| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
This from this week's MCN in UK: As if he wasn't busy enough testing BMW's new 800cc GP machine, Jeremey McWilliams has been offered the chance to race full time with Buell in the 2007 American FX series. The British rider took a Buell XBRR to 8th place at Laguna Seca last week. McWilliams, who is juggling racing for Buell with his BMW testing duties in Europe, may now race in the next two US FX rounds while he contemplates a full time switch next season. The former Moto GP rider said: "I would look at coming to race full time. It depends on what the offer is but I'd definitely give it serious consideration". After non finishes at Daytona and Infineon earlier in the year, McWilliams was happy to get a finish under his belt at Laguna and added: "I'm happier with the bike but we need to find a second a lap consistently. I'm not so happy with where we finished but first we needed a finish. There is a small area where the bike works at its best in the rev range and to keep it there I've got to keep it mailed. Keep it right on the limiter. We need a bit more agility to make it a little lighter in some corners and try to spread the power out a little bit more. The powerband is quite small and if you let it drop below 7000rpm then it hesitates a little and that's where I lose drive. When we get going we are the same speed as the bikes in front and for a while I thought if I can get my head down here I could be sixth. I could see the fight for fifth and that's really where I wanted to be but it just didn't happen. We need a bit of over rev on the corner exit. It just stops at 8500rpm and that's it". | ||
| Whodom |
Matt, Thanks for passing that along. That news is potentially great, and it's interesting to read some inside comments by McWilliams on the actual performance of the bike. Sounds like they still have some engine development work to do. The Roadracing World magazine article mentions that they've already raised the rev limiter on some bikes from 8250 to 8500 RPM, but that this significantly reduces engine life. From what McWilliams says, they either need the power band to start lower or they need another 250 RPM out of it. I'm sure they'll get there; it may just take a few more races. | ||
| Brineusaf |
Awesome info | ||
| Slaughter |
Terry Galagan said that McWilliams is an incredible development rider - able to analyze problems on the track and make specific recommendations that WORK. We're talking about tiny details such as adding 5cc more fork oil, lowering the front end 1mm... we're talking subtle stuff that makes measurable improvements one small step at a time. It'd be amazing to see Jeremy stay on both as a racer AND development rider. | ||
| Davegess |
We're talking about tiny details such as adding 5cc more fork oil, lowering the front end 1mm... we're talking subtle stuff that makes measurable improvements one small step at a time. I have heard the same thing. He is also able to evaluate many things at once and figure out the race track all at the same time. Could hardly ask for a better rider. Wonder is Warr's will run here all year of if Jezza would run for one of the other dealers? | ||
| Court |
I expect exciting news. | ||
| Trojan |
And I was hoping to sign Jeremy myself for next year   | ||
| M1combat |
Jeremy "Chuck Yeager" McWilliams. Hale to the King BABY! (If you've never played "Duke Nukem" you don't know...) | ||
| Slaughter |
Hale to the King BABY! Hale was on the OTHER bike! (gotchya)  | ||
| Ebear |
Duke Nukem........Dude , that was a LOOOOONG Time AGO... | ||
| M1combat |
Duke Nukem Forever should be out soon... | ||
| Diablobrian |
Jeremy is a great development rider and racer. We would be lucky indeed to have him on board a Buell full time for a full season! or more | ||
| M1combat |
Agreed... Someone needs to fork over the cash for sure. I'll donate $100. I think I have a coupon for 50% off "services" at the Mustang ranch too  . I'll throw that in. (Message edited by m1combat on August 02, 2006) | ||
| Jimidan |
Jeremy McWilliams sez: "There is a small area where the bike works at its best in the rev range and to keep it there I've got to keep it mailed. Keep it right on the limiter. We need a bit more agility to make it a little lighter in some corners and try to spread the power out a little bit more. The powerband is quite small and if you let it drop below 7000rpm then it hesitates a little and that's where I lose drive." Hmmm, I thought I read that he said how nice it was to ride a bike with "a nice wide power band". So, in summation, the bike needs a wider power band and to be lighter (read titanium parts). Wringing 150 HP out of this mill is already pushing it, where will the extra power come from without getting back into grenadeville? Sounds expensive...very expensive. jimidan | ||
