| Author | Message | ||
     Ezblast |
The best to you both!  GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Slaughter |
Gonna be fuuunnn!!! You want me to bring some spare tools along? Looks like she's really ready to go We'll be out Sat AM. Brefka will be out Friday to do his cornerworker obligation. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
We should have everything we need except maybe a drill (if we need it for safety wiring-the bike passed tech last month, so we shouldnt).My cordless drill burned up last month. PS Good luck to Matty too! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
That's exactly why Larry is pushing to change that rule. The cost of Ascot tires is going through the roof since availability is controlled by the folks in AHRMA. To sidestep this issue, he's proposing a rule change to 1. save money and 2. keep tires accessible. I didnt know that, but I think the change would give the Ascots an advantage. Widening the rim would give a few more tire options such as Metzler,Continental, Chen Shing and possibly others in 120-150 widths. Some just dont handle well on the skinny rim, others experience too much tire growth (as well as poor handling) on the narrow rim causing rubbing. A wider rim may even put more Pirelli on the ground. Given the unique Blast belt set up it might be as much $$ to convert it to something else, as it would be to pay the $450 to widen it. I do like the fact that the hybrids are still running in the 'stock'class. Fills out the pack and gives a nice comparison to what works and what doesnt between the two. I think it'll be a learning experience both ways(at least until the hybrids get kicked out for winning to much, which I think is inevitable). | ||
| Bobbyhead |
Best of luck- Erik, James and Matty. | ||
| Ezblast |
Hey guys - which is heavier on the tuber bikes - the alum. swing arm or the steel? GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Matty |
EZ: The Al is slightly heavier - not enough to worry about using one over the other. | ||
| Matty |
Hmm. $40 for a rim. $40 for a rear sprocket. $35 for the front sprocket. $110 for a chain. $2 for Aluminum tube to make spacers. Any guesses on what other bikes run 16" rear rims - besides the HD's!  | ||
| Ezblast |
Ninja - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
40+40+35+110+2=$227! So about halfway to widening provided nothing else is needed. Add on swingarm mod for adjustment or chain tensioner/rubbing block. | ||
| Matty |
James is a steenking engineer. He'll make one for free, just give him a skate board wheel! So Ninja's it eh? Hmm... So does that mean it'll be a Blinja? Ninjast? NinBlastja? | ||
| Bobbyhead |
Matty, pardon my ignorance, but what does going to a 250 Ninja wheel accomplish? Besides the ability for chain drive. You can't run a wider or taller tire without modifying the swingarm? And Erik, if you did go to all the trouble of widening the stock wheel, you still have to modify the front of the swingarm, as you can't go to a wider tire without also going taller. Which would change the gearing. And if you still planned on using the stock belt drive, the taller gearing might not give you the drive through the corners that you have now. I'm just thinking out loud, as I don't understand either of your thought process? This all seems like a lot of trouble and expense for little gain. Aren't all you looking for, is a little less tire fade? Wouldn't just better rubber in the stock size solve that? Erik, I know you say you dislike dunlop, but from what I hear, their GT501's are just about the best bias plies you can mount? Bobby | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Matty: How about Blast-phemy! BMHD: Youre right. The Ninja wheels wouldnt give an advantage except for the chain conversion (if so inclined). Matty was looking for wider. Before the popularity of 17" wheels, 16's were much more common. Quite a few tires will fit the rear. The first problem is they are too wide for the rim and handle poorly. The second is when you squish a wide tire onto a narrow rim it makes it taller and extremely prone to tire growth at speed, which as we know, the Blast swingarm doesnt have the room for.Its difficult to see how well a tire really handles unless its on the proper size rim. And yes,taller heavier tires will change gearing,add usprung weight, as well as effectively adding weight to the flywheel (sorry dont remember the term). The Ninja and Blast are very different beasts and what may be a good tire on one, may not prove to be so on the other. Its still a mounting a front tire on the rear and may break down under the Blasts torque. Also, from what I understand, your information comes from one source, second hand. I'm not saying its not valid and worth consideration, but given the fact the stock Ninja Dunlops suck, the stock Blast Dunlops suck, I have a hard time believing otherwise! The front may be a softer compound than the rear, but given that the rear heats up a lot more than the front, I'm suspect about its durability. I hope that explains my thought process! PS Sometimes racing is about a lot of expense and very little gain (especially with a Blast considering what it costs to get a few extra horsepower)! (Message edited by gearheaderiko on November 19, 2005) | ||
