One of the things that has really gotten people’s attention this season at NHRA national events has been the presence of nitro burning Harley-Davidson motorcycles. So far we have seen them at Pomona, Phoenix, and now at Las Vegas last weekend. They are amazing machines and the riders who have shown up to compete have all been top notch. There were 13 motorcycles in Las Vegas competing for 8 spot in a qualified field and one of them was a man named Mike Pelrine. Mike is no stranger to this game and he is one of the innovators in the class. His motorcycle is different from the rest as he has a ProCharger F1-A on the front of it, providing a little boost to the program where the other bikes run naturally aspirated.
This is not a video about a little ProCharger, though. This is a video about a last minute qualifying attempt and a guy with “courages” the size of Volkswagens. You will see Pelrine come off the starting line and the motorcycle take a tack towards the middle of the track. Cracking the throttle shut early would mean certain doom for his qualifying hopes so Mike did what these guys do. He hung his body half way off the other side of the thing to try and get it back. With the front wheel in the air there’s no steering them and as they often do, his bike had a bad attitude.
With a speed of nearly 200mph whisking him along, Pelrine was forced to blip the throttle which brought the nose down with the wheel turned slightly to the right. The result was a hair raising moment in time when it seemed Pelrine was going to crash for sure. He didn’t and in talking to him and his crew the next day, he actually cranked the throttle open again and the bike spun the tire though the lights.
Yes, Mike did qualify for the show and he went rounds as well.
Nitro Harleys make Fuel Altereds look like a decent idea and I can’t get enough of them.
Good Canadian boys, showing how it’s done!
Watched it in person. The nitro bikes are more entertaining than the fuel cars these days. Those guys have serious testiculars.
how does he ride that thing? easy. thats not a gas tank,
its a hollow container for his NADS….
seriously, that was a 3/4 track wheelie. nuttier than
squirrel poop.
These things are awesome to watch and the drivers are truly brave. Riders have been killed on those bikes just from engine explosions never mind the risk of crashing.
One hell of a save! And Brian no matter how you spin it he was not sideways. Made for good ‘color’ commentary though.