| Whodom |
We need a bit more agility to make it a little lighter in some corners Jim, That doesn't necessarily mean a lighter bike/titanium parts. Isn't he talking about suspension issues? On the engine, it sounds like he either wants ~250-500 RPM more on top or the powerband to start at ~6000 RPM. NASCAR short track engines with similar bore/stroke ratios, pushrods, and 2 valves/cylinder reliably turn ~9000+ RPM and have pretty broad power bands. Seems like either or both power goals are reasonably achievable with further development work. Nobody that knows much about racing thought this was gonna be a cakewalk. Well, nobody except for the ones that lamented how Buell was being given such an "unfair advantage" in FX by being allowed 2.25X the displacement...  | ||
| Diablobrian |
Those nascar motors aren't air cooled, or on a single pin crank with knife and fork rods. The 90deg V8 also has better primary balance too. Yes, he was talking about the bikes handling characteristics not physical weight if the quote is in context, and I'm sure it is. Jeremy has the skills to tell them exactly what he wants, and how to get it. A different cam profile could easily spread the power out a bit. It may cost a bit of top end though to make the power band wider though. | ||
| Whodom |
Those nascar motors aren't air cooled, or on a single pin crank with knife and fork rods. Valid points (well, V-8's do share crank pins between cylinders). Which brings to mind the question, has anybody ever built a Buell or HD engine with conventional (non knife-and-fork) rods? It would require the cylinders to be offset slightly, and it does create a minor additional imbalance, but it might be an overall improvement. Vincent V-twins were built this way. Here's an idea for broadening the power band- how about a race version of the interactive muffler valve? (Message edited by whodom on August 03, 2006) | ||
| Anonymous |
Oh, Jimi, jimi, how you love to beat on us. We just need to get the tuning better down in the 6000 to 7000 rpm range, and get it right for the track and day. Not expensive at all, just time consuming. It'll get better with experience. Difficult when you get 30 minutes of practice before qualifying. You've heard Jeremy and others talk before about the wide powerband; we just didn't get it right that day, and he was interviewed "in the moment" fresh off the track. What folks don't understand Jeremy is talking about is the ability to get absolute precise metering when the bike is over 55 degrees from vertical and both wheels are sliding. An area few ever experience (other than in the process of falling down), but of course what it will take to get on the podium. Ever hear the infamous Zemke rants about his Honda when he doesn't win? They are a hoot! | ||
| Whodom |
Anony, Thanks for the inside info. We're looking forward to seeing you get this thing dialed in. | ||
| Jimidan |
Whodom wrote: "That doesn't necessarily mean a lighter bike/titanium parts. Isn't he talking about suspension issues?" That could be...them English, I can't understand half of what they say...and it is THEIR language! Whodom cont.: "On the engine, it sounds like he either wants ~250-500 RPM more on top or the powerband to start at ~6000 RPM. NASCAR short track engines with similar bore/stroke ratios, pushrods, and 2 valves/cylinder reliably turn ~9000+ RPM and have pretty broad power bands. Seems like either or both power goals are reasonably achievable with further development work." What Diablo said. And they spend at least $65,000 on a non-major "NASCAR type" engine to get it to turn up that high. When I said it sounds expensive, I wasn't "beating" on anybody, just noting that this was supposed to be an FX competitive turn-key bike for $31,000. That sounded way optimistic to me at the time, and it seems like it is proving to be so. Jeez, these anony types are sensitive...  