XPLOR Rider: “Andysills“
XPLOR Rider Since: October 13, 2006
Name: Andy Sills
State: California
Age: 58
Occupation: Developer
Years Riding: 12
Years Racing: 7
Class of Racing: FIM and AMA Land Speed Licensed

XPLOR: Hello Andy, it’s great to be talking with you. We’re all excited about your Bonneville run in September, but let’s start from the beginning, how did you get into riding?

Andysills: When I was in high school I did some dirt bike riding and one of my friends had a Honda 305 (with those skinny dual pipes running up one side) which I would trade for my dad’s car on occasion to take a girl out on a date. Otherwise, I really didn’t ride motorcycles until I was in my mid forties and had a chance encounter with a Harley Heritage Softail that I rented for a day on Maui. I bought a black, mildly pimped-out Softail as soon as I got back from Hawaii and the rest is history. I rode the Harley for 6 months until I hooked up with an old friend on a Heliski trip up in British Columbia. He turned me on to the virtues of a V-twin, Italian style, and I bought a Ducati 900SP. With my Duck I proceeded to rack up 40,000 miles in less than a year ripping up and down California. Being a serious student of what ever I do, I soon identified going fast and riding all day long (day after day) as the essential elements of my new found religion. It was only a matter of time before I discovered the (just introduced) K 1200 RS and the rich world of BMW motorcycling. This was a motorcycle designed for serious riders seeking speed, safety, and the ultimate in long range carving tools. That’s me. I bought one of the first K 1200 RS to arrive on the West Coast and proceeded to eat up the miles like candy traveling the United States, first with a couple of brother BMW riders who taught me the ropes of long distance riding, and then, ultimately… on my own… on the K12… on a mission… one lucky guy.

So, as I answer people when they ask me “how many years have you been riding”... its not about how many years you have been riding, its about how many miles one has ridden. Some riders have been riding for 20 years and ride 4000+ miles a year (weekends and trips) which adds up to a career of 80,000 miles. By most standards I am a rather intense person, and I am no longer working a regular job. In the last 10 years I have ridden in excess of 400,000 miles. Not on par with an Iron Butt-er but a lot of real-time experience none the less. I put 120,000 miles on that first K12, and I’ve put another 150,000 miles on two succeeding K12’s. The rest of the miles I have spread around on an R 1100 S, an R 1100 R and a Softtail Duce which I use mostly for local short hauls “donkying” up and down the hills of my home town, San Francisco.

XPLOR: Lets talk about your racing history. How did it begin?

Andysills: Once I found my way to the K 1200 it was only a matter of time before my passion for speed took me to a racing venue. Of course, like a lot of riders, I took a number of rider courses to seriously improve my skills enjoying my fair share of track days. But track racing didn’t really appeal to me (I had a 600cc track bike) because it took time away from my passion which was to be riding day after day, mile upon mile, no waiting, no rules, no compromises, nobody in front of me, and no way but the highway as my guide. So, after I made a few laps around the United States and Canada on the K12, I started to focus my interest in the high deserts of the West. Ultimately, I refined my riding criteria to a short list which included: maximum sustained speeds in a safe and suitable environment free of other oncoming vehicles, minimal speed enforcement, good consistent surface conditions, minimal threat of surprise animal intrusions, minimal roadside vegetation, long sight lines, long straightaways and big sweepers. That works out to a network of very well maintained but rarely used secondary roads which can be found in the high deserts of Nevada, Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. That’s where I can use my K12 as it was actually designed to be ridden. This kind of riding makes the Autobahn look like trying to find parking in the lot at Disney World.

