| Author | Message | ||
     Jim_Witt |
Jose wrote: How much horsepower do you want? 125? then you need 1332 cc. What displacement do the Tilley bikes currently run? Greetings, I personally don't think horsepower or displacemnet is the issue here, rather reliable HP and displacement. Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Tripper |
On Turbos: doesn't the guy with his name on the tank own a Turbo Buell? I wonder if he likes it? | ||
| Jim_Witt |
But José, do the Aerocharger units require "an oil cooler the size of the V-Rod's radiator"? Hey Blake, An Aerocharger is unlike conventional turbochargers and doesn't use a traditional oil resevoir. They use a special synthetic oil manufactured for their turbos and it holds approximately 1 oz of this oil. If I recall, the oil is good for 750+ full throttle hours of operation and the oil is contained within the Aerocharger itself. I've only added/changed oil once at 25,000 miles and I "think" I paid something like $30 or something for 60 cc's. Let's give Buell a little credit here. If Aerocharger can package a reliable turbocharger on a bike that was never designed to carry one ... I agree, if the above can be accomplished, it would be the most efficient way of achieving the HP gains everyone wants. I'm for it! S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Tripper wrote: On Turbos: doesn't the guy with his name on the tank own a Turbo Buell? I wonder if he likes it? Hey, Why wouldn't he like it. There's nothing different about the bike except it has gobs more HP than you can handle, reliable and no turbo-lag. S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| Imonabuss |
An update on the Pro Thunder finale I just read on Roadracing World. Yes, the factory supported Ducati is on the pole, but there are seven Buells in the top 10!!!! 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th, I believe. The Firebolt race prototype is qualified 5th. I think that is so darned cool. Remember when the entire grid was Ducatis except for Shawn Higbee's lone Don Tilley X1? Whether a Buell wins the championship or not, they have become real players, in my opinion. | ||
| Jima4media |
Wait till next season when there will be 10 Firebolts in the top Pro Thunder positions. Hey, it could happen! Jim X-2.5 | ||
| Imonabuss |
Well, here are the final results from Pro Thunder. Although Mike Cicotto won the race, Thomas Montano on the Ducati won the championship by one point over Mike. The difference was the pole position by Montano, which gave him one extra point. Mike was a disappointed about the pole, because he ran faster than his pole position lap time on most of the laps of the race. His qualifying lap was balked by slower riders. Top six finishers included five Buells. 1. Mike Ciccotto, Buell 2. Michael Barnes, Buell 3. Tom Montano, Ducati 4. Tripp Nobles, Buell 5. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell 6. Jeff Vermeulen, Buell Higbee was running third on the Firebolt, but pulled in due to an electrical problem. Shawn said the bike felt fantastic, and that he was getting faster every lap. Shawn had a total of 10 laps around the track on the bike... I believe the final championship standings will have three Buells in the top five for the season. | ||
| Jima4media |
Nice job Mike Ciccotto and Michael Barnes! I'll bet Shawn Higbee was disappointed. I know that Erik Buell probably was, to see his baby go out to an electrical problem on the first outing. But that is why Buell should be racing - to better the breed. As Buell says in it's advertising in Cycle News - The best is yet to come. Congrats to everyone that was out there trying their hardest. Jim X-2.5 | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Imonabuss, Thanks for the quick race report Yep, as you said, the Ducati is an actual "race bike," but that's my point, it is a street bike designed for racing, where Buell is trying to race with a bike designed for the street. The street 748R that you can buy at your local Ducati dealer is much closer to what the race 748 is, while the Street Buell X1 doesn't have the extra 140 cc's, twin front brakes, a full fairing, those superduper twin carburated heads, and the fifth heim joint down by the isolators among other things. If these developments trickle down on our street Buells, fine, but I doubt that the heads or any of the other things I mentioned will ever be sold to the public under the "Pro Series" label. What I want is for Buell to race what they sell, and sell what they race! Buell did a better job this year in Pro Thunder than any year before it, congratulations all around. But they need to be reliable both on the street and on the track. If they had reliability this year either Mike or Dave Estok would have won the championship easily. Dave had the race won at VIR, and his TANK VENT AIR LOCKED. What a stupid way to lose a race! | ||
| Court |
Buell has, I would submit, more potential in it's arsenal as well. To understand, make a point of introducing yourself to Shawn Higbee at a event ...when he is not preoccupied with race activites. Shawn, in my eyes, was one of the highlight moments I'd chalk up to Buell. When he first came to Buell I had never met him and just saw him as a quiet kinda "go fast" kid. I had a chance, at Buell, to work with Shawn and from that point my opinion went sky high. He is fast. Period. He's what I call Mike Patterson smooth, smart and intellectually fast. Shawn is incredibly well educated and articulate on a wide range of subjects and a genuinely (ala Scott Zampach) pleasant person to be around. For racing to better a marque, it's important, no...it's essential..to produce results and reliability. Once that's done you have to have a spokesperson. Many race teams live in fear of their "bad boy" racers getting air time. Buell, now on the cusp of aligning their technical and intellectual planets, stands to benefit from Shawn Higbee and Henry Duga (be warned: it's "kart", NOT "go kart") doing face time with the mags and media. Just my thoughts.....I am truly excited about the things I am seeing come from Buell. Court | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Shawn Higbee could be a racing god...let's hope Buell has the where-withall to keep him in their fold. I'm with Jose' though...glad to see BMC doing better, but sell what you race...quit this damn VR-esqe crap. But, ponder this, BMC is doing better in the end of Pro Thunder. I don't see how they really stand too much of a chance in 750cc supersport (for that matter, I do include the Duc 748's, as well - don't see how they're competative against gixxer 750's)...which is where they'll be next year. Pikes Peak, 750SS, Emgo suzuki average lap time = 1:57.466 Pikes Peak, Tilly Buell Pro Thunder average lap time = 1:59.826 Neil Garretson X0.5 | ||
| Dynodave |
The Fueling design 4-Valve heads are once again available and you can get a Buell-Specific Kit for less than $2k. A set of 4-Valves would REALLY perk up the 'Bolt; I kinda wonder why the thing didn't have these designed in from the get-go. I kinda wonder about the timing of 4-Valve being so close to the 20th anniversary of Buell. Anyway, MINE's gonna have 8 valves and a set of Milennium cyls and the Weisco Offy style forgings just as soon as I can get Jeff at MaxTorque to get an intake adaptor made up. www.maxtengines.com | ||
| Jim_M |
After some thought on the matter, here is what I want to see out of Buell in the next year or so...  (Please forgive my poor photo manipulation..poor tools ;^D) | ||
| José_Quiñones |
From 2001 BUELL PRO THUNDER CHAMPION TOM MONTANO'S MUNROE MOTORSPORTS webpage:
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| Imonabuss |
Well, I am proud that Munroe recognizes the competitive challenges of the Buell. Wait until next year. Shawn said that after only 10 laps ever on a race track with the new bike, he was simply toying with Montano on the first two laps of the Road Atlanta race, not even pushing the Firebolt. Why did he drop out? Well, the EFI uses more electrical power, and they forgot to put in a freshly charged battery(the alternator was removed). The team figures they can get 15 lbs off the bike over the winter and add 10HP. Oh, and they'll put in an alternator... Oh, and Jose, y'know why there weren't any Ducatis in the race? The guys running them can't afford to, cause they cost so much to run. And remember I mentioned totally independent Buells running? Yep, two of them in the top six. So, do you want to run a $30,000 bike with wildly expensive engine parts, or a $10,000 bike with wildly expensive engine parts? ;-) |
