Topic: race update and thanksgiving

[voxonda]

TG,once again Great job!,what's your plans for next year? Bwaller time for an update!,Bill

Bill,

plans? a good question. My category, 500cc /4 stroke is the most populated and challenging and I would like to develop my bike further.

On the other hand, at 6'4" I am really too big for a tiny 500-4, so am pretty tempted to step up to 750. There is a CB650 that i can have for cheap but I'd be starting from scratch. Been also offered a KZ750 and with all due respect to our sohc's, building a green, mini-eddie lawson replica is tempting too.
 
Have to decide real quick i guess, five months to build a competitive racer from the ground up is not that much. Most likely i'll be back on the 500, guess that's a better place to sharpen my riding skills.

TG

i'd love to see you develop a cb650 and see how many horses you could squeeze out of it, but the physical size is not very different than the 500. on the other hand, you'd be building upon everything you learned with the 500, as the engine design is almost identical... not that you'd likely have any problems building a fast cb750. do you know what lap time differences are like on those bikes where you race (i realize that's track-specific, but generally speaking)? at our local track (PIR) the lap record in open vintage was on a 500/4, beating cb750s, water buffalos, etc. honestly, i've never ridden a track-ready 750, but even a lightened and "agile" street version feels like a pig to me compared to the smaller fours.

On the right tider track, the 500 will be more than a match for the heavier 750, but on the 'powertracks' the 500 won't stand a chance. Seen it on Spa for the last few years. We have got some pretty fast 500's here, but they are really no match to a decent 750.

Rob

[Bill/BentON Racing]

TG,I recommend 500 another year,while you build a SOHC CB750,I have an extra frame,lots of parts,you pay shipping,I'll send you frame ,swingarm,f/end,brakes and wheels,engine,but I think you ought to build for year after,we need you to build racing TG 750 SOHC,I bet a lot of folks would offer up stuff,Calendar Girl will @ least make a practice day,but the 1000cc is going racing! ,Bill

[paulages]

we have only one real horsepower track in the season, Vallelunga and there, the lap times of the top guys in each class follow pretty much the horsepower levels.

The rest of our championship is run in smaller tracks and on these, there's not a whole lot of difference in lap times between a 500, 750, or even an open class bike,

Case in hand, a friend of mine runs about the same lap times on his 500-4 and his big bore 718 / 500 hybrid

For whatever the reason, nobody races here CB750's in either 750 or the open class,

750's are mostly Guzzis and Ducs here while in the open 1100cc class those are GS and KZ big bores doing the winning.

TG

is your friend's 718 a modified 650 or 550? the old clymer's 650 manual talks about 718cc performance parts, but i've never seen them anywhere.

[turboguzzi]

his 718 big bore is 500 based,

on the other hand, the guy that built it never really relies on anything off the shelf so the only ready go fast part in that bike might be the cam. not even sure about that.

interesting tale, while speaking with my tuner friend, he said: don't even think about the 650 frame for racing, wrong rake and wrong steering neck position!

TG

[paulages]

his 718 big bore is 500 based,

on the other hand, the guy that built it never really relies on anything off the shelf so the only ready go fast part in that bike might be the cam. not even sure about that.

interesting tale, while speaking with my tuner friend, he said: don't even think about the 650 frame for racing, wrong rake and wrong steering neck position!

TG

i'd agree with that, but the Z model is totally different than the C models. i'll have to double check, but i don't think the rake of the early 650 is all that different. the trail is different, but what do you care about that?... you'd be using whatever trees and forks you want, right? i didn't even consider that you'd go the full 650 route, just the engine. honestly, for whatever class you'd be opening yourself up to, i don't know what improvements you'd see over your 500. hell, you're only 5 HP or so behind my 718cc, but with a race-built bike intended for peak HP, i'm sure you could get in to the 70's. the 650 head is miles ahead to begin with... use 65.5mm pistons and you'd have a hell of a 750cc range race engine. use your 500 frame and you'd be in business.

[GoatBaSS]

I am inspired. Good Show!!!