and Whodom cont.: "Nobody that knows much about racing thought this was gonna be a cakewalk. Well, nobody except for the ones that lamented how Buell was being given such an "unfair advantage" in FX by being allowed 2.25X the displacement..." I certainly didn't think it was going to be a cakewalk either. In fact, I looked at how much the bike was going to cost and said 'no way'. I think the optimist were the guys who said that they were designing and building a FX spec bike for $31K that would be competitive with the factory teams. That isn't beating on anybody, but just stating a fact. The fact is that Jeremy is still 3 plus seconds (in racing, that is an eternity) off of the competitive times...and that sounds very expensive to try to make up. The other guys are even further behind and the target bikes keep getting faster. A lot more expensive than $31K. But hey, I spend a lot of hard earned money going to the tracks and rooting my ass off for these underdog Buells, so I think it is unfair to say that I "love to beat up on" these guys! jimidan (Message edited by jimidan on August 04, 2006) | ||
| Jimidan |
For the record, I hope Jermey McWilliams is a full-time FX factory rider on the XBRR next year. I just love to watch him ride that bike. He is a top shelf rider. jimidan | ||
| Jlnance |
Does anyone know where Jeremy McWilliams'es web page is. I thought I knew, but apparently I'm wrong. | ||
| Whodom |
Does anyone know where Jeremy McWilliams'es web page is. I thought I knew, but apparently I'm wrong. It was http://www.jeremymcwilliams.com/. Evidently he didn't pay his ISP bill or someone hijacked his URL. | ||
| Court |
>>>this was supposed to be an FX competitive turn-key bike for $31,000. Oh it is. Make no mistake about it. Buyers are taking delivery as I type at the $31,000 MSRP. Cal your Honda dealer and tell them you want a replica of the Honda racing in FX (or even one that is 90% accurate) and you only have $31K to spend. In it's 3rd time on a race track, and with less cumulative practive time in the history of the bike than Honda logs in a 2 week period, the Buell XBRR has earned an 8th place at the famed Laguna Seca race track. Some folks seem to not realize the significance of this. On what is esssentially a show string budget, Buell has taken a bike that costs less than the forks on some of their competitors and made a credible showing. Racing is a funny process. There's no pool of knowledge that'd definitive to which one may go and draw all the right information. As scientitific as it is, racign demands a good deal of tial and error. You get it as right as you can based on numbers and calculations, then you take it to the track and find out how hundreds of variables interact. Having a person with the talent of Jeremy McWilliams hasn't that process, it does not eliminate it. I'm having a bit of a problem trying to think how I could be anymore amazed at what the folks at Buell have done or pleased with their progress. I confess that there are those of us who have, for 20 years, dreamed of the day a real Buell would be on a real race track. I'm still estatic over that. I'm confindent that the trajectory of progress that has gone from 4 DNF's to an 8th place finish in 3 races will continue unabated. | ||
| Jimidan |
I know someone whose dealership received its XBRR a long time ago, sans bodywork, so it is a fact that they are being shipped out to folks and the price is $31,000. That was not my point though, as obviously just receiving an XBRR doesn't make it competitive with the leaders in FX. I am amazed too just to see the XBRR run, and an 8th place finish puts it at the top of the true privateers in the class. Somehow, I don't believe that was all they were shooting for though, but it could have been. I know this is a work in progress and I never expected it to be a world beater right out of the box. My initial point was that once you get to the level of competition that is spending considerably more on development, things get a lot tougher...and much more expensive. If it were easy, the big boys wouldn't be spending all that money. My wife competes in "drug-free" bodybuilding competitions where she goes on a special diet in conjunction with daily workouts to lose nearly every ounce of fat on her body. The object is to lose the fat without losing the muscle, which is no small feat. So she eats 6 specially prepared meals a day, works out 3-4 hours a day, and consumes all kinds of nutritional supplements...it is all very scientific, but it is also an art. For this last round of competitions she was required to lose 30 lbs. over 16 weeks to get in "competition shape", the first 20 lbs. of which were relatively easy. The last 10 lbs. is much tougher and is what makes or breaks the competitors in these contests. It requires them to take very expensive nutritional