Aprilia RSV Factory
Team Punisher reports that its AF1 Racing sponsored/ Aprilia RSV Factory v-twin has now joined the prestigious 200mph club at The Texas Mile.
The 200.8-mph record run sets a new high mark in standing mile race competition for two-cylinder motorcycles of any displacement, at any venue.
The record-breaking top speed was achieved at the semi-annual Texas Mile speed event held at the Chase Field Industrial and Airport Complex in Beeville, Texas, approximately 100 miles southeast of San Antonio.
Known simply as "The Punisher," the 1060cc Aprilia-Rotax v-twin engine demonstrated its legendary performance and reliability in the dyno room and on the track. Built by Team Punisher of Southern California, and tuned by AF1 Racing of New Braunfels, TX on their Factory Pro eddy current dyno, the 60 degree DOHC v-twin engine produced well over 250 true rear wheel horsepower used to propel the sleek Italian rocket down the course.
Credit the Rotrex centrifugal supercharger and Nitrous Express progressively controlled nitrous oxide system for impressive yet tractable power.
The physics of land speed racing demand not only power but also extra attention to friction reduction and aerodynamics. Microblue Racing (microblueracing.com) of Denver, North Carolina micropolished and then applied their patented coating process to select internal engine components plus wheel bearings for maximum friction reduction.
This processing alone accounted for a substantial amount of the 8mph improvement in speed achieved since the previous March, 2011 effort at the Texas Mile event in Goliad, Texas.
Aerodynamic improvements were designed in consultation with turbulent flow specialist Professor Laurence Armi of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and then transformed into reality through the expert craftsmanship of Scripps Development Engineer and teammate David Malmberg.
David’s creative application of home improvement building materials (shower enclosure paneling from Home Depot) provided the performance edge needed to break the 200
mph barrier.
Marc Rittner (Team Punisher Principal/Builder) says: "This exceptional result is the outcome of a 3 year development effort between Team Punisher (Rittner, San Dimas, Calif.; David Malmberg, Leucadia, Calif.; Micah Shoemaker / AF1 Racing. New Braunfels, Texas), and a long list of trusted suppliers. Everything about this race bike was custom built by necessity, and the contribution of every component was critical. The difference between success (200.8 mph) and failure (199.9 mph) was only 0.45 percent."
"We set this record under very challenging conditions. Dealing with high cross-wind conditions, chassis setup, power adders, and advanced electronics put tremendous pressure on the team to make the final run count. I am very proud of the way our Team performed, and what we have accomplished."
Special thanks to:
- Daryl Collins of C&B Tool, in La Habra, Calif.
- Craig LeClaire – Microblue Racing (microblueracing.com)
- Tony Finley of Interface PNP custom Megasquirt ECUs (interfacepnp.webs.com)
- Kent Riches – Airtech Streamlining (airtech-streamlining.com)
- AF1 Racing – parts, tuning services, logistics – Micah Shoemaker/Ed Cook (af1racing.com)
- Interface PNP – custom Megasquirt engine management – Tony Finley (interfacepnp.webs.com)
- Microblue Racing – friction management – Craig LeClaire (microblueracing.com)
- AirTech Streamlining – aerodynamic management – Kent Riches and Dutch (airtech-streamlining.com)
- Smaltmoto Exhaust – custom stainless exhaust system – Konstantin Von Badewitz (smaltmoto.com)
- Professor Larry Armi PhD, Scripps faculty, turbulent flow consulting
- Lozano Brothers Porting – engine design and nitrous tuning – Mike Lozano (lozanobrothersporting.com)
- Peak Performance – tuning services – Danny Dinardo (peakperformancemotorcycle.com)
- Spoon Valley Racing – supercharger mounting kit – Joakim Augustsson (spoonvalleyracing.com)
- Pro-1 Racing Heads – Charlie Lawlor (pro1racingheads.com)
- Mountain Performance – Rotrex superchargers/management – Matt Webster (mountainperformance.com)
- McIntosh Machine and Fabrication – custom swingarms – Terry McIntosh (mcintoshswingarms.com)
- C & B Tools – Solidworks design, custom machining and tooling, fabrication, welding – Daryl Collins
- Maggard Machine – custom machining – Tom Maggard
- The Knurl Machine – custom machining, fabrication, welding
- Mark’s Machine – custom exhaust fabrication – Mark McDade
- Ray-bon Welding – certified aircraft welding Montclair – Ray and Bonnie (ray-bon.com)
- Nitrous Express – nitrous oxide system components – Mike Wood (nitrousexpress.com)
- Murdoch Racing Enterprises – custom lockup clutch – Jay Regan (murdochracing.com)
- Earl’s Supply #1 Lawndale – custom hoses and AN fittings – Tom (an-plumbing.com)
- Web Camshafts – custom billet camshafts – Melissa (webcamshafts.com)
- Carrillo Industries – Carrillo Rods and CP Pistons – Richard (cp-carrillo.com)
- Aprilia Racing USA – parts and services – Amauri Nunes
- Falicon Crankshafts – custom crank modifications and balancing – Rafael (faliconcranks.com)
- Ferrea Valves – custom stainless steel and superalloy valves – Scott (ferrea.com)
- R/D Spring – custom valve springs and titanium retainers – Zach (rdvalvespring.com)
- Cometic Gaskets – custom head gaskets (cometic.com)
- Ace Performance – ceramic bearings – Sal Spatafora (aceperformance.com)
- Woodcraft CFM – custom rearset controls, clipons (woodcraft-cfm.com)
- Devil’s Own – water/methanol injection components – Devil Doc (alcohol-injection.com)
- GP Suspension – custom modified suspension components – Dave Hodges (gpsuspension.com)
- Brake Tech – Ferodo Brake Pads – Jeff Gehrs (braketech.com)
- Hypercycle – high performance motorcycle engines – Cary Andrew (hypercycle.com)
- Vulcan Engineering – mechanical seals – Spencer Reynolds (vulcangroup.com)
- SRCO – custom machine work and processing – Bill Skinner
- Xtreme Performance Coatings – ceramic exhaust coatings – Alan (xtremeperformanceheatcoatings.com)
- Drippinwet custom race graphics – Chris Kruzel (drippinwet.com)
