2fat2fly

You're welcome. You want your bike done right. That doesn't mean expensive, it just means "right". When other competitors look at what you're riding you want them to think that you care enough about yourself to do things the right way and that makes them feel better about lining up next to you.

That's a very bad idea. Find a 12 volt power wire coming off your run/kill switch on the right handlebar. It should show 0 volts when the key is off and 12 volts with the key on. Cut that wire and run 2 wires from it to a connector of whatever sort you can come up with. A jet ski kill would work in this situation. When wired correctly the dead man switch has to complete the ignition circuit or the bike won't start. Track tech officials occasionally check this and will fail you if it doesn't work. These from MPS are the most popular and reliable in my experience. http://www.mpsracing.com/products/MPS/hc01.asp http://www.mpsracing.com/instructions/MPS/Tether_Kill_Switch.pdf

Some more: Now you know I actually do ride it.

I also trimmed the fairing around the clutch cover to eleviate some of the stress put on that fairing. I believe that is part of why the exhaust is bound up against it. Then I took it for a ride and stopped at my favorite photo site to snap a couple pictures. It's the oldest still active covered bridge in Ohio (according to the Greene County Historical Society).

This morning I worked on a couple things relatd to heat issues. I applied heat barrier stuff to the underside of the right dash coevr to protect it from the blow off valve: And I also worked on the right fairing a little. I added 2 layers of carbon fiber sheet on top of the heat shield there. This is because the exhaust burned into the heat shield there.

I've never worn a Snell or DOT rated doo-rag, so what do I know about anything?

Thanks Butters. Wasn't crying about it, I was just trying to point out the usefulness of having one and the pointlessness of arguing being dead and whiplash free.

Wow, this got out of hand quick. I'm more interested in racing in any form (even 2 drunks in a 100 yard foot race outside a bar at 2am in January) than I am in watching the fuse get lit on somebody's tampon, but the fuse got lit on this one. I will weigh in on this as a person who wears helmets all the time and split one in a crash 19 years ago. Less than a quarter mile after pulling out of my driveway I came over a hill to find a car stopped in my lane. I really don't remember anything about the wreck but I was told later that I was going 45mph when I parted ways with my bike ( a beautiful blue/green/white 92 ZX7). I was told I landed on my feet facing the wrong direction but still going about as fast as I was on the bike. I immediately got slammed to the pavement head first. I woke up in the hospital that night with a broken foot and the worst headache I've ever had. The doctor told me they needed to keep me to monitor my brain swelling. It had swollen up as far as it could and if it were to go anymore they would need to start cutting holes in my skull to relieve pressure. The next day they showed me my helmet. It had split from the base in the back all the way around the top and stopped about an inch or two from the eye port on the front. I was also informed by the same doctor that my brains would have been all over the road had I not been wearing a helmet and that I had taken the hardest head-hit that he had seen somebody live through. I tend to think he was right because I know how much pain I experienced as a result of this wreck. I remember pulling out of my driveway and then waking up in the hospital that night. Everything in between is lost. Did I get whiplash from my helmet? I really doubt it and if I start experienceing pain from it years from now (or even today) I'll deal with it and continue to ride because helmets have afforded me these extra days and years that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. What you do is your business and I honestly don't care. I know several people who don't wear helmets whether they ride Harleys or everything else. It's your life live it how you want. I just thought I'd weigh in with what I KNOW about helmets. Can we get back to racing now????

I took the Cruising Missile out for a proper ride tonight. The Autotune seems to be working to my satisfaction so I went for a leisurely cruise to help it build fuelling tables to correct for everything I have going on. On my way back home I decided to really hit it after pulling away from a stop sign. It launched like a rocket and accelerated like it thought the Devil was on it's a$$ and getting closer. At around 3,500-4,000 rpm you could hear and feel the turbo loading as the exhaust pitch changed. This is where it started to make power and the boost guage started climbing. At 6,500 rpm it started lifting the front end and pulled like nothing I've ridden in a long time. At around 8,000 it felt like I hit a wall and the bike stopped accelerating abruptly and nosed over like I hit the brakes. It seems I have a minor problem. The blow off valve is dumping pressure prematurely. It's a simple fix, I just need to pull it apart and shim the spring. It's not a big deal but just one more thing to address before it's completely "right". So I know what I'll be doing tomorrow. I'm actually completely happy with it as it sits. It rides great,idles well and is performing up to expectations so far. There will be issues but I expect that. To slap all these parts together in one package and expect it to run like a well tuned race bike with the manners of a new Cadillac out of the box would be insanity at it's best. It will take a little time to work out all the bugs but I'm good with that. The real fun will be when it carries the correct boost all the way to redline with no hiccups. I'm looking forward to when I can launch it at around 4,500 RPM at the strip and keep it pinned all the way down the track.

I would be in for a Kilkare rental.

There are no metal guard rails because they use concrete walls now. You can see them in the pictures. I wouldn't try to learn drag racing at a national event either. Use your local weekly test & tune for that. Put in all the laps you can for as cheaply as possible so you can learn to drag race, you can learn the bike and what it takes to be consistent and fast. Then go to the big events.

I know your uncle and I've seen him race the Hondamatic.

Yamaha YSR50. I've owned 2 and would ride them anywhere there are 55mph roads. I wouldn't get on the interstate with one though,they just don't top out high enough.