supplements and do killer work-outs. The last 2-3 lbs. are very tough indeed, and separate the winners from the also-rans. This gives a whole new meaning to me for 'trimming the fat'. This analogy seems to apply to professional motorcycle road racing too. The Buell XBRR is in that stage where they are beating up on the other privateers, but now it is much tougher sledding trying to be competitive with the factory boys. This stage is very exciting for the Buell fans, but requires a lot of money to be spent and "killer workouts" by the competitors. I know I am excited about getting to witness this progress first hand, and I hope that the funding and dedication continue. I am not quite as amazed now that a "real Buell is on a real racetrack", and I believe that the ol' Don Tilley would be a bit disappointed in hearing that...so would Shawn Higbee. | ||
| Henrik |
Point of diminishing return .... Henrik | ||
| Pioggia_di_parata |
Spin spin spin. Oh my, the spin. How can you do it without getting dizzy? Court wrote: "In it's 3rd time on a race track..." Third attempt to race AMA FX is *not* the same as 3rd time on a race track. What about all those club races used as tests? The ones where the true believers here keep touting the great results? Those don't count as time on a race track? "...and with less cumulative practive time in the history of the bike than Honda logs in a 2 week period" More BS. If you count up all the hours the XBRR has actually been on a race track, there's no way 'Honda' could do that many hours of testing in two weeks. But the whole 'Honda' thing is a strawman anyway -- the XBRR isn't competing against 'Honda'. It's competing against privateers on Hondas such as Ty Howard & Ryan Andrews riding for Rockwall Honda (both of whom beat McWilliams at Laguna). "On what is esssentially a show string budget, Buell has taken a bike that costs less than the forks on some of their competitors and made a credible showing." I particularly love this angle. Don't compare the cost of the XBRR project to the efforts of the privateers it's actually (barely) competing with, compare it to the factory bikes it can't even keep in sight because that's less embarrassing. Or do you think Rockwall Honda has $30k forks on the CBR's those teenagers are using to beat a world class ringer? I think it's more likely that Rockwall has fewer total dollars into either of their CBR's than Warr's has into their XBRR. If you add in McWilliams' salary, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Warr's is spending as much to run one bike/rider as Rockwall is spending to run two. "I'm having a bit of a problem trying to think how I could be anymore amazed at what the folks at Buell have done or pleased with their progress." followed by: "I confess that there are those of us who have, for 20 years, dreamed of the day a real Buell would be on a real race track." Well there ya go. You're pleased with the rather weak showing of the XBRR because you've been dreaming of it for 20 years. Those who *haven't* been dreaming of it for 20 years, and are therefore able to actually assess the XBRR's results on their own merits, are not so impressed. When a privateer on an XBRR starts beating the privateers on other bikes then you'll have something to crow about. But as long as a world class grand prix rider on the XBRR is still finishing behind privateer teenagers on dealer-sponsored bikes, you got nuthin'. | ||
| Whodom |
I guess Dyna heard somebody talked good about him at BadWeb earlier today. Certainly can't expect him to let THAT rumor get started...  | ||
| Pioggia_di_parata |
Jimidan wrote: "The Buell XBRR is in that stage where they are beating up on the other privateers," No it isn't. At Laguna the XBRR still got beat by two inarguably privateer entries (the aforementioned Rockwall Honda bikes), and that's with a rider who was two seconds a lap faster than the other three very competent XBRR riders at Daytona. Without McWilliams at the helm the XBRR wouldn't have had a prayer at that top-10 Laguna finish. (And I'd wager that if McWilliams was on one of those privateer Rockwall Hondas he would've finished higher than 8th.) Let's see how many privateers finish ahead of Crevier and Hale this weekend at Mid Ohio and then revisit this claim that the XBRR is "beating up on the other privateers". | ||
| Paint_shaker |
What is the total cost to take my $10,000 Kawahondazuki motorcycle and make it competive in the FX class, as a privateer?? Or do I spend $31,000 on an XBRR and go racing?? |
