| Author | Message | ||
     Needforspeed2 |
Took the new XB9S to Texas World Speedway on Sunday for a track day. What a blast !! On the first session, the bike seemed really unstable, bouncing over bumps, not running true through the turn and pulling wide on the exits. Then I went over and had the suspension set up properly and wow !! Then front end was set up too stiff and the back end was too soft. When it was set up properly it was like it was on rails !! I've never ridden a bike this confidence inspiring !! It's a little down on power ( I kept getting smoke in the straights), but I can work on that. I'm really impressed with this machine. I thinhk I'm an official track day junky !!! | ||
| Rsh |
I have a XB9R, I was working on suspension settings most of the weekend (canyon,agressive street riding) It works really well, just a little taut for extended freeway rides, partly caused by the short wheelbase. What settings did the suspension people come up with and how do the settings compare to what the manual recommends? | ||
| Englishman119 |
I race my XB9R (including at TWS with CMRA). My suspension was initially set exactly the same as needforspeed2 describes (based on the owners book settings), but once set correctly by someone who knows what they are looking for, the handling is impeccable. I can personally vouch that the XB’s will get smoked on that long straight at TWS and there ain’t too much you can do about it. Try a track day at Cresson Motor Sports Ranch up by Dallas. Lots of curves and little in the way of straight. There you can piss a lot of 600 and 1000 owners off as you pass them coming off the curves using the motors torque – I have a 2nd place trophy from racing the XB there. Happy hunting Mark | ||
| Skully |
Hey Englishman119, Ever make it out to Oak Hill Raceway? Blake and I have been known to make a few laps there... Keith | ||
| Needforspeed2 |
Englishman, The fellow that set up my suspension (I think his name was Mark too) mentioned you by name and said that you raced a XB. How do you set it up for a track like TWS ?(engine wise) I've been looking and Nallin's 1050 kit with the headwork, pipe and power commander seems like it's doable. Except I wouldn't trust myself to install it. I'm not really looking for a rocket, but around 100 rwhp would be nice. I really didn't like having 600-750 cc bikes blast past me like I was sitting still. My top speed at the end of the straight was around 120. edited by needforspeed2 on July 08, 2003 | ||
| Englishman119 |
Skully/Needfor.. Sounds like the guy who set up your suspension was Marcus McBain – He did mine as well. An all round good guy, who will always help people out. I will be racing at Oak Hill in September – Never been there before. I’m looking for a practice day there before that to get aquatinted with the place. I’m told it can be a little intimidating? Currently my engine is stock (Just pipe, chip and air cleaner). I’ve been spending my money on the handling dept like stiffer front springs, lower clip on’s and higher rear set pegs. If you look at some of the pics on my web pages you can see I’m perched way too far up on the bike for good cornering. At the end of the main straight at TWS, I’m hitting the rev limiter in top gear. I don’t know what the speed is as I’ve covered my speedo up so that I don’t look at it!!, but I guess its around the 130 something you see quoted in the bike magazines. On my R6 last year I was doing may be 20mph more. Fortunately, the race organizations let the XB’s race in the Lightweight classes which is dominated by SV650’s. The SV’s with the right rider, can be tuned to be as fast as any 600-4. Their draw back is they don’t handle so well. I’m also looking at Nallins stuff for a power-up. I’m favoring the 1000cc kit, stage2 heads, their force pipe, Power Commander and O2 sensor – It should give me 90 or more hp at the back wheel, then I can take on the 600’s. I have rules/limits on what I can do for racing classes and I want to hide what I have under to hood, so the 1050 kits may not be for me. You may want to talk to Hals. They have a 1200cc stroker kit for the XB using a lot of X1 parts. Then I have to change the gearing to convert some of the power to top end speed – That’s the real expensive bit – Chain drive conversions with new swing arm currently run +$2,000!!! Let me know if you guys are doing another track day, I would be good to have an afternoon ride with other Buellers. There is a link to my racing/bike pages via www.republichd.com if your interested. Mark. | ||
| Skully |