But back to the racing question…

I read an article in the moto press about a land speed record that a team from San Jose BMW had achieved on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the 1000cc pushrod/gas partially-streamlined class at 156 mph. Hmm… land speed racing seemed to fit my profile. That got me thinking… I contacted Chris (the owner) of SJ BMW. Mixing ample portions of chutzpah, serendipity, and cosmic luck I found myself piloting his BMW Boxer a.k.a. “The Wrecking Ball” four months later at Bonneville when his regular rider couldn’t make the event. That was seven years ago. From that first ride on The Salt I knew that my mission was to parlay one ride into another until I had the credentials to approach BMW with a land speed racing project on the K12 platform. As a result of riding the Wrecking Ball over the course of a few years at Bonneville, I met Jack Costella, the holder of 35 world records. Jack is a visionary, pioneer, and land speed racer extraordinaire (a peer of Burt Monroe) who was recently honored at The Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. Jack had a radical design idea for a 100cc motorcycle streamliner that he wanted to build. With me as his pilot, Jack proceeded to build a streamliner motorcycle (known as Nebulous Theorem IV or “5050”) from the ground up, in his garage. I am not particularly mechanical, and Jack wasn’t small enough to fit into this unique design. We were “a pair to play to” as they say. We complimented each other nicely and spent three years developing, refining, and racing this sixteen foot long, twenty-two inch high, lay-down (on my stomach) streamliner. After only a three-year campaign we finally broke one of the longest-standing Don Vesco records at Bonneville by going 141mph with an 80cc motor and a lot of heart.

XPLOR: How the Wrecking Ball and Nebulous Theorum IV projects paved the way for a run on the K 1200 S?

Andysills: In 2005 BMW introduced the all new K 1200 S incorporating state of the art design and Formula One technology. As soon as I rode the new bike I knew this was my platform to challenge the ultimate motorcycle land speed record. So, in conjunction with Heli Kornton of Max Moto and Remus US, I approached BMW with the idea of building a land speed racing program. At the 2005 BUB Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials I had the opportunity to pilot a production K 1200 S to a first time FIM record for its class. Not a bad way to start.

From those first steps seven years ago it has always been my dream to pilot the world’s fastest motorcycle, period! There is not a more capable and exciting real world motorcycle than BMW’s flagship K 1200 S. It is my goal to campaign this incredible machine to its rightful place in history. At the upcoming BUB Speed Trials of 2007, which will also be a BMW XPLOR event, it will be my honor to debut a highly modified K 1200 S dedicated to the campaign to set a new FIM land speed record in the unlimited 1200-1300cc class…there are no faster (non-streamliner) motorcycles on the planet.

XPLOR: Tell us about your Bonneville experience?

Andysills: Land speed racing is not what it appears to be. A rider, a machine, and 11 miles of flat salt is a good place to start but to finish in the record books one must overcome many dynamic forces of physics which act as barriers to ultimate speed. Power, aerodynamics, traction and the naturally changing conditions of the salt make this less of a race and more of a complex problem to be solve. He (or she) who holds the world record has not so much beaten the competition but rather found a better way. The way to a world record is rarely linear. Patience is a greater virtue than science. The ability to consider and adjust is as important as whatever you think you know. There are always many ways to a record but the journey for the outcome is rarely what is expected. Land speed racing is not so much about going faster, its about taking the time to get there… then the records come.

XPLOR: What initially attracted you to BMW?

Andysills: All of the above, plus the fact that BMW motorcycles are built to the highest standard of design and real world usability. Today’s BMW motorcycles are on the cutting edge of smart technology which leverages rider skills and ambitions. BMW motorcycles get the job done like none other. They are the tools for people who are passionate about riding and for each different type of riding BMW offers unique solutions that make them the best tools for the job at hand.

XPLOR: How often do you visit BMWXPLOR.com?

Andysills: Not nearly often enough! I spend absolutely as much time on my K12S as I can (you would if you could). I ride almost every day. I am not near a computer as often as most people. I anxiously await the mobile-friendly version of Xplor that I can access from my cell phone. Then I will be able to take advantage of all the potential that XPLOR offers me and the greater community of committed BMW riders.

XPLOR: Andy, this has been quite enlightening. Thank you for talking with XPLOR and best of luck with your FIM land speed run on the modified K 1200 S this September at Bonneville. I’m sure there’ll be many BMW fans out there rooting for you.