THE NORTON factory have been at Bonneville all week speed testing their NRV588 Rotary engined racer.
The team clocked a top speed of 173mph on the salt flats but reckoned there is more to come because the bike was puling 800rpm off its redline.
Hoping to gain an extra 15 mph by making up the difference of 800 rpm before redline, the Norton team opted to change out the front tire, a full-wet, to a cut slick. The swap should in theory create less rolling resistance on the front-wheel, and thus hopefully gain the team a few more miles per hour. And this is where the salt flats can be a cruel mistress.
Add that to the fact that the salt flats sap 10% of the speed you'd get on tarmac and the Norton team are quietly confident they've built a 200mph+ road-racing bike.
