass at 203.111 mph! This speed made Jody the first woman in history to go over 200 on an American V-Twin!
The course at Bonneville is 5.5 miles in length. Riders have 2.5 miles to get up to speed, then the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) clocks your speed for a mile and you have 1.5 miles to slow down. On Jody’s 200 run she entered the mile going 199 mph and exited the mile at 205 mph. The 203.111 mph is the average speed in the mile. Jody and her machine were going 200+ mph for over a mile!
The ground up custom built by Team J’Witz is constructed around a Daytec chassis using Performance Machine wheels & brakes. The American V-Twin is a 100ci Jim’s Twin Cam assembled at R&R Cycle using a set of their custom machined heads and fine tuned by Dan Thayer. Other components that make up this record breaking motorcycle is a ProCharger, Daytona Twin Tec ignition system, Baker 5-speed transmission and a kick ass Perewitz/PPG paint job.
Team J’Witz will be racing at one more event this year in Maine on September 17 & 18.
Be sure to follow Jody and her Team J’Witz on Facebook, www.facebook.com/teamjwitz
by Terry Roorda
