| Author |
Message |
    
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 04:21 am: | 
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Well,we had a bad week from my end--first pass on the bike and it was pulling really well on the button when it just lost power. Pulled in to see both rear pushrods bent. After pulling the head we had 2 bent pushrods,2 bent valves, and a piston missing a piece right at the thinnest edge of the intake valve pocket.Had the pushrods and piston,but no head.Damn.Oh,well, the last runs on this generation of the bike unless I decide to rebuild and go back to WOS or World Finals.Gonna lose the nitrous next year and go for a bigger turbo.
The FJ was running well up til the first run(at Bubs you can go for not so secret test runs)a fueling problem I think.On the next run we lost an oil feed line and I fear the bottom end.--Done in!!
Terry P's Blast just kept getting faster and faster,never missed a beat and got 2 records,a fastest run of 135.
Snail finally got it right and blasted off a 220 run.Gonna hang around and see if he should go for the fastest open bike as Noonan trashed the trans on his Turbo Busa.
Chris Carr is simply amazing.Jumps in a STREAMLINER and cuts a 350mph run,damn. Each time out these guys are upping the ante. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 06:34 am: |
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Holy Thumper power! Terry did 135 mph on a Blast! That is incredible. Way to go Terry!
Jim,
Thanks for the report and hang in there amigo. Other folks who have enjoyed success have often got there atop the shoulders of experts who are leaders in their field. Doing most all of it yourself is one MONGO HUGE challenge and I respect you immensely for it. Keep on keeping on. |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 09:40 am: |
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Tough luck, Jim, I'm sorry to hear it. Might as well stick around to help Snail and Terry celebrate!
rt |
Ebear
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 10:09 am: |
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Terry....did you back up that 135mph?That must be one helluva blast to ride.....LOL...Great job!!Sorry to hear about your woes FMJ...all black clouds pass and we'll be waiting breathlessly on your next attempt!Sounds like a fueling problem , was that the bottom from that S2?....maybe it just has bad Karma?...Post more pics!!!! |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 11:53 am: |
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Ebear,it's that stinkin' Ferris's motor.There lies the problem.Plugs,pipes,and head all looked good for burn,just knocked off the weakest part of piston.Not burned.Will post pic when I get it torn down. |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 12:38 am: |
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A couple pics of piston I just pulled out
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Blake
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 01:33 am: |
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Jim,
Is that your front fender on Terry's Blast? Cool.
Aaron/Timbo's 214 mph record on a Top Fuell Buell is pretty cuell. ![: ]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) Congrats to them.  |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 06:31 am: |
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What was the cause of the piston failing Jim?
Rocket |
Whodom
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 06:42 am: |
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Great photos. Sorry about your troubles Jim.
Man, I hate it when that happens!
Jim, there just isn't much meat at the bottom of that top ring land is there? |
Ebear
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 09:59 am: |
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The other valve pocket looks bad from this angle too.Swirl burns look interesting.....and alum deposition.BUMMER!Musta banged up the head pretty good.....You gonna make the BBQ at Buellton FMJ and Friends???? |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 05:04 pm: |
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Jim,
I wonder, was the face of that piston shot-peened, especially in the troublesome valve relief area? |
Bluzm2
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 05:59 pm: |
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Jim,
Bummer about all your problems.
Are you putting it back together for next week?
Looks like the valve pocket on the left was getting hit by the valve.
Was it doing the same onthe right?
Brad |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 09:53 pm: |
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Looks like a mark on the right too. Looks like the angle is off just a bit? |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 10:14 pm: |
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Blake,there is a mark,do not know if it was the cause or happened when parts came off and bent valves.Will look closely at it.Terry's Blast has a similar mark,though not as pronounced----?????
I let Terry use the front fender as I sure had no more need for it.He will probably get it anyway as I have a complete set of RR bodywork on the way,fender and all. |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 07:09 am: |
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Well I'm curious as to the shape of the damage on the right side. I was wondering if mechanical damage started the process off.
Looks like both valves contacted the piston, and in both valve recesses - towards the piston edge.
I'd be asking how that missing piece of piston formed that shape. Something fatigued the area in question first, and heat finished it off?
Rocket |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 12:34 pm: |
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Bike is reduced to a pile of components,will start work on next generation bike.That motor will go back together and into my S-2,and the motor in the S-2 now will be sold to finance all this stuff.
The YZ motor is out and crank needs rebuild,it's at the shop.
The FJ motor will be out today,at least turbo is unhurt.I suspect crank damage from oil loss. |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 12:38 pm: |
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I calculated the speed I was going when motor went away. With my gearing and at 7000 rpm I was brushing 190---and found I was geared too short still,could have pulled way more gearing.Damn!! |
Court
| | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 01:49 pm: |
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Zap me an e-mail and tell me a bit about the motor out of the S-2 and what you want for it.
I may know a home for it. |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 11:21 pm: |
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Well finally some good news,got the motor out of the FJ and tore it down today.No visible damage at all.I think the fuel pump was left on and filled a cylinder with gas so it would not crank.One piston top was wet,but pistons,valves,head,head gasket intact. Bottom end bearings look good.No crap in oil pump screen.