I'm in that club too. There are quite a few on here that understand where you're coming from. E.T. racing is the most cost effective way to regularly race and be competitive. If you're running in a class with no delay boxes then you have as good a chance as anybody to take the win light. I respect and undersatnd what you're doing and I wish you all the luck in the World.Unfortunately I live more than an hour from you and really don't have anything to contribute to your pursuit. If you're down this way I'll happily help you out if I can. I live about 10 miles from Kilkare so I'll probably see you there at some point. This is my track jalopy: If you see me at the track stop over and introduce yourself.

I agree with everyone, but you can't race AHDRA or AMRA with anything but an American piece of iron. If that's the lifestyle he wants then Harley is the way he's got to go. http://www.amraonline.com/ AHDRA is dead: http://www.ahdra.com/ I don’t really know where to start. This is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do. I guess the best thing to do is just get it out of the way. The 2013 AHDRA Championship Points Series is cancelled. I am sorry for holding everyone up, but there was potential to work this out and I wanted to give it the best shot. Unfortunately, it did not materialize. With our declining sponsorship support, most likely driven by our declining racer and spectator attendance, most likely driven by our crappy economy, we are unable to plan a budget that has a positive bottom line. This would be the 5th year of negative cash flow for AHDRA and she just can’t stand it financially. Although they were committed to remaining as a presenting AHDRA sponsor for 2013, Harley-Davidson is moving most of its sponsorship spending to the NHRA’s Sportsman series. Last week’s news from the folks at Rush Racing Products, that they would not be continuing their sponsorship at AHDRA, was the final blow. These were our two largest sponsors and contributed the lion’s share of sponsor revenue for AHDRA. I want to thank Hawaya Racing, Vreeland’s H-D, Irene Fish, Frank Capone, RC Components, Gainesville H-D and all the others that have committed their support for 2013. However, without the level of support from Harley-Davidson and Rush, we can’t make the numbers work. I also want to thank Harley-Davidson and Rush Racing Products for their many years of support. Business is business and though I wish it were different, they made their decisions based on what’s best for their future. I have enjoyed working with Kris Schoonover at H-D and Terry Daniel and Lou Pringle at Rush. These were hard decisions for them to make, and I respect their need to make them. I also want to thank all of the AHDRA members and competitors. You are one great group of people. I have lived and breathed Harley Drag Racing for the past 14 years, and have met some of the finest people I have ever known. You inspired me and kept me going through the good times and the rough times. Please know that more than anything; you are what I will miss. On the bright side, there’s a bunch of places to race this year. AMRA looks like they have a good schedule. And with the Manufacturer’s Cup Series and NHRA offering several new venues, there should be ample opportunities to race. Maybe there’s even an enterprising entrepreneur out there that would like to take up the reins of AHDRA and run with it! I am open to any and all possibilities…… Sincerely, Craig Tharpe AHDRA memberships that were mailed in will be returned and if you signed up online with a credit card your card has not been charged. An official press release with more particulars will be published next week.

I'm thinking this was the only crime that was committed: "WCSO spokesman Derrick Jackson said the man is currently being treated at University of Michigan Health System" O! H!

I don't know anything about the AMRA ,but if crashing in the pits is like the campground at the Easy Rider's Rodeo in Chillicothe you won't get much (if any) sleep.

The track was open today and there were bikes running. I, however, was not. The track is beautiful and looks to be about the safest I've seen. The normal parking we enjoyed last year won't be happening this year. The old staging lane is for foot traffic only. There are gates up and they are closed so we won't be riding our bikes into that area and parking. There looks to be other areas to park and still get a good view of the track. So it would be possible to have an O.R. get together at the track and be close to our bikes while enjoying the on track action.

Today's test & tune just got cancelled. They're still working out bugs but Saturday is still a go.

I know some of you are wondering why I left the sealant on the outside of the block off plates if I pushed them into the sealant to create an internal seal. I did that so I can spot check for leaks. It only takes a small hole to lose a decent amount of pressure. I can either look for the blown out sealant or I can spray soapy water on it, fire the bike up and watch for bubbles to form. There's your leak detection 101 class for the day.

That's my thinking too.

Today I put the final touches on sealing the airbox to make a true plenum out of it. I used aircraft sealant for the major structural parts and rubber o-rings for screws and some rivnuts. The velocity stacks are a particular issue all their own because they sit against the bottom of the airbox and have screws going through them and the airbox floor to a nut channel below it. I used the Muzzy velocity stacks because they have rubber o-rings sealing their bottoms to the airbox. That leaves the screw holes. I filled them with sealant before sitting the velocity stacks in place. Then I pushed the screws through the sealant and into their nuts and tightened them. When the sealant dries they will be air-tight. I applied sealant around the edges of the openings for the airfilter block off plates and pushed the plates into it to make sure I had total coverage. I put the bolts in place but did not tighten them until the sealant started to cure. This kept the sealant from totally pushing out and creating voids. I also sealed in place the rubber rivnuts for the air inlet covers and front of the fuel tank cover. The screws will seal those up when they're installed. The final part was the airbox access covers. They have rubber gaskets from the factory. All I needed to do was seal the bolts that hold them down. I put rubber o-rings on them and that finished it all up.None of this part is pretty but it works. Here's the photos:

Mad scientist? No. Insane tinkerer? Maybe. I'm just hoping to not look like Wile E. Coyote after one of his Acme rockets misfires...

Will do. I hope to have it out soon.

I don't think I'll be there as a participant this week. I have some fuel testing and map programming to do before I get too froggy on the bike.