After a few top gear blasts I decided to drop it back a few gears and see what it felt like in the lower gears. After slowing and dropping it into 2nd gear, I pegged the throttle and watched the tach to make sure I didn't miss my shift point. As the tach neared 9000 rpm, I noticed the needle bouncing around as if the clutch was slipping, but after looking in the mirrors I figured out what was really happening. The white smoke and blackie on the road signified that although the clutch was locked up solid, the Avon tire was struggling to manage the 200 horsepower that was being fed to it. Even at highway speeds, the boosted B-King could spin the rear tire at will under heavy throttle and boost.
The heart of the Velocity...
The heart of the Velocity B-King turbo is a Garrett GT-25 oil-cooled turbocharger. With a conservative six psi maximum boost setup on the kit, the GT-25 has more than enough volumetric capacity while allowing fairly quick spooling, and its small size permits easier packaging.
Anything beyond third gear and traction was less of a worry and getting out of the wind was the only concern. This was absolutely the best aftermarket turbo bike I have ever ridden in terms of its streetbike manners. I tried to make it misbehave or find a fault but there simply weren't any to be found. I still can't believe that it only had four miles of setup/break-in and was sorted out this well.
The Garrett GT-25 turbo is perfectly suited to this package; it spools fast and is still large enough to deliver impressive horsepower. For this stage one kit, Velocity relies on the stock injectors and feeds them with a rising rate fuel regulator (FMU) to keep the air fuel ratio set.
The net weight of the bike is about the same after installing the kit. Though the turbo and related plumbing weigh about 43 pounds, the removal of the factory exhaust, cat and inline exhaust valve brings you back to a net gain of zero. Plus the mass of the turbo system is below the centerline of the bike so the only thing you will notice is the added power, as opposed to any weight gain.
With the larger 250 rear tire, longer swingarm, and lowered suspension I was worried about the Velocity B-King not really being suited for true street riding, but those fears also faded as I racked up more miles. While it is intended to be a hard charging boulevard pounding hooligan bike, it can still be ridden every day. I spent a fair amount of time on some curvy Kentucky back roads and even in that environment it performed decently. If you keep in mind what the bike was built to be, it delivers exactly what it promises.
We asked Henson about the reliability of this setup and he assured us that with the low boost, tens of thousands of miles with little more than normal oil changes would be the norm. One thing for certain is that this B-King is a true Kentucky thoroughbred and after spending some time in the seat it is no wonder that the Velocity Racing shop has dominated the racing scene as long as they have.