Buell is pile of parts now.
The carcass
The YZ 125 without a heart
The FJ after surgery
Shelf of racebike pieces,look closely and there are a couple of turbos,plenums,a Buell bottom end,S-2 forks,etc.
And in case I have nothing ELSE to do--
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Moxnix
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - 04:55 pm: |
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From the Landracing.com website today, commentary on WOS: "A few qualifiers already this morning. Aaron Wilson on his 1650cc Harley S2 Buell Nitro burning machine qualifed with a 206 mph down run. This is the first leg a of new 200 mph Member run also." |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - 09:36 pm: |
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Oh man . . . I just got off the phone.
There is some undeniably awesome stuff happening!
Jim Bantz is being elevated to hero status.
Cool beans! |
Moxnix
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - 11:30 pm: |
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(Message edited by moxnix on September 13, 2006)
(Message edited by moxnix on September 13, 2006)
Landracing.com 9/14/06 a.m.: Aaron Wilson who qualified with a 206 mph run on the nitro Buell was a turn out at the 1 mile with a possible broken shaft. This was a 200 mph club run for Aaron, he missed it this time and will have to repair and requalify.
(Message edited by moxnix on September 14, 2006) |
Davegess
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 03:06 pm: |
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Tough luck! |
Court
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 03:55 pm: |
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Drats . . . I'm willing to bet it won't be long before the 200 MPH Club will have a new member.
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Moxnix
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 05:23 pm: |
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If not this week, then perhaps at World Finals, October 11-14. Now, if Mr Buell would just see fit to "loan" Mr. Wilson an XBRR motor, chassis and a few odd bits to tuck under an RR fairing set, perhaps we will have more records under the Buell flag. Just a thought, in case someone knows who to talk to. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 08:26 pm: |
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I think FMJ has dibs on any RR LSR effort. Court is supposed to be getting one to him as a matter of fact. Very cool of Court to do. |
Moxnix
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 03:01 pm: |
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From Landracing.com re Mr. Wilson's S2 ride: "It was pulling like a freight train and I thought it was in the bag. I short shifted to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, then wound it out for the shift to 5th. Eased out of the throttle, pulled in the clutch, gave a firm tug on the shift lever, let out the clutch as I rolled back into it, expecting to feel the familiar forward thrust, and there was nothing. No noises, no smoke, no nothing, it was like I hit the kill switch. The pinion side of the crank broke clean off. Gotta go back and rethink a few things in the plan."
And best of luck to him. |
Thespive
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 04:07 pm: |
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From Timbo to our riding group:
"Whew,
Just back from two weeks of Salt Flats racing in Bonneville.
Week one was the BUB International Event, Sept. 3-7. The first day of the
event we went out with a new configuration of our fast bike, the 1650cc
RR/S2 Buell. The new configuration being NitroMethane fuel. DANG let me
tell you, that stuff is wicked strong! It's like being on the button ALL
the time. You really have to respect the throttle.
My first run with the bike went well but we had a fair amount of rear
wheel spin and the bike wanted to dance around a bit at speed. That run
netted us a mile speed of just over 206 MPH. We went back to the pits and
made some changes to the bike, changed the gearing, added weight to the
swing arm (to help it hook up) and a couple other things.
The next day found us waiting in line almost all day to make a run (sadly
this would become the norm for the event). When we finally did get our
chance to run, we were simply hoping that we had made good changes and could
pick up a little speed. Man did we ever! The run started great and just
got better all the way. The rear tire was hooked up and she was pullin'
like a friggen freight train all the way through top gear. She ran straight
and true all the way through the timed mile, planted and stable, the run
felt SO AWESOME! And the time slip at the end showed every bit of it,
217.984 MPH! We were so pumped up, and everybody in the pits was cheering.
However, while we were in impound, waiting to make our back up run, the
winds picked up something fierce and they shut down the course for the day.
AMA rules require back up runs be done on the same calendar day, so we had
to throw away the time and come back the next day, hoping for better weather
and similar results.
We got to run earlier on the third day. The run was good, but not as
smooth as the day before. A little wheel slip and some cross wind, but our
time was still good at just over 212 MPH. Two hours later we got our chance
to back it up in the other direction. This time the run was better but we
had a slight head wind. The result was a mile speed of just over 214 MPH.
The average gave us a new Land Speed Record of 213 MPH. Not bad for our
first event on NitroMethane.
The rest of the event we chased various gremlins that were not expected,
most of them resulted from the Nitro (that stuff is nasty). All in all the
event was a great success. We bagged a new Land Speed Record and a much
higher top speed than we had hoped for, but just as importantly, we learned
a whole heck of a lot about our new friend MR. NITRO.
The second event was World Of Speed, Sept. 13-16.