| Ezblast |
Concur! | ||
| Slaughter |
TEASER!!! I can't wait for Matty's post... that's all I'm gonna say for now!! | ||
| Sarodude |
Uh, what about James?!?? POST GUYS!!!!!!! -Saro | ||
| Matty |
TEASER FIRST PLACE  | ||
| Ezblast |
| ||
| Slaughter |
Remember folks - that Blast that Matty is running (Erik Oberg's little beastie) - doesn't really have any hyper-trick stuff done to it AND he's beating some Ascots that have some pretty trick stuff done to their motors. We even had a lady from Victorville come out on her Lightning to watch and she was talking about doing track days on her Lightning... now she's thinking about keeping her Blast and making it a track bike after talking to everybody in the pits. Whoda thunkit. | ||
| Matty |
"I gotta fever and the only cure is more cowbell." A great race in the 500 singles class, seven competitors in all, two of whom tried to fit into the same space while trying to get through turn one - raised my eyebrows a bit while I was weaving through the pack. I think they both stayed upright, but I was too busy trying to run down the class champion to pay them much attention. Maybe I should've used the horn? The Ascots certainly have a horsepower advantage. It's very obvious when they launch and in the top speeds through turn 8. Fortunately, they don't handle as well as the Blast. On lap 2, I set Larry up for an inside pass since he has to use the brakes and I don't The rest of the race was left to trying to lay under the paint and not crash or blow up. I don't think Erik would be too keen on either of those results.... I did have a gray hair moment on the last lap however. Coming out of the turn four apex I was rolling on the throttle. Instead of accelerating the bike popped and slowed down. Crap says I, I'm running out of gas! Fortunately, once I got the bike upright there was enough fuel to get going again and finish. So we have 2 races with 2 first place finishes on Eriks bike. Not too shabby! The XB head, piston, and cams make a world of difference on this thing and it's all bolt-on easy to do stuff. There's a bunch of creative thought going on too with trying different pipes, trying to get a working tach, etc. Congrats to Erik and James both for building a great bike! I think I've got Blast fever... | ||
| Sarodude |
Christopher Walken rules on SNL! Congrats on a good job, guys! Erik & James built a reliable machine to carry Matty to 2 back to back wins!!! Cool! I don't have the 500 singles rules before me and I'm really not familiar with any bike racing rules... Does the class require a stock head? Strictly speaking, the XB head doesn't bolt completely on so it may not even be "stock appearing" (what a bunch of BS). A bracket must be fabbed for the rear and something done up front for the .250" (?) isolator bracket mounting width difference. I'm sure a Blast head could be heavily breathed upon - but the co$t factor would probably start to suck. I'm not trying to pop any bubbles. I think this is awesome! I just don't want a result to be DQ'd because of a technicality. -Saro (Message edited by sarodude on November 21, 2005) | ||
| Matty |
Most folks don't even know Buells exist let alone what the diffs are between the models. You think those other bikes are stock??? I've got some prime Beach front property I'd like to sell you!  The rules are there to keep the classes even. We aren't running away from anyone. We're just doing what we can, within limits, to keep the bikes competitive. Otherwise what's the point of racing? Technically, they could DQ the S1 Blasts, but they don't because it's good for the class, and at the moment they really don't have any advantage at all. Now if you showed up with a Rotax stuffed in there, someone might tap you on the shoulder and ask for a deposit in the "shush fund". | ||
| Matty |
500cc SINGLES Motorcycle must be four-stroke single cylinder, originally intended for street-use. Purpose-built dirt bikes are not allowed, dual-purpose bikes are. 1. Chassis and Suspension a.) Frames must be stock. Brackets and tabs may be removed. b.) Front suspension must be stock. Internal modifications (i.e. re-valving and springs) are permitted. c.) Rear shock(s) may be changed, mounting points may not be changed. d.) Swingarms must be stock. e.) Wheels must be stock. f.) Brake calipers must be stock. Pads may be upgraded. Stock brake lines may be replaced with stainless-steel braided lines. Front brake rotors may be replaced with aftermarket steel rotors replicating o.e.m. dimensions, provided the aftermarket rotors m.s.r.p. is less than that of o.e.m. disc m.s.r.p. Rear rotors must be stock. g.) Tires must be D.O.T. street-legal approved. Slicks are not allowed. h.) Steering damper may be added. 2. Engine a.) Motor must be based on original (i.e. cases, cylinder head and cylinder). b.) Motor may be modified at your discretion. Cams, carburetors, pipes, pistons, clutch springs and plates, etc., are permitted. c.) Overbore is limited to 1mm over stock. Stroke must remain stock. d.) Starter and batteries may be removed. 3. General a.) Streamlining (i.e. fairing) is not permitted, unless motorcycle was so equipped (oem) stock. | ||
