Highlights of the weekend.
Let’s start with the thing that was incredibly obvious on the first pass down the track.
The new gearing and clubman bars are a great improvement.
Over the weekend I made 19 passes down the track and didn’t do any sky wheelies. Not even one.
I did pull off a couple of really nice 2nd gear wheelies.
On my 1st pass of the day, I hit 2nd gear and whacked the throttle and the front wheel started coming up, and up, and up, and finally I chickened out and shifted into 3rd.
But the wheel came up nice and slow, not like the wheelies that I was doing at the other tracks, where the wheel came straight up, really fast.
During the first round of qualifying I did the same thing, only this time I held the throttle and rode it out.
After qualifying, a couple of old guys who were watching came over to check out the bike and chat.
They said the wheel was about a foot off the ground, and I carried it for 20 or 25 feet.
(If that’s true, then it was my best wheelie ever in my life,).
So, the new gears and bars helped prevent the out of control, 1st gear wheelies, but there was also another contributing factor.
My Clutch Sucks.
The new EBC clutch plates worked great. They didn’t slip at all. The clutch releases fine and engages nice.
It works great, on the street.
But there’s a lot of play in the clutch basket, and there are some grooves wore into both the basket and the clutch hub.
The grooves are preventing the plates from fully separating and the clutch drags a bit.
At 2000, 2500, 3000 rpm it’s not noticeable at all.
At 4000 rpm, the clutch wants to pull the bike forward, and I literally have to hold it back, using my feet.
At 4500 rpm, there’s no holding it back. I have to apply the front brake to keep the bike from moving.
For the majority of my runs last weekend, the engine was revving at 4000 rpm when the light turned green.
Unfortunately, this rpm was bit low and the bike would still bog, before hitting the power band and taking off.
So, my clutch isn’t ideal, but, as we all know, there is a simple solution to my problem.
Just roll on more throttle and slowly let out the clutch.
You know, - Learn How To Ride The Motorcycle.
It sounds so simple when you say it fast.
And on the street, I have no problem; I’m a master at slipping a clutch. I can pull away from a stoplight at an idle.
But put a green light in front of me and I forget to roll on the throttle as I’m letting out the clutch.
Ooops, my bad. But I’m working on it.
(Really hope I catch on soon. Just about stalled the bike on one of my runs)
My reaction times are coming down. My best time so far is 0.075 sec.
I finally had a reaction time that was measured in hundreds of a second, instead of tenths of a second. Whoop. Whoop.
In Rimbey, my Average reaction time over 20 runs, was 0.408 sec.
In Edmonton, my Average reaction time over 12 runs, was 0.328 sec.
In Ft. St. John, my Average reaction time over 19 runs, was 0.286 sec.
My E.T.’s are also coming down
In Edmonton, my Average ¼ mile E.T., over 12 runs, was 13.613 sec.
In Ft. St. John, my Average ¼ mile E.T., over 19 runs, was 13.287 sec.
In addition my 60’ times are also coming down.
In Edmonton, my Average 60’ time, over 12 runs, was 2.360 sec.
In Ft. St. John, my Average 60’ time, over 19 runs, was 2.265 sec.
From looking at the averages, and comparing them to individual runs, a reduction of 0.1 seconds on my 60’ times, is giving me a 0.2 to 0.3 faster E.T.
On my faster runs, my 60’ times have been just over 2.1 seconds.
Qualifying Round 1 - 60’ time of 2.119 sec., and an E.T. of 13.038 sec.
Elimination Round 1 – 60’ time of 2.113 sec., and an E.T. of 13.058 sec.
If I can ever learn to launch this bike, I’m hoping to get my 60’ times under 2.0 seconds.
For comparison, the 2 Victory bikes have 60' times of 1.8 to 1.9 seconds, and ¼ mile times between 12.4 and 12.6 seconds.
The Kawi triple is still being tweaked, so it didn’t race last weekend, but it did make 3 passes down the rack during the open test session.
His 60’ times were between 1.4 and 1.6 seconds, and his ET’s are getting quicker.
Run1 in 11.11 sec. at 120 mph
Run 2 in 10.78 sec. at 119 mph
Run 3 in 10.16 sec. at 123 mph.
And the final surprise for the evening.
In my last 2 rounds of Elimination on Sunday, I went too fast, broke out, and lost both races.
I was a little bummed. If I was going to go too fast, the least I could have done was break into the 12 second bracket. WTF?
Last night I was organizing my time slips and putting all the information into a spreadsheet, when I noticed something interesting.
In Sundays Round 3 Street Qualifying, I ran at 13.038 seconds.
In Round 3 Qualifying for Hot Twin, I ran at 13.226 seconds.
Or so I thought.
When I rechecked the time slips, I discovered that it was the guy in the other lane that ran 13.226.
My time was actually a new record for me.
60’ time of 2.104 seconds,
and a ¼ mile time of 12.975 seconds.