| Author | Message | ||
     José_quiñones |
So that was basically Saturday, Carlos and Brankin rode home and we hooked back up with Pete and Robin after some confusion getting out of the track for dinner and went back to the track and called it a night. Sunday we hung around the pits, mostly in the Ducati area. If you looked in the dictionary for the definition of "Factory Team" this would be the picture:   They had at least seven mechanics working over the bikes, two on the computers at all times, plus other people bringing in tires or whatever else they needed. | ||
| José_quiñones |
That's it for now, for action shots Pete's got me covered, I'll post some other stuff from the track later this week. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Didn't appear on TV so I thought it hadn't run...thanks for the reports peeeps. I enjoyed it!!! Congrats to teams. The effort continues! | ||
| Ebear |
Awesome site and pictures Peter!!!! Impatiently awaiting MORE!!!  | ||
| Rotchcrocket51 |
Guess who I spotted sitting on a Buell at VIR? I blew the chance at getting a really good picture when he ducked his head, just as I took the shot. But you should be able to recognize him by the hair.  | ||
| Rotchcrocket51 |
Here's a little bigger picture, just in case you need help.  | ||
| Arbalest |
So...just some questions from a fan. Is Buell getting useable feedback about the performance of the XBRR, that is being relayed to E. Troy, with the goal of updating any XBRR's already in the field, and improving units, not yet manufactured, so that they will run with the front runners, or will this be another VR1000 that the Buell/Harley fans will root for, but will have no real chance at a podium finish? I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but so far I haven't seen a lot to get excited over. How does Buell plan to "get another 1000 rpm's"? | ||
| Jscott |
The Worm? Larry Pegram? (Message edited by JScott on August 21, 2006) | ||
| Blake |
Johnnie, I give up, who is that young man? Arb, "I haven't seen a lot to get excited over." Try looking harder.  What makes you think that the XBRR needs "another 1000 rpm"? | ||
| Davegess |
<is> You can be assured that info and changes are going in both directions. Buell is doing this race project using "Buell's Rules". Things will happen fast, races will be listened to, the "intellegence of the group" will make up for the small budget. This will be so different then the VR I hesitate to mention the two bikes in the same posting. | ||
| Court |
>>>>so far I haven't seen a lot to get excited over. Call me old, but I am super excited. Few folks realize how much it takes to make the leap to light speed....from WANTING to race to actually seeing a bike on the grid. That's huge. Racing's tough and has an unparalleled ability to punish even the smart, well intentioned, kind hearted and best prepared of participants. Racing's tough and expensive. It consumes money at the rate of a room full of Wall Street traders in Scores on expense account. Buell hustled, as in some of the folks working 24/7, and literally all-night, round-the-clock, to overcome some hurdles just to get make certain Buell appeared at Daytona. Racings tough and unkind . . as hor d'ourves went down (see paragraph on $$$) the Buells heard the goblins that get the best prepared go gobble once, gobble twice, gobble thrice and gobble-again. Racings tough and can crush even the strongest. Erik Buell not only races, he *IS* a racer. Racing is like being a United States Marine . . once you are one, you are always one. Erik was crushed. What did Erik Buell do, after getting up at 5:00AM, having a day like this and feeling lowers than a snakes belly in a rut? You got it. He slipped out of the high-brow HD event and drove 90 minutes to hang out with enthusiastic Buell owners. Read that again. . .