| Sarodude |
Hey Matty- Was the tank topped up before the start of the race? How'd ya run dry-ish? Or is the fuel pickup that marginal? Or did you underestimate the fuel needed? -Saro | ||
| Matty |
We are running a 385.5 main jet, so it goes through a tank of 112 octane fuel fairly quickly... I forgot to also thank AAA for getting me into my truck after I locked the keys in it! | ||
| Jprovo |
Uh, what about James?!?? Okay… First off, I had a TON of fun, and had a safe time with no incidents. The track is a definite challenge… Hat’s off to all the racers, it is definitely not as straightforward I thought it would be to go around a racetrack. The stamina and skill exhibited by Matty, Slaughter, Patrick, Jim and the other racers is significant, and I have a much greater understanding of what they go through. How did new racers school go? Willow Springs is HUGE… The track is so wide. I have nothing to compare it to except maybe the 18 up to Big Bear, without lanes, and smoother… and even that is not a fair comparison. If you have never ridden 120++ a FAST motorcycle, you have no idea how fast this track is… Turn 8 is amazingly fast. I’d come down the back straight, as fast as I could go, roll off the throttle for 8, and realize that I could have left the throttle on full and not backed off at all… There are guys doing 120++ around 8… It is probably one of the fastest turns on any track out there… I was slow – too slow to feel like I deserved to be on the track racing without some more experience, and definitely too slow to be safe on the track… I learned a lot, and I still have much more to learn. I steadily decreased lap times throughout the day. My first session out I ran a 2:35 the second lap, after the instructors let us go, and eventually got down to 2:20. At the end of the day, on my second to last lap, I ran a 2:14. I felt that I really improved throughout the day, and I know where I can make up some significant time… I’m about 15 seconds off the pace I need to be at, and 30 seconds under the 500cc singles lap record. I really need to run under a 2:00 consistently to be out on the track. It’s as much of a safety issue as anything else. In the 500 novice class, and in 0-500cc practice, you run with everything from other singles racers to guys on 250 GP bikes. The fast guys are going an average of over 100 mph, and at 2:00, you’re running 75 mph average speed. To come up on someone going that much slower that you is a challenge. I really don’t want to be going so slow that I’m a mobile brick wall ready for someone to plow into… I’m sure that the other racers feel the same way… In all fairness, to my other NRS competitors, they all had at least one track day under their belts, and most had over 70 horsepower more that I had to deal with… Some of them were also 30+ seconds off the lap records for the classes that they run in, and probably nearly as slow through the corners as I was, but when you can do 140 down the straight it helps get you under 2:00… I’m not discouraged, in all reality, I’m happy with what I have accomplished so far. I’ll pull another track day before next month’s races, and hopefully find 10 seconds… Then next month I’ll try new racers school again. The race director, Larry, has promised to pull out his single and show me around the track for the day… Hopefully that will get me into the 1:50’s. James | ||
| Slaughter |
Boy James, you done good keeping your head on straight in some pretty fast company this month! If you got Larry himself offering to work with you in NRS next month, don't turn down an offer like that - not only does he know Willow but he's Matty's big competition in your class. Larry (until Matty's arrival) was cleaning up in 500 singles! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Saro: By my estimates there was at least 1 1/2 gallons of gas in the tank, apparently though running for 15 miles leaned hard over on the right (as Matty did) and the petcock being on the left, leaves you starved for gas, eventually.It was supposed to be full, but I hadnt anticipated that problem and didnt worry about it when it wasnt. The XB head is really a gray area depending on interpretation of the rules (as I see it). It doesnt need any engine modifications to be bolted on, only frame mount mods. I have thought about doing a full race Blast head mostly to get the stock mounting points back and to a lesser degree to conform to the class rules (by strict interpretation). Doubtfull if anyone would protest the head though. (Message edited by gearheaderiko on November 22, 2005) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Willow Springs raceway: The freakiest thing about WSMR is on paper it looks simple. But all the tight turns are going up and down a hill. leaving all kinds of weird angles. The slower riders were taking the omega (which really has a nice bank)sitting almost straight up. The fast guys were dragging their knee. One of the pro's on an RZ250(?) pulled a nice wheelie going into it! | ||
| Ezblast |
James - I've followed your lines - relax and enjoy - I'm sure you'll get even faster with practice! Matty - your skill is without a doupt! Erik - again great job keeping up that winning bike! GT - JBOTDS! EZ |