Hello Mark, Blake and I would love to hook up with you one day soon at OHR. THe weather (heat) will be the limiting factor. Are you sure 90 RWHP will let you compete with the 600s? I'm thinking the newest with aftermarket pipe, etc. will probably be making closer if not more than 100 RWHP. OHR has only two relatively short straight sections. A Buell can be competitive there. Hope to meet you soon, Keith CMRA 211 | ||
| Blake |
Mark, If I were campaigning an XB9R, I'd take a careful look at the rules. In MW Supersport (MW SS), you are stuck racing against the 600cc IL4's while the SV650s have LW SS all to themselves. If it were me, I'd be entering a 1050cc XB9R in the LW SB, LW GP, Thunderbike, and MW Sportsman classes. Maybe enter the GTL class on Saturday. The MW SS class is the most heavily contested and dangerous class on the track. No thanks. Heck, Keith and I entered the UL GP race just because of the small grid size. We didn't finish last either.  OHR is a very technical track. I'm certainly no expert or even a fast novice, but I know the track pretty well and would be happy to show you the way around. Keith is just as capable, but he rides a CBR600F3 Honda on the track.  Well, he's usually on the track. He likes to go through the grass on occasion too. There is another CMRA rider, Toby Leslie, who campaigns an XB9R. He lives in San Antonio and works at Alamo HD/Buell. Good guy, this is his very first year of racing. I look forward to meeting you at OHR soon. Feel free to ping me if you have any questions. Blake (CMRA #131AM) | ||
| Englishman119 |
Hi Keith I hear what you say about the power in a 2003 600. Last year I ran a 99 R6 and was out powered by the then newer 600’s at TWS. I agree, TWS is a lost cause against the 600’s. But at the likes of Cresson, Oak Hill and even No Problem where torque rather than sheer HP matters, the XB can and has surprised a few people. No, at TWS and my 90HP (79 at the moment) I will be sticking to the Lightweight classes. Hope to see you soon – Hallett (Straights too long!!)on the 19th by chance? Mark | ||
| Englishman119 |
Hey Blake I’ve been looking at the CMRA rules very hard recently. With all the rule variations in the LW classes regarding the use or not of original cylinders, heads, pistons and so on, I thought the 1000cc would attract less attention (uses stock barrels) in the unlikely event I started to climb the results ladder and I got protested. Also the fact the CMRA will be breaking away from F-USA and will have its own rulebook and class structure next year, I’m loathed to make too many (Expensive) changes just incase I only have say Heavyweight twins left to run in. I would appreciate any help at OHR to get me running quicker, I may just take you up on that offer. Toby Leslie I know well. We’ve pitted together at the last CMRA races at Cresson and TWS if only to share American sized wrenches and to have chain lube free zone in the paddock. We’re running the same times at TWS. Hopefully the recent changes I’ve made to the suspension and riding position might help me get ahead of him at Hallett on the 19/20th. Mark errr…(CMRA & WERA #119) | ||
| Blake |
Have you considered keeping the belt and just getting some different sprockets? The theory is that you might be able to add a tooth or two in back as long as you subtract the same number of teeth from the front sprocket to keep the belt happy. The belt wraps around more than 50% of the rear sprocket but less than 50% of the front, so such a scheme doesn't quite work out to a one for one equalization wrt belt length but it's pretty close. Your top speed at OHR will be around 100 mph. It is a 1.8 mile track with the outright lap record standing at 1'-23.4" (83.4 s). Lot's of different surfaces, some dips and bumps, and blind turns keep things very interesting. I was very lucky to have John Haner and Michael Sanchez show me their favorite lines around OHR. Steve Semenuik has been real helpful too. I'm still learning though. I think you are smart to wait on the rules for next year before investing in any serious engine mods. I have a favorite video clip that Steve took of Keith and me at OHR. Wanna see it? Here it is. ![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) Unfortunately I missed our last track outing, and Keith has dropped his time by six seconds or so since that video was shot. We live within 20 minutes of OHR so take advantage of its open access ($75/day) to CMRA members as much as possible. | ||
| Blake |
You might want to check the rules wavers for pushrod air cooled twins. | ||
| Blake |
Hmmm. I see from the race results that you and Toby are both running in LW SS. How so? I thought the displacement limit was like 800cc for air-cooled pushrod two valve twins. Dang, that Toby is a racing fool! On the waiver for pushrod air cooled two valve twins (section 6.1.2 F)...
