big_sur's Race Build

[unicorn_violence]

If you ever wondered what Spring in Colorado is like...72 degrees yesterday and 2-4 ft of snow predicted tonight through Sunday. Don't freeze poor little bike...

had to do the same to my bike. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it didn't freeze! it will be in the 80's with severe storms by this weekend i'm sure lol
did you end up getting the 30 inches of snow? my area got like 14

 

[big_sur]

I'd guess we got prolly 2 - 2.5 ft on average, but it drifted over 3 ft in places. I'm shooting for IMI Friday afternoon so hopefully it'll all melt off by the end of the week and make loading a little easier. Round 1 is approaching very quickly.

 

[big_sur]

Took about 45ml out of the forks and doing stoppies on my street, I was getting 75% travel which is a solid 25% improvement. It was cold and the front kept locking up so I'm going to give it a shot with some heat in the tires tomorrow and see how it does. Probably end up taking more out...which is kind of ridiculous that I paid someone to do this. Not having to deal with it the week before round 1 was the point.

Also, got the AIM Solo mounted up so hopefully I can figure that out tomorrow so I can have some real-time feedback for round 1.

 

[tecknojoe]

Where'd you get that syringe contraption? I still need to do mine but the bike is still waiting for dyno time.

 

[DCMoney]

Where'd you get that syringe contraption? I still need to do mine but the bike is still waiting for dyno time.

Fork Oil Level Tool

Buy some of the replacement plunger seals too. Plunger Seal for 08-0121 Fork Oil Level Gauge

 

[micahpearlman]

Wow. 45ml is quite a bit. I could feel a big difference with 15ml per leg.

Took about 45ml out of the forks and doing stoppies on my street, I was getting 75% travel which is a solid 25% improvement. It was cold and the front kept locking up so I'm going to give it a shot with some heat in the tires tomorrow and see how it does. Probably end up taking more out...which is kind of ridiculous that I paid someone to do this. Not having to deal with it the week before round 1 was the point.

Also, got the AIM Solo mounted up so hopefully I can figure that out tomorrow so I can have some real-time feedback for round 1.

 

[big_sur]

Yeah, suspension guy apparently overfilled the shit out of them so I think I'm probably still above the stock level.

 

[big_sur]

This is the result with hot tires...gonna try taking out another 10ml

 

[Superpacman13]

This is the result with hot tires...gonna try taking out another 10ml

Thats really close to all the travel they actually have.

 

[micahpearlman]

I measured suspension bottom 44mm of fork leg from the bottom cap (others claim +\- a few millimeters). I've been keeping my oil level to keep 5mm from bottoming. Bottoming is pretty harsh for those forks so watch out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[big_sur]

I'm sitting at 44mm so it sounds like that's probably the bottom, though i didn't feel it so I'm calling it good there. Thanks guys!

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

 

[big_sur]

Got some new Pirelli SC1's mounted up in 110/150 and got out to Pueblo today. Since I've done new tires and fixed the front forks the front end feels a lot better and I'm getting a lot more feedback from the front. I'm not sure what to attribute it to, but at least it's headed in the right direction. It finally got warm here and temps were about perfect in the low to mid 80s. In the last session of the morning I banged out an unofficial track record so I think I'm calling it Ready to Race and putting it in the trailer for the first round.

After lunch, it got super windy and kind of screwed up my gearing. I was topping out way early on the front straight with the wind at my back and four turned into a banging-into-the-limiter affair on entry. You definitely got blown around some and I was generally running around 1:50 in the afternoon, though I did hook up with the defending 400 champion and we got down to 1:49.2 at one point. Despite generally being on pace with an open track, I got dropped hard whenever we hit traffic. Again, the whole racecraft thing is going to be a lot of learning.

I thought this was kind of interesting comparing my best lap in the morning (1:48.2, green line) with my best lap from the afternoon (1:49.2, red line). The green line is 2 mph slower on the straight so I'm just barely shy of redline normally but you can see the red line tops out super early with the wind at my back on the straight. If this was for a race, I probably would've changed sprockets.

As you can see, I got the AIM Solo mounted up and it's really easy to use, though the accompanying software could use an update from an aesthetic perspective. It's definitely function over form but it's interesting to poke around in.

I need to get the RV loaded but then I think I'll be ready to try this whole racing thing.

 

[tecknojoe]

Son of a bitch

 

[big_sur]

First race is finally coming up and I got the RV ready today. It tows so much better with the weight distributing hitch. I still wouldn't do long distance or mountains with my truck but it's perfectly fine for going to the races. Flushed the tanks, put on two new batteries, and got prepared for motogp on Sunday. I've got some limited loading to do still but it's more or less ready to roll out Thursday.

 

[Hekimpd]

Damn, very nice. Good Luck and be safe!

 

[big_sur]

So I can now officially say I've raced a motorcycle. First round is a wrap and no crashing with a couple top 5's so I'll call that success. I had never ridden this track before and work cut into my practice on Friday so I got half a day practice in and was still a few seconds off the pace going into Saturday. Got screwed in traffic and got no clean qualifying laps so I started 3rd row, 7th back on Saturday with a mid 1:08. Kept hesitating on the starts and ended up 5th on Saturday after a red flag incident directly in front of me 5 laps into my first race. Did some other races where the RC wasn't super competitive but it was good for learning and hopefully those will be a little less of a mess once the grids get set by points and I'm not struggle bussing through traffic.

Got into the 1:06's qualifying on Sunday and qualified 4th (tecknoJoe apparently ate his wheaties and qualified\finished 3rd in the 1:05's) but I was timid again on the start and ended up 5th again after I got passed by supermoto dude again on the start. I made a bunch of novice mistakes but it was great experience and lots of learning. It's going to be a fun season.

Few pics...

5 minutes into my first race ever and this happens in front of me...
[video=youtube;vyDj44oECKM]https://youtu.be/vyDj44oECKM?t=5m[/video]

 

[tecknojoe]

People don't just come into the MRA and lay down laps like that. I'm glad we're over and done with PPIR, it's always a one off that no one has any practice at. I think you're going to be one of the favorites at pueblo. Especially now that you have a race weekend under your belt and have started to pick up on some veteran tricks. Great job this weekend man!

 

[big_sur]

Thanks and congrats again on your podium! You can slow down now.

On a bike related note, the only change I really made over the weekend (omg there's so much to do and learn) was getting forced back into a Dunlop a13 rear which I did not like compared to the Pirelli. After my first race Saturday, my rear was done so I went to get another only to find the Pirelli vendor was out of 140's and 150's. Ended up having to go back over to a Dunlop rear and it was not on par with the Pirelli. Had a few flat tracking moments after the change...
[video=youtube_share;60HfGuxdEmM]https://youtu.be/60HfGuxdEmM[/video]

 

[A1VW2NV]

Nice save!!

 

[unicorn_violence]

dang! i didn't realize that bike ran over Sean! glad he was alright. good job on race weekend man you were flying!