Round 3 Report

The forcast was a bit dodgy for the weekend, but like almost every weekend at Gimli, the forcasters can never get it right.  This time, that was a good thing as they were calling for rain on Saturday, but it never came.

Saturday Practice

My goals for the weekend was simply improving my lap times.  The frontrunners in both ULGP and Thunder were 1-2.5 seconds in front of me last round; if I could knock a second off of my best lap time on each bike, I would be closer to the front and continuing to push the limits of the bike and me.  "Make haste slowly" is a good thing to remember, especially when this sport is just a hobby, is supposed to be for fun, and most of the time I need to go to work on Monday morning... even if I do get summers off.  As usual, I started the weekend on the Supermono... for some reason my onboard lap timer was not working, but I was happy to see a string of 1:10s after the end of the first session.  The traffic was light being the first practice of the day, and the track was in good shape.  Just a little more from me and the bike, and I would get that elusive 1:09!

The second session saw me on the EX, and I was again pleased with a bunch of consistent low 1:07s and I even snuck in a 1:06 right at the end!  I had already reached 1 goal of going faster than the last round.  Again, not setting the world on fire, but I am still improving.

Race 1:  Canadian Thunder GP (15 laps)

A good race overall.  Doug, and Rod were off on their own at the front, and for awhile, my group of me, Mert, and Jason kept Wilson in sight until he pulled away.  That left a 3-way battle for 4th.  I was able to get by Jason and Mert overcooked turn one in lapped traffic, so I ended up prevailing this skirmish.  On top of that, Rod pulled off as not to muck up the championship battle with the regulars, elevating me to 3rd.  Not how I wanted to get my first Thunder podium in 4 years, but I'll take it regardless.

Race 2:  ULGP #1 (12 laps)

The poor weather cut down on numbers overall in all classes, and ULGP was no different.  Only 6 bikes took to the grid.  A bit of a humdrum race;  Mert's RGV was sick, so he was out on a GSXR400, which didn't handle very well.  Lance then scampered off on his Aprilia, leaving me in 2nd overall, 1st expert.  Did some 1:10s in the race, but the :09 I was looking for did not materialize.  Damn!

Race 3:  ULGP #2

A more interesting race as I was determined to throw down some fast laps and try to keep the rs250 behind me.  And I did, for about half the race.  I started to imagine hearing buzzing 2-strokes in my ears out of every corner, but no one has passed me in the turns all year on the Supermono -- on the straights, however... sure enough, on lap 6, Lance came streaking by on his bike and put some distance between us.  Again, 1st in class, 2nd overall.  I'm still leading the expert championship by a healthy margin... can't wait to get the Husky finished!!!  I need more power!!!

Saturday night was not a good one.  Started to feel horrible, the rain and wind came, and blew down the canopy.  It was toast.  I guess you get what you paid for, and it kept the sun off of me for 2.5 race weekends.  I ended up crashing by about 8:30 pm -- not a good sign as that usually means a cold coming on.  The weather actually blew over and it got decent again later that evening, but I was sawing logs by then.  Much needed rest, I guess.

I was of course up like a box of birds by 6 am the next morning.  This allowed me time to move my bike out from under the permanent concession stand (moved there in the pouring rain the night before), get the pit ready, and head out to breakfast with Doug, and back in plenty of time to get prepped for day 2.  Practice was OK, but there were still damp spots around the track so I was being extra cautious, turning a couple of 1:07s each session.

Race 4:  Canadian Thunder #2 (10 laps)

Still starting on the 6th spot on the grid, but hopefully I move up 1 place by next round.  I'll let the video do the talking...

So somewhat happy with another 4th, but a fighting 4th at that... always fun to dice during a race, and Mert just barely beat me on his hot-rod 650... less that a second at the line.... 1 more lap???

Race 5:  Canadian Thunder #3 (10 laps)

Once again, for your viewing pleasure:

 

In all, a positive weekend.  I went faster on the EX, and of course, there is room for more improvement.  The dyno work definately helped, as you can see me gaining on SVs somewhat in the video, and having similar horsepower is nice.  With a month off between rounds, and lots of time to fettle with the bikes, it is sometime tough to acertain where the improvement came from -- the dyno, my new master cylinder, the new tires, even the duct tape to improve aerodynamics?  Well, perhaps I can take some credit in that the rust is continuing to come off the rider somewhat, and I'm getting a bit better myself...

On the mito front, the rad is on, rearsets have been fabricated, and the front forks finally fitted (say that 5 times fast).  Currenly doing some fibreglassing to allow more room for the radiators, and waiting for the muffler to come in so I can start mocking up the exhaust system.  Pics to follow as soon as I get the camera back from Kate.

video of the work in progress

some pics

AJ Enns snapped some great pics at the last race weekend.  Here a just a few...

Race Report: Round 2

An up and down weekend, literally. 

Saturday Practice

The day dawned warm and clear -- perfect conditions for racing.  I took out the supermono for the first practice session, and actually turned some decent lap times, getting into the 1:10s -- that's 3 seconds faster than the last round.  The proper race tires certainly had something to do with the increase in speed, as well, I assume, as the gearing changes and the suspension tweaking.
The second practice session was also a good one, out on the EX650 and running in the 1:07s, again much improved over last round, but still a few seconds per lap behind the top guys.  The other issue would be my starting position, at the back of the experts due to missing 2 races on Sunday of Round 1.