The days off gave us valuable time to examine the motor and re-evaluate
our tune. Also during that time Aaron started thinking of riding the bike
himself to get into the 200 MPH Club. There was a class open that we could
run in and the minimum was 205 MPH. We knew I would be faster on the bike,
but also felt the bike was now strong enough to get him in at that speed. I
told him lets go for it!
True to form the bike ran straight and strong and Aaron had a qualifying
speed of 206.9 MPH! Back up runs at this event are held the following
morning (different sanctioning body, USFRA). We also decided I would ride
the "B" bike, the 1350cc S1, right after Aaron did his run. Well, due to
several things, not the least of wich being Aarons total focus on the "A"
bike wich was understandable, the set up was not optimal on the S1 and our
run was only 151 MPH. We put the "A" bike in impound and took the "B" bike
back to the pits for tuning. Our next run on the "B" bike was better at 161
MPH, but we knew it was capable of more, this is the same bike we went 167
MPH on in 2004. Granted it had a new motor with new cases, but the Dyno
showed it had a few more horsepower now than in 2004, so we were a bit
stumped. We worked on it some more in preparation of the second day of the
event.
Day two, all our focus was on the "A" bike and Aaron. One more pass in
excess of 203.5 MPH and Aaron would be the 29th person to gain 2 Club
membership on a bike. As fate would have it, it was not to be. The bike
was pulling hard and strong right up until his shift from fourth to fifth,
and then...nothing. The motor just quit. I felt like I had been gut
punched by Mike Tyson. I can only imagine how Aaron felt. We got it back
to the pits and started tearing it apart. It wasn't pretty, the pinion
shaft sheered, and when it did it took out the entire valve train. The
motor would need major surgery and was done for the event. We sat there,
bummed for awhile, then looked at the "B" bike and said "well let's get to
work, we've still got racing to do". We dove back into the bike, trying to
figure out what was holding it back. We check it's vitals and all it's
systems hoping the attention would bring it back to it's prior form.
We made our third run with the bike only to find the condition had
worsened. It now wasn't pulling fifth gear back up to the needed RPM and I
turned out before the timed mile. Back in the pits we dug back into it, but
still didn't find anything obvious. We went through a few more things and
got back on the line to make another run.
Unfoutunately the fourth run was even worse. It now wasn't pulling up in
forth gear. Again, I turned out before the timed mile and back to the pits
we went. Knowing something major was going on, and suspecting the worse, we
opened up the cam chest. Our hunch was right, the cams were binding in the
bushings and had caused the drive gear on the number two cam to slip on the
shaft. This was an expensive S&S cam cover, supposedly a "go fast" part
that was biting us. Well, that caused everything to be off, the cam timing,
the ignition timing, everything. Aaron had brought a spare (stock) cam
cover and we set about correcting the problem, but it was getting late in
the afternoon and we had to leave the salt before we were finished.
As we were leaving clouds moved in and it began to rain. It continued to
rain into the evening and we returned to the salt in the morning to find the
Salt Flats were now a lake and the organizers cancelled the remainder of the
event. So that was how our second week ended. Dissapointing but not a
total loss, we had learned a lot.
We have had great success in the past, and did so again in the first week.
Our second week was hard to swallow, but hey, that's racing! We are pushing
these motors past the extremes to try and set these records and breaking
parts comes with the territory. We know the score and are as determined as
ever to continue to push the limits.
Timbo"
--Sean |
Ocbueller
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 07:31 pm: |
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Thanks for the updates guys. Have been following these record breaking bikes and their and their creators since 2000. Hope to make the races one day.
SteveH |
Moxnix
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 10:16 pm: |
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From an old post (9/2002) on aerodynamics: " . . . not much over 200mph either. Taking any vehicle to this speed is going to be interesting and the efficiency of the RR1000 shape will probably be found wanting."
The timing clocks reflect whether or not it is wanting.
My own fleet of theoretical motorcycles are limited to setting theoretical records, therefore I am most appreciative of what these LSR folks are accomplishing. |
Madduck
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 10:37 pm: |
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Mr Jim Bantz needs to get some of the credit having significantly modified the aero package as the bike has progressed up the speed ladder. Without a side by side comparison, most people could not tell it had been modified. Tirbute to both Mr. Buell and Mr. Bantz. |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 12:00 am: |
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And on that note,take a look at the start of the next gen bike---
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Blake
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 02:52 am: |
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Jim,
I don't like the looks of that at all. Better play it safe and let me test it for you. I am a licensed road racer after all. |
Moxnix
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 09:32 am: |
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Decent. |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 09:56 am: |
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Looks good, Jim!
rt |
Diablobrian
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 11:56 am: |
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Like everyone asks me "doesn't your bike overheat with a full fairing?" 
Seriously though, looks sleek and sexy.
How is progress on getting an XBRR to bonneville looking? |
Firemanjim
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 12:09 pm: |
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Brian,have to ask Court that one.I meerly volunteered my riding skills. |
Bigdaddy
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 01:03 pm: |
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I proudly proclaim that I started it
Go FMJ!!!!!!!! |
Bomber
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 05:21 pm: |
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too cool by half! |
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