Ask Nick when he was sitting in that wheel chair what he thinks of Buell racing? Buell did things, the very first day they raced, that spoke much about the company and it's people. Once I have the information, and understand the character of the program, I know I'm going to be excited. As the curmudgeons circled like birds of prey, the Buells made a spectacular showing, if not all the way to the finish, at Road America. Next it's off to Laguna Seca, the 3rd outing in the history of the bike, and Buell plants a rider in the "Top 10" and does it again in Ohio. I'll buy the "I'm not as excited as I intend or hope to be", but in terms of excitement Buell brings something to me that no other team, and there are some dandies can, and it the "people power". How cool is it to have folks envision, design, build and race the bike that you know. I don't mean who you recognize from a photo, but folks you've laughed and joked with? There are many types of excitement. I'll be thrilled when I add "podium" excitement to my list, but at the moment Buell's racking up exciting events at a quicker rate than I can write them. I'm excited. Court | ||
| Ocbueller |
José, You just keep getting better looking. Is there a Hall of fame spot for the most photographed? SteveH | ||
| M1combat |
"Is there a Hall of fame spot for the most photographed? " It may have to go to Jerry Haughton's thumb though...  | ||
| Rotchcrocket51 |
J Scott got it right. It was Larry Pegram. He rode his scooter over, just to visit for a while. The first thing he did was sit on the bike. I snapped that picture, just as he looked down. He later tucked in and commented on it being hard to see through the screen. I sat there like a dummy, thinking I had the shot from before. When I checked later, I realized I had flubbed the picture. Oh well, I never said I was a professional photographer. | ||
| Ebear |
 ....experimenting to try and get better resolution out of Blakes site.......any ideas Blake???..."goading....goading".....come on now blake , show me in person....ya' know you wanna' go..!!! | ||
| Jscott |
Since Larry Pegram runs his own team, I wonder if he is getting any ideas for next season. Hmmmmm...  | ||
| Ebear |
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| Ebear |
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| Ebear |
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| Ebear |
 Neil Hodgson  Aaron Yates  Jake Holden   Jake Zemke | ||
| M2nc |
Though the Buells are just off the mark right now, I am perplexed on where they are loosing to the top teams. You would think its on the straights, but not true. I saw Steve Crevier pass an R6 going into turn one and then pull away on the next pass. He and the 12th place Yamaha traded positions and I think caused Steve to loose time because the two bikes were well matched. He in the final laps was able to leg the Yamaha and finish a solid 11th. I would love to time the Buells at the next race at different places on the track to find out where the Buells are loosing the 3 seconds per lap. If not on the straights then where? Also, two Buells entered VIR and two Buells finished. Five Japanese Bikes can not say that, so again the bikes are still moving in the right direction. The Picotte team has made allot of changes to the XBRR trying to find those few seconds, but I think they need to figure out where the Buells are off to the then figure out how to get the bike on the podium. Also my hat is off to Steve Crevier. You would have thought the guy won, pulling a Stoppie in front of the crowd and then landing the rear to do the burnout that 1313 posted. He definitely stole the show at the end of the race. GO BUELL!! | ||
| Blake |
Figuring out the bikes takes a lot of testing and a lot of time. It also take the rider some time to learn the bike. Slipper clutch will help. Traction control? Sixth gear? | ||
| M1combat |
Traction control, weight reduction... If Jeremy says the bike needs another 1000RPM maybe a sixth would help? I think the bikes have the slipper now? I seem to remember anony mentioning that but I may be off my rocker too... I hear they're about ?25lbs? heavier? That's about 7.14%... That works out to roughly 4.12 seconds off for every minute ran (kinda ). Of course it'll be less time lost than that 4.12s. As I recall... tire physics say that adding weight doesn't cause a linear decrease in available grip because that weight is being pulled vertically (down) as well as laterally (outside) so we can't just say "The numbers work out to ~7% so there it is...". It's much more complicated than that . The rubber that's touching the pavement is harder than the rest of the rubber due to compression caused by the extra mass, so it doesn't quite conform as well. That's how I heard it explained anyhow... maybe by Lou Gigliotti but I don't remember. I'd really like to hear from someone who has worked with the bike and hear how much time they think they're losing due to the extra weight (and maybe about where they think they might be able to lose some). Essentially the tires are having to do ~7% more work in the turns. They can't. They can only do so much work so you have to go slower so as not to overcome the available grip. | ||
| Jimidan |
