ECK Racing #929 Round 5 – Henry is back, well sort of.
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It all started back with some Tony Track day’s on Tuesday.
Just rebuilt Henry the previous week with decked head/Cylinders/new studs/ and gaskets to solve my pressurization of the coolant system.
Tuesday. It was a wet/dry day. Just getting the feeling back of the 700. BOY does the mid range suck. It does not even push out of its own way when I fall into that hole. I think it is time for some extensive Dyno time and add the programmable black box (ignition and timing). Before the last session I tossed the slicks on to get the bike hot to change the oil. That night I changed the oil, adjusted the needle height. Water temp of 160 degrees.
Wednesday. Dry. I was instructing with the yellow group so I was not able to quite turn things up the way I wanted to but that was all right. The mid was slightly better but I was also carrying more mid corner speed so I was not too deep into the mid range. At the end of the day I noticed the water level was a bit higher. I adjusted the needle again to see if things got better. Water Temp 170 degrees.
Thursday. Nice and dry, hot. Instructing in the blue group, time to let it rip. At the lunch session I saw the temp climb to 200 degrees and poof, overflow bottle full. WTF...... Pull off a section of tape and let it sit for the rest of the day. System still does not draw it back in.
Friday. Hunt around for 1.4 or 1.8 radiator cap. NO luck KTM cap is close but the diameter of the cap is just slightly larger than the Honda's housing.
Saturday. Practice/Race, dry. 1st practice I take is somewhat easy, temp in 160 deg. No water builds up.
2nd practice, I had my stock motor gearing on 16-46 and just tripping all over the rev-limiter so I know I was getting somewhere to a good clip. I was also using Pete as a little carrot and figured it will be a nice practice session if I could keep him in sight. Traffic was atrocious but fun none the less in keeping Pete in sight. I witness some very sketchy passing. It made me cringe when I saw it. But I need to keep charging forward as I needed to break the week’s worth of TD. It is a trap the can easily deter you in progressing forward in running the times that you should be capable of. If you see the opening you just have to take it. I left plenty of room on my passes. The midrange hole was still there and I would try an extra downshift in places. It was just too low and my corner speed was being sacrificed and I was just tip toeing around with too high a rpm. I finish the session feeling pretty good. In the end I was hoping for low 20’s. Well I found myself back into the 18’s. Boo YA… Nothing like making your goals achievable. Water temp at 165 and no water build up. It’s got me thinking that the heavier cap may work we shall see.
Race, 8 ULSB.
Grid 2A behind Mike M. Knowing I’ve go a hole in my mid is going to make the start a little tougher. I get the RPM’s a little higher and slip the clutch out and I still fall on my face. Well at least I can gain some ground on the drive going into t1. I settle in for 4th in T1. I’m sitting on the tale of 67 Jason C. thinking about the Drive out of T2 I grab a downshift. Perfectly executed, I roll underneath him driving hard and pass under him leaned over. Next is #37 Mike M.. With my phenomenal drive I’m actually thinking I might make a pass on him as well. We get up to the shoot and he begins breaking. I’m to the right of his rear tie and keep on it for just a split second longer. I get him under breaking..Whoo hoo. I hit the apex and my extra down shift that I needed to keep out of the mid range hole did not happen. WFOT and BOGGGGGGGGGGGGG. Round the outside rips M.M. right at the apex of T4. Damn it. That is not going to happen again. Still falling on my face I wait for the opportunity where I can get the bike stood up for a downshift. I get it and whack it for 2 seconds then get into the right gear for the drive up the hill and over T5. I begin closing on Mike and thinking I could go around the outside but hold off. It is too early for this. I settle in. I have a good roll up on Mike in T9 and just thinking about holding onto position. We get to T11 Mike makes a pass on #922 Eric B. I’m thinking Mike is not going to have the dive coming out. Eric’s has a bit of hesitation of Mike going under him and I have hiccup as well. They get a good drive out of T12 and I have some ground to catch up on. My hesitation again gets me into my mid range hole coming out of T12. As I watch them pull away the mains open up and the 4 stroke Hawk is hitting the pipe like a 2 stroke. BWAPPPPPPPP. I roll up on the 2 of them and hit the draft. Eric catches Mike’s draft and roles out and around him and then in front of Mike. I catch both of their draft and roll right past Mike and then Eric for the Lead into T1. From there it was about linking turns and not trying not to get into the mid range hole.
At the end of Lap 2 I look back and see Green. Mike is right there. Time to pick it up.
Lap 3, I see teammate Gabs with his hands further apart. I take a look back and see about a 1 second gap. Time to go harder. Head down hammer strong, I do not look back.
Lap 4 I see Pete’s arms wide apart. That is what I’m talking about, keep it going. I look back and don’t see any green. Confused? As I roll into T1a I see a Green motard then I see some new rubber tire marks on the pavement. Did Mike go down? I think so? The rubber marks went right to the tire barriers in the direction of the T2 flagger but they seemed untouched. Guessing the corner workers got everything all picked up when I came around. Piecing everything together and seeing some arms wide apart in the stands in T3 I just begin to back it down. I come up over T7 and look across to T5 and see a white Motard, #77 Eric Shaw. I settle into this pace for the rest of the race. Think someone said I had a 10 second lead at the end. Temp 175, Water slightly elevated.
I have to think my sexy teammate for flashing me and tweaking soem hairy nipples.
Thanks to Street and Comp for some wonderful Bridgestone’s. They did not even slip a bit even when I needed the extra downshift and whacking the throttle. Yea, the front end came up of the ground when I did this once or twice leaned over…
I got to use my brandy new Woodcraft tire warmers. I love the dual temp settings.
Thanks to MTAG for swapping some tire around for me.
And thanks to everyone for helping and supporting me and ECK RACING.
For the next time on the track I'll track down a heavier radiator cap. 1.4 or 1.8. If this does not work then I'll have to have a ring machined around the pistons and crush a copper washer in between the head and cylinder.
I also hope to resolve my engine stumble for the next race weekend for a better start. Dyno Time
Also need to work out a heavy T1 shutter under heavy trail breaking. I’m thinking I need to replace the wheel bearings.
Will also need some new Carbone Lorraine brake pads. What do you expect after 3 years of racing and track days. LOVE EM
Best lap of the race and for the season 1:18.897 this was that exact 18 that I hit in practice to even to the one thousandth.
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Originally Posted by 07BladeRider
