Well, here we are, season #2 is in the books for me and my AHRMA racer. I got back from Barber on Monday afternoon and am back to work, still digesting the weekend from a total event and race standpoint.
We got to the track on Wednesday evening and got base camp set up. I had my bro in the paddock with me this weekend on his CB450-based bike, riding in Sportsman 500 which was awesome. Aside from tire pressure checks, there was nothing else to do on bikes. Sure is nice to not be wrenching day and night to keep the old girls on the tarmac.
Thursday was our practice day so we got up and tech'd bikes and got ready to get on the track for the first time since last year. I tried to focus on everything I learned racing last year on this track and apply it. I was right behind the guy in my class on the Saturday race at Talladega in early September, and I had my GoPro running to catch his crash. Not knowing why he crashed (he didnt either) didnt sit well with me this weekend and I felt off my game in practice. I still ran 3 of the 4 sessions on Thursday and started moving my lap times in the right direction, ending in the 1:56 range, with the top guys in class running under 1:50. I knew I had my work cut out for me on race day.
Friday was a relax day and I took in the swap meet scene, which was underwhelming as it had been in years past. I think next year I will get back to the museum to enjoy the expanded display. It really is a must see facility and the vintage festival is the best way to do it.
I was able to get the bike on the dyno Friday evening as I had been planning on leading up to this weekend and given that it was cooling off just a bit by early evening and the bike felt good, I figured it was as good a time as any.
Video of the run:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPCI82c3n2wcgXNeB164bb06iDX2U7XLtGDZyuPGb5sL2tlfh9ZzTqH7Y5CbdjdSA/photo/AF1QipMFQ5Ro5UNm-Kny2XaqAEkrFMKLwnC3LokWbclm?key=bTU4aGtPLTdNRlZiVzJEeUo1NzdyNldJOW1jU1R3I had a number in mind on power (80) and I am pretty thrilled to say that I pulled 79.75hp!! Here is the graph:
They ran it right up to 10,000 for two pulls. I don't fully know what to make of the charts but that is where I ended up. Unless someone is lying, I have the most powerful sportsman 750 bike in the class right now, but at least 7hp or so.
Saturday, race day. We are race 15 so I have ALL day to try to beat the heat and stay cool and keep my energy up for go time. My brother was in race #4 so he went in the morning and given the bikes stock motor and his first time there, Im pretty thrilled to say he finished 12 of 14 Saturday and 7 of 10 on Sunday!!
Right after lunch we got the announcement that the race was going to be cut short from 8 to 6 laps for the rest of the day to make up time from cleaning up a few oil on track issues throughout the day. We were also gridded with the Battle of Twins gusy so knew that we would actually get only 5 laps to get it all done out there. I have GoPro I will try to get edited and loaded up on YouTube with a link in this post once I get time to look it over.
I didnt have a great start but was able to hold my ground for the entire race against guys in my class, pulling out a 6th of 11 riders. I had higher expectations and could see where I was slower than I should have been, but just couldn't convert that to added speed and lower lap times. I really thought I would get closer to 1:50 lap times during the race, but still managed right at 1:56 throughout the race as my fastest pace. I did have a great time battling with Chris (Kickstart) on his Honda 750 toward the end of the race. There was some passing back forth and for some reason Chris thought our race was over and coming out of the last turn to the checkers he slowed up a bit (still out in front) and I was right there, running the bike at full howl all the way to the line. In the end I got him by half a wheel, or about 0.018 seconds. It made for a great last lap and a lot of fun. He has GoPro video that hopefully he will upload as well.
I tried to shake off thoughts of get-offs and the rest and prepared for Sunday. I got plenty of sleep on Saturday night and woke up Sunday frosty and ready to go, feeling much better than Saturday.
I was able to stay cool all day and the races went off much better than Saturday, with far less red flag action on track, ensuring that we would get our full 8 (7 because of the big boys) laps on track to have some fun.
My start was far better this time around and I was able to pull into 3-4th spot I believe going through turn one. I felt much better and tried to keep the fast guys in sight as I rounded the track. Charlotte's Web is a mean corner as the straight leading up to it is a blind hill climb that you need to hit the right rumble strip and drift to the other side of the track as full out as possible before coming back to the right and braking into the corner. Its a damn fun corner but was the scene of many off track excursions, including for my Uncle Jeff (current #1 in the class) as he followed his son Nick (wrapped up the 2018 champ in the class this weekend) too deep into the corner and got off in the grass, but kept upright. I was able to pass him as he was getting back on track and for the time was up to 3rd place (need to review the video to be sure). I tried my best to hang with the guys up front, but they kept pulling away at each corner. Given my slower corner speed and shorter straights here, my power wasnt able to make up my lack of corner speed.
Lap 2 still felt pretty good and I didnt see anyone from my class out there and then comes Charlotte's Web. Well I climb the hill in anger, flow from one side to the other, nearly touching the right rumble strip, then near disaster struck. As I crested the hill under full power, the front end lightened (not sure if I lifted the front or not) and I went into full tank slapper mode, beating the triple clamp against both steering stops repeatedly. I tried to stay on throttle as much as possible as I drifted toward the grass on the left side of the track. Just before I go off tarmac, the bike settles and I regain control, in just enough time to drift into the grass. I was able to drift back onto the track and look over my shoulder to make sure I wasnt going to get a$$-packed and started to apply the brakes. But wait, I didn't have and brakes!! During the violent shaking, the pistons must have retracted enough to require 3 pumps before I got full brake power. I was able to lay into the rear brakes a bit as well and get slowed down just enough to complete the turn and stay on the track. While it rattle me quite a bit, I found myself in a battle with a fast Triumph triple in my class and tried to dial it back up and put the pressure on. After a few turns, realizing I may have been pushing my luck, I settled into a safe pace and played out the rest of the race by myself, again finishing 6th. Toward the end of each day I was having a lot of what seem to be clutch issues in that I was missing downshifts and later up shifts. Toward the end on Sunday, I was having to try to shift into top gear 2-3 times before it would catch. It only did it when really hot as a scrub lap earlier on Sunday didnt reveal any issues after a fresh clutch adjustment per the manual (done on a cold bike).
With 2018 in the books, I am already thinking ahead to making 2019 even better with at least one more race on the schedule. I lost my focus on improving my body between June and now and have really decided to take a hard look on what I need to do to get ready. While my goal is to lost 50lbs, putting me at an even 200, I need to get there by both strength and cardio training. My body responds well to cardio and that is how I got where I am, but I realized after this weekend that stamina is a concern for me. I can go full tilt for a few laps, but usually by half way I am starting to struggle to hit apexes and stay limber on the bike. My wife is a huge fan of HIIT workouts and I think that explosive type of exercise will really help. Half hour classes running full tilt would be perfect for a guy racing full out 15-25min at a time.
As to the bike, I plan on upgrading the caliper, either to an AP or Spondon unit. My brake lever always felt squishier than other guys in the class, whom mostly run the AP brakes. I also plan on addressing the tank as I find it hard to get my body around the square edges of the back of the tank. Ergos can certainly be improved there.
I will finish using up the current tires (Avon soft) and give the new Conti RoadAttack 3CR a try once they get stateside.
The clutch needs to be addressed as well and I am seriously considering Kenny's 4 plate system, combined with friction that will withstand synthetic oil. I need to have a real solution to my clutch issues before next season begins.
The last big thing is an ignition upgrade. I like the idea of the rev limiter built in and being able to choose different ignition curves. I think it will make the bike deliver power more smoothly and keep me from putting valves and pistons together in the event of a missed shift.