Yes it was, and yes it is.... (cylinder head)
I'm back home on 3 hours sleep last night/this morning, when ever... I'm with a crew that really can talk, and talk, and tell a tale or two.
Missed recalling the entire plane ride back. Just vaguely remember the 6 hours of driving that I've done today. Sam needs a younger crew to keep up with him better.....? Spent last night eating a meal and listening to stories of British motorcycle drag racing with 3 of Sam's friends that we happened upon. Talked with another couple of his European friends there before we left. (Applebee's)
Saturday, I walked with Sam over to watch the top fuel bikes qualifying. Went through the manufacturer's midway to get there. Sure enough, Sam gets himself and I invited to the viewing perch on top of one of the display trailers for the Top Fuel passes. Best seat in the house!
In the staging lanes, waiting to race, Sam met at least 10 different people each time he went up there. Forum members, curious racers, Top Fuel champions, etc. etc. came to chat. I've never met so many people at any one event! As a racing ambassador for the SOHC4's, Sam has no equal! Lot's of very big names in the performance industry checking out examples of the bikes that got their businesses started.
For a bike with the challenges that we've faced, we've got a great staging lane reputation. Frank can especially appreciate this: At least 3 bikes that were initially parked near Sam's and Bill's bikes decided to relocate to the back of the pack.... I admit that I helped a little with the line - Our last pass yesterday was a 12.99 on our 12.98 dial. We're talking major names in the region deciding that it just wasn't worth the chance to have to race us in the early rounds. Bill and Sam have learned to recognize the politics going on around us before the serious racing starts....
I made a promise that we would continue to get better. This will happen. Serious plans have already been made. The bike will be quicker in March or when ever the next major event occurs that Sam can afford to attend. If the numbers sound like what we ran in March, you need to remember that we ended up racing every round with the bike having cooled off for at least 5 hours. A cold Hondamatic is almost always about a half a second slower in the quarter mile than it will be after being warmed up enough. Sam ran a 12.5 in the practice test and tune period on Friday. That was the only day that we could run more than once every 5+ hours.
The air quality was very good on Friday and early in the day for both Saturday and Sunday. We now have a air measuring gage that gives us a density altitude reading every pass we make. You can read elsewhere just what goes into that value. For the casual reader, just know that negative values (indicating below sea level air conditions) means that everybody goes very quickly down the track making a lot of horsepower. The bigger the positive value means that it's warmer and the air makes less power as that number gets bigger. Records were broken this weekend because the air was so good helping a well prepared track.
I've got to eat, sleep, and try to get back to my normal work life. Even after all this, I'm still a little wound up. Wonder why
Hondamatic
