The 2010 Bonneville Vintage GP Honda CB160 Raffle Bike in the early stages of preparation at Vicious Cycle in Portland, Oregon.
Tom Kullen, the moving force behind the annual Bonneville Vintage GP at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, has announced the return of the CB160 Raffle Bike for the 2010 Bonneville Vintage GP. Presented by Motorcycle Classics, the Bonneville Vintage GP is heading into its fifth year, bringing with it the return of the popular CB160 Raffle, which took a hiatus last year thanks to the global economic slump.
Thanks to the incredible popularity of the Battle of the CB160s LeMans Start held Saturday and Sunday during the Bonneville GP, and building interest in the CB160 race series, Kullen was able to bring the CB160 Raffle Bike back. Bikes were built and raffled off during the 2007 and 2008 event. Vicious Cycle in Portland, Ore., built both those machines, and they’re building this year’s bike, as well. Deeply immersed in the CB160 race scene, Joe Pethoud and his crew at Vicious Cycle know how to make one of these little twins move around a track with remarkable speed and grace. 14hp and 80mph from 161cc is nothing to sneeze at, and the way CB160 riders blitz through the corners barely letting off the throttle makes for some incredible racing. It’s great stuff, and bikes from Vicious are regularly at the head of the pack in CB160 racing.
The engine for this year’s raffle bike spread out on the workbench at Vicious. Once it’s done, this little bike will have been gone through from top to bottom and front to back.
Four-time World Champion Doug Polen took one of the little racers for a ride for last year’s LeMans start, predictably coming in first after buzzing his way to the head of the pack. Hey, you don’t get to be World Champion by being slow, but even if his bike was a slightly larger and more powerful CB175 he still had to work for his victory, with CB160 series regular Mick Hart hanging onto Polen’s tail every inch of the way.
Great vintage racing awaits, and it all takes place Sept. 3-5, 2010. We’ll be there as we have been since the beginning, hosting the annual Motorcycle Classics Bonneville Vintage GP Motorcycle Show on Saturday and otherwise enjoying what’s always an incredible weekend of great vintage motorcycle racing at one of the premier racing venues in the country, Miller Motorsports Park. Go here to learn more about the raffle bike, and go here to sign up for the Motorcycle Classics Bonneville Vintage GP Motorcycle Show.— Richard Backus