33 And Counting

Thats right racing and motorcycle fans!! 33 days, 19 hours until we leave for Wendover Nevada for this years BUB Speed Trials. We are very excited and stressed obviously as it is coming up fast and we have some major building left to get the bike race-ready.

Some cool news though as far as the technical side goes. We are using a new computer for the bike and the company backing it is proving to make things far easier on us this year. We will be rolling them and our other partners out in the next few weeks as we gear up for the trip.

Another technical aspect to mention is the fact that this year we know we are in a position to benchmark a new record in class and the challenges we had last year of a half-finished bike are behind us. Many aspects where tested last year and we are ready to get down to business and finish out with return runs.

Stay tuned here for news and information how you can help us out and be a part of the history of this project.

~K

Gear Up | Calgary Salt Flats Racer

Well it's only February and Derek is already getting geared up for this years BUB Speed Trials at the Bonneville Slat Flats. There is a lot of changes for the bike as last season we learned a lot. Time to establish some records and really make some noise with Raquel. Ask Derek how you can be a part of this years records and please continue to support the great things that are happening at Trillion Industries.

K~

World Of Wheels | Calgary Customs

Two things!! First of all make sure you get down to the World Of Wheels in Calgary this weekend where Derek will be showing off the LSR Triumph with some new parts and ideas. Derek will be at the Calgary Bonneville Racing group section with all the other Salt fanatics.

And second, I finally had a chance to put together some of the footage I shot last summer at our 2012 record attempt. Some real gems in here, you can see some of the pain we went through yet all the time the guys had good attitudes. And Derek is himself...enjoy

K~

December Update | Calgary Customs and Fab

Well it's been a very busy and interesting year for us at Trillion Industries . Like anything else in this productive province we have grown in what we do. The Salt Flats trip was an experience, we have learned much from the Project "Raquel" bike, and we have met lots of great people and developed many awesome relationships. It's been a great year to say the least. Derek and the crew would like to thank everyone for their involvement with our projects, our awesome clients for continued support of what we do, and our partners for keeping the standards high. Along with the thank you we want you to know what we are up to for the next few months...

~Kurtis~

"There are currently four motorcycle frame-off customization jobs on the go due for this spring which includes:

- A ground-up modern modified bevel head Ducati 350 single.

- A ‘71 Honda CB500 Cafe with single side swingarm sporting a spoked rim 240 tire with sport bike suspension.

- A Yamaha XS650 Cafe conversion

- A pre-war Triumph 350 twin resto with an original Norton Girder fork swap.

And for spring start-up projects:

- 1958 BSA 650 Plunger frame custom one-off

- 1952 Triumph 650 Pre-Unit custom

- The re-do and upgrading of Raquel- New front suspension, transmission, riding position, more dyno tuning and pushing the limits of the turbo system. This year we see the addition of nitrous oxide!

All some other non-bike related projects:

- New Prover trailer unit- designed for calibrating liquid pumping stations and trucks that’s certified by Measurements Canada

- Lighted LED towers- designed by Trillion for the industrial/construction development sites

Plus all the day-in and day-out business of repair, modification tokeep everyone rolling smoothly.

2013 will bring new ideas to develop for Trillion, if we all live past Dec 21 that is! :) "

~Derek Pauletto~

Right From The Salt

Derek and "Raquel" have been invited by the CVMG and will be down at the Millarville Race Track for the 10th Annual Vintage Motorcycle Swap Meet this Sunday (Sept 9, 2012). Make sure you get down there and see the Land Speed Record Triumph that Team Trillion took down to the Salt this year.

We haven't even washed her yet....

The Story Starts Here

The crew arrived back in Calgary this morning obviously very exhausted but extremely happy. We managed to do something that most people just dream about even with the constant challenges and set-backs we had in the last 6 days.

Trillion Racing Team members Chris Taggert, Derek Pauletto, Kurtis Kristianson, Chris Hart.

It's a long story but I managed to shoot a lots of footage that will eventually be made into a mini-doc that should be out around Christmas. Also a lot of still images that will end up here as we update the blog now that we are back.

Stories are always better when there is some kind of drama but I have to say we did not plan the crazy events that unfolded during the last few days in town and while we were on the salt. Constant break-downs, loss of oil pressure, breaking parts, major modifications without tools... ...we did it all. Derek was extremely cool through the whole process and our crew as a whole worked their ass off to think outside of the box and use their experience to make things work. 

Derek Pauletto in the timed mile on the mountain course.

There is no way things are going to run smoothly when you are dyno tuning your build and engine only hours before you leave town. Not too mention the fact that the bike was only 95% complete before we left. No slacking here, just constant hold-ups on parts and building that were out of our hands during the weeks prior. When the bike ran it had wings. After only a few runs the bike had a signature sound that was unmistakable around the pits and Derek quickly dusted off his racing skills from the past, getting to 107.094 MPH (unofficial). 

Unfortunately in the last hours at Bonneville the electrical problems became too much and the bike could not get out for the final return run. The Impound crew was extremely gracious and supportive as we tried desperately to make our return before the 4 mile closed. In the end, all the little nagging problems caught up with us and we had to step back. Derek and the bike would not make the final return run.

Derek takes a break on the hot salt flats between test runs.

Regardless of the way our story ended, we couldn't be happier about what we managed to achieve in our first year. We learned a lot and actually believe we have such a powerful and well engineered bike that we WILL be breaking records next year. With more time and testing we will return with something solid and have more focus on the racing then on the repairs. Stay tuned to the blog, check out our new facebook page ( Trillion Industries ), and continue to follow the story. Give Derek a shout, email, or tweet and let him know your supporting the adventure. 

Cheers!  K~

Uphill All The Way

Well we've been down here for three days now and it seems that as soon as something works, we run into another issue. These are the kind of things that happen when you drive 1500 km to an international event when you have only 90 % of a bike. Not that the team or those involved have been slacking but when you take on a project of this scope with so little time, you need to work hard to overcome all challenges that come your way.

 Derek pulls away from the support truck at  104.63MPH

Today we showed up at the boat-launch early to get in to a line up to get on the track and couldn't even get out to the pits as we were told that operations were postponed for the day. No racing. Just a massive lake with only a few inches of water would kill a day on the salt. After a few minutes of discussion we decided we had too much to do and just drove out to the pit area. Once out there we just got to work, the place was a ghost town but there was too much to do.

Derek taking a break between test rides while Chris Hart checks values on the program map.

By 5 pm we had fixed a torn clutch cable, managed a bad shifting issue, and tried to work through a partially tuned program map. And still after 5 runs down the back line we managed to hit 104.63 MPH so all the hard work and problem solving have been paying off. We are tired, burnt and happy that we are doing the impossible.

The crew at the start line for a tour with Betty

More pictures and updates will be coming in the next few days but for now it's all about capturing what we came for. Not only a bit of adventure but a chance to finish what we all agreed to be a part of; benchmarking a record in an open class with a bike that defies traditional standards.

Derek relaxing on Salt now flooded by an afternoon thunder shower.