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State of the Elves, posted February 06, 2002
Things are GREAT in the world of The Elves!
HISTORY:
A couple years ago, a group of folks from the Badweather Bikers internet
site (www.badweatherbikers.com) allowed their common passion for Buell
motorcycles to overcome their common sense. Member Aaron Wilson had purchased
1987 Buell RR-1000 and was not content to simply “own” one of
the most aerodynamic and interesting motorcycles ever produced.
One thing led to another and in the blink of an eye TEAM ELVES was formed
to, using the RR-1000, as the weapon of choice, to launch an assault on
a couple Land Speed Records. The rest, as they say, is history and well
documented on this site. Suffice to say, that in a game played in 0.000
of a second, the “target” record was captured by a margin in
excess of 40MPH. Point made. TEAM ELVES had set goals and far exceeded
virtually every one. It was time to retire Buell RR-1000 #50.
PRESENT:
Now. . what to do next. The goals were achieved, the records broken and
the deal was done. Returning in 2001 was simple, we needed that to put
our records where we thought they needed to be. 2002 presented the dilemma.
In the beginning, the plan included a “sunset” provision to
wind down the teams activities in an orderly fashion. Racing seldom “makes”
money, but the “what if we have money left over” question was
addressed by deciding any such funds would be donated to a suitable charity.
Two things happened, both good, as we pondered over 2002. First, no one
anticipated the generosity of the group and we ended up in the black.
But, the big thing we failed to predict was the strong bonds of friendship
that developed as TEAM ELVES grew to include members from around the globe.
For 2002, after a lot of soul searching, we decided to forego the meager
charitable donation in favor of continuing to foster Buell friendships.
THIS YEAR:
For 2002 TEAM ELVES will be alive, well and a major presence on the Bonneville
Salt Flats. In the past our goals have been racing, they still are. But,
for 2002 our TEAM ELVES GOAL is to put the name BUELL and TEAM ELVES in
the record books as many times as possible. To accomplish this we’re
utilizing a 2-prong mode of attack:
130/150 Club:
Last year, we found that our 130/150 Club support was popular; this year
will be a refinement of that concept. For 2002 TEAM ELVES will serve in
a support role for any Buell owner wanting to join the ranks of the speedy.
My hope is that we can land no less than 30 Buell owners in the 130 and
150 clubs at Bonneville.
Record Book Racers:
In an effort to get the greatest participation from racers going after
record book records, here’s the gig:
- Team Elves, through our fund raising efforts will not be able to fully
fund all the Buells. Team Elves WILL pay the Entry ($300) and Class Change
($100 per change) fees for bonafide Team Elves Racers
- Team Elves will be working (we already have a couple NEAT deals) on
arranging sponsorships and parts/service discounts from suppliers to bonafide
Team Elves Land Speed Racers.
- Team Elves will provide logistical support to all bonafide Team Elves
Land Speed Racers. This will include Everything from entry forms to tools
& spares, help with taking bikes to the line and retrieving them,
possibly compressed air & electricity when needed. Look for that list
to expand greatly.
- Team Elves will have some sort of arrangements to handle photography
and getting the news of your new found fame to your local media.
- You’ll get your smiling face on the FAMOUS Team Elves Website
- There’ll be tuning and set-up advice from the folks who KNOW “the
salt”. Look for a possible FAQ and “ask a tuner” section
on the www.teamelves.com site. (for now take a look at the list
of records a Buell could go after. ed.)
Now…what in the dickens, I can hear you yell, is a “Bonafide”
Team Elves Racer? All we ask in return is we will ask all of our racers
to use the moniker "Team Elves" as their entry name, list certain
sponsors on the entry forms & information forms that the radio announcer
reads, and put certain decals on their bikes to help the sponsors get
recognition. We'll also want you to pose for group photos at a prearranged
time.
To date, just a bit of asking around has yielded 4 serious “record
attempts”. One bike will be shipped from Europe to take a crack at
“the salt”. Our hopes are that anyone who owns a Buell who has
ever dreamt of “The Bonneville Salt Flats” will, with our “Elf-astructure”
in place, bring their Buell to Bonneville and take a stab at joining the
ranks of the 130 or 150 Clubs.
It’s going to be a GREAT year and we’re hoping you’ll
join us.
Court
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