"Unlimited", a very helpful rule no? | ||
| Englishman119 |
In the 2003 rule book, LWSS, there is a bold line that reads “twin cylinder push-rod - 1000cc”, Twin cylinder air-cooled, up to 805cc”. I guess F-USA were trying to help the Buells out. Where both Toby and I have crossed the line is LW Sportsman. The limit there for air-cooled’s is 895cc, and our XB’s are 985cc. My excuse was dyslexia…..”895/985, looks very similar”…..”I thought it was a typo”….. etc……Toby got protested and disqualified. For some reason, my fellow competitors missed me and I got to keep the trophy, name in RRW + fame and fortune.... I’m looking into some different pulley ratios as you suggest. TWS is the only place so far where I’ve run out of RPM, but at other tracks I’m wasting RPM as well – Good idea Blake! edited by englishman119 on July 11, 2003 | ||
| Needforspeed2 |
Mark, Great to hear from you. I checked out your web page and it rocks! It's great that you race the XB. It seems that thats what it was meant for. Finally belonging to this BBS is paying off! I know Toby from the HD shop. He set up my X1 and did the TPS when I installed the race kit. I do have the kit for my XB, but I haven't installed it yet. I guess I should. I was kinda saving for the Nallin one, but if your racing the Buell (Wileyco pipe)that's good enough for me. There are quite a few track days coming up, but I won't have the time until late August, so we'll see. Look forward to meeting you. Later, Lance | ||
| Skully |
Hhhhmmm. What Blake didn't show you guys is how many laps it took him to pass me! I think he'll have a bit more trouble now. Heh heh heh. Keith  | ||
| Blake |
Mark, Interesting, the rules I downloaded at the start of the season from the CMRA home page were apparently incomplete. I downloaded the complete rules, and am happy to see that the XB9R is eligible to compete in LW SS. Isn't it kinda embarrassing racing your big bellering Buell in the LW Sportsman class? heheheh I'm the one who regrets my choice in engine performance parts. At 1250cc I'm stuck racing MW. My best chance is in Thunderbike. I didn't even consider racing rules when I had the mods done. I plan to put the Cyclone back to full time street duty and snag a Firebolt someday anyway. I tried to tell all the SV guys that an XB9R would be the bike to beat in the LW classes. Most of them laughed at me. I hope you and Toby can show them the error of their ways. Would be real interesting to see what Michael Sanchez could do on a race prepped XB9R and XB12R racing against Erik Fault on his SVs. Maybe we can arrange something for him at the September OHR event. I doubt it, he's already racing all 7 MW/HW/UL SS/SB/GP events. Maybe we could get him to run the GTL race on Saturday. Keith, Silly boy. Do not challenge the beast. I'll have to tell Angela that you are becoming too competitive at the track. heheheh | ||
| Blake |
As to gearing for OHR, I currently only use 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. I only really need fourth on one portion of the track, but I short shift on a couple other sections to spare the engine. I'm lucky if I hit over 100 mph coming into turn 2. The Nallinized Cyclone has an incredible powerband though with 80 FT-LBs on tap anywhere over 3 grand and peaking at 89 FT-LBs at around 4200 rpm. She's a very forgiving bike to ride as far as gear selection goes. I could probably gear down some and make more use of 4th gear, but then 2nd would be even more of a wheelie monster. Since she is dual use, I'll probably leave the gearing as is. I have plenty of time that I can still make up in just technique. | ||
| Englishman119 |
Blake- So how do I feel being burnt by the little SV650’s ? I’m OK with it for now (I guess) as I know that many of the SV’s are not necessarily compliant with Superstock rules and many of the riders have talents beyond my abilities. I just love riding my Buell the way its designer had intended it to be ridden without interference from Cops, farm vehicles etc. Actually I say that behind the keyboard of the PC. Behind that handle bars I hurts. I would personally like to see someone like Bradley Champion try a few laps on an XB. On his SV last month I have the “privilege” of following him for a couple of corners (Twice, once at the start and at half distance when he lapped me and the entire field) at the Church of Speed races in Louisiana. I got quite an education. Aside from walking the Lightweight race, he finished 2nd in the Middlewight race and 3rd in the heavyweight race and was lapping only 1.5secs slower that the outright lap record set by a GSX750. Oh yes, Bradley can ride!!! Actually, the SV’s not as bad as being blasted by a 125 with an 80lb kid on board at Cresson in LWGP’s. However, on that track, the kid did it to the 600’s and 1000’s as well and set new track record, so I don’t fee so bad. Lance Please you liked my web pages. The only issue with the Wileyco pipe is the installation of the little exhaust chin fairing. The pipe has no mounts directly for this like the Buell or D&D items. They send a beautifully fashioned, but heavy and a little unsightly fitting kit to hang the plastic back on with. If mine were on the road, I would not bother fitting it as the all chrome pipe looks very good without it – its personal preference thing, but if you or anyone else reading this has to have the chin fairing on, then look at another pipe. At $320 shipped to my door, it was just a money thing for me. I will post my progress at Hallett this weekend. Mark. | ||
| Skully |
Good luck Mark. Hope to see you soon at OHR. Keith CMRA 211 |