Steve Crevier started in 13th and ended up finishing in 11th. The two bikes that started in front of him DNFed, so who did he pass? Them as they coasted to a stop? Who was he "battling" with? He was almost 20 seconds behind the bike in front of him. Can 25 lbs. really be extracted from the XBRR? It would seem to have to be in the engine, and the sporty mill has already been cut down for this bike (have you seen the flywheel). This engine is kind of a lump...although I think it would make a cool street bike engine...detuned a bit of course. We can hope that Graves Yammy Haul, Erion Honda turn their attention to Superbike next year... If not, isn't Suzuki is coming out with a brand new 600 next year? The Jap Daddies turn out new (and faster) 600 models on a 2 year schedule, so I wonder how the XBRR will make headway with the same bike platform every year (like the VR1000 tried to do)? I am not saying the the XBRR and the VR1000 programs are the same, just this aspect seems similar. I am sorry I missed it, but there is always RA. jd | ||
| M1combat |
The new Japanese bikes are evolutionary. They don't revolutionize the industry every two years Jimi... I'm not saying that Buell does either, but they are in the game with a brand new bike. It needs development. I have a feeling that if it needs a major change then we'll see it if Buell can afford it. The fact is that Buell designed this bike to compete well at the top privateer levels. The teams that are running it in the AMA are kinda going above and beyond (or at least that's how I see it). They're doing development work that'll trickle into the production RR's and then into the streetbikes. Do you REALLY expect any new bike to be in contention for a win in it's first year at that level? One can hope for sure but I'm not entirely sure that's realistic... It sounds to me like you hoped for/expected a win at Daytona and were disappointed... That's on you. Buell is doing very well IMO. They make meaningful progress pretty much every step of the way. They beat more than half the field yes? They must be doing more things right than wrong at the least... It doesn't have to be in the engine. I'm sure there's some to lose there but that can cost reliability. There are engine mounts, swingarm, oil lines, triple clamps, wheels, the frame (although that seems exceedingly light already), fasteners, There's got to be a tach that's lighter than the X1 tach , the intake system, axles (are they already ti?)... I'm sure there's places to shave here and there but yeah... the engine is probably heavy compared to the competition. I'm pretty sure the rolling chassis is lighter though. | ||
| Trojan |
Do you REALLY expect any new bike to be in contention for a win in it's first year at that level? Unfortunately yes. The Yamaha R6 is pretty much all brand new this year and is winning already. Top flight race teams these days don't have the luxury of a two year development, as the opposition raise their game almost on a race to race basis. Buell have moved the goal posts this year by using the 'modified' rule to the very edge of its definition. What will happen next year if Yamaha or Kawasaki dcecide to use the same method and theory of modification for their bikes? Will we see a 600cc Yamaha M1 GP bike? | ||
| Court |
>>>I think the bikes have the slipper now? That's an accurate statement, a special made one. The R6 is an elegant bike and remains a legend. Buell, my guess, is working with about 0.001% of the budget the R6 development team has. It's like climbing an oiled mirror...the way you attract investment is success, one element of success are the things the investment brings. Classic chicken and egg. . . progress in good. | ||
| Ceejay |
Trojan-that is a great question, they had all been basically using the same format, maybe rotating in different directions, but mostly the same, with FX allowing more engine configurations, will the big money folks start using this as GP development? I do think it may make it a lot more fun to watch as hopefully a lot of other manufacturers other than the the big three will get involved, thus bringing a lot more flag waving nationalistic fans out... | ||
| Crush63 |
The VR-1000 qualified on the front row and led two races it's debut season. Although the bike had reliability problems, by mid season Miguel was qualifying and running in front of both the factory Suzuki and Honda teams in spite of being down something like 20hp. | ||
| Trojan |
I don't see FX being used as a testing ground for Moto GP, simply because it is a different type of racing with different cc limits etc. However, as the rules stand, it appears that a manufacturer may modify his motor by melting it down and casting something else out of it, in which case what is to stop the Jap 4 doing the same and racing a 600 version of the M1 GP bike as a 'modified' R6? The basic engine layout and valve format is exactly the same on both bikes, so it wouldn't take a huge leap of faith to build it. Kawasaki could do the same with their IL4 motor too. Honda and Suzuki would be the ones who struggle though, as modifying an IL4 into a V5 or V4 might make the organisers wonder! What the Buell interpretation of the rules has done is to open the door for other manufacturers, should they wish, to raise the bar a long way, which of course would also increase costs substantially. I think it is unlikely that even the Japanese factories will do this as long as FX remains a USA only class, however if it were to spread worldwide or even replace GP250 as was rumoured some time ago..... (Message edited by trojan on August 22, 2006) |