Race 1:  Canadian Thunder GP
I was able to video this race, and I will upload it shortly.  Highlights for me was dicing with Jason (and getting by when he was balked by a lapped rider), and catching back up to Mert on his hot rod 650.  Wasn't able to pass, but it was nice to see a rider come back to me over the course of a race.  Ended up 5th overall, with several 1:07 laps; however Doug and Peter were on a different planet, turning times in the 1:04s -- got a ways to go then!

Race 2:  ULWGP 1

A good race, led for awhile until the 2 strokes came by me -- Mert on the RGV, Lance on the Aprilia, and the 125 rider as well.  However, we were essentially nose to tail the whole race, having the lead in sight at all times.  I ended up 3rd overall, with the 125 going off-track.  Mert got the expert win in 2nd overall, with the improving Lance 1st on the Aprilia.  Not that far ahead, however!

Race 3:  ULWGP 2

A better race for me, taking the lead and only losing at the end of the straight on lap 2 -- again the 250s have the legs on my bike (and at least 15 hp as well!) -- this time I stayed right on Mert's tail and capitalized coming out of turn 5 on the 2nd last lap.  I tried to bury myself into the bike for the last 2 straights, expecting his machine to blow by me, but he never did.  2nd overall, 1st expert.  Huzzah!  Lance and the Aprilia took the win.

Sunday
Sunday practices were OK, considering the deluge that hit the track at about midnight Saturday.  Tough to sleep in the back of a station wagon while it sounds like ball bearings are falling on your head.  Luckily the rain stopped and I got some sleep.  Lap times of others were a bit slower, while mine stayed the same... perhaps all the running has paid off!

Race 4:  Canadian Thunder #2
This is a shorter 10-lap version of yesterday's 15-lapper.  Another decent race, for at least 9 laps.  In the 1:07 again, however a couple of riders behind me were motoring on their SVs, one guy tried a banzai move on the white flag lap going into turn 1; I just saw him out of my periphery, but I did have the position going into the turn.  I leaned over and sure enough I felt a bang as his bike ran into the back of mine.  I stayed upright for awhile, but went off track and crashed, flipping myself and the bike back onto the track when all was said and done.  The race was red-flagged and deemed complete at 9 laps. The end result was a wrecked helmet (yes, the custom-painted one!), a broken footpeg, master cylidner, and swingarm spool mount, as well as a seriously dented tank and a mangled fairing.  Sh!t.  We were both Ok, or sort of, as me and the other rider got checked out by the ambulance crew.  It turns out I was scored as 5th (at the end of 9 laps) -- a bit of justice as the crash was not my fault.  The other rider apologized profusely and other witnesses agreed it was a dicey move.  Racing incident.

Race 5:  Canadian Thunder #3
Having gotten the green light by the paramedics, I set about preparing the mono for the last race, in order to "get back on the horse", and score some points.  Turns out it was a good idea, as fatigue (I think), and attrition saw me finish that race unscathed in 4th!  Still behind some of the novices (I started at the back of the novice grid in order to not get mugged going into turn 1), but I did pass some bigger bikes in the race, despite bringing a knife to a gunfight.  My lap times were a bit slower than I thought (1:11s), but considering how the earlier part of the day went, it was OK. 

Now I need to sort out some things -- mainly getting the swingarm repaired and fix the rearsets, tank, and fairing stay.  Time for new tires, as I think these ones are shagged.  I also plan to get the bike to a dyno to get properly mapped -- every other 650 is faster than it in a straight line, and trust me, I'm stretching the throttle cable!  A bit more speed would be nice, although much of the potential for faster times is still within me, not the bike.

Thanks to Vince Ritcher for the pics.

front engine mounts

Finished fabricating the front engine mounts, in steel.  Might get them tig-welded at Cycleboys as there is a difference in wall thicknesses from the plate to the tubing.  Also want to avoid distortion if at all possible.

That's 3/4" 4130 tubing, with some .090 steel plate.

Tubing ends left long to accomodate potential mounts for bodywork or radiator.

Fox shock off to Atom-Jet to get final machining done to fit in the frame.

Round 2 race next weekend.  Wish me luck!

busy weekend

Engine in the mito frame:

Front fairing installed, painted, clear coated, and numbers applied...

Steering damper -- advertised as an 03/04 zx6rr -- turned out to be from a zx600r... needed significant mods to fit to the triple, and then I had to fabricate a pin to weld to the frame.  Used an M8 bolt, welded a nut into the frame, used another shouldered nut to hold it in place.  Should work...

Back to Work

Developing a more durable fairing stay for the rc8 upper fairing.  All I ended up using was the alloy guage mounting plate from the vortex fairing stay.  A bit weedy!

Clutch cable is annoying... stock, has a near 90-degree bend in it that seems to foul on one thing or another as the bars are turned one way or another.  Will leave it for now...

Old MX innertube (punctured, never throw out anything!) is used to help mount the camera to the front stay.  Complementary oval hole in upper fairing should give a nice clear portal for the camera apeture.  Hammerite paint keeps the rust away.

Fitted a fox zx6r shock to the mito chassis.  Adjustable for just about everything, plus length, is a cheaper option than the 600+ asked by maxton or nitron, plus shipping from the UK.  No idea where I am at on spring rates, however.  Also, upper clevis mount needs to be machined, and inserts modified or new ones made in order to properly fit in the frame rails.  Hopefully I come out ahead with the machining required...

Some subframe modification/notching required to fit the shock and the remote resevoir and adjuster.  Will clean up this area once the shock has been properly fitted.  Note sharpie marker lines for a curved cut... sharp corners are stress inducers!